Kuban Cossacks
Encyclopedia
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
region of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century. The Western part of the host (Taman Peninsula
Taman peninsula
The Taman Peninsula is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia. It is bounded on the north by the Sea of Azov, on the west by the Strait of Kerch and on the south by the Black Sea. The peninsula has evolved over the past two millennia from a chain of islands into the peninsula it is...
and adjoining region to the northeast) was settled by the Black Sea Cossack Host
Black Sea Cossack Host
Black Sea Cossack Host , also known as Chernomoriya , was a Cossack host of the Russian Empire created in 1787 in the southern Ukraine from former Zaporozhian Cossacks. In the 1790s, the host was re-settled to the Kuban River...
who were originally the Zaporozhian Cossacks of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, from 1792. The eastern and southeastern part of the host was previously administered by the Khopyour and Kuban regiments of the Caucasus Line Cossack Host
Caucasus Line Cossack Host
Caucasus Line Cossack Host was a Cossack host created in 1832 in the Northern Caucasus. Together with the Black Sea Cossack Host it defended the Caucasus Fortified Defense Line from the inlet of Terek River to the inlet of Kuban River.In 1860 it was split into the Kuban Cossack Host and Terek...
, who were re-settled from the Don
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
from 1777. The Kuban Cossack Host
Cossack host
A Cossack host or Cossack viysko was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in Imperial Russia...
(Кубанское казачье войско) is the administrative and military unit formed by the Kuban Cossacks from 1860 to 1918 and from 1990 since.
Black Sea Cossacks
In a different part of southeastern Europe, on the middle Dnieper in Ukraine, lived the Zaporozhian Cossacks. By the late 18th century however, their combat ability was greatly reduced. With their traditional adversaries, the Crimean KhanateCrimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
now all but defunct, the Russian administration saw little military use for them. The Zaporozhian Sich, however, represented a safe haven for runaway serfs, where the state authority did not extend, and often took part in rebellions which were constantly breaking out in Ukraine. Another problem for the imperial Russian government was also the Cossacks' resistance to colonization of lands the government considered theirs. In 1775, after numerous attacks on Serbian colonisers, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
had Grigory Potemkin
Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favorite of Catherine the Great. He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen....
destroy the Zaporozhian Host. The operation was carried out by General Pyotr Tekeli.
The Zaporozhians scattered; some (five thousand men or 30% of the Host) fled to the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
controlled Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
area. Others joined the Imperial Russian Army
Military history of Imperial Russia
The Military history of the Russian Empire encompasses the history of armed conflict in which the Empire participated. This history stretches from its creation in 1721 by Peter the Great, until the Russian Revolution , which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union...
Husar
Husar
Husar or HUSAR may refer to one of the following:*Húsar, a village at the Faroe Islands-People:*Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop Emeritus of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church*Martin Husár, a Slovakian football player, currently with Lillestrøm SK...
and Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiments, while most turned to local farming and trade.
A decade later, the Russian administration was forced to reconsider its decision, with the escalation of relations with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In 1778, the Turkish sultan offered the exiled Zaporozhians the chance to build a new Danubian Sich
Danubian Sich
The Danubian Sich was a fortified settlement of Zaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire after their previous host was disbanded and the Zaporizhian Sich was destroyed....
. Potemkin suggested that the former commanders Antin Holovaty
Antin Holovaty
Antin Holovaty or Anton Golovaty ; between 1732 and 1744 – ) was a prominent Zaporozhian Cossack leader who after the Zaporozhian Sich's destruction was a key figure in the formation of the Black Sea Cossack Host and their later resettlement to the Kuban Region of Russia.- Early years...
, Zakhary Chepiha
Zakhary Chepiha
Zakhary Chepiha , also known as Kharyton Chepiga was, after Sydir Bily, the second Kosh ataman of the Black Sea Cossack Host. His real surname was Kulish....
and Sydir Bily
Sydir Bily
-Biography:Bily was born in 1716 to a Cossack family near Kherson. He studied in the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy after which he joined the Sich as a young man where he continued his studies in the Sich officer school.Due to his talents he was chosen to be an osaul...
round the former Cossacks into a Host of the loyal Zaporozhians in 1787.
The new host played a crucial role in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), and for their loyalty and service, the Russian Empress rewarded them with eternal use of the Kuban, then inhabited by Nogai remnants, and in the cause of the Caucasus War a crucial progress in further pushing the Russian line into Circassia
Circassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...
. Renamed the Black Sea Cossack Host
Black Sea Cossack Host
Black Sea Cossack Host , also known as Chernomoriya , was a Cossack host of the Russian Empire created in 1787 in the southern Ukraine from former Zaporozhian Cossacks. In the 1790s, the host was re-settled to the Kuban River...
, a total of 25,000 men made the migration in 1792-93.
