Who is the Cossack? History of the Cossacks. What are the Cossacks? 11 Cossack troops

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, having which, he would have passed the whole world. Fearless warriors and discoverers of the Russian outskirts during the Soviet period fell into the millstones of Stalin's repressions and would have sunk into oblivion if it had not been for the Russian government, which attempted to preserve and revive this cultural and ethnic community. What came of this, and what modern Cossacks are doing, read the article.

Cossacks in Russian history

In the scientific community, there is some confusion about who the Cossacks are - a separate ethnos, an independent nationality, or even a special nation descended from the Turks and Slavs. The reason for the uncertainty lies in the absence of reliable written sources shedding light on the appearance of the Cossacks, as well as many alleged ancestors, including Tatars, Scythians, Kasogs, Khazars, Kirghiz, Slavs, etc. Scientists are more or less unanimous about the place and time of the origin of the Cossacks : in the 14th century, the uninhabited steppe expanses in the lower reaches of the Don and Dnieper began to be replenished with settlers from neighboring principalities, fugitive peasants and other ethnosocial 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 the other - an employee or a warrior, according to the third - a steppe robber. All versions, one way or another, create the image of a Cossack and have a right to exist. Cossacks, indeed, were considered a 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 annexation of the southern and eastern lands to Russia took place, 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 servicemen. The first abhorred government pressure, so they often expressed their dissatisfaction with the uprisings, the most famous of which were led by Razin, Bulavin and Pugachev. The latter obeyed the tsarist power and received salaries and lands for their service. The system of organizing Cossack life was distinguished by democratic orders, and all the 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 structure of the Cossack government in the way it needed to, 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 pursued, accompanied by massive repressions of the Cossacks, and in 1936 the restoration of the Cossacks began with the possibility of their joining the Red Army. Already in World War II, the Cossacks were again able to prove themselves from their best side.

Nevertheless, 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 repressed Russian Cossacks was adopted shortly before the collapse of the USSR in 1989. In 1992, the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation and the Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation were issued, which enshrined provisions regarding the restoration and functioning of Cossack societies. In 1994, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation came into effect, which determined the development strategy in relation to the Cossacks, in particular, the civil service of the Cossacks. As noted in the document, it was during the period of state 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 its state status. In 2008, an updated concept of state policy in relation to 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 partnership relations 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 that must 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 public 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 improving the legal, economic and organizational foundations of the service;
• education of the younger generation;
• development of rural areas and the agro-industrial complex in places where Cossack communities live;
• improvement of local self-government.

The main activities of modern Cossacks

Cossacks in Russia are citizens Russian Federation who are in Cossack societies and are direct descendants of the Cossacks or citizens who wished 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.

A Cossack society is created in the form of a farm, stanitsa, city, district (yurt), district (department) or military Cossack society, whose members, in accordance with the established procedure, 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 chieftain of the Cossack society, as well as other governing 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.
• Environmental activity.
• Public order protection.
• Providing fire safety.
• Ensuring environmental safety.
• The fight against terrorism.
• Protection of forests, wildlife.
• Protection of the borders of the Russian Federation.
• Protection of state and other important facilities.

Revived Cossacks: Myth or Real Power?

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

Cossack societies function in many regions 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. Today it includes more than 500 Cossack societies. Cossack patrols are a common occurrence in many Kuban cities. Together with the police, they prevented many crimes throughout the region. Kuban Cossacks successfully participate in the elimination of the consequences of an emergency (for example, the Crimean flood), help prevent local conflicts, in particular, with the annexation of Crimea. They also participate in the protection of law and order at various events, including world-class events (2014 Olympics, Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix), serve at border posts, identify poachers and much more.

The current governor of the Krasnodar Territory (like the previous governors) strives to support the Cossacks in every possible way: to expand the scope 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

Don Cossacks are the oldest Cossack army in Russia and the most numerous. The great Don army carries out state service and participates in military-patriotic work. Public order protection, military service, border protection, protection of social facilities, countering 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 the Somali pirates.

Form and awards of the Cossacks

Heraldic traditions go back more than one century. The modern form of the Cossacks is divided into ceremonial, 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 have been determined. Between the Cossack troops, there are certain differences in the shape and color of uniforms, wide trousers, stripes, cap bands and cap top. 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, on the other, they have their own distinctive features.

Conclusion

So, the Cossacks in modern Russia are divided according to the territorial principle, the type of society in which they are members, and they are also registered and non-registered. Civil service can only be carried out and the highest Cossack societies, in fact, are military Cossack societies. Each society has its own charter, form and structure. In Russia at this stage, the most significant are the Great Don and Kuban Cossack troops. The 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.

Exercise 6. Switching attention . The teacher gives commands:

Visual attention - an object far away (door),

COSSACKS: ORIGIN, HISTORY, ROLE IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIA.

