How many Cossack troops existed. The history of the emergence and spread of the Cossacks

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;

Cossacks are an integral part of Russian history and culture. Their images - principled, bold and strong-willed - come to life on the pages of the immortal works of N. V. Gogol, M. A. Sholokhov and L. N. Tolstoy. Napoleon admired the Cossacks, called them the best light troops, with which he would go through the whole world. Fearless warriors and pioneers of the Russian outskirts in the Soviet period fell into the millstones of Stalinist repressions and would have sunk into oblivion, if not for the Russian government, which attempted to preserve and revive this cultural and ethnic community. What came of it, and what modern Cossacks do, read in the article.

Cossacks in national history

In the scientific community, there is some confusion about who the Cossacks are - a separate ethnic group, an independent nationality, or even a special nation descended from the Turks and Slavs. The reason for the uncertainty lies in the lack of reliable written sources that shed light on the appearance of the Cossacks, as well as many alleged ancestors, including Tatars, Scythians, Kasogs, Khazars, Kirghiz, Slavs, etc. More or less unanimous opinion, scientists adhere to the place and time of the birth of the Cossacks : in the 14th century, the uninhabited expanses of the steppe in the lower reaches of the Don and Dnieper began to replenish with immigrants from neighboring principalities, fugitive peasants and other ethno-social groups. As a result, two large associations were formed: the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks.

The etymology of the word "Cossack" also has several versions. According to one of them, the word means a free nomad, according to another - a hired worker or warrior, according to the third - a steppe robber. All versions, one way or another, create the image of a Cossack and have the right to exist. The Cossacks, indeed, were considered free people, excellent warriors who were trained in military skills from childhood and who had no equal in horseback riding. Including thanks to the Cossacks, the southern and eastern lands were annexed to Russia, and the state borders were protected from the conquerors.

Cossacks and state power

Depending on the relationship with the ruling elite, the Cossacks were divided into free and service. The first were disgusted by state pressure, so they often expressed their dissatisfaction with the uprisings, the most famous of which were led by Razin, Bulavin and Pugachev. The second were subordinate to the royal power and received salaries and lands for their service. The system of organizing Cossack life was distinguished by democratic rules, and all fundamental decisions were made at special meetings. At the end of the 17th century, the Cossacks swore allegiance to the Russian throne, throughout the 18th century the state reformed the management structure of the Cossacks in the right direction for itself, and from the beginning of the 19th century until the 1917 revolution, the Cossacks were the most valuable link in the Russian army. In the initial Soviet era, a policy of decossackization was carried out, accompanied by mass repressions of the Cossacks, and since 1936 the restoration of the Cossacks began with the possibility of joining the Red Army. Already in the Second World War, the Cossacks were again able to prove themselves from the best side.

However, during the period of the Soviet Union, the culture of the Cossacks began to be forgotten, but after the collapse of the USSR, its revival began.

Rehabilitation of the Cossacks

The declaration on the rehabilitation of the Russian Cossacks, subjected to repression, was adopted shortly before the collapse of the USSR in 1989. In 1992, the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation and the Decree of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation were issued, which fixed the provisions regarding the restoration and functioning of the Cossack societies. In 1994, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation began to operate, which determined the development strategy for the Cossacks, in particular, the civil service of the Cossacks. As noted in the document, it was during the period of public service that the Cossacks acquired their characteristic features, therefore, in order to revive the Cossacks as a whole, it is necessary first of all to restore their state status. In 2008, an updated concept of state policy towards the Cossacks was adopted, the key goals of which were actions aimed at developing the state and other services of the Cossacks, as well as actions to revive traditions and educate the young generation of Cossacks. In 2012, the Strategy for the Development of the Russian Cossacks until 2020 was published. Its key task is to promote partnerships between the state and the Cossacks. The state register is carried out by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and its territorial bodies. Information to be included in the register: type of company, name of the company, address, total number and number of people involved in public or other service, the charter of the company and other data.

Below in the photo are modern Cossacks.

Priority areas of state policy

With regard to the Russian Cossacks, the Government of the Russian Federation has set the following priorities:

• involvement in the civil service (or other service), as well as the improvement of the legal, economic and organizational foundations of the service;
• education of the younger generation;
• development of rural territories and agro-industrial complex in the places of residence of the Cossack communities;
• improvement of local self-government.

The main activities of modern Cossacks

Cossacks in Russia are citizens of the Russian Federation who are members of Cossack societies and are direct descendants of the Cossacks or citizens who wish to join the ranks of the Cossacks. Societies are a non-commercial form of self-organization of citizens of the Russian Federation for the revival of the traditions of the Cossacks in the country.

The Cossack society is created in the form of a farm, village, city, district (yurt), district (departmental) or military Cossack society, whose members, in the prescribed manner, assume obligations to perform state or other service. The management of the Cossack society is carried out by the supreme governing body of the Cossack society, the ataman of the Cossack society, as well as other management bodies of the Cossack society, formed in accordance with the charter of the Cossack society.

In fact, military Cossack societies are at the top of the hierarchy.

Public service, to which modern Cossacks are involved:

• Education of conscripts.
• Implementation of measures to prevent and eliminate the consequences of emergencies.
• Civil defense.
• Territory defense.
• Nature protection activity.
• Public order protection.
• Ensuring fire safety.
• Ensuring environmental safety.
• Fight against terrorism.
• Protection of forests, wildlife.
• Protection of the borders of the Russian Federation.
• Protection of state and other important facilities.

The revived Cossacks: myth or real power?

Disputes about how to treat the Cossacks do not subside. Many call modern Cossacks mummers, props, a completely unnecessary link in the already numerous law enforcement agencies. In addition, there is great uncertainty in the distribution of budgetary funds among the Cossacks, and there are questions about the financial statements of the Cossack societies. The actions of some Cossacks fall under criminal or administrative prosecution, which also does not help to consolidate the positive reputation of the Cossacks. In the understanding of Russians, modern Cossacks are either public figures, or additional law enforcement agencies, or idlers dependent on the state, or second-rate unskilled employees who take on any job. All this uncertainty, the lack of a single ideological line, even between the Cossack communities of the same territory, creates obstacles in the revival of the Cossacks and a positive attitude towards the Cossacks on the part of citizens. A slightly different opinion about the Cossacks is shared by the population of the historically Cossack capitals - there the phenomenon of the Cossacks is perceived much more naturally than, say, in the capital of the country. We are talking about the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region.

