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 Kiev 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 Yaik Cossacks, who served in Orel, Kursk and Oboyan. The reformer tsar began 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 Russia 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 advanced 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 a certain 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 already 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 the 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 the settlers and peasants bought. 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 referred to as 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 Zaporizhzhya 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 made up 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 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 was 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 into 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 already 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, Turkey 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.

In the development of any nation, there were moments when a certain ethnic group separated and thereby created a separate cultural layer. In some cases, such cultural elements coexisted peacefully with their nation and the world as a whole, in others they fought for an equal place under the sun. An example of such a warlike ethnic group can be considered such a stratum of society as the Cossacks. Representatives of this cultural group have always been distinguished by a special worldview and very acute religiosity. To date, scientists cannot figure out whether this ethnic stratum of the Slavic people is a separate nation. The history of the Cossacks dates back to the distant XV century, when the states of Europe were mired in internecine wars and dynastic upheavals.

Etymology of the word "Cossack"

Many modern people have a general idea that a Cossack is a warrior or a type of warrior who lived in a certain historical period and fought for their freedom. However, such an interpretation is rather dry and far from the truth, if we also take into account the etymology of the term "Cossack". There are several main theories about the origin of the word, for example:

Turkic (“Cossack” is a free man);

The word comes from kosogs;

Turkish (“kaz”, “cossack” means “goose”);

The word comes from the term "goats";

Mongolian theory;

Turkestan theory - that this is the name of nomadic tribes;

In the Tatar language, "Cossack" is a vanguard warrior in the army.

There are other theories, each of which explains this word in completely different ways, but it is possible to single out the most rational grain from all definitions. The most common theory says that the Cossack was a free man, but armed, ready to attack and fight.

Historical origin

The history of the Cossacks begins in the 15th century, namely from 1489 - the moment the term "Cossack" was first mentioned. The historical homeland of the Cossacks is Eastern Europe, or rather, the territory of the so-called Wild Field (modern Ukraine). It should be noted that in the 15th century the named territory was neutral and did not belong to both the Russian Tsardom and Poland.

Basically, the territory of the "Wild Field" was subjected to constant raids. The gradual settlement of immigrants from both Poland and the Russian Kingdom on these lands influenced the development of a new estate - the Cossacks. In fact, the history of the Cossacks begins from the moment when ordinary people, peasants, begin to settle in the lands of the Wild Field, while creating their own self-governing military formations in order to fight off the raids of the Tatars and other nationalities. By the beginning of the 16th century, the Cossack regiments had become a powerful military force, which created great difficulties for neighboring states.

Creation of the Zaporozhian Sich

According to the historical data that are known today, the first attempt at self-organization by the Cossacks was made in 1552 by the prince of Volyn Vyshnevetsky, better known as Baida.

At his own expense, he created a military base, the Zaporizhzhya Sich, which was located on it. The whole life of the Cossacks flowed on it. The location was strategically convenient, since the Sich blocked the passage of the Tatars from the Crimea, and was also in close proximity to the border of Poland. Moreover, the territorial location on the island created great difficulties for the assault on the Sich. The Khortitskaya Sich did not last long, because in 1557 it was destroyed, but until 1775, such fortifications were built according to the same type - on river islands.

Attempts to subdue the Cossacks

In 1569, a new Lithuanian-Polish state was formed - the Commonwealth. Naturally, this long-awaited union was very important for both Poland and Lithuania, and the free Cossacks on the borders of the new state acted against the interests of the Commonwealth. Of course, such fortifications served as an excellent shield against Tatar raids, but they were completely out of control and did not take into account the authority of the crown. Thus, in 1572, the king of the Commonwealth issued a universal, which regulated the employment of 300 Cossacks in the service of the crown. They were recorded in the list, the register, which led to their name - registered Cossacks. Such units were always in full combat readiness in order to repel Tatar raids on the borders of the Commonwealth as quickly as possible, as well as to suppress periodically arising peasant uprisings.

Cossack uprisings for religious-national independence

From 1583 to 1657, some Cossack leaders raised uprisings in order to free themselves from the influence of the Commonwealth and other states that tried to subjugate the lands of the still unformed Ukraine.

The strongest desire for independence began to manifest itself among the Cossack class after 1620, when Hetman Sahaidachny, together with the entire Zaporizhian army, joined the Kiev Brotherhood. Such an action marked the cohesion of the Cossack traditions with the Orthodox faith.