The Cossacks are an ethnic, social and historical community (group) that, due to their specific characteristics, united all Cossacks, primarily Russians, as well as Ukrainians, Kalmyks, Buryats, Bashkirs, Tatars, Evenki, Ossetians, etc., as separate subethnos of their peoples into a single whole. Until 1917, Russian legislation considered the Cossacks as a special military class that had privileges for performing compulsory service. The Cossacks were also defined as a separate ethnos, an independent nationality (the fourth branch of the Eastern Slavs), or even as a special nation of mixed Turkic-Slavic origin. Latest version it was intensively developed in the 20th century by Cossack historians-emigrants.

The origin of the Cossacks

Public organization, everyday life, culture, ideology, ethnopsychic way of life, behavioral stereotypes, folklore of the Cossacks have always markedly differed from the order established in other regions of Russia. The Cossacks originated in the 14th century in the uninhabited steppe spaces between Moscow Russia, Lithuania, Poland and the Tatar khanates. Its formation, which began after the collapse of the Golden Horde, took place in a constant struggle with numerous enemies far from developed cultural centers. No reliable written sources have survived on the first pages of Cossack history. Many researchers tried to discover the origins of the Cossacks in the national roots of the ancestors of the Cossacks among various peoples (Scythians, Polovtsians, Khazars, Alans, Kirghiz, Tatars, Mountain Circassians, Kasogs, Brodniks, black hoods, Torks, etc.) or considered the original Cossack military community as a result of genetic ties of several tribes with the Slavs who came to the Black Sea region, and this process was counted from the beginning of the new era. Other historians, on the contrary, proved the Russianness of the Cossacks, emphasizing the constancy of the presence of the Slavs in the regions that became the cradle of the Cossacks. The original concept was put forward by the émigré historian A.A.Gordeev, who believed that the ancestors of the Cossacks were the Russian population in the Golden Horde, settled by the Tatar-Mongols in the future Cossack territories. For a long time, the dominant official point of view that the Cossack communities emerged as a result of the flight of Russian peasants from serfdom (as well as the view of the Cossacks as a special class), were subjected to reasoned criticism in the 20th century. But the theory of autochthonous (local) origin also has a weak evidence base and is not supported by serious sources. The question of the origin of the Cossacks is still open.

There is no unanimity among scientists on the origin of the word "Cossack" ("Cossack" in Ukrainian). Attempts were made to derive this word from the name of the peoples who once lived near the Dnieper and the Don (kasogi, x (k) azars), from the self-name of the modern Kirghiz - kaisaks. There were other etymological versions: from the Turkish "kaz" (ie goose), from the Mongolian "ko" (armor, protection) and "zakh" (line). Most experts agree that the word "Cossacks" came from the east and has Turkic roots. In Russian, this word, first mentioned in the Russian annals of 1444, originally meant homeless and free soldiers who entered the service with the fulfillment of military obligations.

History of the Cossacks

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. In Ukraine, the free Cossacks were represented by the Zaporozhye Sich (existed until 1775), and the servicemen were represented by “registered” Cossacks who received a salary for service in the Polish-Lithuanian state. Russian service Cossacks (policemen, regimental and sentry) were used to protect the abyssal lines and cities, receiving for this salary and land for life. Although they were equated with "service people by the device" (archers, gunners), in contrast to them, they had a stanitsa organization and an elective system of military control. They existed in this form 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 service Cossacks, the centers of the emergence of the free Cossacks became the coasts of large rivers (Dnieper, Don, Yaik, Terek) and the steppe expanses, which left a noticeable imprint on the Cossacks and determined their way of life.

Each large territorial community as a form of military-political unification of independent Cossack settlements was called the Voiskom. The main economic occupation of the free Cossacks was hunting, fishing, and animal husbandry. For example, in the Don Host until the beginning of the 18th century, arable farming was prohibited on pain of death. As the Cossacks themselves believed, they lived "from grass and water." War was of great importance in the life of the Cossack communities: they were in constant military confrontation with hostile and militant nomadic neighbors, therefore, one of the most important sources of livelihood for them was war booty (as a result of campaigns "for zipuns and yasyrs" in Crimea, Turkey, Persia , to the Caucasus). River and sea trips on plows were made, 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 public Cossack life was a military organization with an elective system of government and democratic order. The main decisions (questions of war and peace, the election of officials, the court of the guilty) were made at general meetings of the treasury, stanitsa and military circles, or Rada, which were the highest governing bodies. The main executive power belonged to the ataman, who was replaced annually by the military (koshevoy in Zaporozhye) chieftain. During the hostilities, a marching chieftain was elected, whose submission was unquestioning.

