History of all Cossack troops. Cossacks in the Russian Empire

Bubnov - Taras Bulba

In 1907, an argot dictionary was published in France, in which the following aphorism was cited in the article "Russian": "Scratch a Russian - and you will find a Cossack, scratch a Cossack - and you will find a bear."

This aphorism is attributed to Napoleon himself, who indeed described the Russians as barbarians and identified them as such with the Cossacks - like many Frenchmen, who could call both the hussars and the Kalmyks or Bashkirs Cossacks. In some cases, this word could even become synonymous with light cavalry.

How little we know about the Cossacks.

In a narrow sense, the image of a Cossack is inextricably linked with the image of brave and freedom-loving men with a stern warlike look, with an earring in their left ear, long mustaches and a hat on their heads. And this is more than reliable, but not enough. Meanwhile, the history of the Cossacks is very unique and interesting. And in this article we will try to very superficially, but at the same time meaningfully understand and understand who the Cossacks are, what is their peculiarity and uniqueness, and how the history of Russia is inextricably linked with the original culture and history of the Cossacks.

Today it is very difficult to understand the theories of the origin of not only the Cossacks, but also the very word-term "Cossack". Even today, researchers, scientists and experts cannot give a definite and precise answer - who are the Cossacks and from whom did they come.

But at the same time, there are many more or less probable theories-versions of the origin of the Cossacks. Today there are more than 18 of them - and these are only official versions. Each of them has many convincing scientific arguments, advantages and disadvantages.

However, all theories fall into two main groups:

• theory of the runaway (migration) emergence of the Cossacks.
• autochthonous, that is, local, indigenous origin of the Cossacks.

According to autochthonous theories, the ancestors of the Cossacks lived in Kabarda, were the descendants of the Caucasian Circassians (Cherkas, Yases). This theory of the origin of the Cossacks is also called eastern. It was she who was taken as the basis of their evidence base by one of the most famous Russian historians, orientalists and ethnologists V. Shambarov and L. Gumilyov.

In their opinion, the Cossacks arose through the merger of Kasogs and Brodniks after the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Kasogs (Kasakhs, Kasaks, Ka-azats) are an ancient Circassian people who inhabited the territory of the lower Kuban in the X-XIV centuries, and wanderers are a mixed people of Turkic-Slavic origin, who absorbed the remnants of the Bulgars, Slavs, and also, possibly, the steppe Oguzes.

Dean of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University S. P. Karpov, working in the archives of Venice and Genoa, found there references to the Cossacks with Turkic and Armenian names, who guarded the medieval city of Tana* and other Italian colonies in the Northern Black Sea region from raids.

*Tana- a medieval city on the left bank of the Don, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern city of Azov (Rostov Region of the Russian Federation). It existed in the XII-XV centuries under the rule of the Italian trading republic of Genoa.

One of the first mentions of the Cossacks, according to the Eastern version, are displayed in the legend, the author of which was Stefan Yavorsky, Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (1692):

“In 1380, the Cossacks presented Dmitry Donskoy with the icon of Our Lady of the Don and participated in the battle against Mamai on the Kulikovo field.”

According to migration theories, the ancestors of the Cossacks were freedom-loving Russian people who fled beyond the borders of the Russian and Polish-Lithuanian states either due to natural historical reasons or under the influence of social antagonisms.

The German historian G. Steckl points out that“The first Russian Cossacks were baptized and Russified Tatar Cossacks, since until the end of the 15th century. all the Cossacks who lived both in the steppes and in the Slavic lands could only be Tatars. Of decisive importance for the formation of the Russian Cossacks was the influence of the Tatar Cossacks on the border of the Russian lands. The influence of the Tatars was manifested in everything - in the way of life, military operations, ways of fighting for existence in the steppe. It even extended to the spiritual life and appearance of the Russian Cossacks.

And the historian Karamzin advocated a mixed version of the origin of the Cossacks:

“The Cossacks were not only in Ukraine, where their name became known from history around 1517; but it is likely that in Russia it is older than the Batu invasion and belonged to Torki and Berendei, who lived on the banks of the Dnieper, below Kyiv. There we find the first dwelling of the Little Russian Cossacks. Torki and Berendei were called Cherkasy: Cossacks - also ... some of them, not wanting to submit to either the Mughals or Lithuania, lived as free people on the islands of the Dnieper, fenced with rocks, impenetrable reeds and swamps; lured to themselves many Russians who fled from oppression; mixed with them and under the name Komkov made up one people, which became completely Russian all the easier because their ancestors, having lived in the Kiev region since the tenth century, were already almost Russian themselves. Multiplying more and more in number, nourishing the spirit of independence and brotherhood, the Cossacks formed a military Christian Republic in the southern countries of the Dnieper, began to build villages, fortresses in these places devastated by the Tatars; undertook to be the defenders of the Lithuanian possessions from the Crimeans, Turks and won special patronage of Sigismund I, who gave them many civil liberties along with lands above the Dnieper rapids, where the city of Cherkasy is named after them ... "

I would not like to go into details, listing all the official and unofficial versions of the origin of the Cossacks. Firstly, it is long and not always interesting. Secondly, most theories are only versions, hypotheses. There is no unambiguous answer about the origin and origin of the Cossacks as an original ethnic group. It is important to understand something else - the process of formation of the Cossacks was long and complex, and it is obvious that representatives of different ethnic groups were mixed at the heart of it. And it's hard to disagree with Karamzin.

Some oriental historians believe that the Tatars were the ancestors of the Cossacks, and that, allegedly, the first detachments of the Cossacks fought on the side against Rus' in the Battle of Kulikovo. Others, on the contrary, argue that the Cossacks were already on the side of Rus' at that time. Some refer to legends and myths about gangs of Cossacks - robbers, whose main trade was robbery, robbery, theft ...

For example, the satirist Zadornov, explaining the term for the emergence of the well-known children's yard game "Cossacks-robbers", refers to "unbridled by the free character of the Cossack class, which was" the most violent, uneducable Russian class.

