Donald Rayfield

‘Death in the Crimea’ by William Bullock Webster, 18 January 1856. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

‘Crimean Quagmire’ by Gregory Carleton review

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.

Mehmet I Giray of the Crimean khanate crosses a river, from the History of Sultan Süleyman by Sayyid Luqman, c.1579. Chester Beatty. Public Domain.

Khans of Crimea

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.

Poster showing the ‘Birth of the Soviets and the Different Organs of Soviet Power’, c. 1920.

Survival of the Least Fit

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

Armenian manuscript, unknown artist, 1386 © Bridgeman Images.

The Mountain of Tongues

Is Caucasian history more byzantine than Europe’s?