Diplomatic relations with the Russian state were maintained by sending winter and light villages (embassies) to Moscow with an appointed chieftain. From the moment the Cossacks entered the historical arena, their relations with Russia were distinguished by ambivalence. Initially, they were built on the principle of independent states with one enemy. Moscow and the Cossack Troops were allies. The Russian state acted as the main partner and played the leading role as the strongest side. In addition, the Cossack Troops were interested in receiving monetary and military assistance from the Russian Tsar. Cossack territories performed important role buffers on the southern and eastern borders of the Russian state, covering it from the raids of the steppe hordes. Cossacks also took part in many wars on the side of Russia against neighboring states. For the successful fulfillment of these important functions, the practice of the Moscow tsars included the annual sending of gifts, cash salaries, weapons and ammunition to individual Troops, as well as bread, since the Cossacks did not produce it. All communications between the Cossacks and the tsar were conducted through the Ambassadorial Prikaz, that is, as with a foreign state. It was often beneficial for the Russian authorities to represent the free Cossack communities as completely independent from Moscow. On the other hand, the Moscow state was dissatisfied with the Cossack communities, which constantly attacked Turkish possessions, which often ran counter to Russian foreign policy interests. Often periods of cooling occurred between the allies, and Russia stopped all assistance to the Cossacks. Moscow's discontent was also caused by the constant departure of its subjects to the Cossack regions. The democratic order (all are equal, no authorities, no taxes) became a magnet that attracted more and more enterprising and courageous people from the Russian lands. The fears of Russia turned out to be by no means groundless - during the 17-18 centuries the Cossacks were at the forefront of powerful anti-government uprisings, from its ranks came the leaders of the Cossack-peasant uprisings - Stepan Razin, Kondraty Bulavin, Emelyan Pugachev. The role of the Cossacks was great during the events of the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. Having supported False Dmitry I, they made up a significant part of his military detachments. Later, the 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, nobles already prevailed in the second militia, but at the council of 1613 it was the word of the Cossack atamans that was decisive in the election of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. The ambiguous role played by the Cossacks during the Time of Troubles forced the government in the 17th century to pursue a policy of drastic reduction of the Cossack service units in the main territory of the state. But on the whole, the Russian throne, taking into account the most important functions of the Cossacks as a military force in the border regions, showed patience and sought to subordinate it to its power. In order to consolidate loyalty to the Russian throne, the tsars, using all the levers, managed to achieve by the end of the 17th century the acceptance of the oath by all the Troops (the last Don Army was in 1671). From voluntary allies, the Cossacks turned into Russian subjects. With the incorporation 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 conquests. 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 atamans and introduced the institution of order atamans appointed by the supreme power. The Cossacks lost their last remnants of independence after the defeat of the Pugachev revolt in 1775, when Catherine II liquidated the Zaporozhye Sich. In 1798, by the decree of Paul I, all Cossack officer ranks were equated to the general army, and their owners received the rights to the nobility. In 1802, the first Regulations for the Cossack troops were developed. In 1827, the heir to the throne began to be appointed as the august chieftain of all Cossack troops. In 1838, the first drill regulations for the Cossack units were approved, and in 1857 the Cossacks came under the jurisdiction of the Directorate (from 1867 the Main Directorate) of the irregular (from 1879 - the Cossack) troops of the War Ministry, from 1910 - into the subordination of the General Staff.

The role of the Cossacks in the history of Russia

For centuries, the Cossacks have been a universal branch of the armed forces. It was said about the Cossacks that they were born in the saddle. At all times, they were considered excellent riders who knew no equal in the art of horse riding. Military experts rated the Cossack cavalry as the best light cavalry in the world. Military glory Cossacks strengthened themselves on the battlefields in the Northern and Seven Years Wars, during the Italian and Swiss campaigns of A. V. Suvorov in 1799. Cossack regiments were especially distinguished in the Napoleonic era. Led by the legendary ataman M. I. Platov, the irregular army became one of the main culprits in the death of the Napoleonic army in Russia in the campaign of 1812, and after the foreign campaigns of the Russian army, according to General A. P. Ermolov, "the Cossacks became the surprise of Europe." Not a single Russian-Turkish war of the 18-19 centuries did not do without Cossack sabers, they participated in the conquest of the Caucasus, the conquest of Central Asia, the development of Siberia and Of the Far East... The successes of the Cossack cavalry were explained by the skillful use of grandfather's tactics, unregulated by any statutes, in battles: lava (coverage of the enemy in loose formation), the original system of reconnaissance and guard service, etc. These Cossack "turns" inherited from the steppe dwellers turned out to be especially effective and unexpected in clashes with armies European states. “For this, a Cossack will be born, so that the tsar will be useful in the service,” says an old Cossack proverb. His service under the 1875 Act lasted 20 years, starting at the age of 18: 3 years in the preparatory category, 4 in active service, 8 years on relief, and 5 in the reserve. Each came to the service with his own uniform, equipment, melee weapons and a riding horse. The Cossack community (stanitsa) was responsible for the preparation and performance of military service. Service itself, a special type of self-government and the system of land use, as a material basis, were closely interconnected and ultimately ensured the stable existence of the Cossacks as a formidable fighting force. The main owner of the land was the state, which, on behalf of the emperor, assigned the land won by the blood of their ancestors to the Cossack army on the basis of collective (communal) property. The army, leaving a part for the military reserve, divided the received land between the villages. The village community on behalf of the army was periodically engaged in the redistribution of land shares (ranged from 10 to 50 acres). For the use of the allotment and exemption from taxes, the Cossack was obliged to carry out military service. The army also allocated land plots to the Cossack noblemen (the share depended on the officer's rank) as hereditary property, but these plots could not be sold to persons of non-military origin. In the 19th century, agriculture became the main economic occupation of the Cossacks, although different troops had their own characteristics and preferences, for example, the intensive development of fishing as the main industry in the Urals, as well as in the Don and Ussuriysk Troops, hunting in Siberia, winemaking and gardening in the Caucasus, Don etc.