On the Russian frontier (1777-1860)
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
on the Khopyor River
Khopyor River
Khopyor is a river in European Russia, the biggest left tributary of the Don River. Length 979 km, watershed: 61,100 km², mouth width: 300m.Navigable up to 323 km...
took part in the campaign, and in 1770 then numbering four settlements requested to form a regiment. Owing to their service in the war on 6 October 1774 Catherine the Great
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
issued a manifesto granting their request.
The end of the war and the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca , Dobruja between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the...
brought Russia's frontiers south from the Kuban River
Kuban River
The Kuban River is a river in Russia, in the North Caucasus region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea....
's entry into the Azov Sea along its right bank and right to the bend of the Terek River. This created a 500-verst
Verst
A verst or werst is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to 1.0668 kilometres ....
undefended border and in summer of 1777, the Khopyor regiment in addition to the remnants of the Volga Cossacks
Volga Cossacks
The Volga Cossacks were free Cossack communities, formed from among the runaway peasants along the Volga River in the 16th century in Russia.The Volga Cossacks participated in Yermak's conquest of Siberia...
and a Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiment were re-settled into the Northern Caucausus to build the Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
-Mozdok defence line. This marked the start of the Caucasus War, which would continue for almost 90 years.
The Khopyor regiment was responsible for the western flank of the line, they founded the fortress of Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
(22 October 1777) and three stanitsa
Stanitsa
Stanitsa is a village inside a Cossack host . Stanitsas were the primary unit of Cossack hosts.Historically, the stanitsa was a unit of economic and political organisation of the Cossack peoples primarily in the southern regions of the Russian Empire.Much of the land was held in common by the...
s: Moskovskaya, Donskaya and Severnaya with 140 Cossack families in each. In 1779 the Khopyor regiment was given its own district. The conditions were desperate as the Circassians would mount almost daily raids onto the Russian positions. In 1804 the regiment began its first expansions, by pushing westwards deeper into the Kabarda territory, moving to the bend of the Kuban River
Kuban River
The Kuban River is a river in Russia, in the North Caucasus region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea....
and founding six new stanitsas (the so-called new-Kuban line: Barsukovskaya, Nivinnomysskaya
Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. Population: 132,141 ; 92,000 ; 40,000 ....
, Belomechetskaya, Batalpashinskaya (modern Cherkessk
Cherkessk
Cherkessk is the capital city of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: 121,439 ; 116,244 ; -History:...
), Bekeshevskaya and Suvorovskaya. The next expansion took place in 1828 when the Khopyor Cossacks completed in the conquest of Karachay, and were part of the first Russian expedition to reach the summit of Elbrus in 1829.
However the Russian progress on the Caucasus was desperate, and to ease administration in 1832 military reform united ten regiments from the mouth of the Terek River all the way to the Khopyor in the western Kabarda forming a single Caucasus Line Cossack Host
Caucasus Line Cossack Host
Caucasus Line Cossack Host was a Cossack host created in 1832 in the Northern Caucasus. Together with the Black Sea Cossack Host it defended the Caucasus Fortified Defense Line from the inlet of Terek River to the inlet of Kuban River.In 1860 it was split into the Kuban Cossack Host and Terek...
. The Khopyor regiment was also given several civilian settlements raising its manpower to 12 thousand. With the further advance to the Laba River the Khopyor district was split into two regiments, and forme the Laba line: Spokoynaya, Ispravnaya, Podgornaya, Udobnaya, Peredovaya, Storozhevaya.
Zaporozhets beyond the Kuban River
Many traditions of the Zaporozhian Cossacks continued in the Black Sea Cossacks, such as the formal election of the host administration, but in some cases, the traditionals were replaced by new ones. Instead of a central Sich, a defence line was formed from the Kuban River Black Sea inlet to the Bolshaya Laba River inlet. The land north of this line was settled with villages called stanitsaStanitsa
Stanitsa is a village inside a Cossack host . Stanitsas were the primary unit of Cossack hosts.Historically, the stanitsa was a unit of economic and political organisation of the Cossack peoples primarily in the southern regions of the Russian Empire.Much of the land was held in common by the...
s. The administrative centre of Yekaterinodar (literally Cathrine's gift) was built. The Black Sea Cossacks sent men to many major campaigns of the Russian Empire's demand, such as the suppression of the Polish Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
in 1794, the ill-fated Persian Expedition of 1796
Persian Expedition of 1796
The Persian Expedition of Catherine the Great, alongside the Persian Expedition of Peter the Great, was one of the Russo-Persian Wars of the 18th century which did not entail any lasting consequences for either belligerent....
where nearly half of the Cossacks died from hunger and disease, and sent the 9th plastun
Plastun
A Plastun or plastoon was a Cossack foot scouting and sentry military unit. Originally they were part of the Black Sea Cossack Host and then later in the 19th and 20th centuries Kuban Cossack Host.-Early History:...