It's hard to believe, because in the memory of my childhood, each of the boys preferred to play for the Cossacks. And the name of the game is taken from life, since its rules imitate reality: in tsarist Russia, the Cossacks were people's self-defense, protecting the civilian population from the raids of robbers.

It is possible that in the original basis of the early groups of the Cossacks there were various ethnic elements. But for contemporaries, the Cossacks evokes something native, Russian. I recall the famous speech of Taras Bulba:

The first communities of the Cossacks

It is known that the first communities of Cossacks began to form as early as the 15th century (although some sources refer to an earlier time). These were communities of free Don, Dnieper, Volga and Grebensky Cossacks.

A little later, in the first half of the 16th century, the Zaporozhian Sich was formed. In the 2nd half of the same century - communities of free Terek and Yaik, and at the end of the century - Siberian Cossacks.

In the early stages of the existence of the Cossacks, the main types of their economic activities were crafts (hunting, fishing, beekeeping), later cattle breeding, and from the 2nd floor. XVII century - agriculture. An important role was played by military booty, later - by the state salary. Through military and economic colonization, the Cossacks quickly mastered the vast expanses of the Wild Field, then the outskirts of Russia and Ukraine.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. Cossacks led by Ermak Timofeevich, V.D. Poyarkov, V.V. Atlasov, S.I. Dezhnev, E.P. Khabarov and other explorers participated in the successful development of Siberia and the Far East. Perhaps these are the most famous first reliable references to the Cossacks, beyond doubt.

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Definition of the Cossacks

The Cossacks are an ethnic, social and historical group of united Russians, Ukrainians, Kalmyks, Buryats, Bashkirs, Tatars, Evenks, Ossetians, etc.

Cossacks - (from Turkic: Cossack, Cossack - daring, free man) - a military estate in Russia.

Cossacks (Cossacks) are a sub-ethnic group of the Russian people living in the southern steppes of Eastern Europe, in particular Russia and Kazakhstan, and earlier Ukraine.

In a broad sense, the word "Cossack" meant a person belonging to the Cossack class and state, which included the population of several localities in Russia, who had special rights and obligations. In a narrower sense, the Cossacks are part of the armed forces of the Russian Empire, mainly cavalry and horse artillery, and the word "Cossack" itself means the lower rank of the Cossack troops.

External general characteristics of the Cossacks

Comparing the features developed separately, we can note the following features characteristic of the Don Cossacks. Straight or slightly wavy hair, thick beard, straight nose with a horizontal base, wide slit eyes, large mouth, blond or dark hair, gray, blue or mixed (with green) eyes, relatively tall stature, weak subbrachycephaly, or mesocephaly, relatively wide face. Using the latter signs, we can compare the Don Cossacks with other Russian peoples, and they, apparently, are more or less common to the Cossack population of the Don and other Great Russian groups, allowing, on a wider scale of comparison, to attribute the Don Cossacks to one predominant on the Russian plain, an anthropological type, characterized in general by the same differences.

The nature of the Cossacks

A Cossack cannot consider himself a Cossack if he does not know and observe the traditions and customs of the Cossacks. During the years of hard times and the destruction of the Cossacks, these concepts were fairly weathered and distorted under alien influence. Even our old people, who were born already in Soviet times, do not always correctly interpret the unwritten Cossack laws.

Merciless to enemies, the Cossacks in their midst were always complacent, generous and hospitable. There was some kind of duality at the heart of the Cossack's character: either he was cheerful, playful, funny, or extraordinarily sad, silent, inaccessible. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the Cossacks, constantly looking into the eyes of death, tried not to miss the joy that fell to their lot. On the other hand - they are philosophers and poets at heart - they often reflected on the eternal, on the vanity of existence and on the inevitable outcome of this life. Therefore, the basis in the formation of the moral foundations of the Cossack societies was the 10 commandments of Christ. Teaching children to observe the commandments of the Lord, parents, according to their popular perception, taught: do not kill, do not steal, do not fornicate, work according to your conscience, do not envy another and forgive offenders, take care of your children and parents, value girlish chastity and female honor, help the poor , do not offend orphans and widows, protect the Fatherland from enemies. But first of all, strengthen the Orthodox faith: go to Church, observe fasts, cleanse your soul - through repentance from sins, pray to the one God Jesus Christ and added: if something is possible for someone, then we are not allowed - we are Cossacks.

Origin of the Cossacks

There are many theories of the origin of the Cossacks:

1. Eastern hypothesis.

According to V. Shambarov, L. Gumilyov and other historians, the Cossacks arose through the merger of Kasogs and Brodniks after the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

Kasogs (kasakhs, kasaks) are an ancient Circassian people who inhabited the territory of the lower Kuban in the 10th-14th centuries.

Brodniki is a people of Turkic-Slavic origin, formed in the lower reaches of the Don in the 12th century (then a border region of Kievan Rus.

There is still no single point of view among historians about the time of the emergence of the Don Cossacks. So N. S. Korshikov and V. N. Korolev believe that “in addition to the widespread point of view about the origin of the Cossacks from Russian fugitive people and industrialists, there are other points of view as hypotheses. According to R. G. Skrynnikov, for example, the original Cossack communities consisted of Tatars, which were then joined by Russian elements. L. N. Gumilyov proposed to lead the Don Cossacks from the Khazars, who, having mixed with the Slavs, made up the wanderers, who were not only the predecessors of the Cossacks, but also their direct ancestors. More and more experts are inclined to believe that the origins of the Don Cossacks should be seen in the ancient Slavic population, which, according to archaeological discoveries of recent decades, existed on the Don in the 8th-15th centuries.

The Mongols were loyal to the preservation of their religions by their subjects, including the people who were part of their military units. There was also the Saraysko-Podonsky bishopric, which allowed the Cossacks to keep their identity.

After the split of the Golden Horde, the Cossacks who remained on its territory retained their military organization, but at the same time they found themselves in complete independence from the fragments of the former empire - the Nogai Horde and the Crimean Khanate; and from the Moscow state that appeared in Rus'.

