Don Cossacks

ETHNONYM: Cossacks

Orientation

Identification. Originally the Cossacks were free mercenaries who resided in a no-man's-land. They eventually became a part of the Russian irregular military with the main objective of defending Russia's borderlands. As such, they were identified by their area of residence. The Don Cossacks, the earliest known in Russia, appeared in the fifteenth century and the host was established during the early sixteenth century. About the same time the Zaporozhian Cossacks formed in the Dnieper River region. In the late sixteenth century, two offshoots of the Don Cossacks emerged: the Terek Cossack Host along the lower Terek River in the northern Caucasus and the Iaik (Yaik) Host along the lower Iaik River (now known as the Ural River). With the expansion of the Russian state and the government's encouragement, the Cossack hosts proliferated, forming a defensive belt along the borders of the empire. By the late nineteenth century, in addition to the earlier hosts, there were the Amur, the Baikal, the Kuban, the Orenburg, the Semirechensk, the Siberia, the Volga, the Ussuriisk, and, on the Dnieper River, the Zaporozhian Cossack hosts. The Don Cossacks remained, however, the most numerous and significant host. In pre-Revolutionary Russia, the Don Cossacks enjoyed an administrative and territorial autonomy.

With the creation of the USSR, their lands were incorporated into the present Rostov, Volgograd, Voronezh, and Voroshilovograd regions, as well as the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Location. The Don Cossacks resided along the 800 kilometers of the Don River and its tributaries between 46°07′ and 51°18′ N and 37° and 45° E. "Father Don," as the Don Cossacks refer to the river, bisects a region of rolling hills. The river is generally frozen until spring, since winters are hard. Snow falls as early as November. Midwinter thaws do occur, however, and may be accompanied by weeks of rainfall. In the spring, fields sometimes flood. Summers are very hot, with a yellow haze of dust hanging over the wheat fields. The eastern part of the region, which constitutes the left bank of the Don and its tributary, the Medveditsa, is a steppe, the soil is barren and there are only a few shallow creeks. In the springtime, however, the steppe area is brilliantly green. In the west, on the right bank of the Don and in the adjoining area in the north, the steppes give way to hills. The most fertile land is found north of the Medveditsa River. Trees include oak, ash, fir, poplar, and, near the water, willows and pussy willows. Reeds grow along the edge of the river, which is sandy in some places. Birds to be found include geese, ducks (including teals), grebes, swans, bustards, eagles, crows, quails, sparrows, and magpies. Among indigenous smaller plants are thistles, thorns, wormwood, and spear grass. Fish include whitefish, sterlet, and carp.

Demography. In 1897 about 30,000 Kalmyks resided in Don Cossack territory. By 1917 the population of the Don area was 3.5 million, of which almost half were Cossacks, a quarter "native" peasants, and the rest "newcomers." Today the ethnic boundaries between Cossack and non-Cossack are relatively blurred.

Ethnic and Linguistic Affiliation. Whereas most of the Don Cossacks are of Russian or, to a far lesser extent, Ukrainian extraction, others are Turkic or descendants of Kalmyks who settled in the Don region in the seventeenth century. The language is a distinct variant of the southern Great Russian dialect and shows heavy influence from Ukrainian, Turkish, and Tatar. The name "Cossack," incidentally, is from the Turkic word hazak, meaning "free-booter, vagabond" (which should not be confused with the Kazakh ethnic name that appears in Kazakhstan).

