Fin vs History

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The Timeless Comedy of Baking Dwarves Into Pies | Peter The Great

Explore episode Jul 27, 2026

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Give Dwarfs The Roles

At 21:52 · chapter starts 20:50

In exile from Moscow's conservative Orthodox world, Peter gravitates toward the German Quarter — an island of Lutheran, Lutheran modernity that Fin notes is hilariously the 'juicy bit' of an otherwise backwards city. Here he meets Franz Lefort, a Swiss soldier of fortune who becomes his closest companion, and the two build a lavish party mansion extension dedicated to excess. Peter's lifelong fascination with physical difference takes shape: he assembles what he calls a 'menagerie of freaks' — dwarves, giants, people with extreme deformities, all brought to him as gifts. The famous state-banquet party piece crystallises here: a massively oversized pie is placed before guests, the crust is cut, and an oiled, naked dwarf slithers out. Horatio's verdict: timeless physical comedy.

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