In Polish chronicles, the first mention of the Cossacks dates back to 1493, when the Cherkasy governor Bogdan Fedorovich Glinsky, nicknamed "Mamai", having formed border Cossack detachments in Cherkassy, ​​captured the Turkish fortress of Ochakov.

The French ethnographer Arnold van Gennep, in his book Traite des nationalites (1923), suggested that the Cossacks should be considered a separate nation from the Ukrainians, since the Cossacks are probably not Slavs at all, but Byzantinized and Christianized Turks.

2. Slavic hypothesis

According to other points of view, the Cossacks were originally from the Slavs. So the Ukrainian politician and historian V. M. Lytvyn in his three-volume "History of Ukraine" expressed the opinion that the first Ukrainian Cossacks were Slavs.

According to his research, sources speak of the existence of Cossacks in the Crimea at the end of the 13th century. In the first mentions, the Turkic word "Cossack" meant "guard" or vice versa - "robber". Also - "free man", "exile", "adventurer", "tramp", "protector of the sky". This word often denoted free, "no one's" people who traded with weapons. In particular, according to the old Russian epics dating back to the reign of Vladimir the Great, the hero Ilya Muromets is called "the old Cossack." It was in this meaning that it was assigned to the Cossacks.

The first memories of such Cossacks date back to 1489. During the campaign of the Polish king Jan-Albrecht against the Tatars, Christian Cossacks showed the way to his army in Podolia. In the same year, detachments of chieftains Vasily Zhyla, Bogdan and Golubets attacked the Tavan crossing in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and, dispersing the Tatar guards, robbed the merchants. Subsequently, the Khan's complaints about Cossack attacks become regular. According to Litvin, considering how habitually this designation is used in the documents of that time, we can assume that the Cossacks-Rusichi have been known for decades, at least since the middle of the 15th century. Considering that the evidence of the phenomenon of the Ukrainian Cossacks was localized on the territory of the so-called "Wild Field", it is possible that the Ukrainian Cossacks borrowed their neighbors from the Turkic-speaking (mainly Tatar) environment not only the name, but also many other words, they will take on appearance, organization and tactics, mentality . Litvin V. believes that the Tatar element occupies a certain place in the ethnic composition of the Cossacks.

Cossacks in history

Representatives of various nationalities participated in the formation of the Cossacks, but the Slavs prevailed. From an ethnographic point of view, the first Cossacks were divided according to the place of origin into Ukrainian and Russian. Among both those and others, free and service Cossacks can be distinguished. Russian service Cossacks (city, regimental and sentry) were used to protect the security lines and cities, receiving salaries and lands for life for this. Although they were equated "to the service people on the instrument" (archers, gunners), but unlike them, they had a stanitsa organization and an elective system of military administration. In this form, they existed until the beginning of the 18th century. The first community of Russian free Cossacks arose on the Don, and then on the Yaik, Terek and Volga rivers. In contrast to the serving Cossacks, the coasts of large rivers (Dnieper, Don, Yaik, Terek) and the steppe expanses became the centers of the emergence of the Free Cossacks, which left a noticeable imprint on the Cossacks and determined their way of life.

Each large territorial community as a form of military-political association of independent Cossack settlements was called the Army. The main economic activities of the free Cossacks were hunting, fishing, and animal husbandry. For example, in the Don Army until the beginning of the 18th century, arable farming was prohibited under pain of death. As the Cossacks themselves believed, they lived "from grass and water."

The war was of great importance in the life of the Cossack communities: they were in constant military confrontation with hostile and warlike nomadic neighbors, so one of the most important sources of livelihood for them was military booty (as a result of campaigns “for zipuns and yasyr” in the Crimea, Turkey, Persia , to the Caucasus). River and sea trips were made on plows, as well as horse raids. Often several Cossack units united and carried out joint land and sea operations, everything captured became common property - duvan.

The main feature of social Cossack life was a military organization with an elective system of government and democratic order. The main decisions (issues of war and peace, election of officials, trial of the guilty) were made at general Cossack meetings, stanitsa and military circles, or Rada, which were the highest governing bodies. The main executive power belonged to the annually replaced military (koshevo in Zaporozhye) ataman. For the duration of hostilities, a marching ataman was elected, whose obedience was unquestioning.

Diplomatic relations with the Russian state were maintained by sending winter and light villages (embassies) to Moscow with an appointed ataman. From the moment the Cossacks entered the historical arena, their relationship with Russia was ambivalent. Initially, they were built on the principle of independent states that had one enemy. Moscow and the Cossack Troops were allies. The Russian state acted as the main partner and played a leading role as the strongest side. In addition, the Cossack Troops were interested in receiving monetary and military assistance from the Russian Tsar. The Cossack territories played an important role as a buffer on the southern and eastern borders of the Russian state, covering it from the raids of the steppe hordes. The Cossacks also took part in many wars on the side of Russia against neighboring states. To successfully perform these important functions, the practice of the Moscow tsars included annual sending of gifts, cash salaries, weapons and ammunition, as well as bread to individual Troops, since the Cossacks did not produce it. All relations between the Cossacks and the tsar were conducted through the Ambassadorial order, that is, as with a foreign state. It was often advantageous for the Russian authorities to represent the free Cossack communities as absolutely independent from Moscow. On the other hand, the Muscovite state was dissatisfied with the Cossack communities, who constantly attacked Turkish possessions, which often ran counter to Russian foreign policy interests.

Quite often, periods of cooling set in between the allies, and Russia stopped all assistance to the Cossacks. Moscow was also dissatisfied with the constant departure of subjects to the Cossack regions. Democratic orders (everyone is equal, no authorities, no taxes) became a magnet that attracted more and more enterprising and courageous people from the Russian lands.