History and Cultural Relations

The first Cossack settlements appeared in the late fifteenth century in the region of the lower Don. Most of these people were fugitives who chose to settle along the Don, out of reach of the Russian authorities. With the increasing population along the Don in the second half of the sixteenth century, the Don Cossacks emerged as an important military and political force in the area. Dependent on Moscow economically and militarily, they nevertheless remained politically and administratively independent, residing in the borderlands of the Russian and Ottoman states. In the late seventeenth century the Russian government attempted to limit their freedom and privileges. It was the demand that fugitives be returned that Cossacks saw as the greatest violation of their traditional liberties. By the end of the eighteenth century the frontier had moved farther south and the military significance of the Don Cossacks diminished. After 1738 the Don Cossacks' chief commander, who formerly was elected, became an appointee of the Russian government, and after 1754 the local commanders also were appointed by the Ministry of War in St. Petersburg. Through this and other moves, the Cossacks were completely absorbed into the Russian military and performed military service throughout the Russian Empire; during the reign of Czar Paul, for example, they were ordered "to conquer India," and they had actually set off when, after his assassination, the insane directive was remanded. The Cossack gentry was created by the edict of 1799; Cossacks became equal in rank to the rest of the Russian military. In 1802 the lands were divided into seven districts administered by the Ministry of War; in 1887 the number of districts was increased to nine. By 1802 the Don Cossacks could furnish eighty cavalry regiments. Each enlisted Cossack had to serve thirty years. In 1875 military service was cut back to twenty years. They were particularly notorious for their role in suppressing revolutionary movements in Russia and the massacre of Jews during pogroms. During World War I the Don Cossacks formed fifty-seven cavalry regiments (i.e., nearly 100,000 horsemen). After the February Revolution of 1917 their chief commander, A. M. Kaledin, declared the formation of the "Don Cossack government." After Kaledin and his counterrevolutionary government were crushed, the "Don Soviet Republic" was promulgated in March 1918. However, the new Soviet policies of nationalization and the appropriation of surpluses led to an uprising in the Don region and elimination of the Soviet government. In January 1920 the Soviet troops returned to reestablish Soviet control of the area and to abolish any administrative autonomy in the region. The last reminders of past glory were several Don Cossack regiments formed in 1936 within the Soviet Army. During World War II these regiments proved to be hopelessly outdated cannon fodder and were eventually disbanded.

Historically the Don Cossacks bordered the Kalmyks in the east, the Nogays and the Crimean Tatars in the south, Russians in the north, and Ukrainians in the west. Today the region includes these and other ethnic groups of the USSR.

Settlements

Until the eighteenth century, with the beginning of the peasant colonization of the area, Don Cossack settlements were united in stanitsas, constellations of two or three villages. In the early nineteenth century there were .114 stanitsas with a new administrative center at Novocherkassk. The population of a stanitsa varied from 700 to 10,000 people. Types of housing ranged from the elaborate estates of the aristocracy—great houses surrounded by brick walls, outbuildings, servants' quarters, bathhouses, stables, and orchards—to substantial homesteads, to the more rudimentary huts of poorer peasants. Whereas the country house of a rich man would appear virtually interchangeable with its counterpart in Western Europe, peasant homesteads and huts were more characteristic of the Don region. These dwellings were built by carpenters but plastered by women, with clay kneaded with dung; the buildings were whitewashed "for Easter." The roofs were thatched, sometimes with reeds. Floors were earthen. Water was carried from the river by women, who suspended their pails from yokes. Many peasant huts were surrounded by wattle fences. Some village houses might have iron roofs, six or so paneled rooms, balustrades, and porches. Such houses might have a plank fence, and the yard might be paved with tiles. The houses, illuminated by oil lamps, typically had a silver icon in one corner, tables, mirrors, and a samovar, either on the stove or heated with charcoal. The stove was often tall and covered with green tiles. The house, which had eaves and window frames, was made more attractive by curtains, sometimes of blue cotton. Household items included iron-bound chests, photographs, and cradles for infants. Whereas some persons slept on bedsteads with feather beds, peasants often slept on plank beds. Behind the house was an earth cellar for keeping food. The smallest settlement was a khutor, a hamlet with no church. The village included a church and might have grain elevators and a steam flour mill or windmill. Today most of the population resides in large industrial cities: Rostov-na-Donu, Taganrog, Donetsk, Voroshilovograd, and Novocherkassk.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities . Until the eighteenth century the Don Cossacks did not practice farming—their military commanders specifically banned such activity. Instead they subsisted on the grain supplies from Moscow, shipped to them in exchange for military service. Annual supplies of gunpowder, bullets, liquor, and cash were also provided by the government. Sometimes the Don Cossacks purchased these and other indispensable commodities in the neighboring Russian towns, but the authorities in Moscow tried to prevent such trade. In addition the Don Cossacks were paid cash upon the completion of a military campaign. The state monopoly on salt and liquor did not apply to the Cossacks, and the right to produce both constituted a crucial privilege. Another major source of wealth was booty (zipun ) captured in raids against the Ottoman provinces and the neighboring peoples. Among the most valuable items taken were animal herds, horses, household items, and particularly captives, who later were ransomed or exchanged. Fishing, hunting, and apiculture were major aspects of the economy; Cossacks resisted with particular vehemence any infringement on their exclusive rights to fish in the Don area. Animal husbandry—raising horses, cows, goats, pigs—remained an important part of the local economy. With the increased number of colonists in the eighteenth century and introduction of market crops in the nineteenth century, however, agriculture began to dominate the economy of the region. Wheat was the most important agricultural product, and considerable mechanical equipment was used in its cultivation. The ground was broken with harrows and plows; the crops were reaped by machine and then transported on underframes beneath wagons. Bullocks were the most common dray animals for field work. Wheat was kept in granaries, individual and communal, and ground in communal mills. Other field crops included barley, rye, and hemp. A rich farmer might have had more than a dozen bullocks, horses, cows, and flocks of sheep. Also raised were pigs, chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Cattle were kept in common pasture and were watched over by a village herder, who drove the animals back from the steppes in the evening. Gardens and farms made each household virtually independent with regard to its food needs. A village without orchards and gardens was called "unhappy." Besides the customary apple trees and potato patch, the peasants also had patches of sunflowers, cultivated for their seeds. Hay was made from the steppe grass, and clover was also cut and used as hay. In the 1890s the region experienced economic depression, which continued unabated until the Soviet policies of industrialization changed the economic landscape of the area. Today, in addition to agriculture and animal husbandry, the area has a heavy concentration of various industries: steel, machinery, coal mining, and textiles.

