The Siege of Sevastopol

The Siege of Sevastopol is one of those iconic things that absolutely matter in their identity. It enables the British to function as a much bigger army because they don't have to waste manpower moving things logistically. In the Second World War, three-quarters of a million Russians died defending that city. So it does matter. We underestimate that at our peril. If we want the Russians to think rationally, we have to understand how they think and what they value. A lot of the things he thinks are things that other Russians think as well.