Russia's fears turned out to be by no means groundless - during the 17-18 centuries, the Cossacks were at the forefront of powerful anti-government uprisings, the leaders of the Cossack-peasant uprisings - Stepan Razin, Kondraty Bulavin, Emelyan Pugachev - came out of its ranks. The role of the Cossacks during the events of the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century was great. Having supported False Dmitry I, they made up an essential part of his military detachments. Later, free Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks, as well as Russian service Cossacks, took an active part in the camp of various forces: in 1611 they participated in the first militia, the nobles already prevailed in the second militia, but at the council of 1613 it was the word of the Cossack chieftains that turned out to be decisive in the election of Tsar Michael Fedorovich Romanov.

In the 16th century, under King Stephen Batory, the Cossacks were formed into regiments of the Commonwealth to serve as border guards and as auxiliary troops in the wars with Turkey and Sweden. These Cossack detachments were called Registered Cossacks. As light cavalry, they were widely used in the wars waged by the Commonwealth. Among the registered Cossacks, armored Cossacks also stand out, occupying the niche of medium cavalry - lighter than the Winged Hussars, but heavier than ordinary registered Cossack troops.

Cossack communities (“troops”, “hordes”) began to form on the territory of the Muscovite kingdom in the 16th and 17th centuries. from the sentry and stanitsa services that guarded the border territories from the devastating raids of the hordes of the Crimean Tatars and Nogays. However, according to the official version, the oldest of all Cossack formations is the Zaporizhzhya Sich, founded in the second half of the 16th century on the territory of present-day Ukraine, which was then part of the Polish state. After a long period of nominal dependence on the Commonwealth, it became part of the Russian Empire in the middle of the 17th century, and was destroyed by Catherine II in the 18th century. Part of the Cossacks went beyond the Danube, to the territory then belonging to Turkey, and founded the Transdanubian Sich, part retained the Cossack status, but was resettled to the Kuban, as a result of which the Kuban Cossack army arose.

In the Muscovite state of the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cossacks were part of the guard and stanitsa services, guarding the border territories from the devastating raids of the Crimean Tatars and Nogays. The central administration of the city Cossacks was first the Streltsy order, and then the Discharge order. The Siberian Cossacks were in charge of the Siberian Order, the Zaporozhye and Little Russian Cossacks - the Little Russian Order.

The Don Cossacks swore allegiance to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1671, and since 1721 the army was subordinate to the St. Petersburg Military Collegium. By the end of the reign of Peter the Great, following the Don and Yaik Cossacks, the rest of the Cossack communities also passed into the department of the military college. Their internal structure was transformed, a hierarchy of government authorities was introduced. Having subjugated the Cossacks in the number of 85 thousand people, the government used them to colonize the newly conquered lands and protect state borders, mainly southern and eastern.

In the first half of the XVIII century, new Cossack troops were created: Orenburg, Astrakhan, Volga. At the end of the 18th century, the Yekaterinoslav and Black Sea Cossack troops were created.

Over time, the Cossack population moved forward to the uninhabited lands, expanding the state boundaries. Cossack troops took an active part in the development of the North Caucasus, Siberia (Yermak's expedition), the Far East and America. In 1645, the Siberian Cossack Vasily Poyarkov sailed along the Amur, entered the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, discovered Northern Sakhalin and returned to Yakutsk.

The ambiguous role played by the Cossacks in the Time of Troubles forced the government in the 17th century to pursue a policy of sharp reduction in the detachments of service Cossacks in the main territory of the state. But in general, the Russian throne, taking into account the most important functions of the Cossacks as a military force in the border areas, showed patience and sought to subordinate it to its power. In order to secure loyalty to the Russian throne, the tsars, using all leverage, managed to achieve by the end of the 17th century the adoption of the oath by all the Armies (the last Don Army - in 1671). From voluntary allies, the Cossacks turned into Russian subjects.

With the inclusion of the southeastern territories into Russia, the Cossacks remained only a special part of the Russian population, gradually losing many of their democratic rights and gains. Since the 18th century, the state has constantly regulated the life of the Cossack regions, modernized the traditional Cossack management structures in the right direction for itself, turning them into an integral part of the administrative system of the Russian empire.

Since 1721, the Cossack units were under the jurisdiction of the Cossack expedition of the Military Collegium. In the same year, Peter I abolished the election of military chieftains and introduced the institution of chief chieftains appointed by the supreme power. The Cossacks lost their last vestiges of independence after the defeat of the Pugachev rebellion in 1775, when Catherine II liquidated the Zaporozhian Sich. In 1798, by decree of Paul I, all Cossack officer ranks were equated with general army ranks, and their holders received the rights to the nobility. In 1802, the first Regulations for the Cossack troops were developed. Since 1827, the heir to the throne began to be appointed as the august ataman of all Cossack troops. In 1838, the first combat charter for the Cossack units was approved, and in 1857 the Cossacks came under the jurisdiction of the Directorate (from 1867 the Main Directorate) of the irregular (from 1879 - Cossack) troops of the Military Ministry, from 1910 - under the authority of the General Staff.

From the 19th century until the October Revolution, the Cossacks mainly played the role of defenders of the Russian statehood and the support of tsarist power.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian guard included three Cossack regiments. The Cossack Life Guards Regiment was formed in 1798. The regiment distinguished itself in the battles of Austerlitz and Borodino, in the campaign against Paris in 1813-1814 and across the Danube in 1828. The Life Guards Ataman Regiment was formed as part of the Don Cossacks in 1775; in 1859 he became a guard; was considered exemplary among the Cossack regiments. The Consolidated Cossack Life Guards Regiment was formed in 1906, it included one hundred from the Ural and Orenburg Cossack troops, fifty from the Siberian and Transbaikal and a platoon from the Astrakhan, Semirechensk, Amur and Ussuri Cossack troops. In addition, His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy was formed from the Cossacks.

During the civil war, most of the Cossacks opposed the Soviet regime. The Cossack regions became the backbone of the White movement. The largest anti-Bolshevik armed formations of the Cossacks were the Don Army in the south of Russia, the Orenburg and Ural armies in the east. At the same time, part of the Cossacks served in the Red Army. After the revolution, the Cossack troops were disbanded.