Food. The most common breakfast was porridge. A major meal might consist of hot bread and butter, salted watermelon, pumpkin, pickled cucumbers and pickled cabbage, cabbage soup, homemade vermicelli, mutton, chicken, cold lamb's trotters, potatoes baked in their jackets, wheat gruel with butter, vermicelli with dried cherries, pancakes, and clotted cream. Workers in the fields enjoyed fatty meat and sour milk, whereas soldiers in the field often subsisted on cabbage soup, buckwheat gruel, and millet cooked in a pot.

Trade. In the past, most of the trade, particularly the slave trade, was conducted in Cherkassk, the administrative center. Transportation was by horse-drawn wagons or carts, in winter by bullock-drawn sledges. In the nineteenth century the Don Cossacks traded grain and cattle at the several annual fairs in the region. Today the major products are grain, coal, and steel, which are transported by rail or water to the other parts of the former USSR. Since 1952 the Volga-Don Canal has connected the two major arteries of European Russia.

Division of Labor. In pre-Soviet times labor was divided between men and women as in most traditional peasant societies. Women were judged by their ability to work and were almost constantly busy in the fields or their homes. Some of their duties included milking the cows and cooking, often under the critical supervision of a mother-in-law. For washing, the women beat clothing with flat stones in the river. They also prepared yarn on spinning wheels and knitted in idle moments. The Cossack men despised work and spent most of their time in military service, hunting, or fishing. Under Soviet rule the role of gender in the division of labor ceased to be important. Particularly during and after World War II, more women were employed at the jobs that traditionally had been reserved for men.

Land Tenure. Historically, the Don Cossacks had no immovable property and the land remained in common possession. With the influx of settlers and the incorporation of the Cossacks into the Russian military, landownership and serfdom were introduced in the region in the early nineteenth century. Water, forests, and grazing lands remained in usufruct, although each member of the stanitsa was eligible for a plot of land either as a shareholder or a rent payer. During the 1930s the Cossack lands were forcibly collectivized. Those who resisted were jailed or exiled to Siberia; others involuntarily joined the Soviet collective farms.

Kinship

In the early period, when Cossack society consisted of single males, the most important relationship was blood brotherhood. As the number of families began to increase, social ties based on exogamous lineages and godfatherhood became dominant. Descent is strictly agnatic.