Cossack societies function in many subjects of Russia. The largest military Cossack societies are the Great Don Host, the Kuban Cossack Host and the Siberian Cossack Host. was formed in 1860. To date, it includes more than 500 Cossack societies. Cossack patrols are a common occurrence for many Kuban cities. Together with the police, they prevented many crimes throughout the region. The Kuban Cossacks successfully participate in the aftermath of an emergency (for example, the Crimean flood), help prevent local conflicts, in particular, during the annexation of Crimea. They also participate in law enforcement at various events, including world-class events (2014 Olympics, Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix), serve at border posts, detect poachers, and much more.

The current governor of the Krasnodar Territory (like previous governors) is striving to support the Cossacks in every possible way: to expand the circle of their powers, to involve young people, etc. As a result, the role of modern Cossacks in the life of the region is growing every year.

Don Cossacks

The Don Cossacks are the oldest and most numerous Cossack army in Russia. The Great Don Army carries out public service and participates in military-patriotic work. Protection of public order, military service, border protection, protection of social facilities, counteraction to drug trafficking, anti-terrorist operations - these and other tasks are performed by modern Don Cossacks. Of the well-known events in which they participated, one can note the peacekeeping operation in South Ossetia and the raid on the Azov large landing ship against Somali pirates.

Uniform and awards of the Cossacks

Heraldic traditions span more than one century. The modern form of the Cossacks is divided into front, everyday and field, as well as summer and winter. The rules for sewing and wearing clothes, the rules for wearing shoulder straps in accordance with the Cossack rank are defined. There are certain differences between the Cossack troops in the shape and color of uniforms, bloomers, stripes, bands of caps and the top of the hat. Changes in the award policy entailed the approval of orders, medals, military and badges, which, on the one hand, preserve the traditions of the Russian Cossacks, and on the other, have their own distinctive features.

Conclusion

So, the Cossacks in modern Russia are divided according to the territorial basis, the type of society in which they are members, and they are also registered and non-registered. Public service can only be carried out and the highest Cossack societies, in fact, are military Cossack societies. Each society has its Charter, form and structure. In Russia at this stage, the most significant are the All-Great Host of the Don and the Kuban Cossack Host. Kuban and Don Cossacks continue the traditions of their glorious ancestors, solve law enforcement and other tasks, and their ranks are replenished with young cadres every year.

According to unconfirmed data (during the years of the revolution and the Civil War, there was no accurate accounting of the population), the number of Russian Cossacks varied from 4 to 6 million. The most numerous among the Russian Cossacks, according to the 1897 census, was the Don Army - over a million people (about a third of the total number of Cossacks of that time). Taking into account the directive of L.D. Trotsky about the Cossacks, as the only population capable of self-organization and therefore subject to total destruction, the "Donets" in the end, more than the rest, and drank from the Soviets.
At first, the Bolsheviks tried to flirt with the Cossacks, publishing literally in the first days after the assertion of their power, December 7, 1917, "Appeal to the labor Cossacks." In tsarist Russia, the Cossacks served the sovereign for 20 years, and the full equipment before being sent to the army (weapons, uniforms, horses, etc.) had to be prepared by the conscripts themselves. The Soviet government, according to the decree, introduced compulsory military service for the Cossacks liable for military service instead of long-term, full equipment, weapons and other support at the expense of the state, freedom of movement.
However, already in April 1919, after it became clear that the majority of the Cossacks did not actively welcome the Soviet government, to put it mildly, the Don Bureau of the RCP (b) decides that the very existence of the Don Cossacks is a counter-revolutionary threat and "the greatest danger" for the Soviet government. The decision clearly states the need for a "quick and decisive" neutralization of the self-organizing Cossacks. Repressions, mass terror are the most effective methods for this. Plus landlessness, confiscation of fishing equipment, predatory taxation.
According to the study of the Doctor of Historical Sciences, the historian of the Cossacks L. I. Futuryansky, the process of decossackization that began in 1919 as a process started precisely from the Don Cossack Army and led to a split in the Cossack army. Historians give different data about the victims of this confrontation. The author of the book "Mironov" Yevgeny Fedorovich Losev cites a figure exceeding a thousand people who became victims of the red terror unleashed by the Soviets against the Don Cossacks. Associate Professor of the Russian State University R. G. Babichev (hereditary Cossack) in his historical study claims that the troops of the White General Krasnov during their stay on the Don shot and hanged 45 thousand Cossacks who accepted Soviet power.
According to historians, the majority of the Cossack troops for a long time tried to remain neutral when choosing between the white and red movements, but the furious red terror prompted the Cossacks to join the active opponents of Soviet power.

In Russian history, the Cossacks are a unique phenomenon. This is a society that has become one of the reasons that allowed the Russian Empire to grow to such a huge size, and most importantly, to secure new lands, turning them into full-fledged components of one great country.

There are so many hypotheses about the term "Cossacks" that it becomes clear that its origin is unknown, and it is useless to argue about it without new data. Another dispute that researchers of the Cossacks are conducting is a separate ethnic group or part of the Russian people? Speculation on this topic is beneficial to the enemies of Russia, who dream of dividing it into many small states, and therefore are constantly fed from outside.

The history of the emergence and spread of the Cossacks

In the post-perestroika years, the country was flooded with translations of foreign children's literature, and in American children's books on geography, Russians were surprised to find that on the maps of Russia there is a huge area - Cossackia. There lived a "special people" - the Cossacks.

The vast majority of them themselves consider themselves the most “correct” Russians and the most ardent defenders of Orthodoxy, and the history of Russia is the best confirmation of this.

For the first time they were mentioned in the annals of the XIV century. It is reported that in Sugdey, the current Sudak, a certain Almalchu died, stabbed to death by the Cossacks. Then Sudak was the center of the slave trade in the Northern Black Sea region, and if it were not for the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, then much more captive Slavs, Circassians, and Greeks would get there.