During the years of the civil war, the Cossack population was subjected to mass repressions in the process, according to the wording of the directive of the Central Committee of January 24, 1919, merciless mass terror against the tops of the Cossacks "by their total extermination", and the Cossacks, "took any direct or indirect participation in fight against Soviet power”, initiated by the Orgburo of the Central Committee in the person of its Chairman Ya. M. Sverdlov.

In 1936, restrictions on the service of the Cossacks in the Red Army detachments were lifted. This decision received great support in Cossack circles, in particular, the Don Cossacks sent the following letter to the Soviet government, published in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper dated April 24, 1936:

“Let only our Marshals Voroshilov and Budyonny call the cry, we will flock like falcons to defend our Motherland ... Cossack horses in a good body, sharp blades, Don collective farm Cossacks are ready to fight with their breasts for the Soviet Motherland ...”

In accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Defense K. E. Voroshilov No. 67 of April 23, 1936, some cavalry divisions received the status of Cossacks. On May 15, 1936, the 10th Territorial Cavalry North Caucasian Division was renamed the 10th Terek-Stavropol Territorial Cossack Division, the 12th Territorial Cavalry Division stationed in the Kuban was renamed the 12th Kuban Territorial Cossack Division, the 4th Cavalry Leningrad Red Banner the division named after Comrade Voroshilov was renamed the 4th Don Cossack Red Banner Division named after K.E. S. M. Budyonny, the 13th Don Territorial Cossack Division was also formed on the Don. The Kuban Cossacks served in the 72nd Cavalry Division, the 9th Plastun Rifle Division, the 17th Cossack Cavalry Corps (later renamed the 4th Guards Kuban Cavalry Corps), the Orenburg Cossacks served in the 11th (89th) , then the 8th Guards Rivne Order of Lenin, the Order of Suvorov Cossack Cavalry Division and the Cossack Militia Division in Chelyabinsk.

The detachments sometimes included Cossacks who had previously served in the White Army (as, for example, K. I. Nedorubov). By a special act, the wearing of the previously prohibited Cossack uniform was restored. The Cossack units were commanded by N. Ya. Kirichenko, A. G. Selivanov, I. A. Pliev, S. I. Gorshkov, M. F. Maleev, V. S. Golovskoy, F. V. Kamkov, I. V. Tutarinov , Ya. S. Sharaburko, I. P. Kalyuzhny, P. Ya. Strepukhov, M. I. Surzhikov and others. Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky, who commanded the Kuban brigade in the battles on the CER back in 1934, can also be attributed to such commanders. In 1936, the dress uniform for the Cossack units was approved. The Cossacks marched in this uniform at the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945. The first parade in the Red Army with the participation of Cossack units was to take place on May 1, 1936. However, for various reasons, participation in the military parade of the Cossacks was canceled. Only on May 1, 1937, the Cossack units as part of the Red Army marched in a military parade along Red Square.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Cossack units, both regular, as part of the Red Army, and volunteers, took an active part in the hostilities against the Nazi invaders. On August 2, 1942, near the village of Kushchevskaya, the 17th cavalry corps of General N. Ya. Kirichenko, consisting of the 12th and 13th Kuban, 15th and 116th Don Cossack divisions, stopped the offensive of large Wehrmacht forces advancing from Rostov to Krasnodar . In the Kushchevskaya attack, the Cossacks destroyed up to 1800 soldiers and officers, captured 300 people, captured 18 guns and 25 mortars.

On the Don, a Cossack hundred from the village of Berezovskaya under the command of a 52-year-old Cossack, senior lieutenant K. I. Nedorubov, in a battle near Kushchevskaya on August 2, 1942, in hand-to-hand combat destroyed over 200 Wehrmacht soldiers, of which 70 were destroyed by K. I. Nedorubov, who received title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In most cases, the newly formed Cossack units, volunteer Cossack hundreds were poorly armed, as a rule, Cossacks with edged weapons and collective farm horses came to the detachments. Artillery, tanks, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, communications units and sappers, as a rule, were absent in the detachments, in connection with which the detachments suffered huge losses. For example, as mentioned in the leaflets of the Kuban Cossacks, “they jumped from their saddles onto the armor of tanks, covered the viewing slots with cloaks and overcoats, set fire to cars with Molotov cocktails.” Also, a large number of Cossacks volunteered for the national parts of the North Caucasus. Such units were created in the autumn of 1941 following the example of the experience of the First World War. These cavalry units were also popularly called the "Wild Divisions". For example, in the fall of 1941, the 255th separate Chechen-Ingush cavalry regiment was formed in Grozny. It consisted of several hundred Cossack volunteers from among the natives of the Sunzha and Terek villages. The regiment fought near Stalingrad in August 1942, where in two days of fighting, on August 4-5, at the station (passage) Chilekovo (from Kotelnikovo to Stalingrad) lost 302 soldiers led by regimental commissar, Art. Political Commissar M. D. Madaev. Russian-Cossacks among the dead and missing of this regiment in these two days - 57 people. Also, volunteer Cossacks fought in all national cavalry units from the rest of the republics of the North Caucasus.

Since 1943, the Cossack cavalry divisions and tank units were united, in connection with which cavalry-mechanized groups were formed. Horses were used to a greater extent for organizing fast movement; in battle, the Cossacks were involved as infantry. Plastun divisions were also formed from the Kuban and Terek Cossacks. From among the Cossacks, 262 cavalrymen received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 7 cavalry corps and 17 cavalry divisions received guards ranks.

In addition to the Cossack units recreated under Stalin, there were many Cossacks among famous people during the Second World War who fought not in the "branded" Cossack cavalry or plastun units, but in the entire Soviet army or distinguished themselves in military production. For example: tank ace No. 1, Hero of the Soviet Union D. F. Lavrinenko - Kuban Cossack, a native of the village of Fearless; Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops, Hero of the Soviet Union D. M. Karbyshev - a generic Ural Cossack-Kryashen, a native of Omsk; commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral A. A. Golovko - Terek Cossack, a native of the village of Prokhladnaya; weapons designer F. V. Tokarev - a Don Cossack, a native of the village of the Yegorlyk Region of the Don Cossacks; commander of the Bryansk and 2nd Baltic fronts, general of the army, Hero of the Soviet Union M. M. Popov - a Don Cossack, a native of the village of the Ust-Medveditskaya Region of the Don Army, etc.