(infantry) and 1st joint cavalry regiments as well as the first Leib Guards (elite) sotnia
Sotnia
Sotnia was a traditional division of the Cossack regiments. For example from earliest records of the Zaporizhian Sich, and means 'a hundred'. It is equivalent to company ....
to aid the Russian Army in the Patriotic War of 1812. The new host participated in the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) where they stormed the last remaining Ottoman bastion of the northern Black Sea Coast, the fortress of Anapa
Anapa
Anapa is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. It was originally a seaport for the Natkhuay tribe of the Adyghe people. Population: The town boasts a number of sanatoria and hotels...
in1828. In the course of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, the Cossacks foiled any attempts of allied landing on the Taman Peninsula
Taman peninsula
The Taman Peninsula is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia. It is bounded on the north by the Sea of Azov, on the west by the Strait of Kerch and on the south by the Black Sea. The peninsula has evolved over the past two millennia from a chain of islands into the peninsula it is...
, whilst the 2nd and 5th plastun battalions took part in the Defence of Sevastopol.
In the land they left behind, the Buh Cossacks were able to provide a strong buffer from the Danubian Sich
Danubian Sich
The Danubian Sich was a fortified settlement of Zaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire after their previous host was disbanded and the Zaporizhian Sich was destroyed....
. After the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) most of the Danube Cossacks officially turned themselves over and under amnesty were resettled between the Mariupol
Mariupol
Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...
and Berdyansk forming the Azov Cossack Host
Azov Cossack Host
Azov Cossack Host was a Cossack host that existed on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, between 1832 and 1862.The host was made up of several Cossack groups who were re-settled there. The most numerous were the former Danubian Sich Cossacks, who previously returned to Russian Patronage in 1828...
.
Expansion
Caucasian War
The Caucasian War of 1817–1864, also known as the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which ended with the annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus to Russia...
, they settled the regions each time these were conquered. To aid them, a total of 70 thousand additional ex-Zaporozhians from the Bug
Bug Cossacks
The Buh Cossack Host was a Cossack host, which used to be located along the Southern Buh River.The Buh Cossack Host was formed in 1769 out of Ukrainians, Vlachs, and Bulgarians, who had taken the side of Russia during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774. After the war, the regiment was quartered...
, Yekaterinoslav, and finally the Azov Cossack Host
Azov Cossack Host
Azov Cossack Host was a Cossack host that existed on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, between 1832 and 1862.The host was made up of several Cossack groups who were re-settled there. The most numerous were the former Danubian Sich Cossacks, who previously returned to Russian Patronage in 1828...
migrated there in the mid 19th century. All three of the former were necessary to be removed to vacate space for the colonisation of New Russia, and with the increasing weakness of the Ottoman Empire as well as the formation of independent buffer states in the Balkans, the need for further Cossack presence had ended. They made the migration to the Kuban in 1860 and merged with the Caucasus Line Cossack Host
Caucasus Line Cossack Host
Caucasus Line Cossack Host was a Cossack host created in 1832 in the Northern Caucasus. Together with the Black Sea Cossack Host it defended the Caucasus Fortified Defense Line from the inlet of Terek River to the inlet of Kuban River.In 1860 it was split into the Kuban Cossack Host and Terek...
.
Apogee of the Kuban Host
Russian-Circassian War
The Russian–Circassian War refers to a series of battles and wars in Circassia, the northwestern part of the Caucasus, which were part of the Russian Empire's conquest of the Caucasus lasting approximately 150 years, starting under the reign of Tsar Peter the Great and being completed in 1864...
which ceased shortly after the hosts' formation. A small group took part in the 1873 conquest that brought the Khanate of Khiva
Khanate of Khiva
The Khanate of Khiva was the name of a Uzbek state that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Persian occupation by Nadir Shah between 1740–1746. It was the patrilineal descendants of Shayban , the fifth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
under Russian control. Their largest military campaign was the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), on both the Balkan and the Caucasus fronts. The latter in particular was a strong contribution as the Kuban Cossacks made 90% of the Russian cavalry. Famous achievements in the numerous Battles of Shipka
Battle of Shipka Pass
Four battles were fought between the Russian Empire, aided by Bulgarian volunteers known as Opalchentsi, and the Ottoman Empire for control over the vital Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War...
, the defence of Bayazet
Dogubeyazit
Doğubeyazıt is a city and district of Ağrı Province of Turkey, and is Turkey's most eastern district, the border crossing to Iran. Elevation 1625 m. Area 2.383 km². Population 115.354 of which 69.447 live in the town of Doğubeyazıt, the remainder in the surrounding countryside...
and finally in decisive and victorious Battle of Kars
Battle of Kars
The Battle of Kars was a decisive Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War .In June, 1877 Russian forces attempted a siege of Kars but were driven off by an Ottoman army at the Battle of Kizil-Tepe. In November Russian commander in the Caucasus, Grand Duke Michael,...
where the Cossacks were the first to enter. Three Kuban Cossack regiments took part in the storming of Geok Tepe
Geok Tepe
Geok Tepe, Gökdepe or Gokdepe, is a former fortress of the Turkmens, in Turkmenistan, in the oasis of Ahal, on the Transcaspian railway, 28 miles north-west of Ashgabat. Gökdepe is the Russian version of the Turkic name meaning "Blue Hill" from the Turkmen gök "blue" and depe "hill" or "summit"...
in Turkmenistan in 1881. During the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
(1904–1905), the host mobilised six cavalry regiments, five plastun battalions and one battery to the distant region of Russia.