From that moment on, the battles of the Cossacks carried not only a liberation, but also a religious character. The growing tension between the Cossacks and Poland led to the famous national liberation war of 1648-1654, headed by Bohdan Khmelnitsky. In addition, no less significant uprisings should be singled out, namely: the uprising of Nalivaiko, Kosinsky, Sulima, Pavlyuk and others.

Decossackization during the Russian Empire

After the unsuccessful national liberation war in the 17th century, as well as the unrest that began, the military power of the Cossacks was significantly undermined. In addition, the Cossacks lost support from the Russian Empire after switching to the side of Sweden in the battle of Poltava, in which the Cossack army was led by

As a result of this series of historical events, a dynamic process of decossackization begins in the 18th century, which reached its peak during the time of Empress Catherine II. In 1775, the Zaporozhian Sich was liquidated. However, the Cossacks were given a choice: to go their own way (to live an ordinary peasant life) or join the hussars, which many took advantage of. Nevertheless, a significant part of the Cossack army (about 12,000 people) remained, which did not accept the offer of the Russian Empire. In order to ensure the former safety of the borders, as well as to somehow legalize the "Cossack remnants", on the initiative of Alexander Suvorov, the Black Sea Cossack Host was created in 1790.

Kuban Cossacks

The Kuban Cossacks, or Russian Cossacks, appeared in 1860. It was formed from several military Cossack formations that existed at that time. After several periods of decossackization, these military formations became a professional part of the armed forces of the Russian Empire.

The Cossacks of the Kuban were based in the region of the North Caucasus (the territory of the modern Krasnodar Territory). The basis of the Kuban Cossacks was the Black Sea Cossack army and the Caucasian Cossack army, which was abolished as a result of the end of the Caucasian war. This military formation was created as a border force to control the situation in the Caucasus.

The war in this territory was over, but stability was constantly under threat. Russian Cossacks became an excellent buffer between the Caucasus and the Russian Empire. In addition, representatives of this army were involved during the Great Patriotic War. To date, the life of the Cossacks of the Kuban, their traditions and culture have been preserved thanks to the formed Kuban military Cossack society.

Don Cossacks

The Don Cossacks is the most ancient Cossack culture, which arose in parallel with the Zaporozhye Cossacks in the middle of the 15th century. Don Cossacks were located on the territory of the Rostov, Volgograd, Lugansk and Donetsk regions. The name of the army is historically associated with the Don River. The main difference between the Don Cossacks and other Cossack formations is that it developed not just as a military unit, but as an ethnic group with its own cultural characteristics.

The Don Cossacks actively collaborated with the Zaporizhian Cossacks in many battles. During the October Revolution, the Don army founded its own state, but the centralization of the White Movement on its territory led to the defeat and subsequent repressions. It follows that the Don Cossack is a person who belongs to a special social formation based on the ethnic factor. The culture of the Don Cossacks has been preserved in our time. About 140 thousand people live on the territory of the modern Russian Federation, who write down their nationality as "Cossack".

The role of the Cossacks in world culture

Today, the history, life of the Cossacks, their military traditions and culture are actively studied by scientists around the world. Undoubtedly, the Cossacks are not just military formations, but a separate ethnic group that has built its own special culture for several centuries in a row. Modern historians are working on recreating the smallest fragments of the history of the Cossacks in order to perpetuate the memory of this great source of a special Eastern European culture.

Cossacks in the Russian Empire

The Cossacks in the Russian Empire were a special military class (more precisely, a class group) that stood apart from the others. The estate rights and obligations of the Cossacks were based on the principle of corporate ownership of military lands and freedom from duties, subject to compulsory military service.

Cossack troops withXVIII century began to receive the name of the territory of the settlement of the Cossacks: Don, Kuban, Orenburg, Transbaikal, Tersk, Siberian, Ural, Astrakhan, Semirechensk, Amur, Ussuri, etc. At the end of the century, the Cossack foreman received the rights of the Russian nobility. The election of chieftains was eliminated. The appointed chieftains were called "punitive". A new military organization of the Cossacks was formed, which, with some changes, existed until 1917. The Cossacks became the military estate of the Russian Empire.

