The Image of the Sevastopol Garrison and the Russian Army during the Crimean War in the Works of English-Speaking Authors (1970-2020)

Abstract

The article examines the image of the Sevastopol garrison and the Russian army during the Crimean War in the works of English-speaking authors. The aim of the study is to reveal the main trends in the consecration of the events of the Crimean (Eastern) War in the studies of American and British researchers. Due to the current situation related to restrictions on the part of foreign publishers, it was not possible to consider a number of works published in the period from 1970 to 2020. The subject of the study is the works of English-speaking authors devoted to the history of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The object of the research is the narrative created by English-speaking authors around the Russian army and the garrison of Sevastopol during the First defense of the city. Based on the research that was found in the public domain, the author comes to the conclusion that the dominant trend in the English-language literature on the Crimean War is to consider events from the point of view of exclusively British or Allied retrospect. At the same time, due attention is either not paid to the Russian side at all or it represents a brief dry squeeze. The emphasis on battlefields, on problems of supply and training of the Allied army command staff, on weather conditions takes the defense of Sevastopol and its importance into the background. Statements and assessments that are openly Russophobic in nature are not as widely presented as in studies on the Second World War.