Also in the annals of 1444 "The Tale of Mustafa Tsarevich" Ryazan Cossacks are mentioned, who fought with Ryazanians and Muscovites against this Tatar prince. In this case, they are positioned as guards or the city of Ryazan, or the borders of the Ryazan principality, and came to the aid of the princely squad.

That is, the first sources show the duality of the Cossacks. This term was called, firstly, the free peoples who settled on the outskirts of Russian lands, and secondly, service people, both city guards and border troops.

Free Cossacks led by atamans

Who mastered the southern outskirts of Rus'? These are hunters and runaway peasants, people who were looking for a better life and fleeing hunger, as well as those who were in trouble with the law. They were joined by all foreigners, who also could not sit in one place, and possibly the remnants that inhabited this territory - the Khazars, Scythians, Huns.

Having formed squads and choosing chieftains, they fought, now for, then against those with whom they neighbored. Gradually, the Zaporozhian Sich was formed. Its entire history is participation in all the wars of the region, incessant uprisings, the conclusion of agreements with neighbors and their violation. The faith of the Cossacks of this region was a strange mixture of Christianity and paganism. They were Orthodox and, at the same time, extremely superstitious - they believed in sorcerers (who were highly respected), signs, the evil eye, etc.

The heavy hand of the Russian Empire calmed them down (and even then not immediately), which already in the 19th century formed the Azov Cossack army from the Cossacks, which mainly guarded the Caucasian coast, and managed to show itself in the Crimean War, where the scouts - scouts of their troops showed amazing dexterity and prowess .

Few people now remember the plastuns, but the comfortable and sharp plastun knives are still popular and can be purchased today at Ali Askerov's store - kavkazsuvenir.ru.

In 1860, the resettlement of the Cossacks to the Kuban began, where, after joining with other Cossack regiments, the Kuban Cossack army was created from them. Approximately also formed another free army - the Don. For the first time it is mentioned in a complaint sent to Tsar Ivan the Terrible by the Nogai prince Yusuf, outraged that the people of the Don and the “cities have done it” and that his people are “guarded, taken away, beaten to death.”

People, for various reasons, who fled to the outskirts of the country, huddled together in gangs, elected chieftains and lived as best they could - by hunting, robbery, raids and serving neighbors when another war happened. This brought them closer to the Cossacks - they went on campaigns together, even on sea trips.

But the participation of the Cossacks in popular uprisings forced the Russian tsars to restore order in their territories. Peter I included this region in the Russian Empire, obliged its inhabitants to serve in the tsarist army, and ordered to build a number of fortresses on the Don.

Engagement in public service

Apparently, almost simultaneously with the free Cossacks, Cossacks appeared in Rus' and in the Commonwealth, as a branch of the army. Often these were the same free Cossacks, who at first simply fought as mercenaries, guarding borders and embassies for a fee. Gradually, they turned into a separate estate that performed the same functions.

The history of the Russian Cossacks is rich in events and extremely confusing, but in short - first Rus', then the Russian Empire expanded its borders almost throughout its history. Sometimes for the sake of the land and hunting grounds, sometimes for self-defense, as in the case of the Crimea and, but there were always Cossacks among the selected troops and they also settled on the conquered lands. Or at first they settled on free lands, and then the king brought them into obedience.

They built villages, cultivated the land, defended territories from neighbors who did not want to live peacefully, or natives who were dissatisfied with joining. They lived peacefully with civilians, partially adopting their customs, clothes, language, cuisine and music. This led to the fact that the clothes of the Cossacks of different regions of Russia are seriously different, the dialect, customs and songs are also different.

The most striking example of this is the Cossacks of the Kuban and the Terek, who rather quickly adopted from the peoples of the Caucasus such elements of highlander clothing as the Circassian. Their music and songs also acquired Caucasian motifs, for example, Cossack, very similar to mountain music. Thus, a unique cultural phenomenon arose, which anyone can get acquainted with by going to a concert of the Kuban Cossack Choir.

The largest Cossack troops in Russia

By the end of the 17th century, the Cossacks in Russia gradually began to transform into those associations that made the whole world consider them the elite of the Russian army. The process ended in the 19th century, and the Great October Revolution and the Civil War that followed it put an end to the entire system.

During that period there were:

• Don Cossacks.

How they appeared is described above, and their sovereign service began in 1671, after the oath to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. But only Peter the Great transformed them completely, forbade the choice of chieftains, introduced his own hierarchy.

As a result, the Russian Empire received, although at first not very disciplined, but on the other hand, a brave and experienced army, which was mainly used to protect the southern and eastern borders of the country.

• Khopersky.

These inhabitants of the upper reaches of the Don were mentioned back in the days of the Golden Horde, and were immediately positioned as "Kozatsi". Unlike the free people who lived down the Don, they were excellent business executives - they had well-functioning self-government, built fortresses, shipyards, raised cattle, plowed the land.

Joining the Russian Empire was quite painful - the Khopers managed to take part in the uprisings. They were subjected to repressions and reorganizations, to be part of the Don and Astrakhan troops. In the spring of 1786, they strengthened the Caucasian line, forcibly relocating to the Caucasus. Then they were replenished with baptized Persians and Kalmyks, of whom 145 families were assigned to them. But this is the history of the Kuban Cossacks.

It is interesting that more than once representatives of other nationalities joined them. After the Patriotic War of 1812, the Orenburg Cossack army was assigned thousands who had accepted Russian citizenship, the French - former prisoners of war. And the Poles from Napoleon's army became Siberian Cossacks, which only the Polish surnames of their descendants now remind of.

• Khlynovsky.

Founded by Novgorodians in the 10th century, the city of Khlynov on the Vyatka River gradually became the developed center of a large region. Remoteness from the capital allowed the Vyatichi people to create their own self-government, and by the 15th century they began to seriously annoy all their neighbors. Ivan III stopped this freemen, defeating them and annexing these lands to Rus'.

The leaders were executed, the nobility settled in towns near Moscow, the rest were identified as slaves. A considerable part of them with their families managed to leave on ships - to the Northern Dvina, to the Volga, to the Upper Kama and Chusovaya. Later, the merchants Stroganovs hired their detachments to guard their estates near the Urals, as well as to conquer Siberian lands.