The Cossacks also carried out the second strategical objective, the colonisation of the Kuban land. In total, the host owned more than six million tithes, of which 5.7 million belonged to the stanitsas, with the remaining in the reserve or in private hands of Cossack officers and officials. Upon reaching the age of 17, a Cossack would be given between 16 to 30 tithes for cultivation and personal use. With the natural growth of the population, the average land that a Cossack owned decreased from 23 tithes in 1860s to 7.6 in 1917. Such arrangements, however ensured that the colonisation and the cultivation would be very rational.
The military purpose of the Kuban was echoed in its administration pattern. Rather than a traditional Imperial Guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
(governorate) with uyezd
Uyezd
Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
s (districts), the territory was administered by the Kuban Oblast which was split into otdels (regions, which in 1888 counted seven). Each otdel would have its own sotnia
Sotnia
Sotnia was a traditional division of the Cossack regiments. For example from earliest records of the Zaporizhian Sich, and means 'a hundred'. It is equivalent to company ....
s which in turn would be split into stanitsa
Stanitsa
Stanitsa is a village inside a Cossack host . Stanitsas were the primary unit of Cossack hosts.Historically, the stanitsa was a unit of economic and political organisation of the Cossack peoples primarily in the southern regions of the Russian Empire.Much of the land was held in common by the...
s and khutor
Khutor
Khutor or khutir is usually taken to refer to a single-homestead rural settlement of Eastern Europe.In Cossack-settled lands that encompassed today's Ukraine, Kuban, and the lower Don river basin the word khutor was used to describe new settlements which had detached themselves from stanitsas...
s. The Ataman
Ataman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
(commander) for each region was not only responsible for the military preparation of the Cossacks, but for the local administration duties. Local Stanitsa and Khutor atamans were elected, but approved by the atamans of the otdel. These, in turn, were appointed by the supreme ataman of the host, who was in turn appointed directly by the Russian Emperor. Prior to 1870, this system of legislature in the Oblast remained a robust military one and all legal decisions were carried out by the stanitsa ataman and two elected judges. Afterwards, however, the system was bureaucratised and the judicial functions became independent of the stanitsas.
The more liberal policy of the Kuban was directly mirrored in the living standards of the people. One of the central features of this was education. Indeed, the first schools were known to have existed since the migration of the Black Sea Cossacks, and by 1860, the host had one male high school and 30 elementary schools. In 1863, the first periodical Кубанские войсковые ведомсти - Kubanskiye voiskovye vedomsti began printing, and two years later the host's library was opened in Yekaterinodar. In all, by 1870, the number of schools in rural stanitsas increased to 170. Compared with the rest of the Russian Empire, by the start of the 20th century the Oblast had a very high literacy rate of 50% and each year up to 30 students from Cossack families (again a rate unmatched by any other rural province) were sent to study in the higher education establishments of Russia
Education in Russia
Education in Russia is provided predominantly by the state and is regulated by the federal Ministry of Education and Science. Regional authorities regulate education within their jurisdictions within the prevailing framework of federal laws. In 2004 state spending for education amounted to 3.6% of...
.
Russian Revolution and Civil War
During the Russian RevolutionRussian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and the resulting Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, the Cossacks found themselves conflicted in their loyalties. In October 1917, simultaneously the Kuban Soviet Republic
Kuban Soviet Republic
The Kuban Soviet Republic was part of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic within the general territory of the Kuban. Its capital was Yekaterinodar.It was merged into the Kuban-Black Sea Soviet Republic on May 30, 1918....
and the Kuban Rada
Kuban Rada
The Kuban Rada was the supreme organisation of the Kuban Cossacks, that represented all the heads of the districts. Its head however, Nakazny Ataman, was appointed by the Tsar directly. After the February Revolution, in April 1917 the Rada proclaimed itself as the supreme administration of the...
were formed, both of whom proclaimed their rights to rule the Kuban, and shortly afterwards the Rada declared a Kuban National Republic but was soon dispersed by Bolshevik forces. Although most of the Cossacks initially sided with the Rada, many joined the Bolsheviks as well, who promised them autonomy.
Lavr Kornilov
Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was a military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Russian Civil War...
's successful offensive, the Kuban Rada placed itself under his authority. However, after his death in June 1918 a federative union was signed with the Ukrainian government of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi 3 May 1873, Wiesbaden, Germany – 26 April 1945, Metten monastery clinic, Bavaria, Germany) was a Ukrainian politician, earlier an aristocrat and decorated Imperial Russian Army general...
, after which many Cossacks left to return home or defected to the Bolsheviks. In addition to that, there was an internal struggle among the Kuban cossacks between loyalty towards the Russian Volunteer Army
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
of Denikin and Ukrainian nationalist forces
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
.