Since 1827, the heir to the throne was considered the supreme ataman of all Cossack troops.In 1835, the Regulations and states of the Don Cossack Host were approved, later extended to other Cossack troops. Cossacks were forbidden to move to other classes, serve in regular troops, marry representatives of other classes; the land allotments of the Cossacks were much larger than the allotments of the peasants. The term of military service for the Cossacks, originally set at 25 years, gradually decreased to 20, and then to 18 years. For the first three years, the Cossacks were in the preparatory category, where they had to prepare military equipment and learn military affairs. This was followed by a 12-year military service, divided into three stages, four years each. The Cossacks of the first stage directly served in the troops, and the second and third stages lived in the villages, but underwent camp training. The last digit was considered a spare. Each Cossack army was obliged to put up a certain number of cavalry, foot and artillery units, as well as teams for police service.
To the beginningXX in. in Russia there were 11 Cossack troops (Amur, Astrakhan, Don, Transbaikal, Kuban, Orenburg, Semirechensk, Siberian, Terek, Ural and Ussuri), as well as Cossack settlements in 2 provinces.

Under the ataman, a military headquarters operated, in the field the atamans of departments (on the Don - district ones) were in charge, in the villages - the village atamans elected by the stanitsa gatherings.

Belonging to the Cossack class was hereditary, although formally, registration in the Cossack troops for persons of other classes was not excluded.

During the service, the Cossacks could reach the ranks and orders of the nobility. In this case, belonging to the nobility was combined with belonging to the Cossacks.

Cossacks in Russia have been known since the 14th century. Initially, these were settlers who fled from hard work, court or hunger, mastering the free steppe and forest expanses of Eastern Europe, and later reached the boundless Asian spaces, crossing the Urals.

Amur Cossack army

Seniority - not established. Military holiday and circle - March 17 (established 12/24/1890).

Military headquarters - Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region (1.02.1913)

Astrakhan Cossack army

Troop Directorate - Astrakhan

Don Cossack Host

Transbaikal Cossack army

Military headquarters - Chita, Trans-Baikal region (1.02.1913)

Kuban Cossack army

Orenburg Cossack army

Troop headquarters - Orenburg (1913)

Semirechensk Cossack army

Accommodation of the military ataman - Tashkent, Syrdarya region (02.1913)

Siberian Cossack army

Terek Cossack army

Troop headquarters - Vladikavkaz, Terek region (1.02.1913)

Ural Cossack army

Troop Headquarters - Uralsk

Ussuri Cossack army

Seniority - not established. Military holiday and circle - March 17.

Kuban Cossacks.

The Kuban Cossacks were formed by the “faithful Zaporozhians” who moved to the right bank of the Kuban. These lands were granted to them by Empress Catherine II at the request of the military judge Anton Golovaty through the mediation of Prince Potemkin. As a result of several campaigns, all 40 kurens of the former Zaporozhian army moved to the Kuban steppes and formed several settlements there, while changing the name from Zaporizhzhya Cossacks to Kuban Cossacks. Since the Cossacks continued to be part of the regular Russian army, they also had a military task: to create a defensive line along all the borders of the settlement, which they successfully completed.
In fact, the Kuban Cossacks were paramilitary agricultural settlements, in which all men in peacetime were engaged in peasant or handicraft work, and during the war or by order of the emperor they formed military detachments that acted as separate combat units as part of the Russian troops. At the head of the entire army was the chief ataman, who was selected from among the Cossack nobility by voting. He also had the rights of the governor of these lands by order of the Russian Tsar.
Before 1917, the total number of Cossack Kuban troops was more than 300,000 sabers, which was a huge force even at the beginning of the 20th century.

Don Cossacks

From the beginning of the 15th century, people began to settle in wild, unowned lands along the banks of the Don River. They were different people: runaway convicts, peasants who wanted to find more arable land, Kalmyks who came from their distant eastern steppes, robbers, adventurers and others. Less than fifty years later, the sovereign Ivan the Terrible, who reigned in Russia at that time, was bombarded with complaints from the Nogai prince Yusuf that his ambassadors began to disappear in the Don steppes. They became victims of Cossack robbers.
It was the time of the birth of the Don Cossacks, which got its name from the river, near which people set up their villages and farms. Until the suppression of the uprising of Kondraty Bulavin in 1709, the Don Cossacks lived a free life, not knowing kings or other control over them, but they had to submit to the Russian Empire and join the great Russian army.
The main flowering of glory of the Don army falls on the 19th century, when this huge army was divided into four districts, in each of which regiments were recruited, which soon became famous throughout the world. The total service life of a Cossack was 30 years with several breaks. So, at the age of 20, the young man went to the service for the first time and served for three years. Then he went home to rest for two years. At the age of 25, he was again called up for three years, and again after the service for two years he was at home. This could be repeated up to four times, after which the warrior remained in his village for good and could be drafted into the army only during the war.
The Don Cossacks could be called a paramilitary peasantry, which had many privileges. The Cossacks were freed from many taxes and duties that were imposed on the peasants in other provinces, and they were delivered from serfdom from the very beginning.
It cannot be said that the Don people easily got their rights. They long and stubbornly defended every concession of the king, and sometimes even with weapons in their hands. There is nothing worse than a Cossack rebellion, all the rulers knew this, so the demands of the militant settlers were usually satisfied, albeit reluctantly.

