Donald Rayfield

During the Crimean War soldiers died in appalling conditions, but the treatment of enemy prisoners was surprisingly humane.

In listening to the war’s loudest voices, Crimean Quagmire: Tolstoy, Russell and the Birth of Modern Warfare by Gregory Carleton drowns out the diversity of opinion.

The Crimean Khanate was the last surviving heir of Chinggis Khan’s dynasty. Respected, feared and reviled, it found itself caught between the Russian and Ottoman empires.

Is there a trend of ‘reverse Darwinism’ in Russian history?