Marriage and Family

Marriage. Until the end of the seventeenth century the great majority of the Don Cossacks were single males. Falling in love, getting married, and settling down were considered out of keeping with the free life-style of the Cossack, and those few who followed such a course often found themselves mocked by their peers. With the influx of settlers to the Don region, however, the family emerged as a basic domestic unit. Previously most of the Cossack wives were captive women. Few married in the churches. In order to be considered wedded, a man and a woman would appear in front of a public gathering, say a prayer, and declare each other husband and wife. It was just as easy to divorce a wife by declaring that she was no longer loved. Upon this declaration, a divorced woman could be sold to any other Cossack for cash or goods. The dishonor of a divorce was removed after a new husband had partially covered a purchased woman with his coat and then declared her his wife.

Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the wedding rites became increasingly similar to the Russian ones, and most of the marriages took place in the churches. A husband had an unlimited authority over his wife and could beat, sell, or even murder her without a fear of punishment. Masculine domination often asserted itself in bitter, very profane cursing and sometimes in sadistic secret beatings. In view of these attitudes and practices, young women frequently detested the institution of marriage. Marriage traditionally was arranged by the father of the prospective bridegroom, who entered into negotiations with the girl's father through the agency of an elderly female relative of the young man, who served as matchmaker. Considerable haggling took place between the matchmaker, representing the bridegroom's family, and the father of the bride. A girl might have considerable choice, since her wishes were sometimes considered by her father in deciding whether to accept a proposed marriage. If the decision was yes, the two families began addressing each other immediately as relatives, broke out bread and a bottle of vodka, and began disputing over the amount of the dowry. A small procession, directed by the bridegroom dressed in a black frock coat, went to fetch the bride in several gaily colored wagonettes. While the newly arrived guests were drinking kvass and vodka, the bride's sisters put up a mock defense of the bride against the bridegroom. Sitting beside her, with poker and rolling pin as weapons, they refused to "sell" their sister for the offered price—a coin in the bottom of the bridegroom's glass. They finally did relinquish her, however; then the bridegroom explained that the total bride-price had been paid. Postmarital residence was traditionally patrilocal. Leaving the home of the bride's parents, the couple was showered with hops and wheat. After receiving the blessing of the groom's father, they went into the church for the formal wedding. During this ceremony the groom, at least, held a candle and the two exchanged rings. The ceremony culminated with a kiss. In the post-1917 period civil marriages became prevalent. Today, because of the severe housing shortage, postmarital residence is conditioned mostly by the availability of space rather than the force of tradition. The age of marriage and childbearing is early or mid-twenties for both men and women. The rate of divorce is high. Legal abortion is a principal means of birth control.

Domestic Unit. The family household, the kuren, was the basic domestic unit of the Cossacks. It appears that an extended family household was less prevalent among the Don Cossacks than among the Russians and the Ukrainians. Boys were brought up in a strict military fashion and at the age of 3 were able to ride a horse.

Inheritance. Inheritance was through the male line.

Socialization. Male bonding and friendship were the most important traditional means of socialization for men. Any Cossack felt a definite superiority over any non-Cossack. A poor Don Cossack considered the rich non-Cossack merchant "a peasant." Until the eighteenth century Cossack women were secluded. Later they became more visible, socializing mostly with each other. Respect for parents and the aged remains important. In an elderly man, the Cossacks respect clarity of mind, incorruptible honesty, and hospitable ways. The universally admired Cossack today is one who has mastered military skills and who loves farming and hard work. The Don Cossacks were also known for their piety and loyalty to the monarch. An elderly Cossack considered his life fulfilled when he had "lived his days, served his czar, and drunk enough vodka." Drinking was similar to a ritual and avoiding it was regarded almost as an apostasy.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. Traditional Don Cossack society was a military democracy. Local miliary commanders (ataman ) as well as the chief commander (voiskovoi ataman ) were elected in a public gathering (krug ). Yet even at this early period Cossack society was clearly divided into the better-off, more established Don Cossacks (domovitye ) who resided predominantly along the lower Don and the poor newcomers (golutvennye ) who took residence farther up the Don. Social differentiation continued to grow with the Cossacks' further incorporation into Russian military, political, and legal systems. The atamans, now appointed by the Russian government, and the expanding bureaucracy formed a distinct social elite (starshina ). The majority, however, were either rank-and-file cavalry or agriculturalists. In Soviet society the distinctions between social groups of the Don area became primarily occupational.