Cossacks in the 20th century

At the end of the 19th century, in the depths of the tsarist administration, projects for the elimination of the Cossacks were discussed. On the eve of the First World War, there were 11 Cossack Troops in Russia: Donskoe (1.6 million), Kuban (1.3 million), Terskoe (260 thousand), Astrakhan (40 thousand), Ural (174 thousand), Orenburg (533 thousand), Siberian (172 thousand), Semirechenskoye (45 thousand), Zabaikalskoye (264 thousand), Amur (50 thousand), Ussuriysk (35 thousand) and two separate Cossack regiments. They occupied 65 million acres of land with a population of 4.4 million. (2.4% of the population of Russia), including 480 thousand service personnel. Among the Cossacks, ethnic Russians prevailed (78%), in second place were Ukrainians (17%), in third place were Buryats (2%). Most of the Cossacks professed Orthodoxy, there was a large percentage of Old Believers (especially in the Ural, Tersk, Donskoy Troops), and national minorities professed Buddhism and Islam.

More than 300 thousand Cossacks took part in the battlefields of the First World War (164 cavalry regiments, 30 foot battalions, 78 batteries, 175 individual hundreds, 78 fifty, not counting auxiliary and spare parts). The war showed the ineffectiveness of using large horse masses (the Cossacks accounted for 2/3 of the Russian cavalry) in conditions of a continuous front, high density of infantry firepower and increased technical means of defense. The exceptions were small partisan detachments formed from volunteer Cossacks, which successfully operated behind enemy lines when performing sabotage and reconnaissance missions. The Cossacks, as a significant military and social force, participated in the Civil War. Combat experience and professional military training of the Cossacks was again used in solving acute internal social conflicts. By the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of November 17, 1917, the Cossacks were formally abolished as an estate and Cossack formations. During the Civil War, the Cossack territories became the main bases of the White movement (especially the Don, Kuban, Terek, Ural) and it was there that the most fierce battles were fought. The Cossack units were numerically the main military force of the Volunteer Army in the fight against Bolshevism. The Cossacks were prompted to this by the policy of decossackization carried out by the Reds (mass shootings, taking hostages, burning villages, inciting nonresidents against the Cossacks). The Red Army also had Cossack units, but they represented a small part of the Cossacks (less than 10%). At the end of the Civil War, a large number of Cossacks found themselves in exile (about 100 thousand people).

V Soviet time the official policy of decossackization actually continued, although in 1925 the plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) declared inadmissible "ignoring the peculiarities of Cossack life and the use of violent measures in the fight against the remnants of Cossack traditions." Nevertheless, the Cossacks continued to be considered "non-proletarian elements" and were subject to restrictions in their rights, in particular, the ban on serving in the ranks of the Red Army was lifted only in 1936, when they created several Cossack cavalry divisions (and then corps), which showed themselves excellently during the Great World War II. Since 1942, the Hitlerite command also formed units of Russian Cossacks (15th corps of the Wehrmacht, commander General G. von Panwitz) numbering more than 20 thousand people. During hostilities, they were mainly used to protect communications and fight against partisans in Italy, Yugoslavia, and France. After the defeat of Germany in 1945, the British transferred the disarmed Cossacks and their family members (about 30 thousand people) to the Soviet side. Most of them were shot, the rest ended up in Stalin's camps.

