Military art has always been a fairly significant part of the life of many nations and states. After all, as soon as a person picked up a stick, he began to use his strength to subjugate his own kind. This negative love of violence has haunted humanity throughout history. This fact led to the fact that in each nationality a separate class of warriors appeared, distinguished by professionalism and ruthlessness.
It should be noted that similar warlike castes also existed on the territory of the Slavic states. The history of their formation is quite interesting, given the fact that on the territory of modern Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other CIS countries there were constant wars for territorial domination between different states. Thus, constant military conflicts have significantly hardened the population living in the countries represented.
If we talk specifically about the Russian Federation, then in this state the most famous military community are the Kuban Cossacks. The creation of this army was carried out for years, and their activities are alive to this day.
The article will consider the most striking stages in the development of the Kuban Cossacks, as well as the specifics of this military formation.
Who are the Kuban Cossacks?
The history of the Kuban Cossack army dates back to very distant times. Today it is quite difficult to imagine the entire chronology of the existence of this military formation, since it is still operating on the territory of the Russian Federation, which will be discussed later in the article. Nevertheless, if we take into account historical facts, then the Kuban Cossack army is part of the entire Cossacks in the Russian Empire, which was based in the North Caucasus. In other words, this formation played the role of modern border guards.
From historical sources it is known that the military headquarters of the Kuban Cossacks was based in Yekaterinodar (the modern name of the city is Krasnodar). Despite the fact that the Kuban Cossack army was a typical military group, one of the elements of the army of the Russian Empire, its own ethnic group was formed on its basis. This fact today allows us to talk about the Cossacks not just as warriors, but as a separate nationality, along with Russians, Chechens, Kazakhs, etc.
History of Creation
Cossacks of the Kuban Cossack army were not originally a homogeneous ethnic mass of patriots of their state. After all, as mentioned earlier, the history of the creation of this formation is quite complicated. The Kuban Cossack army was formed from several groups of Cossacks, which by the middle of the 18th century were quite numerous on the territory of the Russian Empire.
Of course, the progenitors of the Cossack regiments of the Kubanone must rightfully consider the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, who appeared in the 16th century. As we know, they were originally based on the territory of modern Ukraine, on the island of Khortitsa, which is located near the modern city of Zaporozhye. Subsequently, the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks became a threat to imperial power, because they turned from an organized military formation into ordinary bandit groups. Therefore, by the end of the 18th century, the Cossacks as such received the status of "outside the law." However, this fact did not become the final point in the development of such formations.
Black Sea Cossacks
In 1774, the Russian Empire gets access to the Black Sea. At this stage, Turkey ceased to pose a threat, and the Commonwe alth, one of the most powerful states in the west, was on the verge of complete collapse. Therefore, the need to keep the Cossacks in their historical place was no longer required. In addition, these formations by the end of the 18th century began to turn into gangster structures. Confirmation of this fact is the support of the Pugachev uprising by the Cossacks. Thus, in 1775, a decision was made to completely destroy the Zaporizhzhya Sich and all its inhabitants. In this massacre, only 12 thousand Cossacks were able to survive, who subsequently fled to the mouth of the Danube.
The army of faithful Cossacks
It should be noted that the appearance of the Transdanubian Sich became a weighty argument for Turkey, which acquired additional forces of 12,000 soldiers. In turn, the Russian Empire, seeing a threat to itsterritorial interests in the south of the state, stops the process of eliminating the Cossacks. Moreover, in 1787, Grigory Potemkin created the Army of the Faithful Cossacks from among the previously persecuted members of the regiments of the same name. With their help, the Russian Empire not only strengthens in the south, but also wins the Russian-Turkish campaign of 1787-1792.
Creation of the Kuban Cossacks
The Kuban Cossack army, the photo of which is presented in the article, was formed in 1792. After the Russian-Turkish campaign, a delegation was sent to the capital of the Russian Empire, headed by the judge of the Black Sea army Anton Golovaty. The delegation was assembled in order to ask the “enlightened monarchy” for land for the settlement of the Black Sea Cossacks. Negotiations took place from March to May 1792. The "leadership" of the empire did not want to allocate to the Cossacks the vicinity of Taman and the lands on the right bank of the Kuban. In this case, the position of the imperial authorities was understandable - the unwillingness to create a formation similar to the Cossacks, which could betray at any moment. However, an agreement was nevertheless reached. Thus, since 1792, the regiments of the Kuban Cossack army began to be located on the territory of Taman and Kuban. These lands were transferred to them "for eternal and hereditary possession", which is generally confirmed by the existence of the Kuban Cossacks today.