Khoper Cossacks

In the XV century in the basins of the river. Khopra, Bityug from the Ryazan principality, fugitive people appear who call themselves Cossacks. The first mention of these people dates back to 1444. After the Ryazan Principality was annexed to Moscow, immigrants from the Muscovite state also appeared here. Here the fugitives are saved from feudal bondage, persecution of boyars and governors. The newcomers settle on the banks of the rivers Crows, Khopra, Savala, etc. They call themselves free Cossacks, are engaged in animal trade, beekeeping, and fishing. There are even monastic lands here.

After the church schism in 1685, hundreds of schismatic Old Believers rushed here, who did not recognize the "Nikonian" corrections of church books. The government takes measures to stop the flight of peasants to the Khoper region, demands from the Don military authorities not only not to accept fugitives, but also to return those who fled earlier. Since 1695, there were many fugitives from Voronezh, where the Russian fleet was created by Peter I. Workers fled from the shipyards, soldiers, serfs. The population in the Khoper region is growing rapidly due to the Little Russian Cherkassy who fled from Russia and resettled.

In the early 80s of the 17th century, most of the schismatic Old Believers were expelled from the Khoper region, many remained. During the resettlement of the Khopersky regiment to the Caucasus, several dozen families of schismatics fell into the number of immigrants to the line, and from the old line their descendants ended up in the Kuban villages, including Nevinnomysskaya.

Until the 80s of the 18th century, the Khoper Cossacks were little subordinate to the Don military authorities, often simply ignoring their orders. In the 80s, during the time of Ataman Ilovaisky, the Don authorities established close contact with the Khopers and considered them an integral part of the Don Army. In the fight against the Crimean and Kuban Tatars, they are used as an additional force, creating detachments from the Khoper Cossacks on a voluntary basis - hundreds, fifty - for the duration of certain campaigns. At the end of such campaigns, the detachments dispersed to their homes.

Zaporozhye Cossacks

The word "Cossack" in translation from Tatar means "a free man, a vagabond, an adventurer." Initially, that's how it was. Behind the Dnieper rapids, in the wild steppe, which did not belong to any state, fortified settlements-sichs began to appear, in which armed people gathered, mostly Christians who called themselves Cossacks. They raided European cities and Turkish caravans, making no distinction between the one and the other.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Cossacks began to represent a significant military force, which was noticed by the Polish crown. King Sigismund, then ruling the Commonwealth, offered service to the Cossacks, but was rejected. However, such a large army could not exist without some kind of command, in connection with which separate regiments were gradually formed, called kurens, which united into larger formations - koshi. Above each such kosh stood a ataman, and the council of atamans was the supreme command of the entire Cossack army.
A little later, on the Dnieper island of Khortitsa, the main stronghold of this army was erected, which was called "cut". And since the island was located immediately beyond the rapids of the river, it got its name - Zaporozhye. By the name of this fortress and the Cossacks who were in it, they began to call Zaporozhye. Later, all the soldiers were called that, regardless of whether they lived in the Sich or in other Cossack settlements of Little Russia - the southern borders of the Russian Empire, on which the state of Ukraine is now located.
Later, the Polish crown nevertheless received these incomparable warriors at its service. However, after the rebellion of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, the Zaporizhzhya army came under the rule of the Russian tsars and served Russia until its disbandment by order of Catherine the Great.

Khlynov Cossacks

In 1181, the Novgorodians-Ushkuiniki founded a fortified camp on the Vyatka River, the town of Khlynov (from the word khlyn - “ushkuinik, river robber”), renamed Vyatka at the end of the 18th century and began to cohabitate autocratically. From Khlynov they undertook their trade travels and military raids to all parts of the world. In 1361, they penetrated the capital of the Golden Horde, Saraichik, and plundered it, and in 1365, behind the Ural Range, on the banks of the Ob River.