The very cautious attitude of the authorities towards the Cossacks (which resulted in the oblivion of its history and culture) gave rise to the modern Cossack movement. Initially (in 1988-1989) it emerged as a historical and cultural movement for the revival of the Cossacks (according to some estimates, about 5 million people). By 1990, the movement, having gone beyond the cultural and ethnographic framework, began to politicize. The intensive creation of Cossack organizations and unions began, both in places of former compact residence, and in large cities, where during the Soviet period a large number of descendants settled, fleeing political repressions. The massive nature of the movement, as well as the participation of militarized Cossack detachments in the conflicts in Yugoslavia, Transnistria, Ossetia, Abkhazia, Chechnya, forced government structures and local authorities to pay attention to the problems of the Cossacks. The further growth of the Cossack movement was facilitated by the resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation "On the rehabilitation of the Cossacks" of June 16, 1992 and a number of laws. Under the President of Russia, the Main Directorate of Cossack Troops was created, a number of measures to create regular Cossack units were undertaken by power ministries (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Border Troops, Ministry of Defense).

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In the beginning. XX century, the Russian Empire, like a knight at a crossroads, stood on the eve of choosing a path to the historical future. The world was changing rapidly, but imperceptibly. It would seem that everything was going brilliantly: there was an increase in technical progress (including in Russia! The empire came out on top in the world in oil production, steel smelting, even in mechanical engineering); lush flourishing of culture and art. Everywhere on the newsreels of that time luxury and splendor. It's the same in feature films. Cinema in general is becoming a leading force that changes fashion and brings new trends: it is from there that the feminists of St. Petersburg and Berlin borrow the short haircut of the actress Eve Lavalier. Everywhere theater premieres, balls, exhibitions ... At whose expense was this luxury? Few thought about this in those years.

Nevertheless, the world, which seemed so joyful, promising and stable at the same time, hung in the balance. Growing up like mushrooms, industrial and financial giants were dissatisfied with the last territorial division of the planet Earth (this division was carried out according to the old, "aristocratic" rules by the monarchs and noble governments of the European colonial countries). Having received some education and saw the temptations of a "beautiful life" in the movies, the workers began to raise their voices, incited by the revolutionary parties. The unequal peoples of the colonies fought against the colonialists.

"Non-titular" nationalities of such "patchwork" states as Austria-Hungary were ready for any scandal, terrorist attack, political speech, just to attract the attention of the world community ... The world was divided before our eyes. Common interests melted like snow in the sun.
Russia also had its own problems, and not insignificant ones. And they, too, were kind of implicit - "in the background." Maybe it was this silence that made the citizens Russian Empire unprepared for future shocks? And the temptations of a “beautiful life” and an “open world” have gradually replaced the firm priorities of faith and loyalty to the Fatherland? One way or another, at the beginning of the twentieth century, perhaps everyone in Russia looked to the future with optimism: the intelligentsia was waiting for liberal freedoms, the bourgeoisie - the expansion of markets, the peasantry - the redistribution of land.
And were the Cossacks ready for what struck soon? How did it live at that time, what did the Cossacks expect and what did they strive for before the First World War and the revolution of 1917?

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Cossacks probably remained the most conservative part of the population of the Russian Empire. Living in the compact territories of the Donskoy, Kuban, Tersky, Siberian and other "Cossack troops" - there were 11 of them, - using the land resources of these territories duty-free on the basis of a universal military service empires, the Cossacks did not think about any possible changes in their lives. (And yet this way of their life was already questioned by the government: were there doubts as to whether such a "blood tax" was rational in the new conditions? future modernized ones - with airplanes, tanks, battleships - wars? To answer this question in the upcoming gigantic battles of the First World War, the Cossacks themselves had to answer ... And they were able to answer it.)

In the meantime, everything went on as usual: a Cossack was born, learned to own a horse, rifle, lance and saber, grew up to 20 years old and went on a long military service, divided into several stages. Even before the "conscription", he was involved in the difficult agricultural work of his family on the lands "cut" from the combined arms for each male Cossack. (Later, having got married and acquired the necessary agricultural equipment, he could live and work on his allotment on his own or lease it to “nonresident” people.)

Cossack service in the full sense of the word was "both dangerous and difficult." And, most importantly, duty: in the 18th century the Cossack served 25 years, in the 19th century - 20. According to the charter, in 1913 the Cossack's general service life is 18 years. First, a year of "preparatory service"; then - twelve years of combatant; and five years - "in the spare category."

For comparison: the "active service" of a soldier in the Russian army lasted three or four years, depending on the type of troops; he was "in reserve" for 15 or 13 years respectively. In addition, not all "non-Cossacks" were drafted into the army, but "by lot." The Cossacks served without exception.

Even in peacetime, the Cossack service, according to historians, “cost” 25% of the losses of personnel: illness, clashes at the borders, accidents ... Twelve years in the ranks is not a joke. The Cossacks treated the need for such a service calmly and believed that it should be carried with honor. The father, seeing off his son "to the army", severely punished "to serve the fatherland and the tsar", not to put his ancestors to shame. And if the son died, then first of all he asked whether he honestly fulfilled his duty ... The loyalty of the Cossacks to the Fatherland and the throne was beyond doubt. (There is a kind of pre-revolutionary statistical "rating" of the military loyalty of the peoples of Russia: the Cossacks occupy the first place in it. They are followed by ... the Ukrainians. As you can see, everything is changing, however, even in those days, sometimes the Cossacks had to be compared with other peoples, and not with estates .)