• Meshchersky.

These are the only Cossacks who were not originally of Slavic origin. Their lands - Meshcherskaya Ukraine, located between the Oka, Meshchera and Tsna, were inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes, mixed with the Turks - Polovtsians and Berendeys. Their main activity is cattle breeding and robberies (Cossacks) - neighbors and merchants.

In the XIV century, they already served the Russian tsars - the protection of embassies sent to the Crimea, Turkey and Siberia. At the end of the 15th century, they are mentioned as a military estate that participated in campaigns against Azov and Kazan, guarding the borders of Rus' from Nagais and Kalmyks. For supporting the impostors in the Time of Troubles, the Meshcheryaks were expelled from the country. Part chose Lithuania, the other settled in the Kostroma Territory and then participated in the formation of the Orenburg and Bashkir-Meshcheryak Cossack troops.

• Seversky.

These are the descendants of the northerners - one of the East Slavic tribes. In the XIV-XV centuries they had self-government of the Zaporizhzhya type and were often subjected to raids by their restless neighbors - the Horde. The sevryuks, hardened in battles, were gladly taken into service by the Moscow and Lithuanian princes.

The Time of Troubles also marked the beginning of their end - for participation in the uprising of Bolotnikov. The lands of the Seversky Cossacks were colonized by Moscow, and in 1619 they were generally divided between it and the Commonwealth. Most of the sevryuks passed into the position of the peasantry, some moved to the Zaporozhye or Don lands.

• Volga.

These are the same Khlynovites who, having settled in the Zhiguli mountains, robbed on the Volga. The Moscow tsars failed to calm them down, which, however, did not prevent them from using their services. Yermak, a native of these places, with his army in the 16th century conquered Siberia for Russia, in the 17th century the entire Volga army defended it from the Kalmyk Horde.

They helped the Don and Cossacks to fight the Turks, then served in the Caucasus, preventing the Circassians, Kabardians, Turks and Persians from raiding Russian territories. During the reign of Peter I, they participated in all his campaigns. At the beginning of the 18th century, he ordered to rewrite them, and make them into one army - the Volga.

• Kuban.

After the Russian-Turkish war, it became necessary to populate new lands and, at the same time, find a use for the Cossacks - violent and poorly controlled subjects of the Russian Empire. They were granted Taman with its surroundings, and they themselves received the name - the Black Sea Cossack Host.

Then, after long negotiations, the Kuban was also given to them. It was an impressive resettlement of the Cossacks - about 25 thousand people moved to a new homeland, started creating a defensive line and managing the new lands.

Now this is reminiscent of a monument to the Cossacks - the founders of the Kuban land, installed in the Krasnodar Territory. Reorganization under common standards, changing uniforms to the clothes of mountaineers, as well as replenishment with Cossack regiments from other regions of the country and simply peasants and retired soldiers led to the creation of a completely new community.

Role and place in the history of the country

From the above, historically established communities, the following Cossack troops were formed by the beginning of the 20th century:

1. Amur.
2. Astrakhan.
3. Don.
4. Transbaikal.
5. Kuban.
6. Orenburg.
7. Semirechenskoe.
8. Siberian.
9. Ural.
10. Ussuri.

By that time there were almost 3 million of them (with their families), which is a little more than 2% of the country's population. At the same time, they participated in all the more or less important events of the country - in the protection of borders and important persons, military campaigns and accompaniment of scientific expeditions, in the pacification of popular unrest and national pogroms.

They proved themselves to be real heroes during the First World War and, according to some historians, stained themselves with the Lena massacre. After the revolution, some of them joined the White Guard movement, some enthusiastically accepted the power of the Bolsheviks.

Probably, not a single historical document can so accurately and poignantly retell what was happening then among the Cossacks, as the writer Mikhail Sholokhov was able to do in his works.

Unfortunately, the troubles of this estate did not stop there - the new government began to consistently pursue a policy of decossackization, taking away their privileges and repressing those who dared to object. The unification into collective farms also could not be called smooth.

In the Great Patriotic War, the Cossack cavalry and plastun divisions, which were returned to their traditional form, showed good training, military ingenuity, courage and real heroism. Seven cavalry corps and 17 cavalry divisions were given guard ranks. Many people from the Cossack estate served in other parts, including volunteers. In just four years of the war, 262 cavalrymen were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Cossacks are heroes of the Second World War, these are General D. Karbyshev, Admiral A. Golovko, General M. Popov, tank ace D. Lavrinenko, weapons designer F. Tokarev, and others known throughout the country.

A considerable part of those who had previously fought against Soviet power, having seen what kind of trouble threatens their homeland, leaving political views aside, took part in World War II on the side of the USSR. However, there were those who sided with the Nazis in the hope that they would overthrow the Communists and return Russia to its former path.

Mentality, culture and traditions

The Cossacks are a warlike, wayward and proud people (often unnecessarily), which is why they always had friction with neighbors and fellow countrymen who did not belong to their class. But these qualities are needed in battle, and therefore were welcomed within the communities. Women also had a strong character, on whom the whole economy rested, since most of the time the men were busy with the war.

The language of the Cossacks, based on Russian, acquired its own characteristics associated both with the history of the Cossack troops and with borrowings from. For example, the Kuban balachka (dialect) is similar to the southeastern Ukrainian surzhik, the Don balachka is closer to the southern Russian dialects.

The main weapon of the Cossacks was considered to be checkers and sabers, although this is not entirely true. Yes, the Kuban wore, especially the Circassians, but the Black Sea preferred firearms. In addition to the main means of protection, everyone carried a knife or dagger.

Some uniformity in armament appeared only in the second half of the 19th century. Before that, everyone chose for himself and, judging by the surviving descriptions, the weapons looked very picturesque. It was the honor of the Cossack, so it was always in perfect condition, in excellent scabbard, often richly decorated.

The rites of the Cossacks, in general, coincide with the all-Russian ones, but they also have their own specifics, caused by the way of life. For example, at the funeral, behind the coffin of the deceased, his war horse was led, and relatives were already following. In the widow's house, under the images, lay the husband's hat.