By the end of the 15th century, the Khlynov Cossacks became terrible throughout the Volga region, not only for the Tatars and Mari, but also for the Russians. After the overthrow of the Tatar yoke, Ivan III drew attention to this restless and not subject to him people, and in 1489 Vyatka was taken and annexed to Moscow. The defeat of Vyatka was accompanied by great cruelties - the main national leaders Anikiyev, Lazarev and Bogodaishchikov were brought to Moscow in chains and executed there; zemstvo people were resettled in Borovsk, Aleksin and Kremensk, and merchants in Dmitrov; the rest are turned into slaves.

Most of the Khlynovsky Cossacks with their wives and children left on their ships:

Alone on the Northern Dvina (according to the search for the ataman of the village of Severyukovskaya V.I. Menshenin, the Khlynov Cossacks settled along the Yug River in the Podosinovsky district).

Others down the Vyatka and Volga, where they took refuge in the Zhiguli mountains. Trade caravans gave this freemen an opportunity to acquire "zipuns", and the border towns of the Ryazans hostile to Moscow served as a place for the sale of booty, in exchange for which the Khlynovites could receive bread and gunpowder. In the first half of the 16th century, this freeman from the Volga crossed by drag to the Ilovlya and Tishanka, which flow into the Don, and then settled along this river up to Azov.

Still others are on the Upper Kama and Chusovaya, on the territory of the modern Verkhnekamsk region. Subsequently, huge possessions of the merchants Stroganovs appeared in the Urals, to whom the tsar allowed to hire detachments of Cossacks from among the former Khlynovites to protect their estates and conquer the border Siberian lands.

Meshchersky Cossacks

Cossacks Meshchersky (they are Meshchera, they are also Mishare) - residents of the so-called Meshchera region (presumably the southeast of modern Moscow, almost all of Ryazan, partly Vladimir, Penza, north of Tambov and further to the middle Volga region) with a center in the city of Kasimov, amounting to in the future, the people of the Kasimov Tatars and the small Great Russian sub-ethnos Meshchera. The Meshchersky camps were scattered throughout the forest-steppe of the upper reaches of the Oka and the north of the Ryazan principality, they were even in the Kolomensky district (the village of Vasilyevskoye, Tatarskiye Khutor, as well as in the Kadom and Shatsky districts. Mounted Don Cossacks, Kasimov Tatars, Meshchera and the indigenous Great Russian population of the southeast of Moscow, Ryazan, Tambov, Penza and other provinces.The term "Meshchera" itself, presumably has a parallel with the word "Mozhar, Magyar" - that is, in Arabic “fighting man". The villages of the Meshchersky Cossacks also bordered on the villagers of the Northern Don. The Meshcheryakovs themselves were also willingly involved in the sovereign's city and guard service.

Seversky Cossacks

They lived on the territory of modern Ukraine and Russia, in the basins of the Desna, Vorskla, Seim, Sula, Bystraya Sosna, Oskol and Seversky Donets rivers. Mentioned in written sources from con. 15th to 17th centuries

In the XIV-XV centuries, sevryuks constantly came into contact with the Horde, and then with the Crimean and Nogai Tatars; with Lithuania and Muscovy. Living in constant danger, they were good warriors. Moscow and Lithuanian princes willingly accepted sevryuks into service.

In the 15th century, stellate sturgeons, due to their stable migration, began to actively populate the southern lands that were then in vassal dependence on Lithuania, the Novosilsky principality, depopulated after the Golden Horde devastation.

In the 15th-17th centuries, the sevryuks were already a paramilitary frontier population guarding the borders of the adjacent parts of the Polish-Lithuanian and Muscovite states. Apparently, they were in many ways similar to the early Zaporizhzhya, Don and other similar Cossacks, they had some autonomy and a communal military organization.

In the 16th century they were considered representatives of the (ancient) Russian people.

As representatives of the service people, sevryuks are mentioned as early as the beginning of the 17th century, in the era of the Time of Troubles, when they supported the Bolotnikov uprising, so that this war was quite often called "Sevryukovskaya". The Moscow authorities responded with punitive operations, up to the defeat of some volosts. After the Troubles ended, the Sevryuk cities of Sevsk, Kursk, Rylsk and Putivl were colonized from Central Russia.

After the division of the Severshchina under the agreements of the Deulinsky truce (1619), between Muscovy and the Commonwealth, the name of the sevryuk practically disappears from the historical arena. The western Severshchina is undergoing active Polish expansion (servile colonization), the northeastern (Moscow) is populated by service people and serfs from Great Russia. Most of the Seversky Cossacks moved into the position of the peasantry, some joined the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks. The rest moved to the Lower Don.