Yes, the service remained honorable for the Cossacks, but also difficult. The well-being of the Cossack families depended directly on the results of their labor on the land plot; and in order to have results, it is necessary that there was someone to work on this earth ... The allotments were "cut" only to men, because only they had to serve. Therefore, families tried to have a large number of children. And in the photographs of those years, you see a gray-haired father standing next to his wife, and behind him - a whole row of Cossacks, as in a military formation. 10, 12, 15 children - it was considered in the order of things. Of course, there were girls among them. And everyone had to be fed and raised "to the age" ...

The Cossack went to the service in equipment, which his family acquired at their own expense (one rifle was then issued from the state). Without a doubt, the most expensive part of the "Cossack law" was the battle horse: in order to buy it, poor families borrowed from relatives, sold farm animals. This horse was never plowed, not harnessed to a cart or chaise - he had another job. It was necessary that the horse did not just pass the official "acceptance" by the military commission: the horse became a comrade in arms, a constant friend, sometimes the only chance of salvation in battle or in a difficult campaign. He, like the owner, also passed military training and, one might say, also served. "All relatives are not more expensive than a horse," said the Cossacks.

The land of the Cossack army (Donskoy, Kuban, Tersky) was a single administrative territory within the Russian Empire. The troops were commanded by appointed military chieftains; were divided into districts, districts - into villages, and villages - into farms. The ataman was appointed by the sovereign; stanitsa and khutor chieftains were chosen by the Cossacks of local societies. In general, only those who were "assigned" to any village had the status of a Cossack. This applied to both the lower ranks and generals and chieftains. Therefore, getting to know each other, the Cossacks first of all asked: "Which village?" The village also had its own Cossack land, which he could not sell or donate. The officers of this land had more - by rank. The village atamans exercised administrative, police and lower judicial power in the territory under their jurisdiction. Non-Kazakhs could not acquire land in the army; thus, the population was divided into Cossacks and "nonresident". The troops, however, had "their own" cities. The capital of Donskoy was the city of Novocherkassk, but the commercial city of Rostov (-on-Don), although located in the very heart of the Cossack lands, until 1887 was considered a district of the Yekaterinoslav province.
The nonresident population of the Donskoy army was mainly Ukrainians who were engaged in agriculture and, having no land of their own, had to go "on lease" (alas, this situation "backfired" during the Civil War, when the Red cavalry armies consisted mainly of "; Under the empire, they served more in dragoons - they were cavalrymen). On the lands of the Don army, the number of "nonresident" was 57% of the population. On the lands of Tersky - 80%, and they were mainly mountaineers ...

There was also a special status of a “merchant Cossack”. Such Cossacks were also attributed to the villages, they also had to serve on a common Cossack basis. But they officially paid off from military service and conducted commercial activities. The most famous "merchant Cossack" is the Donets Elpidifor Paramonov, the owner of a large number of steamers, granaries, and mills. The Paramonovs pioneered the electrification of southern Russia. I cannot but mention: the well-known "Ilyich's lamp", which lit up in the USSR, owes it to them.

The life of the ordinary Cossacks was previously determined by the productivity of the lands on which they lived, and the demand for the fruits that this land produced. So, the Terek Cossacks of the Kizlyar District, who traditionally grew grapes for making wines and the famous Russian vodka-kizlyarka, were quite sufficient owners, and their closest neighbors from mountain villages could not boast of this. Since ancient times, the Ural Cossacks have been enriched by the sturgeon river of the Urals - “silver banks, golden bottom”. And the Cossacks of the Amur army, whose land was a swamp far from industrial centers, generally predominantly lived in poverty. And this also affected during the Civil War ...

Most of the Cossacks were Orthodox people, but in the Ural Cossack army, by tradition, Old Believers predominated, and the Don Cossacks also included Kalmyk Cossacks, some of whom adhered to Lamaism. Among the Terek Cossacks in the Caucasus, there were Ossetian Cossacks; a significant part of the Orenburg army was also represented by foreigners. According to the laws of that time, anyone could become a Cossack who was accepted and provided with land by the stanitsa society. (I draw your attention to the fact that the decision in this matter belonged to the Cossacks themselves!) A person who broke off relations with the stanitsa society (and did not move to another stanitsa), thereby left the Cossack estate and lost its privileges. Cossack women who married "nonresident" women are the most frequent example of this.