On November 6, 1919, Denikin's forces surrounded the Rada, and with the help of the Ataman A. Filimonov arrested ten of its members, including the Ukrainophile, P. Kurgansky, who was the premier of the Rada, and publicly hanged one of them for treason. Many Cossacks joined Denikin and fought in the ranks of the Volunteer Army. In December 1919, after Denikin's defeat and as it became clear that the Bolsheviks would overrun the Kuban, some of the pro-Ukrainian groups attempted to restore the Rada and to break away from the Volunteer Army and fight the Bolsheviks in alliance with Ukraine; however, by early 1920 the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
took most of Kuban, and both the Rada and Denikin were evicted.
Establishment of Soviet Power
After the Soviet victory, many Kuban cossacks fled the country to avoid persecution by the Bolsheviks. A notable eviction point was the Greek island of LemnosLemnos
Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...
where 18 thousand Kuban Cossacks landed, many of whom died of starvation and disease. Soon after the Red Army's victory, the Kuban Cossack Host was officially dissolved. Because of their past loyalty to the Russian Emperor and the White Army, the new Soviet Government viewed all Cossacks as a threat to its still fragile power. An anti-Cossack campaign was implemented and the Kuban Cossack families would endure deliberate segregation as the Bolsheviks gave much of the Forecaucasus territory to the new autonomous provinces of local minorities, and encouraged the settlement of the pre-mountain steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s by the latter, sometimes forcefully evicting the Cossacks from their native homes. Collectivization of the fertile steppe also began. Most of the Cossacks became local peasants and worked in the new conditions. During the Soviet famine of 1932-1934, many Cossacks died of starvation.
Collaborators in Wehrmacht and Waffen SS
The first collaborators were formed from Soviet Cossack POWs and deserters after the consequences of the Red Army's early defeats in the course of Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. After the horrors of Collectivization and Decossackization
Decossackization
Decossackization is a term used to describe the Bolsheviks' policy of the systematic elimination of the Cossacks of the Don and the Kuban as a social and ethnic group...
, in summer of 1942, many of the Germans reaching Kuban were greeted as liberators. Many Soviet Kuban Cossacks chose to switch to the German side either when in POW camps or on active service in the Soviet Army. For example, Major Kononov deserted on August 22, 1941 with an entire regiment and was instrumental in organizing Cossack volunteers in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Some Cossack emigres, such as Andrei Shkuro
Andrei Shkuro
Andrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro was a Lieutenant General of the White Army.-Biography:...
and Pyotr Krasnov
Pyotr Krasnov
Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov , 1869 – January 17, 1947), sometimes referred to in English as Peter Krasnov, was Lieutenant General of the Russian army when the revolution broke out in 1917, and one of the leaders of the counterrevolutionary White movement afterward.- Russian Army :Pyotr Krasnov...
chose to collaborate with the Germans as well and stood at the helm of two Cossack divisions on German service. However, most volunteers came after the Germans reached the Cossack homelands in summer of 1942. The Cossack National Movement of Liberation was set up in hope of mobilizing opposition to the Soviet regime with an intent to rebuild an independent Cossack state.
While there were several smaller Cossack detachments in the Wehrmacht since 1941, the 1st Cossack Division
1st Cossack Division
The 1st Cossack Division was a Russian Cossack division of the German Army that served during World War II. It was created on the Eastern Front mostly out of Don Cossacks already serving in the Wehrmacht, those who escaped from the advancing Red Army and Soviet POWs. In 1945, the division was...
made up of Don, Terek and Kuban Cossacks was formed in 1943. This division was further augmented by the 2nd Cossack Cavalry Division formed in December 1944. Both divisions participated in hostilities against Tito's partisans
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
in Yugoslavia. In February 1945, both Cossack Divisions were transferred into the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
and formed the XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps
XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps
The XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps was a German cavalry corps during World War II. With order of February 1, 1945 the Corps was transferred to the Waffen-SS.-History:The summer of 1942 marked the high tide of German success in the East...
. At the end of the war, the Cossack collaborators retreated to Italy and surrendered to the British army, but, under the Yalta agreement, were forcibly repatriated with the rest of the collaborators to the Soviet authorities and some executed. (see Betrayal of the Cossacks
Betrayal of the Cossacks
The Repatriation of Cossacks after WW2, also known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks, the Tragedy of Drau or the Massacre of Cossacks at Lienz refers to the forced repatriation to the USSR of the Cossacks and ethnic Russians who were allies of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.The...