Volga (Volga) army

Appeared on the Volga in the XVI century. They were all sorts of fugitives from the Muscovite state and people from the Don. They "stole", delaying trade caravans and interfering with proper relations with Persia. Already at the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, there were two Cossack towns on the Volga. The Samara bow, at that time covered with impenetrable forests, was a reliable shelter for the Cossacks. The small river Usa, crossing the Samara bow in the direction from south to north, gave them the opportunity to warn caravans moving along the Volga. Noticing the appearance of ships from the tops of the cliffs, they swam across the Usa in their light canoes, then dragged over to the Volga and unawares attacked the ships.

In the current villages of Ermakovka and Koltsovka, located on the Samara bow, even now they still recognize the places where Yermak and his comrade Ivan Koltso once lived. To destroy the Cossack robberies, the Moscow government sent troops to the Volga and built cities there (the latter are indicated in the historical outline of the Volga).

In the XVIII century. the government begins to organize the right Cossack army on the Volga. In 1733, 1057 Don Cossack families were settled between Tsaritsyn and Kamyshenka. In 1743, it was ordered to settle in the Volga Cossack towns immigrants and captives from Saltan-Ul and Kabardian, who were being baptized. In 1752, separate teams of the Volga Cossacks, who lived below Tsaritsyn, were united into the Astrakhan Cossack regiment, which was the beginning of the Astrakhan Cossack army, formed in 1776. In 1770, 517 families of the Volga Cossacks were transferred to the Terek; from them were formed the Cossack regiments of Mozdok and Volga, which were part of the Cossacks of the Caucasian line, transformed in 1860 into the Terek Cossack army.

Siberian army

Officially, the army led and is starting from December 6, 1582 (December 19, according to a new style), when, according to chronicle legend, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, as a reward for the capture of the Siberian Khanate, gave Yermak's squad the name "Tsar's Serving Army". Such seniority was granted to the army by the Highest Order of December 6, 1903. And, thus, it began to be considered the third oldest Cossack army in Russia (after the Donskoy and Terek).

The army as such was formed only in the second half of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century. a number of different orders of the central government, caused by military necessity. The Regulation of 1808 can be considered a milestone, from which the history of the Siberian linear Cossack army itself is usually counted.

In 1861, the army underwent a significant reorganization. The Tobolsk Cossack Cavalry Regiment, the Tobolsk Cossack Foot Battalion and the Tomsk City Cossack Regiment were assigned to it, and a set of troops from 12 regimental districts, which fielded a hundred in the Life Guards Cossack Regiment, 12 horse regiments, three foot semi-battalions with rifle semi-companies, one a horse artillery brigade of three batteries (subsequently the batteries were converted into regular ones, one was included in the Orenburg artillery brigade in 1865 and two in the 2nd Turkestan artillery brigade in 1870).

Yaik army

As early as the end of the 15th century, free communities of Cossacks formed on the Yaik River, from which the Yaik Cossack army was formed. According to the generally accepted traditional version, like the Don Cossacks, the Yaik Cossacks were formed from refugee settlers from the Russian kingdom (for example, from the Khlynov land), and also, thanks to the migration of Cossacks from the lower reaches of the Volga and Don. Their main occupations were fishing, salt mining, and hunting. The army was controlled by a circle that gathered in the Yaik town (on the middle reaches of the Yaik). All Cossacks had a per capita right to use the land and participate in the elections of atamans and military foremen. From the second half of the 16th century, the Russian government attracted the Yaik Cossacks to protect the southeastern borders and military colonization, initially allowing them to receive fugitives. In 1718, the government appointed an ataman of the Yaitsky Cossack army and his assistant; part of the Cossacks was declared fugitive and was subject to return to their former place of residence. In 1720, there were unrest of the Yaik Cossacks, who did not obey the order of the tsarist authorities to return the fugitives and replace the elected ataman with the appointed one. In 1723, the unrest was suppressed, the leaders were executed, the election of chieftains and foremen was abolished, after which the army was divided into foremen and military sides, in which the first held the line of government, as guaranteeing their position, the second demanded the return of traditional self-government. In 1748, a permanent organization (staff) of the troops was introduced, divided into 7 regiments; the military circle finally lost its meaning.

