About this episode

Donald Rayfield discusses the historical context of Crimea from the Mongol Golden Horde to Catherine the Great's annexation.

Donald Rayfield returns for the second of three episodes on Crimea — this time taking the long view, from the Mongol Golden Horde to Catherine the Great's annexation and the early Soviet period. At its height the Crimean Khanate was a sophisticated and surprisingly humane state. It was also, as Rayfield puts it, the self-appointed freeholder of the former Mongol empire — and it collected its rents in the form of money, livestock, and human captives. Eventually, the leaseholders rebelled. A st...

People in this episode

Host: Russell Hogg

Guest: Donald Rayfield

Topics covered

• Crimea
• history
• Catherine the Great
• Golden Horde
• Crimean Khanate
• Soviet period

Keywords

• Crimea
• Golden Horde
• Catherine the Great
• Crimean Khanate
• Soviet period
• history
• annexation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Golden Horde, Soviet, Crimean Khanate

Places: Crimea

More episodes of Subject to Change

• Crimea (part 3): The Nazis, Stalin and the bitter end · July 6, 2026 · 42 min

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