)
Red Army Cossacks
Despite the defections that were taking place, the majority of the Cossacks remained loyal to the Red Army. In the earliest battles, particularly the encirlclement of Belostok Cossack units such as the 94th Beloglisnky, 152nd Rostovsky and 48th Belorechensky regiments fought to their death.In the opening phase of the war, during the German advance towards Moscow, Cossacks became extensively used for the raids behind enemy lines. The most famous of these took place during the Battle of Smolensk
Battle of Smolensk (1941)
The Battle of Smolensk was a largely successful encirclement operation by the German Army Group Centre's 2nd Panzer Group led by Heinz Guderian and the 3rd Panzer Group led by Hermann Hoth against parts of four Soviet Fronts during World War II...
under the command of Lev Dovator, whose 3rd Cavalry Corps consisted of the 50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions from the Kuban and Terek Cossacks, which were mobilised from the Northern Caucasus. The raid, which in ten days covered 300 km and destroyed the hinterlands of the IXth German Army, before successfully breaking out. Whilst units under the command of General Pavel Belov, the 2nd Cavalry Corps made from Don, Kuban and Stavropol Cossacks spearheaded the counter-attack onto the right flank of the VIth German Army delaying its advance towards Moscow.
The high professionalism that the Cossacks under Dovator and Belov (both generals would later be granted the title Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
and their units raised to a Guards
Russian Guards
Guards or Guards units were and are elite military units in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The tradition goes back to the retinue of a knyaz of medieval Kievan Rus' and the streltsy, the Muscovite harquebusiers formed by Ivan the Terrible by 1550...
(elite) status) ensured that many new units would be formed. In the end, if the Germans during the whole war only managed to form two Cossack Corps, the Red Army in 1942 already had 17. Many of the newly formed units were filled with ethnically Cossack volunteers. The Kuban Cossacks were allocated to the 10th, 12th and 13th Corps. However, the most famous Kuban Cossack unit would be the 17th Cossack Corps under the command of general Nikolay Kirichenko.
During the opening phase of the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
, when the Germans overran the Kuban, the majority of the Cossack population, long before the Germans began their agitation with Krasnov and Shkuro, became involved in Partisan
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
activity. Raids onto the German positions from the Caucasus mountains became commonplace. After the German defeat at Stalingrad, the 4th Guards Kuban Cossack Corps, strengthened by tanks and artillery, broke through the German lines and liberated Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies along the Kuma River and the main rail line between Rostov-on-Don and Baku . Population:...
, and Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
.
For the latter part of the war, although the Cossacks did prove especially useful in reconnaissance and rear guards, the war did show that the age of horse cavalry had come to an end. The famous IVth Guards Kuban Cossack Regiment which took part in heavy fighting in the course of the liberation of Southern Ukraine and Romania was allowed to proudly march on the Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
in the famous Victory parade
Victory parade
A victory parade is a type of parade held in order to celebrate a victory. Because of that, victory parades can be divided into military victory parades and more frequent sport victory parades....
of 1945.
Modern Kuban Cossacks
Following the war, the Cossack regiments, along with remaining cavalry were disbanded and removed from the Soviet armed forces as they were thought to be obsolete.Starting in the late 1980s, there were renewed efforts to revive Cossack traditions which went to great lengths; in 1990, the Host was once again recognised by the Supreme Ataman
Ataman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
of the All-Great Don Host
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
(Всевеликое Войско Донское). With the help of the governor of Krasnodar Kray Alexander Tkachev, the host has become an integral part of the Kuban life, there are joint combat training operations with the Russian Army
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
, policing of the rural areas with the Militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
, preparation of local youth for the draft service. Not only is their aid in military, during the floods in 2004 of the Taman Peninsula they provided men and equipment for relief missions. Today, the host numbers 25 thousand men and has its own distinct forces: a whole regiment of the 7th 'Cherkassy' Guards Air-Assault Division (the 108th "Kuban Cossack' Guards Airborne Regiment) in the Russian VDV; 205th Motorised Rifle Brigade, within the North Caucasus Military District
North Caucasus Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla....
in the Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
, in addition to border guards.
The Cossacks have actively participated in some of the more abrupt political developments following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
: South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
, Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
and Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
. The latter conflict was in particular special for the Kuban Cossacks, initially a number of Cossacks fled from the de-Cossackization repressions of the 1920s and assimilated with the Abkhaz people
Abkhaz people
The Abkhaz or Abkhazians are a Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. A large Abkhazian diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as Muhajirism...
. Before the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
The Georgian–Abkhazian conflict refers to the ethnic conflict between Georgians and Abkhazians in Abkhazia, which is presently a de facto independent partially recognized republic...
there was a strong movement of creating an Abkhaz-Kuban Host among the descendants. When the civil war broke out, 1500 Kuban Cossack volunteers from Russia came to aid the Abkhaz side. One of the notable groups was the 1st sotnia
Sotnia
Sotnia was a traditional division of the Cossack regiments. For example from earliest records of the Zaporizhian Sich, and means 'a hundred'. It is equivalent to company ....
under the command of Ataman Nikolay Pusko which reportedly completely destroyed a Ukrainian volunteer group fighting on the Georgian side and then went on to be the first to enter Sukhumi in 1993. Since then, a detachment of Kuban Cossacks continue to inhabit Abkhazia, and their presence continues to influence the Georgian-Russian relations.
Culture
Because of the unique migration pattern that the original Zaporozhian Cossacks undertook, the Kuban Cossack identity has produced one of the most distinct cultures not only amongst other Cossacks but throughout the whole Russian identityRussian culture
Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...