Special rituals were accompanied by the seeing off of men to the war and their meeting, their observance was taken very seriously. But the most magnificent, complex and joyful event was the wedding of the Cossacks. The action was multi-way - the bride, matchmaking, celebration in the bride's house, wedding, celebration in the groom's house.

And all this with special songs and in the best outfits. A man's costume necessarily included weapons, women in bright clothes and, which was unacceptable for peasant women, with bare heads. The handkerchief only covered the knot of hair at the back of the head.

Now the Cossacks live in many regions of Russia, unite in various communities, actively participate in the life of the country, in the places of their compact residence, children are optionally taught the history of the Cossacks. Textbooks, photos and videos acquaint young people with customs, remind that their ancestors from generation to generation gave their lives for the glory of the Tsar and the Fatherland.

Let us turn today to one very interesting and indicative page of our history. By 1914, there were 11 Cossack troops in Russia. However, this does not mean that there were always just so many of them. Today we remember the glorious Troops abolished by the Russian supreme power and undeservedly forgotten. And it may be right today that the Cossacks living on the banks of the Volga and reviving the Volga Army, but now not as a free community, but as a state structure, as a way of serving Russia.
Since the time of the Great Moscow and Kyiv princes, the Russian state has seen in the Cossacks not a community, but a kind of military force to protect the borders of their possessions. These are the famous Brodniki and Black Hoods during the period of Kievan Rus and the Donskoy Grassroots Army during the period of Muscovite Rus. Seeing how successfully any Cossack community takes root in a new place (“There is no translation for the Cossack family”), the state authorities in each newly acquired region sought to organize a “service army”, an army in the likeness of the Don. After all, the experience of the development of Siberia showed how profitable it is to attract the Cossacks to the sovereign's service. But as soon as the region was mastered, and the need for serving the Army disappeared, the army was either disbanded or moved. And, in the end, by the beginning of the twentieth century, a more or less harmonious structure of 11 Cossack troops and regions had developed. But first things first.

Chuguev Cossacks.

In 1639, the city of Chuguev was founded in the Muscovite state. For a long time, the city had no relation to the regular Cossacks, but the Cossacks lived in it. And on February 28, 1700, at the behest of Peter the Great, a special Cossack team was formed from the city Chuguev Cossacks, as well as the Don and Yaitsky Cossacks, who served in Orel, Kursk and Oboyan. The reformer tsar started the Northern War, and the formation of Cossack units and teams freed from the need to deploy regular regiments in these places - the army was still being formed, and there were not enough soldiers to protect the borders and internal provinces of the empire. And the experience of the Don army showed that the Cossack community and the service of the sovereign can rule and ensure order and feed itself. So the Great Converter of Rus' was in no hurry to reform the Cossacks, but used the useful experience in every possible way. Moreover, to strengthen the Chuguev team (three companies, three hundred Cossacks), it also included two Kalmyk hundreds. The life of the Chuguev Cossacks went on as usual during the Northern War, and only in 1721, together with other Cossack Troops and formations of the Russian State, the Chuguev Cossack 500th team came under the jurisdiction of the Military Collegium.
The main destiny of the Cossacks is service to the Fatherland, and the turbulent eighteenth century was rich in military conflicts. Therefore, first in 1749, on the basis of the Chuguev Cossack team, the Chuguev Cossack cavalry regiment was formed. But all the Cossacks of the team did not enter the regiment, and then in 1769 part of the Chuguev Cossacks entered a separate light-horse team (400 Cossacks), and part - into the Petersburg Legion (half of the legion).
A new stage in the history of Russia began - the conquest of Novorossia. And here the Chuguevs came in handy. The Chuguev Cossack Cavalry Regiment (as the Yekaterinoslav Cavalry Regiment) and the Chuguev Light Horse Team became part of the forward guard corps of the Yekaterinoslav Regular Cossacks, formed by order of Prince Potemkin in February 1788. However, a year later the corps was disbanded, and the units were reorganized into the Chuguev Cossack Cavalry Regiment and Prince Potemkin's Escort Cossack Cavalry Regiment. In the spring of 1893, the Little Russian Cossack Regiment was attached to these two regiments (in 1890 it was formed in his army from recruits by the all-powerful Prince Potemkin, who had some weakness for the Cossacks). All three regiments received new names - the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Chuguev Cossack cavalry regiments. The Chuguev court team, meanwhile, in the fall of 1896, became part of the Life Hussar and Life Cossack regiments - the brainchild of the new Russian emperor.
In the winter of the same year, the 3rd Chuguev Cossack Cavalry Regiment was disbanded, and in the spring of 1800 the two remaining regiments were consolidated into one. Three years later, the Chuguev Cossacks were transferred to the taxable estate. And on August 18, 1808, on the basis of the Chuguev Cossack Cavalry Regiment, the Chuguev Lancers Regiment was formed, which entered the military settlements. The Chuguev Lancers as the 11th Lancer Regiment existed until the collapse of the Great Empire.

Bakhmut Cossacks.

Bakhmut Cossacks of history have been known for a long time. But their regular service began in 1701, when the government needed to protect the Bakhmut salt springs selected for the treasury. For this purpose, the Bakhmut Cossack Company was formed from the Bakhmut, Torsk and Mayatsky Cossacks. This decision turned out to be quite controversial and allowed the ataman of Bakhmut Kondraty Bulavin in 1707 to raise the entire Don to fight for the ancient liberties and traditions of the Cossacks. The rebellion was resolutely suppressed by government troops - the tsar-reformer never favored rebels, the sovereign will broke the recalcitrant at any cost. Then the authorities forgot about Bakhmut for a long time and only in the spring of 1721 Mayatsky, Torsky and Bakhmutsky Cossacks were directly subordinated to the Military Collegium. In the autumn of 1748, urgent military needs demanded the creation of the Bakhmut Cossack Cavalry Regiment. However, in the summer of 1764, the regiment moved into the category of regular units of the Russian army. At first it was known as the Lugansk Pike Regiment, and then it was renamed the 4th Hussar Regiment. The regiment in the Imperial Army lasted until the death of the empire.

