During the Crimean (Eastern) War of 1853–1856, the city-fortress of Sevastopol was defended by troops of the Russian empire for 349 days. The Anglo-French troops eventually stormed and captured it. During the unsuccessful defense, the Russians were forced to submerge their entire fleet and it is no surprise that Russian publications tell a different version of these events in order to morally compensate and calm public opinion. A big role was given to the cliché of a “city of Russian sailors”, which was later transformed into the “city of Russian glory.”

The cliché was revived after the 250-day unsuccessful defense of Sevastopol from the Wehrmacht in 1941–1942. It quickly became one of the “golden” Soviet myths about the Second World War.

Indeed, the battle of the Sevastopol garrison was hard and brutal. The city was attacked in November 1941, and required all the strength of its defenders to withstand it.

However, the defense of Sevastopol had a rather humiliating end. On 30 June 1942, the German troops took Malakoff and the defense of the city became unpromising.

The High Command was evacuated over two days, 200 people by plane and 700 by submarines. The private staff was demoralized. With no way to evacuate them, 100,000 Soviet soldiers who were defending Sevastopol were abandoned to their fate. The soldiers continued the senseless fight as they never received any orders to stop. As a result, up to 20,000 soldiers were killed, while the rest were captured.

On 3 July 1942, the Soviet Information Bureau reported:

“Soviet troops left Sevastopol but the defense of the city will go down in the history of the Great Patriotic War as one of the most brilliant pages of its history. Sevastopol enriched the glorious combat traditions of the peoples of the USSR. Boundless courage and rage to fight the enemy and dedication of the defenders of Sevastopol, Soviet patriots inspired further heroic deeds in the struggle against the hated occupiers.”