Sunday Feature

3 August 2004

Tuesday 3 August 2004 21:15-22:00 (Radio 3)

The Crimea, a diamond-shaped pendant of land hanging over the Black Sea, has been a highly desirable jewel for many peoples across many centuries. Historian Catherine Merridale travels to its rocky southern coastline of cypress trees and vines, its silvery-grassed interior of rolling steppe and its much fought-over cities of Sebastopol and Kerch to find out how the Crimea is coming to terms with its past. Exploring Scythian burial kurgans, Ancient Greek temples and mass graves from the appalling slaughter of World War Two and the Charge of the Light Brigade (which took place 150 years ago) and listening to the contesting voices of the Crimea's present day inhabitants - Cossacks, Ukrainians and Tatars - can we discover why there have been so many Crimean wars?

Duration:

45 minutes

Sunday Feature

Episode and Playlist Information

• 10 October 2004
• 3 October 2004
• 26 September 2004
• 19 September 2004
• 12 September 2004
• 15 August 2004
• 3 August 2004
• 1 August 2004
• 30 July 2004
• 29 July 2004

Sunday Feature pages