Born Then
1853–1856

Life during the Crimean War

Be born in a place it hit, a few years before it began, and see what it did to five ordinary lives.

What it meant for ordinary people

Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia fought Russia, mainly around Sevastopol. Cholera, dysentery and cold killed far more soldiers than battle. Defeat pushed Russia toward freeing the serfs.

Deaths: several hundred thousand soldiers, most of them from disease.

How hard it hits each person in the game (risk of death, of being conscripted, of leaving) comes from scholarly estimates.

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