Thus, the Cossacks in the Russian Empire were both a nationality living on special rights within their compact territories, and an estate associated with the state by the obligation of universal military service. Finally, it also acted as a separate military structure of Russia: the Cossacks cannot be called a "branch of the army" - they had their own cavalry and infantry (Kuban plastuns), artillery and even warships. And yet, the main service of the Cossacks took place on horseback: in peacetime they were attracted to patrolling the borders, for security purposes, and in some cases for performing police functions. (It is believed that the Cossacks were not enthusiastic about the latter “specialization.” For the sake of truth, it should be said that in their territories they dispersed rallies and pacified the miners without complaining. In St. Petersburg or Moscow, it is a different matter.)

In everyday life, the Cossacks of the beginning. In the twentieth century, they were primarily concerned with the harvest, the offspring of livestock, the purchase of modern agricultural equipment (a lot of it - produced by well-known European firms - was purchased by wealthy villagers). Important for them were the issues of land delimitation between villages and districts, which were carried out regularly and were often marked by conflicts between neighboring societies. The families tried to increase the birth rate and somehow "plan" it so that when some sons serve, others could take on a share of the total labor.

It was required to marry the daughter off in time, to marry the son before he went to work (this way it was more reliable to continue his Cossack family) ... At home, the Cossacks wore mostly clothes that represented them military uniform, - with "additions" and replacement of some elements: for example, instead of boots, they wore leather chuvy-chiriks. In contrast to the current fashion of the Cossacks for military uniforms in the then villages, it was fashionable to be photographed in "civilian clothes" - in jackets, hats. This was especially true for young people. They sang their own old Cossack songs, but the city tunes were already beginning to penetrate into the women's repertoire ... Civilization affected the patriarchal Cossack society more and more. Atamans and military administrations were mainly engaged in the usual administrative and bureaucratic red tape (when the time comes in beheaded, deprived of the tsar of Russia, to gather again Cossack circles, to choose military atamans themselves, to solve political issues, then in most cases they will choose people who are completely not ready for such activities. Accustomed to only following orders and serving faithfully).

It is necessary to say two words about "Cossackomancy" - that is how Cossack patriotism and national pride were called at that time. This phenomenon was common among the Cossack community. But such a beginning manifested itself primarily in a certain aesthetic and behavioral model of daring, belligerent beauty, courage and boldness - in what the Cossacks capaciously called "task-oriented". Only rare individuals were seriously concerned with thoughts of a free Cossack past and the prospects for a possible independent future. The Cossack society looked at their throwing with sympathy, but few took them seriously ...

In the political life of Russia, the Cossacks took part, like the rest of the population of the empire, with the creation of the State Duma. And I didn't really understand all this. I just didn't have time: the term was too short - from 1905; interruptions in the work of the Duma are too frequent; the positions of the Duma politicians are too contradictory and inconsistent. And the mechanisms of representation of deputies were not worked out ... All these political games in distant Petersburg reached the Cossacks poorly. And the Cossacks were mainly interested in local economic issues and conditions of service.
This is how it looked before the Great War and the destructive revolution. It seemed to be strong, traditionally, with firm faith and the usual fearlessness for the Cossacks in battle and practicality in everyday life ... And the time of testing was already on the threshold.

P.S. The author of this article is well aware that it is for informational purposes only and to a certain extent is an "educational program" on the topic. I sincerely recommend to the interested reader an excellent book by the historian of the Cossacks Vladimir Trut "Dear Glory and Loss".

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In addition to the well-known regular Cossack troops of the Russian Empire that officially existed by 1917, at different times there were Cossack troops, whose names and composition seem to us today bizarre.

Meshchera Cossacks

The name of the Cossacks was first recorded on the Ryazan land in the middle of the 15th century. The Cossacks then inhabited the Ryazan Ukraine and carried out a guard service on the borders of this principality. In the second half of the same century, the Cossacks of the Chervlyoniy Yar on the upper Khopra are mentioned, and initially they could also be Ryazan Cossacks, since the Ryazan principality spread its influence on the upper reaches of the Khopra. From the very end of the 15th century, Meshchera, or Gorodets, Cossacks have been known in the same Ryazan land. Apparently, they were all different groups, albeit very close.

The Meshcherskiy Cossacks were the otatared Finnish tribe of Meshcheryaks, or Mishars, and they were named Gorodets after the Meshchersky Gorodok, or Kasimov. Also in late XIV For centuries, the Meshcheryaks became tributaries of Moscow, and in the middle of the 15th century, Vasily II the Dark created a vassal Kasimov kingdom on their lands, headed by the serving Tatars. The majority of its population were Mishars.

Mishars made up most service people on the Zasechnye Lines of the Moscow State in the 16th-17th centuries. As the borders of Russia were extended to the southeast, the Mishars also settled, crossing the Volga and reaching the Urals. At the same time, experiencing the pressure of Christianization, they left the central regions of Russia. In the Urals, in Bashkiria, in the 18th century the Meshcheryaks settled in large masses among the Bashkirs.