The Cossacks took an active part in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944.

Cossack troops

By the beginning of the First World War, there were eleven Cossack troops:

1. Don Cossack army, seniority - 1570 (Rostov, Volgograd, Kalmykia, Luhansk, Donetsk);

2. Orenburg Cossack army, 1574 (Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan in Russia, Kustanai in Kazakhstan);

3. Terek Cossack army, 1577 (Stavropol, Kabardino-Balkaria, S. Ossetia, Chechnya, Dagestan);

4. Siberian Cossack army, 1582 (Omsk, Kurgan, Altai Territory, North Kazakhstan, Akmola, Kokchetav, Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, East Kazakhstan);

5. Ural Cossack army, 1591 (until 1775 - Yaitskoye) (Ural, former Guryevskaya in Kazakhstan, Orenburg (Ileksky, Tashlinsky, Pervomaisky districts) in Russia;

6. Transbaikal Cossack army, 1655 (Chita, Buryatia);

7. Kuban Cossack army, 1696 (Krasnodar, Adygea, Stavropol, Karachay-Cherkessia);

8. Astrakhan Cossack army, 1750 (Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov);

9. Semirechensk Cossack army, 1852 (Almaty, Chimkent);

10. Amur Cossack army, 1855 (Amur, Khabarovsk);

11. Ussuri Cossack army, 1865 (Primorsky, Khabarovsk);

During the collapse of the Russian Empire and the civil war, several Cossack state entities were proclaimed:

· Kuban People's Republic;

Don Cossack Republic;

· Terek Cossack Republic;

Ural Cossack Republic

· Siberian-Semirechensk Cossack Republic;

· Trans-Baikal Cossack Republic;

In addition to differences in uniform between the various Cossack troops, there were also differences in the color of uniforms, bloomers and stripes with cap bands:

1. Amur Cossacks - dark green uniforms, yellow stripes, green shoulder straps, dark green cap with a yellow band;

2. Astrakhan Cossacks - blue uniforms, yellow stripes, yellow shoulder strap, blue cap with a yellow band;

3. Volga Cossacks - blue uniforms, red stripes, red shoulder strap with red edging, blue cap with a red band;

4. Don Cossacks - blue uniforms, red stripes, blue epaulets with red edging, blue cap with a red band;

5. Yenisei Cossacks - a khaki uniform, red stripes, a red shoulder strap, a khaki cap with a red band;

6. Trans-Baikal Cossacks - dark green uniforms, yellow stripes, yellow epaulets, dark green cap with a yellow band;

7. Kuban Cossacks - a black or so-called lilac Circassian coat with gazyrs, black trousers with a raspberry half-lamp, a hat or Kubanka (for scouts) with a raspberry top, raspberry shoulder straps and a cap. The Terek Cossacks have the same, only the colors are light blue;

8. Orenburg Cossacks - dark green uniforms (chekmen), gray-blue bloomers, light blue stripes, light blue shoulder straps, dark green cap crowns with light blue edging and a band;

9. Siberian Cossacks - a khaki uniform, scarlet stripes, scarlet shoulder straps, a khaki cap with a scarlet band;

10. Terek Cossacks - black uniform, light blue piping, light blue shoulder strap, black cap with a light blue band;

11. Ural Cossacks - blue uniforms, crimson stripes, crimson shoulder strap, blue cap with a crimson band;

12. Ussuri Cossacks - dark green uniforms, yellow stripes, yellow epaulets with a green edging, dark green cap with a yellow band;

The attitude towards modern Cossacks in Russia is no less controversial than the role of the Cossacks themselves in the development of the state and society. Some call these people, claiming the status of a separate class, mummers and pseudo-patriots, others see in the Cossacks the beginnings of the revival of the foundations of morality and culture of that Russia that we once lost. However, modern Cossacks are a whole phenomenon, which, like any other phenomenon, is difficult to give an unambiguous assessment, and even all external attempts an unambiguous assessment will be obviously one-sided and therefore meaningless. Therefore, we will try to look at the representatives of the modern Cossacks from different angles. There is only one goal: to try to clarify the situation with what the people who call themselves Cossacks are in reality.

We will not touch on the historical aspect of the appearance of the Cossacks in the history of Russia, because this topic has already been voiced on the Military Review. We will focus on the modern stage of the existence of the Russian Cossack.

First you need to make an attempt to separate the flies from the cutlets. The fact is that the Cossacks (at least from the position that is indicated today) are by no means presented as an ethnic layer, but rather as a public organization designed to solve certain problems. What problems? Whose problems? And here is the main question. Someone uses the term “Cossack” itself as a kind of synonym for honor and devotion, patriotism and the depth of moral traditions, and someone is ready to make this word for themselves a certain set of preferences that allow them to satisfy their unbridled pride. Some are quite ready to serve the Fatherland on a voluntary basis, while others are trying to hastily make a banal PR campaign from the very statements about hypothetical service to the Motherland, which, in the opinion of such people, can add certain social, and even political, bonuses to them.

Here are a few examples of how the Cossacks of the new generation have managed to prove themselves recently. In order for the situation to be presented as fully as possible, and everyone to be able to appreciate the role of the Cossacks in public life, we will present several stories, both positive and negative.

Since the end of last year, the situation with the so-called Cossack patrols in large cities of Russia has somewhat calmed down. The activities of the Cossacks, who, in agreement with local law enforcement agencies, took to the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh to carry out law enforcement activities, received diametrically opposite assessments. Some, seeing people in a uniform that was not assigned to any of the military or police units, openly expressed their negativity and clearly did not intend to obey the requirements of the Cossack patrol. Others reacted quite calmly and believed that the protection of public order with the use of Cossack squads was an event that manifested itself quite positively.