. The proximity to the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
mountains and the Circassian people
Circassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...
influenced the dress and uniform of the Cossacks — the distinctive Cherkesska overcoat and the Beshment scarf, local dance such as the Lezginka
Lezginka
Lezginka or Lezghinka is a national dance of many people in the Caucasus Mountains. It derives its names from the Lezgin people; nevertheless, Georgians, Chechens, Lezghins, Ossetians, Circassians, Karachays, Balkars, Armenians, Abkhazians, Kabardins, Ingush, Ingilos, Azerbaijanis, Iranian...
too came into the Kuban Cossack lifestyle. At the same time, the Cossacks continued much of their Zaporozhian legacy, including a Kuban Bandura movement
Kuban bandurists
A Kuban bandurists is a person who plays the Ukrainian plucked string instrument known as the bandura, who is from Kuban, a geographic region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River.The tradition of the kobzar in Kuban migrated from central Ukraine...
and the Kuban Cossack Choir
Kuban Cossack Choir
Kuban Cossack Chorus is one of the leading Folkloric ensembles in Russia. Its repertoire and performances reflect the songs, dances and folklore of the Kuban Cossacks.-Early years:...
which became one of the most famous in the world for their performance of Cossack and other folk songs and dances, performed in both the Russian and Ukrainian languages.
National identity
In the 1897 census, 47.3% of the Kuban population (including extensive 19th century non-Cossack migrants from both Ukraine and Russia) referred to their native language as Little Russian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
while 42.6% referred to their native language as Great Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Most cultural production in Kuban from the 1890-1910 period, such as plays, stories, etc., were written and performed in the Little Russian/Ukrainian language, and one of the first political parties in Kuban was the Ukrainian Revolutionary Party. During World War I, Austrian officials received reports from a Ukrainian organization of the Russian Empire that 700 Kuban Cossacks in eastern Galicia had been arrested by their Russian officers for refusing to fight against Ukrainians in the Austrian army. Briefly during the Russian Civil War, the Kuban Cossack Rada declared Ukrainian to be the official language of the Kuban Cossacks, before its suppression by the Russian White
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
leader General Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin was Lieutenant General of the Imperial Russian Army and one of the foremost generals of the White movement in the Russian Civil War.- Childhood :...
. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3955/is_n8_v49/ai_20545809/pg_1.
After the Bolshevik Victory in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, the Kuban was viewed as one of the most hostile regions to the young Communist state. In his 1923 speech devoted to the national and ethnic issues in the party and state affairs, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
identified several obstacles in implementing the national programme of the party. Those were the "dominant-nation chauvinism", "economic and cultural inequality" of the nationalities and the "remenants of nationalism among a number of nations which have borne the heavy yoke of national oppression". For the Kuban, this was met with a unique approach. The victim/minority became the non-Cossack peasants who, like their counterparts in New Russia, were mixed population group, with an ethnic Ukrainian majority. To counter "dominant-nation chauvinism" a policy of Ukrainization
Ukrainization
Ukrainization is a policy of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture, in various spheres of public life such as education, publishing, government and religion.The term is used, most prominently, for the...
/Korenization was introduced. According to the 1926 census, there were already nearly a million Ukrainians registered in the Kuban Okrug alone (or 62% of the total population)
In addition to that, 700 schools with Ukrainian as the language of instruction were opened, and the Kuban Pedagogical Institute had its own Ukrainian department. Numerous Ukrainian-language newspapers such as Chornomorets and Kubanska Zoria were published. Historian A.L. Pawliczko even claims there was an attempt to have a referendum on the joining of Kuban to the Ukrainian SSR.
In 1930 the Ukrainian Minister ("People’s Komissar") Mykola Skrypnyk
Mykola Skrypnyk
Mykola Oleksiyovych Skrypnyk was a Ukrainian Bolshevik leader who was a proponent of the Ukrainian Republic's independence, and led the cultural Ukrainization effort in Soviet Ukraine. When the policy was reversed and he was removed from his position, he committed suicide rather than be forced to...
, involved in solving national issues in the Ukrainian SSR, had put forward an official proposal to Joseph Stalin that the territories of Voronezh, Kursk, Chornomoriya, Azov, Kuban regions be administered by the government of the Ukrainian SSR.
By the end of 1932, the Ukrainization programme was reversed, and by the late 1930s the majority of Kuban Ukrainians identified themselves as Russians As a result in the 1939 census, Russians in the Kuban were a majority of 2754027 or 86% The 2nd edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia is one of the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedias in Russian and in the world, issued by the Soviet state from 1926 to 1990, and again since 2002 .-Editions:There were three editions...
explicitly named the Kuban Cossacks as Russians.
The modern Kuban vernacular known as balachka
Balachka
Balachka is a term used to label the dialects spoken by Cossacks living in Russia. Originally the term was applied to the dialects of Ukrainian language spoken in the region around the Kuban river, however the usage of this term has recently broadened to include the Cossack dialects spoken on the...
differs from contemporary literary Russian and is most similar to the dialect spoken in central Ukraine near Cherkassy Some regions the vernacular includes many Northern Caucasus words and accents. The infuence of Russian grammatic forms is also apparent.
