Free Republic

What have I done to be placed on the sanctions list of the Russian Foreign Ministry, alongside several distinguished historians of eastern Europe? My normal hunting ground (not the right word for a maritime historian) is the Mediterranean and the oceans beyond. But maybe Russia’s mandarins know that I am now writing about the Black Sea. Since the reign of Peter the Great in the 18th century, Russia has seen the Black Sea as a vital gateway to the wider world. The Ottoman sultans blocked Russian attempts to reach warmer waters via Istanbul. Russian ships bound for intended conquests had...

Stalin's NKVD started to round up the Kalmkys. Their crime, some had served the Germans. Of the 95,000 ethnic Kalmyks, about half died enroute or during their first winter in Siberia. Stalin's order was absolute. Ethnic Kalmky's were pulled out of the front line infantry and tank units and deported. Included were 21 Kalmyk soldiers that had been awarded "Hero of the Soviet Union." for their service in combat to the Soviet Union.