Bug Cossack Army.

The Turks repeatedly fought with the Russians and knew perfectly well the true value of the Shield of Russia. That is why they tried to attract to their side all the Cossacks dissatisfied with the policy of Russia. After the transition to the service of the Sultan of the Cossacks - Nekrasovites and part of the Cossacks, the Port began to seriously consider the possibility of forming Cossack units. However, the Orthodox roots of the Russian warrior at that time did not allow him to raise his sword against a fellow believer. And the Cossacks considered changing the faith a deed unworthy of a warrior. It is from the Cossacks who left the Sultan's service that the Bug army originates. In 1769, the Turks formed a Cossack regiment from Transdanubian Christians, which during the war, at the first opportunity, went over to the side of the Russian army. The Cossacks of this regiment in 1774 were settled along the Bug to ensure the protection of the new region. The following year, a recruited Cossack regiment of foreigners of Slavic blood was placed nearby under the general command of Major Kasperov. However, these forces were not enough. And the government began to buy part of the peasants from the Bug landowners. This measure made it possible in the winter of 1785 to form the Bug cavalry Cossack regiment, numbering 1.5 thousand people, from settlers and purchased peasants. Protecting their land, the Bug Cossacks in the period 1787 - 17996. were part of the so-called Yekaterinoslav Cossack Army. Then, in the spring of 1803, on the basis of the Bug Cossack cavalry regiment, with the involvement of Slavic settlers (Bulgarians, Serbs and others), the Bug Cossack Army was formed as part of three regiments. In 1814, the Little Russian Cossacks, who had long been living near the Bug, were also enrolled in the Army.
The Bug Cossacks faithfully served their Fatherland more than once. So for the Patriotic War and the Foreign Campaign, the 1st Bug Cossack Regiment received the St. George standard. However, the war died down, the border moved to the west and the need for the existence of the Cossack communities disappeared. On October 8, 1817, the Ukrainian Lancers and Bug Cossacks were included in the so-called. military settlements and made up four uhlan Bug regiments. These regiments existed in the Russian army until the revolution (7th - 10th Uhlan regiments).

Yekaterinoslav Cossack Host

The conquest of new lands in the Crimea and the Black Sea region required the formation in this territory of any sustainable forms of life and human activity. Therefore, in the summer of 1787, all the odnodvortsy of the Yekaterinoslav province settled along the former Ukrainian line were converted by the Russian government into the Cossack estate. Of these Cossacks, a special Cossack corps was formed in the likeness of the Don Cossacks. From the autumn of 1787, in official documents, the corps began to be called either the Yekaterinoslav Cossack Corps, or the Yekaterinoslav Cossack Host (Novodon Cossack Army).
To strengthen the Army, the Bug Cossacks were assigned to it in the fall of 1787, and in January 1788, the Old Believers of the Yekaterinoslav province, as well as the townspeople and guild provinces of Yekaterinoslav, Voznesenskaya and Kharkov, became part of the Army. However, at about the same time, the Chuguev Cossacks left the Army.
On February 11, 1788, on the basis of the Yekaterinoslav Cossack Army, a corps of forward guards of Yekaterinoslav regular Cossacks was formed, consisting of 4 brigades. The brigade included 5 Cossack and 2 Kalmyk cavalry hundreds. However, already on June 23, 1789, the corps was disbanded. And on June 5, 1796, the Yekaterinoslav Army itself ceased to exist, dividing into the Bug and Voznesensky Cossack troops. A new stage of imperial policy began - the conquest of the Caucasus and Kuban. And already on October 23, 1801, the Supreme Command was promulgated on the resettlement of the Cossacks of the Bug and Voznesensky troops to the Caucasus. The successors of the glorious Yekaterinoslav Cossacks are the Kuban regiments of the Kuban Cossack Host.

Danube Cossack army.

Wherever the fate of the Cossacks took them. And they ended up beyond the Danube. Because the Russian Empress abolished the Zaporozhian Sich, and the Russian troops simply destroyed the free Cossack settlements with a bayonet and grapeshot. And the Cossacks went to the Danube. However, the long and heavy hand of the Russian rulers reached out there too. And after some time, the empire needed to put up a reliable barrier on these borders. And at the end of February 1807, General Mikhelson announced the creation on the Danube of the fugitive Cossacks of the Ust-Danube Cossack army. However, the government's plans soon changed. In December of the same year, the army was disbanded, and the Cossack troops were divided into the Danube and Budzhaksky settled Cossacks. Apparently for the royal power it was much calmer.
In 1816, immigrants from the southern Slavs were resettled to the Budzhaksky settled Cossacks. These Slavs formed special volunteer foot and horse regiments at the settlements. However, after some time, the authorities got tired of playing at democracy. In 1827, the Budzhak and Danube Cossacks were settled in Bessarabia and subordinated to the civil authorities of the region. And everything would be forgotten over time, "grass weeds and wormwood overgrown." Yes, in 1828 another war with the Turks happened. And again the settlers on the Danube passed into the category of serving Cossacks, again making up the Danube Cossack Army, consisting of two (horse and foot) regiments. The regiments were disbanded a year later. But the Danube army as an administrative unit in the region has been preserved. Little of. There was a catastrophic shortage of people, and the tsarist government applied its usual vicious practice. In the summer of 1836, the surrounding settled gypsies were assigned to the Danube army! And in the fall of 1838, "retired lower ranks of good behavior" were assigned to the Army.
In the winter of 1844, the Danube Cossack Army was again formed from the Ust-Danube and Budzhak Cossacks, South Slavic settlers and "other people of various ranks and origins" as a military force consisting of two cavalry regiments. And on the occasion of the outbreak of hostilities in 1854, the third cavalry regiment was formed. And the Danube Cossacks served faithfully. For the war, this regiment of troops received banners from the king - a high and honorable award.
The guns died down and the Cossack service was no longer needed. First, in 1856, the Danube army was renamed Novorossiysk. And on December 3, 1868, by the Highest order, the Novorossiysk Cossack army was abolished. The banners of the army were handed over to the church of the village of Volonterovka, and the population of the army was finally converted to civil status. Well, in the inner provinces of the tsarist government, the Cossacks were not needed. And if the tsar did not dare to abolish the Don army, then one can not stand on ceremony with the Troops established by his authority. Once, and there is no Army, as if it never existed.

