Cossack
Cossack (
Russian Kazak (
Казак); plural,
Kazaki (
Казаки),
Polish Kozak; plural,
Kozacy, from the
Turkish quzzaq, "adventurer", "free-booter"), is the name given to a portion of the population of Eastern Europe. Cossacks inhabited parts of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the
Russian Empire and the
Soviet Union, particularly in areas now comprising southern
Russia and the
Ukraine.
Traditionally endowed with certain special privileges, Cossacks had in return to give
military service, all at a certain age, under special conditions.
Russian Cossacks
\nMain article: History of Cossacks
Terminology
- Voisko (Slavic word, literally means "army", probably of Polish origin) - a major cossack military and administrative unit.\n*Ataman - a Russian cossack military leader or subordinate leader (possibly derived from Hetman, which in its turn derived from German Hauptmann ("headman" or "captain")\n*Sotnia ("hundred") - a military unit.\n*Stanitsa - cossack settlement, a village.\n* Cossack, Prikazny, Uryadnik (minor and major), Podkhorunzhiy , Khorunzhiy, Sotnik, Podyesaul, Yesaul, Voiskovoy starshina, -- cossack military ranks (from lowest up)
History
Valuing the relative freedom they enjoyed in Imperial Russia, the Cossacks mainly fought against Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War of 1919, both within the White Army and as partisans.
At the same time, many poor Cossacks also joined the Red Army. This notwithstanding, after the victory of the Soviet Communists, the new regime repressed the Cossack culture and way of life. During the Nazi invasion of the USSR the Cossacks once again joined the opposing sides of the conflict. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, efforts to revive the Cossack traditions have grown.
Ukrainian Cossacks
\nExternal article: Ukrainian Cossacks (in Encyclopedia of Ukraine)
Terminology
- Hetman - a Ukrainian Cossack supreme military leader\n* bulava - a ceremonial mace, a symbol of Hetman's authority\n* starshyna - officers \n** polkovnyk - a colonel\n** oboznyi\n** osaul\n** khorunzhyi\n** otaman, lieutenant
History
\n''External article: Ukrainian Cossacks
The Cossack Image
\nCossacks have long appealed to romantics as idealising freedom and resistance to external authority, and their military exploits against enemies of the Russian people have contributed to this favorable image. On the other hand they have often become a symbol of repression because of their use in suppressing popular uprisings during the Tsarist period.
Literary reflections of Cossack culture abound in Russian literature: one might particularly mention the work of Leo Tolstoy and of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov.
Related article
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