Crimea

The story of the war that reshaped the map of Europe in the 19th century. From the author of A Cultural History of Russia .

The Crimean War, preceding World War I, was the largest conflict of the 19th century. However, few works detail this history, overshadowed by the two world wars that followed. In Crimea , renowned historian Orlando Figes draws on Russian, French, Ottoman, and British sources to provide a comprehensive account and fill this gap.

The author recounts the details of a tragic war, motivated by the fervent and populist belief of Tsar Nicholas I and his ministers that it was Russia's duty to govern all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land. After a dispute with Ottoman religious leaders in 1853, Russian troops invaded a disputed area in present-day Romania, bringing Britain and Turkey's estrangement from Russia to a boiling point. French opinion was less passionate, but Napoleon III's desire for military glory was strong enough to encourage his participation in the conflict.

The extraordinary conflict inflamed the rivalry between Russia and the Ottoman Empire over the Balkans, destabilized relations between the European powers, and lit the spark for World War I. Having virtually redrawn the map of Europe and caused the deaths of countless military personnel and civilians, the Crimean War was fought with industrial technology and marked by soldiers entrenched in the snow, surgeons working on the battlefield, press coverage by correspondent reporters, and the fanatical and haunted figure of Tsar Nicholas I.

Through a lucid, vivid and sensitive account, in Crimea , Orlando Figes sheds light on the geopolitical, cultural and religious factors that shaped each power's involvement in this struggle.