Ukrainian Cossack army.

In Ukraine, the Cossacks are rooted in the Wild Field. During the time of the Polish-Lithuanian rule in Ukraine, a system of administrative management was formed - division not by regions, but by regiments - Vinnitsa, Chigirinsky, Cherkasy, Kanevsky and others. However, with the advent of Ukraine under the arm of the White Tsar, the situation began to change. First, separate liberties, and then the very institution of hetman power, went into the past.
In the troubled times of the Napoleonic invasion, the tsar was ready to seize every opportunity to ensure victory. The total mobilization of the Cossack troops helped. But that wasn't enough. And on June 5, 1812, it was announced the creation of the Ukrainian Cossack army from the villagers of Kiev and part of the Kamenetz-Podolsk provinces capable of Cossack service, consisting of four 8-squadron regiments. And already in August 1814, silver pipes were granted to these regiments "as a reward for the excellent deeds performed in the past company." However, the history of all the above Troops repeated itself and on October 26, 1816, the Ukrainian Cossack division was renamed the Ukrainian Lancers Cavalry Division. Ukrainian Cossacks made up the uhlan regiments (numbered from 7th to 10th) of the Russian army. These regiments existed in the ranks of our regular cavalry until the Troubles of 1917.

Azov Cossack army.

Azov is a Cossack city. The Cossacks of the Don in the 17th century proved this not only by taking a strong Turkish stronghold, but also withstanding the siege, the “Azov Seat”. They just couldn't keep up. Then, with the help of regular troops, archers and Cossacks, Peter the Great took Azov by storm. And again he could not keep it - he returned it to the Turks. But our power was growing stronger and once again taking the city, Russia approved it for itself.
In 1828, part of the Transdanubian Cossacks who left the empire at one time returned to the Russian service. At their head was Ataman Gladkiy. The flotilla of the Cossacks helped the Russian army a lot. And by the Highest order on April 4, 1829, the Danube Cossack regiment was formed from the Cossacks of Ataman Gladky. Later, in 1831, a banner was awarded to the regiment for their exploits while crossing the Danube. And in the spring of next year, all the Cossacks who switched to Russian service from the Turks formed a special Azov Cossack army, stationed in the Novorossiysk Territory. According to the special Regulations on the army, it was obliged to put into service the following units: a naval battalion, a semi-battalion on foot and cruising teams to protect the Black Sea coast. By the highest order of June 1, 1844, the first relic was granted to the Army - the Army Banner. The Cossacks of the Troops distinguished themselves in the Crimean company in such a way that on August 26, 1856, the St. George banner was granted to the Cossacks of the AKV.
However, peace gradually reigned in Novorossia, and Cossack strength and valor were needed elsewhere. The empire waged a long and stubborn struggle in the Caucasus. Therefore, soon after the Crimean War, the Cossacks of the Azov army began to be resettled in the Caucasus. The first 800 settlers went to the Caucasus in the summer of 1862 by order of the Military Ministry No. 143 of May 10, 1862. And this was the beginning of the end of the glorious Army. The Azov people became part of the Kuban Army and on October 11, 1864, the Azov Cossack army was abolished, and its banners were transferred to storage in the Kuban army. And now the descendants of the Transdanubian Cossacks are natural Kuban Cossacks.

Stavropol Kalmyk Army.

Kalmyks, a free steppe people, a fragment of the Batu Empire. They quite often acted either against Russia or, on the contrary, on its side. Christianity gradually began to spread among the Kalmyks. And it was decided to give all the baptized Kalmyks under the hand of Prince Peter Taishin, building a fortress in the steppe. And indeed, the Privy Councilor Tatishchev near the Volga in the tract of Kunya Voloshka built a fortress, which in 1739 was named Stavropol. This fortress became the residence of the head of the baptized Kalmyks. But Prince Taishin was no longer able to lead his people, he died back in 1736. Therefore, the case was continued by his wife, Princess Taishina. All Kalmyks living in the vicinity of Stavropol thus constituted a special army. However, the rules for managing the Army were finally established in the winter of 1745, when all Kalmyks were divided into five companies. And in the spring of 1756, as a sign of royal favor, the Kalmyks were granted the Stavropol Army banner and 5 centesimal badges.
In 1760, the Tszungar baptized Kalmyks, who had come out of the Kirghiz-Kaisak captivity, were attached to the army, who made up three more military companies. Then for several decades the service of the Kalmyk Army went on as usual. Only in the autumn of 1803 did the Russian Government become concerned about the state of affairs in the Stavropol region and approved the Regulations on the formation of the Stavropol Kalmyk Army as part of one thousandth Stavropol regiment. In this state of affairs, the Army existed as a separate community until May 24, 1842, when the Kalmyks of the Army were attached to a larger structure - the Orenburg Cossack Army.
Today, as part of the Union of Cossacks of Russia, there is such a structure as the Cossack Army of Kalmykia. The Republic of Kalmykia within Russia is a small state. But the President of Kalmykia, K. N. Ilyumzhinov, a delegate of the Constituent Circle of the Union of Cossacks of Russia and a Cossack colonel, helps this structure to the best of his ability. And even in the absence of the Federal Law on the Cossacks, the Cossack Army of Kalmykia serves Russia.

Bashkir-Meshcheryak Army.