Social Control. The Cossacks traditionally have been bound by customary law. An offender was brought before the krug, and the punishment, agreed upon by all present, was announced by the ataman. Stealing from a fellow Cossack was one of the most grievous offenses. Testimony of two trustworthy witnesses was sufficient to sentence a serious offender to capital punishment by drowning (v vodu posadit ). Corporal punishment was common. In a dispute between two parties, the ataman of the stanitsa served as mediator. If he failed to resolve the issue, he sent the contestants to Cherkassk, where the decision was made by the voiskovoi ataman and a group of elders. From the late eighteenth century until 1917 the legal system was comprised of the khutor court as a basic unit, the stanitsa court with four to twelve elected judges, an honor court for each two stanitsas, and the host government as the highest court. Elders had the authority to conduct courts-martial, and a man could be deprived of the title of Don Cossack. Youths were sworn into military service in a group ceremony involving as many as 1,500 young men. After taking their oath from a priest, the newly sworn kissed a crucifix. Discipline was severe, with sergeant-majors permitted tacitly to strike recruits in the face with whips with impunity, even under the eyes of officers. Punishment by a military tribunal sometimes led to execution by firing squad or a public birching, the latter carried out before a crowd on the public square with the pantless culprit bent over a bench. After 1917, Soviet courts and the Soviet legal system were introduced in the Don region. Today, the militia is used to enforce authority.

Conflict. Essentially a militaristic society, the history of the Don Cossack Host is the history of a military, political, social, and religious conflict. Until the late eighteenth century the Don Cossacks were in constant conflict with their neighbors: the Kalmyks, the Nogays, the Tatars, the Russians, and the Ukrainians. Government attempts to control the military actions of the Don Cossacks and to incorporate them into the Russian military led to some of the largest revolts in Russian history: one led by Stepan Razin in 1670-1671, another by Kondratii Bulavin in 1708, and yet another by Yemelyan Pugachov (1773—1774). Although these revolts were crushed, the Cossacks continued to play a major role in most of the social uprisings throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. After the Bolshevik Revolution the majority of the Don Cossacks remained strongly anti-Soviet and took an active part in the civil war of 1918-1920 on the side of the counterrevolutionary forces. In 1961 a mass demonstration of workers and students to protest food shortages ended in a bloodbath in the city of Novocherkassk.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs and Practices. After the schism within Russian Orthodoxy in the mid-seventeenth century, the Old Believers found a welcome refuge among the Don Cossacks, and a significant proportion of the population has remained Old Believer. Other Christian sects also came to settle in the Don region, although the Don Cossacks as a whole were committed to Russian Orthodoxy. By the 1820s there were 330 churches in the area. The church, located in the center of the village, had an onion-shaped cupola, sometimes green, with an adjoining garden surrounded by a brick wall. The houses of the priests, excellent by local living standards, stood nearby. The village church bell rang vespers and matins on Sundays, and time was reckoned by the church calendar. Confession was practiced and members of the church frequently crossed themselves before important acts and decisions. Prayers were often written down and carried as amulets. Unlike the practice elsewhere in the Russian Empire, the priests were elected until the middle of the last century. In 1891 there were 6,966 Russian Orthodox priests in the Don region, and the religious constituency of the area was diverse: Russian Orthodox, 1,864,000; Old Believers, 117,000; other Christians, 43,000; Tibetan Buddhists (Kalmyks), 29,551; Jews, 15,000; and Muslims, 2,478. The Soviet government made a sustained effort to eradicate religion. Today, although a significant number regard themselves as Christians, the majority are not practicing Christians.