The Cossack of the VKO "Reserve Cossack Army" "The Great Don Army" A. Popov tells:

I, as an ordinary Cossack, was involved in the protection of public order during the celebration of the day of the city. The task before me and a group of other Cossacks was the following: we had to prevent people who were pretty tipsy from crowded places, and if they wanted to go to the festivities, report the incident to their immediate head. He had already contacted the police, who tied up the bully. We did not have the authority to take measures against violators ourselves.

Another case.
Moscow. End of last year. Belorussky railway station. A group of Cossacks, which was later presented as a Cossack patrol, carried out law enforcement already in the presence of broader powers, which caused a discussion in society. We are talking about the fact that the Cossack patrol carried out a raid and identified places of illegal trade. It was discussed that the Cossacks, when identifying places of illegal trade, proceeded to seize the goods and load them into a prepared bus. As the Cossacks themselves claimed, the bus belonged to the OBEP, and all their actions with the OBEP were coordinated. However, after such a zealous performance of duties by the Cossacks, information began to slip in the press that the Cossacks had become a tool for dividing the market in a very lively place for trade in the capital.

Cossack patrol in Moscow at work

After that sensational raid, the first deputy chieftain of the Central Cossack Army, General Kolesnikov, himself said that the first attempt could not be called the most successful. Obviously, new attempts were also discussed to take part in the raids of the Cossacks in Moscow, but these raids clearly did not become systematic. Apparently, the whole point is that the authorities themselves (not only regional, but also federal) have not yet decided what to do with such “happiness” (or without quotes?) as the modern Cossacks. If you give authority, - the authorities think, - they can sit on the neck; if you don't give them authority, the electorate will be lost, and the votes are so needed... In general, a whole dilemma.

One of the governors who decided to regulate the activities of the Cossacks in his region, today is the head of the Voronezh region, Alexei Gordeev. Not so long ago, he discussed with the leaders of the local Cossacks the problems of interaction between the Cossacks and local authorities. At the meeting, the ataman of the Central Cossack Army V. Nalimov came up with a proposal for the Ministry of Education to create an educational institution in the region, which would be called a single Cossack cadet corps. Vyacheslav Nalimov connects the very possibility of creating such an educational institution in the region with the fact that Cossack traditions are strong in the region and there are all opportunities for implementing this kind of idea. In addition, Ataman Nalimov proposed to Governor Gordeev to create a military training and methodological center for the Cossack army, which could become a place for high-quality training of young Voronezh residents for military service. It is planned that such a center could be located north of the capital of the Chernozem region. Aleksey Gordeev promised that he was ready to personally contribute to the implementation of the plans, because they are primarily aimed at caring for the younger generation and at implementing plans for comprehensive pre-conscription training.

Raising the national flag in the Matvey Platov Cadet Cossack Corps (Voronezh Region)

Winter training camp of cadets Matvey Platov of the cadet Cossack corps (Voronezh region)

Against this seemingly favorable background of interaction between the Cossacks and the official authorities, the same Voronezh region is turning into a place of active confrontation between the Cossack squads and those who are trying to promote a business project to develop nickel deposits in the Khopersky Reserve. The company, which is going to start developing nickel in the so-called Elanskoye deposit in the near future, is meeting with public resistance unprecedented in modern Russia, which the Cossacks have also supported. For several months, in the place where the developer is going to mine the metal (and this is literally the very heart of the fertile black soil of Russia), the Cossacks of the Second Khoper District set up posts. The Cossacks have already promised that if they see heavy equipment and people preparing to develop the Voronezh subsoil on the territory of the reserve, they are ready to give a real fight to the representatives of the mining company.

Cossack post at the site of preparation for the development of a nickel deposit (Voronezh region) (conversation with the police)

These words of the Cossack chieftains evoked approval from the local population and the situation began to look very tense also because in one of his interviews, Governor Gordeev stated that he would not allow the Voronezh black soil to be destroyed exactly until the moment he occupies the governor's chair. However, despite this, the business lobby promotes the idea of ​​development security. True, at the same time, representatives of this very lobby do not mention that the nickel deposit near Voronezh was known back in the Soviet years. But at that time, a number of scientists published materials, according to which nickel mining in the Chernozem region could lead to severe environmental consequences. Moreover, the content of nickel in the ore in the region is relatively low, and therefore it is not a fact that mining will be profitable. The prospect of getting a practically dehydrated and pitted desert instead of fertile soils, which may eventually be declared “not a very successful outcome of the nickel mining project,” obviously does not impress Voronezh residents.

The confrontation between the public, which is indirectly supported by the governor Gordeev and not even indirectly - representatives of the 2nd Khoper district of the Cossack VVD, and lobbyists-miners is beginning to show real sharpness. Literally the other day, sentries of that same Cossack post at the deposit stopped a group of prospectors who were preparing to start the next portion of research work. Having found out whose interests the geologists represent, as well as their determination to start their work, the Voronezh Cossacks, together with other local residents, decided to show the “guests” all their “cordiality”. As a result, the meeting ended with the fact that geologists thoroughly received Cossack whips, after which they turned to the police. A criminal case was initiated against the Cossacks and a number of environmentalists.

The police are increasingly visiting the Cossack post

After this "first nickel fight", the public was once again divided. Some called the Cossacks "disguised PR people", while others, on the contrary, stood up for them, stating that this, apparently, is the only force that can still oppose the barbaric attitude towards Russian wealth.

Appeal of the Cossacks to President Vladimir Putin

And here is a bright representative of the "mummer hundreds"

Recall that in September last year, Vladimir Putin approved the strategy of the Russian Cossacks. Here are a few paragraphs from the document:
a) the involvement of the Russian Cossacks in the performance of tasks to ensure the security and defense of the Russian Federation, the passage of members of the Cossack societies of military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies, the inclusion of members of the Cossack societies in the mobilization human reserve to ensure guaranteed understaffing in the established terms of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as the creation of an effective system of military registration of members of the Cossack societies;
b) involvement of the Russian Cossacks in the protection of public order and ensuring environmental and fire safety, in the implementation of measures for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations and the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters, civil defense, environmental protection activities;
c) involvement of the Russian Cossacks in the protection of the state border of the Russian Federation;
d) maximum use of the potential of Cossack societies in places of traditional and compact residence of Cossacks to involve members of these societies in the protection of forests, wildlife, cultural heritage sites;
e) involvement of the Russian Cossacks in public and other service in other areas of activity in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The Strategy spells out, among other things, both the historical Cossack heraldry and the system for the development of new heraldic signs, uniforms, awards and insignia.