Like many other Cossacks, some refuse to accept themselves as part of the standard ethnic Russian people, and claim to be a separate subgroup on par with sub-ethnicities such as the Pomors
Pomors
Pomors or Pomory are Russian settlers and their descendants on the White Sea coast. It is also term of self-identification for the descendants of Russian, primarily Novgorod, settlers of Pomorye , living on the White Sea coasts and the territory whose southern border lies on a watershed which...
. In the 2002 Russian census the Cossacks were allowed to a have distinct nationality as a separate Russian sub-ethnical group. The Kuban Cossacks living in Krasnodar Kray, Adygea, Karachayevo-Cherkessia and some regions of Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol. Population: -Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
and Kabardino-Balkaria
Kabardino-Balkaria
The Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus. Population: -Geography:The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part....
counted 25,000 men. However, the strict governance of the census meant that only Cossacks who are in active service were treated as such, and at the same time 300,000 families are registered by the Kuban Cossack Host. Kuban Cossacks not politically affiliated with the Kuban Cossack Host, such as the director of the Kuban Cossack Choir
Kuban Cossack Choir
Kuban Cossack Chorus is one of the leading Folkloric ensembles in Russia. Its repertoire and performances reflect the songs, dances and folklore of the Kuban Cossacks.-Early years:...
Viktor Zakharchenko, have maintained at various times a pro-Ukrainian orientation. Zakharchenko has recently changed his position and proposes a unification of Ukraine and Russia.
| All Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
145,166,731 | 140,028 |
| Republic | Total population | Cossacks |
|---|---|---|
| Adygea | 447,109 | 470 |
| Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria The Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus. Population: -Geography:The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part.... |
901,494 | 307 |
| Karachayevo-Cherkessia | 439,470 | 2,501 |
| Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai -External links:* **... |
5,125,221 | 17,542 |
| Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol. Population: -Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major... |
2,231,759 | 3,902 |
| Total in Kuban | 9,145,053 | 24,722 |
See also
- Cossacks
- Zaporozhian Cossacks
- Black Sea Cossacks
- Danubian SichDanubian SichThe Danubian Sich was a fortified settlement of Zaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire after their previous host was disbanded and the Zaporizhian Sich was destroyed....
- Azov Cossack HostAzov Cossack HostAzov Cossack Host was a Cossack host that existed on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, between 1832 and 1862.The host was made up of several Cossack groups who were re-settled there. The most numerous were the former Danubian Sich Cossacks, who previously returned to Russian Patronage in 1828...
- Caucasus Line Cossack HostCaucasus Line Cossack HostCaucasus Line Cossack Host was a Cossack host created in 1832 in the Northern Caucasus. Together with the Black Sea Cossack Host it defended the Caucasus Fortified Defense Line from the inlet of Terek River to the inlet of Kuban River.In 1860 it was split into the Kuban Cossack Host and Terek...
- Kuban Cossack CultureMusic of KrasnodarKrasnodar is both a krai and a city within it, in Russia. Grigoriy Ponomarenko is the best-known composer from Krasnodar, which has also produced the State Cossack Choir, led by laureate of the state prize of Russia, V. G. Zaharchenko. The world renowned operatic soprano Anna Netrebko also comes...
- BalachkaBalachkaBalachka is a term used to label the dialects spoken by Cossacks living in Russia. Originally the term was applied to the dialects of Ukrainian language spoken in the region around the Kuban river, however the usage of this term has recently broadened to include the Cossack dialects spoken on the...
- Kuban Cossack ChoirKuban Cossack ChoirKuban Cossack Chorus is one of the leading Folkloric ensembles in Russia. Its repertoire and performances reflect the songs, dances and folklore of the Kuban Cossacks.-Early years:...
- Kuban banduristsKuban banduristsA Kuban bandurists is a person who plays the Ukrainian plucked string instrument known as the bandura, who is from Kuban, a geographic region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River.The tradition of the kobzar in Kuban migrated from central Ukraine...
- Cinema of the Soviet Union#1940s: Cossacks of the KubanCossacks of the KubanThe Cossack of the Kuban from Mosfilm is a color film, glorifying the life of the farmers in the kolkhoz of the Soviet Union's Kuban region, directed by Ivan Pyryev and starring Marina Ladynina, his wife at that time.-Cast:* Marina Ladynina, as Galina...
, a color musical filmMusical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
- Balachka
- Ukrainians in the Kuban
- Felix Sumarokov-ElstonFelix Sumarokov-ElstonCount Felix Nikolaievich Sumarokov-Elston was a Russian general.Rumored that Felix Elston was an illegitimate son of Countess Ekaterina Tiesenhausen, Dame of Honour of King Frederick William IV of Prussia's sister, Empress Alexandra of Russia and Prince Augustus of...
- Ethnic Cleansing of Circassians