Orthodoxy was commingled with other elements. Prayers were addressed not only to the Supreme Ruler and the Mother of God but also to folk heroes. Superstitions and folklore were mixed thoroughly with tradition. In song, the Don Cossacks referred to the Don as their "father" and to the surrounding countryside as "Mother Donland." Returning from military campaigns, they offered gifts to "Father Don": hats, capes, etc. Superstitions included fear of cats and of the number thirteen. An owl screeching from a belfry could portend trouble. Illness was seen as God's punishment and the illness of a child as punishment of the mother. Witchcraft could cause cows to go dry, as well as cause the death of livestock. The "evil eye" could make a girl morose or give her unwonted sexual yearning. Remedies for witchcraft were the province of crones, who might advise "washing away" the longing in the river by the light of dawn or sprinkling water over the shoulder. Some medicine had superstitious overtones. For bleeding, earth mixed with spiderweb was chewed, the bolus being applied to the wound. Superstition and tradition blended in such practices as that of placing a 1-year-old boy on a horse, in the belief that this would make him a good Cossack.

Arts. Oral epic poetry glorifying military feats and bravery was particularly well known. Cossack dancing and singing were also very popular. The Don Cossacks sang about their good horses and valiant battles but rarely about love.

Medicine. Today hospitals and physicians are available to the population. The poor state of Soviet and post-Soviet medicine, however, as well as traditional beliefs, still lead many to seek help from the folk practitioners.

Death and Afterlife. Death and pain were not matters of particular importance, unless a relative was involved, in which case there was a sense of bereavement. Burial could be in "Christian fashion," with the head toward the east and a small shrine placed over it or, as in the case of a peasant infant, simply in a small coffin under a tree with no accompanying service. Requiem masses were celebrated for the death of an adult, followed nine days later by a family feast for the priest and friends.

Bibliography

Bronevskii, Vladimir (1834). Istoriia Donskago voiska (History of the Don military forces). Vol. 3. St. Petersburg.

Longworth, Philip (1969). The Cossacks. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Pronshtein, A. P. (1973). Istoriia Dona (The history of the Don). Rostov-on-Don: Rostov University Press.

Sholokhov, Mikhail (1941). And Quiet Flows the Don. Translated by Stephen Garry. New York: A. A. Knopf.

MICHAEL KHODARKOVSKY AND JOHN STEWART

Cossacks , Rus. Kazaki, Ukr. Kozaky, peasant-soldiers in Ukraine and in several regions of Russia who, until 1918, held certain privileges in return for rendering military service. The first Cossack companies were formed in the 15th cent., when Ukraine, then part of the unified Polish-Lithuanian state, took independent measures to defend itself against the devastating Tatar raids. The Ukrainian Cossacks, of heterogeneous background, were chiefly Russians and Poles and included many runaway serfs. By the 16th cent. they had settled along the lower and middle Dnieper River (for their history to 1775, see Zaporizhzhya ). Similar communities grew up on the Don (see Don Cossacks ) and its tributaries. They were all organized on principles of political and social equality, and originally were virtually autonomous. Each community elected an ataman as its head, while an assembly of all the Cossacks chose the hetman. The Cossacks gave shelter to refugees from Poland and Russia and took part in peasant revolts in Ukraine and Russia in the 17th and 18th cent. Open struggle ensued between the Cossacks and the Polish and Russian governments. By the late 18th cent. the Cossacks had lost most of their political autonomy and had been made the privileged military class, integrated with the Russian military forces. Under the last czars they were often used to quell strikes and other disturbances. The primary unit of Cossack organization, the village, was largely self-governed until 1918. Land was held in common by the village. But an 1869 law, which allowed officers and civil servants to own land as personal property, contributed to the breakup of the traditional cohesiveness of Cossack village life. In the 19th cent. the Russian government began to organize new Cossack units so that by the early 20th cent. there were 11 Cossack communities, each named for its location—Don, Kuban, Terek, Astrakhan, Ural, Orenburg, Siberia, Semirechensk, Transbaykalia, Amur, and Ussuri. Following the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), the majority of the Cossacks fought against the Soviet armies in the civil war of 1918–20. In 1920 the Soviet government abolished all their privileges and between 1928 and 1933 the Cossack communities were forcibly collectivized. In 1936, however, the Cossack party regained status, being allowed to form several cavalry divisions in the Soviet army. Although the Cossack communities were incorporated into the Soviet administrative system, their traditions and customs survived, notably on the Don and Kuban rivers. In post-Soviet Russia, under President Putin, Cossack hosts have been registered with the federal government and formally granted powers, and Cossacks are now allowed to serve in special military and security units.