Subsequently, after the suppression of the Pugachev uprising in which the Yaitsky Cossacks took an active part, in 1775 Catherine II issued a decree that, in order to completely forget the unrest that had occurred, the Yaitsky army was renamed the Ural Cossack army, the Yaitsky town in Uralsk (it was renamed and another whole a number of settlements), even the Yaik River was called the Urals. The Ural army finally lost the remnants of its former autonomy.

Astrakhan army

In 1737, by decree of the Senate in Astrakhan, a three hundred Cossack team was formed from the Kalmyks. On March 28, 1750, on the basis of the team, the Astrakhan Cossack regiment was established, for the completion of which, to the regular strength of 500 people, Cossacks were recruited from the Astrakhan fortress and the Krasny Yar fortress from the commoners, the former archer and city Cossack children, as well as the Don riding Cossacks and newly baptized Tatars and Kalmyks. The Astrakhan Cossack army was created in 1817, it included all the Cossacks of the Astrakhan and Saratov provinces.

Updated 05 Nov 2016. Created 10 Oct 2016

Modern Russian Cossacks are an economic phenomenon. People who want to be called Cossacks are primarily busy looking for a job, and lastly, questions of identity. They need benefits, tax breaks and subsidies. A sheepskin hat and striped trousers are important as long as they are profitable. As soon as the hat becomes just a hat, the number of people who want to wear it will decrease dramatically.

According to the federal law of December 5, 2005 N 154-FZ "On the public service of the Russian Cossacks", people who call themselves Cossacks and are included in the register have the right to be involved in public service. The list includes law enforcement, firefighting, rescue operations, assistance to military registration and enlistment offices, patriotic education of young people of pre-conscription age.

Becoming a Cossack is quite simple. It is enough to submit a handwritten application, profess Orthodoxy, “share the ideas of the Cossacks” and enlist the recommendations of two people already accepted into the organization. There are no age or health restrictions.

The reception itself is carried out as follows - the text of the “Oath of the Cossack” is read before the formation, a signature is placed opposite the surname, the cross and the Gospel are kissed. Then the banner is kissed. In the “Oath”, the future Cossack “before the Honest Cross and the Holy Gospel” promises “to faithfully serve the Fatherland, the Orthodox Church, honest Cossacks, to keep sacred the good Cossack traditions and customs.” At the end of the ceremony, the ataman congratulates the new Cossack, the priest sprinkles him with holy water, the Cossacks march in front of the ataman.

Cossack organizations have no specialization and, as a result, there is no permanent job. They are actively looking for her, offering their services to everyone. Cossacks are hired reluctantly. Only if some state organization suddenly needs an additional set of unskilled employees. For obvious reasons, this rarely happens.

The websites of Cossack organizations regularly publish reports on how Cossacks provide assistance to the military registration and enlistment offices, agitating young people not to evade the draft; how they help the police maintain order during major church holidays; how they arrange folk music concerts, perform the duties of vigilantes.

The Cossacks have no right to use force and no right to bear arms. Therefore, they cannot provide security services. To qualify for the use of force, the Cossacks must undergo special training and certification - like all other Russian citizens.

Cossack private security company is a double package of documents. First, it is necessary to register a Cossack society with the Ministry of Justice, which is rather troublesome. And then separately register a private security company with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Since the Cossack communities do not have a permanent job, people who, for one reason or another, are not suitable for service in the Russian law enforcement agencies and private security companies, go to the Cossacks.

A young military specialist who has recently served in the army, with good physical data, with a sports category and a technical school diploma, can apply for a place, for example, in the OMON. The salary and welfare in this special forces unit is well above the national average. Having good chances for a career in a normal law enforcement agency, going to the Cossacks, where there is no work, no money, no career prospects is, to put it mildly, not the most rational decision.

Russia has a huge army and a huge market for security services. According to various sources, about a million people are employed in law enforcement and special services. Approximately the same number is employed in the army and the same number in private security structures. Given the recent changes in foreign and domestic policy, the security forces will not have any cuts in the near future. On the contrary, their states will only expand, and salaries will grow.

In the suburbs, new microdistricts built for the military and their families are being populated, which is regularly reported by the federal media. Considering how slowly the Russian state is providing military housing, this speaks of a fundamental change. Military specialties are in demand again.

At the same time, people who call themselves Cossacks, defiantly claiming the status of the military, turned out to be unclaimed. This clearly indicates their low professional level.

