2025. no 2. Dmitry Prokhorov

“They defeated each other with an excess of cordiality and readiness to facilitate
the most convenient movement of troops…”: Crimean Tatars and Karaites
in the Crimean (Eastern) War of 1853–1856 and their assistance to the Russian army

Dmitry Prokhorov
V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University

Abstract. September 2024 marked 170 years since the landing of the Allied expeditionary force in Eupatoria, which marked the beginning of the 1854 campaign in the Crimean (Eastern) War of 1853–1856. The article analyzes the actions of the Crimean Tatars and Karaites who provided assistance to the Russian army. Based on identified archival documents (some of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time), as well as previously published sources, measures taken by the population to provide the military units of the Russian army with everything necessary are considered. The Crimean Tatars and Karaites, along with representatives of other ethno-confessional communities of the Taurida province, took a direct part in providing targeted assistance, which was urgently needed by soldiers and officers. Among the most notable activities of this kind are: financial and material support, organizing hospitals in the cities of Crimea, caring for the wounded, supplying fodder, food and catering, erecting fortifications, as well as direct participation in the heroic defense of Sevastopol. In addition, individual representatives of the Karaite community actively contributed to intelligence activities on the territory of the peninsula, providing valuable information to the command of the Russian army. After the end of the war, the Crimean Tatars and Karaites actively contributed to the restoration of the economy in the region, participated in the elimination of post-war devastation, and established a peaceful life. Archival documents, which reflect the measures of the Russian government to compensate for the damage suffered by the population during the fighting on the Crimean Peninsula, are considered.

Keywords: Taurida province, Crimean (Eastern) War, 1853–1856, Crimean Tatars, Karaites, Russian army, charity

For citation: Prokhorov D.А. “They defeated each other with an excess of cordiality and readiness to facilitate the most convenient movement of troops…”: Crimean Tatars and Karaites in the Crimean (Eastern) War of 1853–1856 and their assistance to the Russian army. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2025, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 51–68. DOI: 10.22378/kio.2025.2.51-68 (In Russian)

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About the author: Dmitry A. Prokhorov – Dr. Sci. (History), Professor, Department of Documents Management, Archives and Organization of Work with Youth, Faculty of History, Institute “Taurida Academy”, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University (4, Academician Vernadsky Avenue, Simferopol 295007, Russian Federation); prohorov1da@yandex.ru