Bibliography: See studies by P. J. Huxley-Blythe (1964), P. Longworth (1969), and V. G. Glazkov (1972).

Don Cossacks Cossack settlers (see Cossacks ) who in the 16th cent. founded the virtually independent republic of the Don Cossacks on the fertile steppes along the lower course of the Don River. Novocherkassk was their chief town. The host of the Don Cossacks was governed by a popular council, the Rada, and by an elected chief, called ataman. Their daring raids and exploits attained legendary proportions under Stenka Razin . Although the Don Cossacks gave allegiance to the czar of Russia in 1614, their self-government was recognized by the czar in 1623 and they continued to govern themselves throughout the 17th cent. Frequent rebellions, however, culminating in that of Pugachev , resulted in the loss of many of their privileges. After the suppression of a revolt (1707–8), the Don Cossacks lost the right to elect their ataman. The decree of 1835 made them into a military caste with special privileges in return for military service. After 1886 the czarist government often used the Don Cossacks to suppress revolutionary movements throughout Russia. Following the October Revolution of 1917, the Don Cossacks sought to regain their political autonomy and even strove for independence. They established the Don Military Government and fought the Bolsheviks. Later the Don Cossacks aided the White armies. The Soviet regime abolished Don Cossack army units until World War II, when they were reactivated to fight the Germans. Among prominent Don Cossacks in modern times is Mikhail A. Sholokhov , author of several novels about the Don Cossacks. The Don Cossacks are famous for their songs and choirs.

Cossack (from Turkish, ‘adventurer’ or ‘guerrilla’) A people in south Russia. They were descended from refugees from religious persecution in POLAND and Muscovy, and from peasants fleeing the taxes and obligations of the feudal system. Settling in mainly autonomous tribal groups around the rivers Don and Dnieper, they played an important role in the history of the Ukraine. A frontier lifestyle encouraged military prowess and horsemanship, males aged 16–60 years being obliged to bear arms. They were democratic, directly electing their leaders or hetmen. Their relations with Russia included military service and military alliance, especially against the Turks, but there were rebellions against Russia under the leaderships of Stenka Razin (1667–69), Iran Mazeppa (1709), and Yemelyan Pugachev (1773–74). Ukrainian Cossackdom experienced a revival following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. There are 15,000 registered Cossacks in the Ukraine.

Cossack a member of a people of southern Russia, Ukraine, and Siberia, noted for their horsemanship and military skill. The Cossacks had their origins in the 15th century when refugees from religious persecution, outlaws, adventurers, and escaped serfs banded together in settlements for protection. Under the tsars they were allowed considerable autonomy in return for protecting the frontiers; with the collapse of Soviet rule Cossack groups have reasserted their identity in both Russia and Ukraine.

The name comes through Russian from Turkic kazak ‘vagabond, nomad’, a word which is ultimately also the base of cassock.

Cossacks Bands of Russian adventurers who undertook the conquest of Siberia in the 17th century. Of ethnically mixed origins, they were escaped serfs, renegades and vagabonds who formed independent, semi-military groups on the fringe of society. After the Russian Revolution (1917), the Cossacks opposed the Bolsheviks and strongly resisted collectivization.

Cos·sack / ˈkäsˌak; -ək/ • n. a member of a people of southern Russia, Ukraine, and Siberia, noted for their horsemanship and military skill. ∎  a member of a Cossack military unit. • adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Cossacks.

Cossacks, see Soviet exiles at war.

Cossack •ransack • knapsack • Barsac • Cossack •Husák • woolsack • rucksack •cul-de-sac • haversack • hard tack •haystack • tic-tac • chimney stack •smokestack • Blu-Tack • thumbtack •counter-attack • Medevac •Czechoslovak, Slovak •Sarawak • bushwhack • Arawak •cognac • Armagnac • Balzac • Anzac •Prozac • Muzak