It cannot be said that the Cossacks are not trying to penetrate the power departments and do not want to enter the market of power services. Guarding stalls with monastery pies and retelling Russian propaganda to schoolchildren is not the most profitable occupation. They try, but every time they lose to more experienced companies.

A recent example - in November 2015, a contract was signed between the Office of the Judicial Department of Moscow and the private security organization "Cossack Guard", established by the Military Cossack Society "Central Cossack Host". According to the contract, within two months the Cossacks had to guard ten district courts of Moscow. The price of the contract was 3.3 million rubles. Since January, the Cossacks have taken under the protection of all 35 district courts of the capital. At the end of January 2016, lawyers from the Alexei Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation turned to the Moscow prosecutor’s office with a demand to check the legality of the contract with the Cossacks.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service declared the contract illegal. The place of the "Cossack Guard" was taken by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Protection", subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. "Protection" was created in 2005 on the basis of paramilitary and guard units of private security under the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation.

Another example - in the Russian press there was a lot of talk about the creation of military units, 100% staffed by Cossacks. It was said that the 22nd brigade of internal troops, located in the city of Kalach-on-Don, would be made completely Cossack.

On Cossack websites, you can find indications of individual military units that cooperate with the Don Host. The essence of cooperation is that young people who recognize themselves as Cossacks do military service in this particular unit, and not in a random one, as is usually the case. At the end of April this year, the ataman of the Kuban Cossack army, Nikolai Doluda, announced the desire of the Cossacks to join the National Guard. The application has so far remained unanswered.

Recently, quite a lot has been said about the financing of the Cossack movement. They call the figure - 1 billion rubles a year. You need to understand what the total costs of paying for the services of the security forces in Russia are. According to RBC calculations based on Rosstat data, if in 2011 the total costs amounted to 335 billion rubles, then in 2013 - 587 billion. Against this background, the money allocated from the federal budget to support the Cossack movement seems ridiculous.

Apparently, the Cossacks have no support and no lobby for at least one military unit to be allocated to them. In addition, they are not able to hold on to those rare contracts that they somehow manage to get.

When we talk about the Cossacks, we are talking about unemployed military specialists who, for a number of reasons, have lost their professional skills. Unable to get a job, they take on the lowest paid jobs. Their constant participation in high-profile scandals and attacks, fraught with criminal cases, testifies to this.

An example is the odious Baltic separate Cossack district. On August 15, 2015, in Kaliningrad, a group of unknown people attacked the Franz Kafka and George Orwell Forum. The forum participants recognized the attackers as Cossacks associated with the "Baltic Separate Cossack District - the Baltic Cossack Union of the Kaliningrad Region."

According to the Kaliningrad business portal RuGrad.EU, this union is closely connected with the authorities, in particular, with the government of the Kaliningrad region, which from time to time allocates grants to it.

In 2015, the "Baltic Separate Cossack District - the Baltic Cossack Union" of ataman Maxim Buga (Buga is a member of two councils under the governor of the Kaliningrad region Nikolai Tsukanov and is a prominent member of the ONF) received a grant of 139 thousand rubles from the budget for holding a scientific and practical conference " Cossacks and notaries. Historical experience of combating corruption and the present”. The government of the Kaliningrad region allocated the same amount to the society named after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which is also part of the Baltic Separate Cossack District. This time the grant was allocated for holding the regional heroic-patriotic festival of the Cossack societies "Baltic Sich". The ataman of this society is Mikhail Dudarev, a former deputy of the regional duma and the owner of the KenigAvto motor transport company.

Georgy Dykhanov, Commissioner for the Rights of Entrepreneurs of the Kaliningrad Region, took part in the distribution of grants. According to the unified state register of legal entities, Dykhanov is related to the Cossack farm "SPAS", which also received 139 thousand from the regional government for the author's program of heroic-patriotic education of the Cossack orientation "Roads of the glory of the fathers."

The attack on the forum named after Kafka and Orwell, like the attack on Alexei Navalny in Anapa, is a job that a successful military man, or a policeman, or a security guard is unlikely to take on. This is a dirty and dangerous job for unemployed security officials who, in general, have nothing to lose. And that's what makes them so dangerous.

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 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, while someone is ready to make a certain set of preferences from this word for themselves, allowing 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 using the Cossack squads was an event that showed 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 with 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 powers, 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 of 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 also supported. For several months, in the place where the developer is going to carry out metal mining (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 same 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 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. Just the other day, sentries of that very 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", 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 by 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 manpower 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.