History of linear Cossacks
It should be noted that the Kuban Cossack army was formed not only from the Black Sea Cossacks. The composition of the Kuban regiments alsoincluded the so-called "linear Cossacks", who became part of a large military formation in 1860. However, the history of the Caucasian linear Cossack army begins in the middle of the 15th century. The progenitor of the line regiments were the Khoper Cossacks.
History of Khoper regiments
The Khoper Cossacks have lived on the territory of the Khoper and Medveditsa rivers since 1444. But in the XVIII century, these regiments launched an uprising against the power of Peter I. The reaction of the monarch was immediate and cruel.
In the period from 1708 to 1716, no one actually lived in the territories between these rivers. However, since 1716, the Cossack regiments, which were participants in the Northern War, have been returning here. For military prowess during the war with Sweden, the Khoper Cossacks were allowed to build their fortress in their historical homeland. Subsequently, the army developed so much that part of it was transferred to the North Caucasus to protect the borders of the Russian Empire. And in 1860, as mentioned earlier, this part of the Cossack army was transferred to the Kuban military formation.
The current stage of development of the Kuban Cossacks
The Kuban army of Cossacks exists to this day in the territories that were allocated to them at the end of the 18th century. This military formation plays the role of unspoken border guards. It should be noted that the Kuban Cossacks were participants in the First World War and the Great Patriotic War. The last historical period, which began in 1945, significantly abolished the role of the Cossacks in the spherepublic administration and service. Nevertheless, no one disbanded this formation, even taking into account the political doctrine of the Soviet Union.
The chieftains of the Kuban Cossack army throughout the history of its existence with all their might defended the rights of their people, which by 1945 could already be called a completely separate ethnic group. After the collapse of the Soviet Union on the territory of the Russian Federation, the Cossack communities were united in order to increase the identity and glorify the ethnic minorities of the state. Since that time, there has been such an organization as the Kuban Military Cossack Society (KVKO).
KVKO
KVKO begins its history in 1990. The first ataman of this military organization was Vladimir Gromov. It should be noted that the combat effectiveness of the KVKO units is at a fairly high level. This is confirmed by the participation of the mentioned organization in the Abkhazian war. In 1993, KVKO units were the first to enter the city of Sukhum. Later, the Kuban Cossack Host was included in the State Register of Cossack Societies of the Russian Federation. This means that the activities of the KVKO have become legal. In addition, there are regalia of the Kuban Cossack army and a peculiar structure of society. Today, the organization plays a more law enforcement role than a military one.
CWSC territorial structure
Kuban military Cossack society has its own territorial structure, which allows us to talk about a significantthe development of not only the organization as a whole, but also its activities. To date, the structure of the KVKO consists of the following territorial units:
- Her Cossack department.
- Caucasian Cossack Department.
- Tamansky Cossack department.
- Ekaterinodar Cossack department.
- Maikop Cossack department.
- Batalpashinsky Cossack department.
- Black Sea Cossack District.
- Sukhumi Special Cossack Department.
This structure allows the KVKO to carry out its law enforcement functions much more efficiently and as quickly as possible.
Culture of the Kuban Cossacks
In addition to a significant role in the military sector of the Russian Federation, the Kuban Cossacks is a rather interesting ethnic social entity. Its cultural traditions date back to the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The Kuban warriors are quite close in the cultural issue with the native Ukrainians. There is also a Cossack uniform of the Kuban Cossack army, the design of which was also formed historically.
The article presented the Kuban Cossack army. The origins of the formation and structure of this organization date back to the time of the existence of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, who, in fact, became the progenitors of the Kuban army. This ethnic formation is still active on the territory of modern Russia. Let's hope that this island of Slavic culture will not get lost in the abyss of centuries!
