Russia Imagines the Ottoman Response to Crimean War Reversals.

A fascinating ephemeral lithograph, this was apparently one of three "scenes" prepared during the Crimean War, and said to represent the Ottoman ruler's response to defeats during the Crimean War.

In essence, the text was in the form of a rayok - literally meaning "a small paradise" in Russian, but commonly used to describe either a fairground peep show, performed with the help of a box with pictures viewed through magnifying lenses, or, just a special, humorous, rhymed prose. The intended audience of the broadside was the everyday, ordinary person, who needed to understand the current situation and facts surrounding the Crimean War, but in a simple, fun way.

The present "Scene 2" lambasted the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and boosted the Russian people's nationalism and Christian identity.