The Crimean War
by Charles McLeod
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How it all started.
Czar Nicholas I
The Sultan of Turkey had been gradually losing his lands in South East Europe and the 'Great Powers' - England, France and Russia were all worried who would take over them. This became known as the 'Eastern Question' and became the greatest international problem of the period. There were long-standing reasons for the British getting involved in this war. Britain feared that Russia would overrun the declining Turkish or Ottoman Empire, which took a very strategic place for all sides, because it was a 'gateway' to India and necessary for Britain to continue her trading. Many tsars over the Eighteenth century had worked their way down through the Ukraine and finally to the Crimea where the Russians were threatening to crush the Turks in a powerful vice. In 1853 Russia invaded Turkish territories and Turkey had no choice but to declare war on Russia. The public back home wanted the government to take action against Russia especially when they wiped out a flotilla of Turkish vessels at a place called Sinope. Many European countries wanted to stay out of the war, but England and France agreed to support Turkey in March 1854. On the 14th of September 1854, 25,000 troops of a British Expeditionary force led by Lord Fitzroy Raglan and 25,000 French began to land on the shores of the Crimean peninsula at Calamita bay, 32 miles north of their ultimate objective, the Russian naval and military base of Sevastopol. Ahead lay eighteen months of unexpected misery for those unlucky enough to survive. A short campaign, culminating in the swift seizure of Sevastopol, would prove just a pipe dream.
The Crimea Today
None of the empires that took part in the Crimea War exist. The Russian Empire collapsed in 1917 and the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1920. Before this the Ottomans improved their communication systems using railways and the telegraph introduced by the allies. They also abolished serfdom (slavery). The British Empire became smaller and smaller during the twentieth century as more and more countries gained their independence. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Crimea became part of Ukraine, which was a new independent state. As the Crimea had been part of Russia, the people are still very patriotic towards Russia and may not feel that they are Ukranian. Sebastopol remains a place of emotion for Russian people.