Bashkir-Meshcheryak army

In 1798, the Bashkirs and Meshcheryaks of the Southern Urals were entrusted with the duty of guarding the border of Russia with the Kirghiz-Kaisak steppes. In 1834, the army was separated into a separate administrative unit. In 1855, with the inclusion of the Teptyar people (organized in the Cossack manner, but not previously listed as Cossacks) into the army, it became known as Bashkir. In 1864 it was abolished, its lands were included in the Orenburg province.

Volga army

Cossacks on the Volga have been known since the 16th century. They received a regular organization in 1734 in connection with the settlement in the Tsaritsyn area, for defense against the Nogai, a group of Don Cossacks. In 1773-75. Volga Cossacks en masse participated in the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, and in 1777 the Volga army was abolished. Volga Cossacks were evicted to the Terek and Kuban.

Stavropol Kalmyk army

The name does not point to the North Caucasus, but to the Volga region. Stavropol-on-Volga is near Samara, present-day Togliatti. In the 18th century, part of the Kalmyks roamed these places. In 1756 they were turned into the service of Russia. The Stavropol Kalmyk army has always been few in number; in its best years, it fielded no more than 800 fighters. It was abolished in 1842.

Greco-Albanian army

During the Russian-Turkish wars of the second half of the 18th century, many Greeks and Albanians who lived in different places entered the Russian army and navy. Ottoman Empire... Upon the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiyskiy peace in 1774, they refused to return to Turkish citizenship. The following year, the Greek (according to other documents - Albanian) Cossack army was established. He was settled in the Taganrog region and on the Kerch Peninsula.

The army also accepted immigrants from the Ottoman Empire. In 1797 it was abolished, and from part of the settlers it was possible to form a Greek infantry battalion (according to other sources - a regiment) and an Albanian division. The decision to disband was caused by the fact that most of the newly-made "Cossacks" simply left the service, dissolving in the cities of the Black Sea coast, where they went about their usual business - trade.

Crimean Tatar Cossack army

In 1783, Russia declared the Crimean Khanate liquidated and annexed its territory. The question arose of how to organize a permanent armed defense of the peninsula. True to its habit of entrusting the border service to local peoples and taking the organization of the Cossack troops as an example, the Russian government decided to establish the Tatar Cossacks in Crimea.

On March 1, 1784, Catherine II signed a decree, drawn up according to the project of Prince Potemkin, on the creation of a Cossack army in the Tauride region. Five divisions of 1035 "Cossacks" were formed, headed by 17 officers, who were assigned salaries. Only the Crimean Tatars were included in the Tauride army. However, already in 1787, on the eve of a new war with Turkey, three of the five divisions were abolished for no apparent reason. And in 1796, Paul I disbanded the Tauride Cossacks from Crimean Tatars... But in 1827, the Crimean Tatar squadron was organized as part of the Russian army of the Life Guards.

Bug army

With the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. the creation of another Cossack army from non-Russian peoples was associated - on the Southern Bug from Moldovans, Vlachs, Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians who lived there and went over to the side of Russia. In 1817, the Bug Cossacks were transferred to the category of military settlers.

Danube army

With the occupation of Bessarabia by the Russian army in the war with Turkey in 1806-12. who lived there and previously fled from under Russian authorities the Zaporozhye Cossacks again found themselves under the jurisdiction of Russia. In 1807, the Danube Army was organized from them. After, as a result of the Crimean War in 1856, Russia was forced to cede the strip adjacent to the mouth of the Danube, the Danube Cossacks were resettled to the Kherson province. There they formed the Novorossiysk army, which existed until 1868.

Azov army

The history of the descendants of the Zaporizhzhya Sich was not limited to this. Part of the Cossacks from the lower reaches of the Danube left for Turkey when the Russian army approached, but in 1825 they fled from the Sultan's army to Russia. In 1829, at the end of another war with Turkey, these Cossacks were settled in the area of ​​Mariupol and Berdyansk and received the name of the Azov army. It lasted until 1865.

Euphrates army

The most extravagant should be recognized the establishment of the Cossack army on the Euphrates. In 1916, Russian troops, conducting successful operations against Turkey, advanced to the upper reaches of this river. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Caucasus Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich on January 11, 1917 issued an order, according to which the Euphrates Cossack army was created. It was planned to form it from volunteer Cossacks (most of the Cossack units from the Kuban and Terek fought in the Transcaucasus), as well as local residents, most of whom were Armenians, who were subjected to genocide by the Turks before the arrival of Russian troops. Also, local Kurds and Yezidis could enter the Euphrates Cossacks. However, the revolution that began soon did not allow the implementation of this plan.

Project troops

At the end of the 19th century, projects were put forward to create Cossack troops to secure Russia and other conquered territories by attracting immigrants from the existing Cossack troops. It is known about plans to create Turkestan and Sungari (in Manchuria) Cossack troops. However, they did not begin to implement them.