The Romanovs ruled Russia for centuries until World War One brought revolution and an abrupt end to their imperial reign. In this special debate from St Petersburg, the BBC’s special correspondent Allan Little explores the legacy of revolution from one of its most iconic sites, the Romanovs' Winter Palace, now the Hermitage Museum – with our series partners the British Council. Allan is joined by Russian World War One experts Alexander Semyonov, professor of History at St Petersburg Higher School of Economics and Liudmila Novikova, Moscow Higher School of Economics and a public audience at Catherine the Great's Theatre. They discuss revolution and the hidden impact of the World War One on Soviet Russia and how it still affects Russian policy today.

The Russian novelist and well-known public commentator Tatyana Tolstaya delivers a specially commissioned essay which evokes the way revolution and war changes individual lives through the story of her own great-grandmother.

Producer: Charlie Taylor

(Photo: Russian soldiers who had joined the 1917 Revolution, with the red flag fixed to their bayonets)
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