The main thing is that both the Cossacks and the state should not forget that their main goal is still the protection of the rights and freedoms of all citizens of Russia without exception, and not just those who are included in the galaxy of the elite, worthy of special attention. I would like to believe that in this regard, the state and modern Cossacks are unanimous.

Cossacks ... A very special social stratum, estate, class. Its own, as experts would say, subculture: the manner of dressing, speaking, behaving. Peculiar songs. A sharpened concept of honor and dignity. Pride in one's own identity. Courage and dashing in the most terrible battle. For some time now, the history of Russia has been unimaginable without the Cossacks. Here are just the current "heirs" - for the most part, "mummers", impostors. To our great regret, the Bolsheviks did their best to uproot the real Cossacks even in the civil war. Those who were not destroyed were rotted in prisons and camps. Alas, the destroyed cannot be returned. To honor traditions and not become Ivans, not remembering kinship ...

History of the Don Cossacks

Don Cossacks Oddly enough, even the exact date of birth of the Don Cossacks is known. She became January 3, 1570. Ivan the Terrible, having defeated the Tatar khanates, in fact, provided the Cossacks with every opportunity to settle in new territories, settle down and take root. The Cossacks were proud of their freedom, although they took an oath of allegiance to one or another king. The kings, in turn, were in no hurry to enslave this dashing gang completely.

During the Time of Troubles, the Cossacks turned out to be very active and active. However, they often took the side of one or another impostor, and by no means stood guard over statehood and the law. One of the famous Cossack chieftains - Ivan Zarutsky - even himself was not averse to reigning in Moscow. In the 17th century, the Cossacks actively explored the Black and Azov Seas.

In a sense, they became sea pirates, corsairs, terrifying merchants and merchants. The Cossacks often found themselves next to the Cossacks. Peter the Great officially included the Cossacks in the Russian Empire, obliged them to the sovereign service, and abolished the election of atamans. The Cossacks began to take an active part in all the wars waged by Russia, in particular, with Sweden and Prussia, as well as in the First World War.

Many of the Don people did not accept the Bolsheviks and fought against them, and then went into exile. Well-known figures of the Cossack movement - P.N. Krasnov and A.G. Shkuro - actively collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War. In the era of Gorbachev's perestroika, they started talking about the revival of the Don Cossacks. However, on this wave there was a lot of muddy foam, following fashion, outright speculation. To date, almost none of the so-called. Don Cossacks, and even more so chieftains, by origin and by rank, are not.

History of the Kuban Cossacks

Kuban Cossack The emergence of the Kuban Cossacks dates back to a later time than the Don Cossacks, only to the second half of the 19th century. The place of deployment of the Kuban was the North Caucasus, the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, the Rostov Region, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia. The center was the city of Ekaterinodar. Seniority belonged to the koshevoy and kuren chieftains. Later, one or another Russian emperor began to appoint the supreme chieftains personally.

Historically, after Catherine II disbanded the Zaporozhian Sich, several thousand Cossacks fled to the Black Sea coast and tried to restore the Sich there, under the auspices of the Turkish Sultan. Later, they again turned to face the Fatherland, made a significant contribution to the victory over the Turks, for which they were granted the lands of Taman and Kuban, and the lands were given to them for eternal and hereditary use.

Kuban can be described as a free paramilitary association. The population was engaged in agriculture, led a settled way of life, and fought only for state needs. Newcomers and fugitives from the central regions of Russia were willingly accepted here. They mixed with the local population and became "their own".

In the fire of the revolution and civil war, the Cossacks were forced to constantly maneuver between the Reds and the Whites, looking for a "third way", trying to defend their identity and independence. In 1920, the Bolsheviks finally abolished both the Kuban army and the Republic. Massive repressions, evictions, famine and dispossession followed. Only in the second half of the 1930s the Cossacks were partially rehabilitated, the Kuban choir was restored. During the Great Patriotic War, the Cossacks fought on an equal footing with others, mainly together with the regular units of the Red Army.

History of the Terek Cossacks

Terek Cossacks The Terek Cossacks arose approximately at the same time as the Kuban Cossacks - in 1859, according to the date of the defeat of the troops of the Chechen Imam Shamil. In the Cossack power hierarchy, the Tertsy were the third in seniority. They settled along such rivers as Kura, Terek, Sunzha. Headquarters of the Terek Cossack army - the city of Vladikavkaz. The settlement of the territories began in the 16th century.

The Cossacks were in charge of protecting the border territories, but sometimes they themselves did not disdain raids on the possessions of the Tatar princelings. The Cossacks often had to defend themselves from mountain raids. However, close proximity to the highlanders brought the Cossacks not only negative emotions. The Tertsy adopted some linguistic expressions from the highlanders, and in particular the details of clothing and ammunition: cloaks and hats, daggers and sabers.

The centers of concentration of the Terek Cossacks became the founded cities of Kizlyar and Mozdok. In 1917, the Tertsy self-proclaimed independence and established a republic. With the final establishment of Soviet power, the Tertsy suffered the same dramatic fate as the Kuban and Donets: mass repressions and eviction.

Interesting Facts

In 1949, the lyrical comedy directed by Ivan Pyryev "Kuban Cossacks" was released on the Soviet screen. Despite the obvious varnishing of reality and the smoothing of socio-political conflicts, the mass audience fell in love with it, and the song “What were you like” is performed from the stage to this day.
Interestingly, the very word "Cossack" in translation from the Turkic language means a free, freedom-loving, proud person. So the name stuck to these people, to know, is far from accidental.
The Cossack does not bow to any authorities, he is fast and free, like the wind.