In 1574, the fortified city of Ufa was founded, and all the inhabitants of the Orenburg region were brought into obedience to Russia. However, for a long time the Russian government did not take any measures to attract the Bashkirs to the state service. Only in 1714 the Bashkirs were sent for the first time to serve in Siberia. Siberia was being built and the construction sites had to be protected. However, already in 1724 it was "ordered not to include the Bashkirs in the layout on the shelves." The 18th century was stormy, and already in January 1736, on the occasion of the war with Turkey, the Bashkir settlements received orders for 3,000 horsemen. The same 3,000 riders also participated in the Seven Years' War as part of the Russian army.
For a very long time, the Pugachev rebellion blazed among the Bashkirs and Meshcheryaks. And this rebellion was drowned in blood. Having ascended the throne, Emperor Paul attended to the solution of many problems that faced the country. And in the spring of 1798, for the first time, the correct military division of the Bashkir army was carried out. 12 Bashkir and 5 Meshcheryak cantons were formed. The era of the Napoleonic wars demanded the exertion of all the forces of the Russian state. In the spring of 1811, 2 Meshcheryak regiments were formed from the Army, and in August 1812, at the very height of the invasion, 20 Bashkir regiments. And the Bashkir-Meshcheryak Army fought valiantly against the common enemy for the entire Empire. Cannons and pipes died down and the service of the Bashkir regiments was no longer needed. In 1846, only the 4th, 5th and 9th cantons remained on the rights of the Army, in a state of war. Others were transferred back to civilian status. Therefore, with the beginning of the Crimean War, the Army formed only 4 Bashkir regiments. Already during the war, the Army was reorganized. Now it amounted to 13 Bashkir and 4 Meshcheryak cantons. According to the peacetime schedule, the Bashkirs and Meshcheryaks from the entire army formed one cavalry regiment.
In 1863, on May 15, the Regulations on the Bashkir Army were approved by the Highest. However, already in the summer of 1865, the Army came under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. And the military reform led to the fact that in 1874 only one squadron began to be formed from the entire composition of the Troops. The following year, the Bashkir squadron was reorganized into a division. Only on April 1, 1878, the division was deployed to the Bashkir cavalry regiment. However, the new army formation system allowed the government to abandon some irregular military units. And on July 24, 1882, the Bashkir Cavalry Regiment was disbanded. It was only in wartime that it was decided to form mounted police units from the Bashkirs. Thus ended the story of another Army.

Crimean Tatar Army.

Tatars, proud descendants of the hordes of Genghis Khan. Nomadic warriors knew how not only to rob their neighbors, but also to serve faithfully. Tatar units were in both Russian and Polish service. Yes, the steppe predators were not distinguished by meekness of temper, but dashing service required just such qualities.
In Crimea, for a long time, there was the last fragment of the Mongol empire - the Crimean Khanate, which recognized its dependence on the Ottoman Empire. Then, with one stroke of the pen, relying on the bayonets and cannons of her generals, Catherine the Great annexed the Crimea (Tauride Peninsula) to Russian territories. However, there were not enough regular troops to protect the region, and in the spring of 1784 the government decided to form several Tauride national divisions from local residents, which existed in the Crimea until 1796. The era of the Napoleonic wars brought to life the decision to form large formations from the inhabitants of the peninsula. And in the period from 1808 to 1817. Simferopol, Perekop, Yevpatoriya and Feodosia cavalry regiments acted as part of the Russian regular army. And during the war of 1812, these regiments distinguished themselves a lot. For these distinctions, in the summer of 1827, the Life Guards Crimean Tatar squadron was formed, reorganized in the spring of 1863 into the team of the Life Guards of the Crimean Tatars of His Majesty's Own Convoy, and existed in a new capacity until May 1890.
As for the regular units of the Russian army, it was only in the spring of 1874 that a separate squadron was formed from the Crimean Tatars, then reorganized into a division. On February 24, 1906, the division was deployed to the Crimean Dragoon Regiment. In December 1907, the regiment was renamed the Crimean Cavalry, and on October 10, 1909, the Crimean Cavalry Regiment of Her Majesty Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. According to the order of the military department No. 166 of April 5, 1911, the regiment was assigned seniority from March 1, 1874.
This regiment was in the ranks of the Russian army throughout the First World War. Then he saw the revival and fall of the Crimean national government. The officers of the regiment (primarily Colonel Bako) revived the regiment in the ranks of the Volunteer Army of the South of Russia. Together with the remnants of the Russian army, the regiment was evacuated from the Crimea in November 1920. Far from their homeland, in Paris, the Crimean Regiment Association was formed.

Greek (Albanian) Army.

The last great project of Catherine the Great. She dreamed of uniting the Balkans under the rule of her grandson Constantine. Therefore, in 1774, when the Russian fleet fought in the Archipelago, the Albanian Army was formed from the Greeks and Albanians who were in the Russian service. After the end of the war with the Turks, the Greeks and Albanians were settled by the Russian government in the Crimea near the Kerch fortress. In the summer of 1779, the Albanian Army was reorganized into a Greek regiment. In the autumn of 1887, free divisions were formed in the army of Prince Potemkin from Greeks and Albanians in the Russian service.
In the spring of 1796, the Greek regiment, the Greeks of the free divisions and the Albanians, brought together in a separate Albanian division, were resettled by the Russian government in the Odessa region. In December of the same year, the Greek regiment came under the command of the Military Collegium and was consolidated into the Greek Infantry Battalion. The following year, the battalion was relocated to Balaklava, and the Albanian division was completely disbanded. In the autumn of 1803, the Greek battalion was again formed in Odessa, and the battalion in Balaklava was renamed Balaklavsky. In the autumn of 1810, the Greeks in Odessa and Balaklava were transferred to the category of military settlers, and in the autumn of 1819 the Odessa battalion was transferred to Balaklava and attached to the Balaklava infantry battalion. During the Crimean War in Sevastopol, in addition to units of the regular army, the Legion of Nicholas I was formed from the southern Slavs. However, the war soon ended, the Legion was disbanded, and soon, on October 21, 1859, the Balaklava Greek infantry battalion was also disbanded. The dream of autonomy for the Greek settlers did not come true. Although the independence of Greece by the middle of the 19th century, Türkiye recognized. But that's a completely different story.

Thus, we see that the Russian empire was looking for various options for protecting the newly acquired regions - Little Russia, Novorossia, Tavria, the Caucasus and Bashkiria. And she found the most optimal and low-cost way - the formation of Cossack communities or foreign communities in the likeness of the Cossacks. Then the need for service disappeared or was significantly weakened and the Army was disbanded. Who knows, if the Russian Empire had existed a little longer, the number of traditional troops of the Cossacks of Russia would have changed quite significantly. Today in modern Russia, in the absence of a firm state policy towards the Cossacks, we see confrontation and mutual misunderstanding between registered societies and public structures.