The Amur Cossack Host () was a

Cossack host A Cossack host (; , ''kazachye voysko''), sometimes translated as Cossack army, was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in the Russian Empire. Earlier the term ''voysko'' ( host, in a sense as a doublet of ''guest'') referred to Cossack o ...

created in the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

region and

Primorye Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The city of Vladivostok on the southern coast of the krai is its administrative center, an ...

in the 1850s on the basis of the

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

relocated from the

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

region and freed

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

Nerchinsk Nerchinsk (; , ''Nershüü''; , ''Nerchüü''; mnc, m=, v=Nibcu, a=Nibqu) is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with th ...

region.

Early history

123 Illustrated description of the changes in the uniforms

Their resettlement began in 1854. The first Cossack ''

stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

'' (Khabarovskaya) was created in 1858. A decree announcing the creation of the Amur Cossack Host was issued in 1860. Initially the host was subordinate to the military governor of the Amur

Oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

and

. In 1879 it became responsible to the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Amur Oblast. Subsequently, the Amur Cossack army became the responsibility of the Governor-General of the Amur region and the Commander of the armies of the

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters ...

of the Amur region (the latter was also the

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

of the Amur and Ussuri Cossack Hosts). The

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the Amur Cossack Host was located in

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благовещенск, p=bləɡɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur River, Amur and the ...

Region, resources and organisation

The Amur Cossack Host patrolled the borders along the

Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...

and

Ussuri River The Ussuri ( ; ) or Wusuli ( ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and for ...

(in 1889, a separate Ussuri Cossack Host was created for patrolling the Ussuri). It also staffed the Amur-Ussuri flotilla (river squadron), created in 1897. The Amur Cossacks possessed 5,8 million

desyatina A dessiatin or desyatina () is an archaic, rudimentary measure of area used in tsarist Russia for land measurement. A dessiatin is equal to 2,400 square sazhens and is approximately equivalent to 2.702 English acres, 10,925 square metres, or 1. ...

s of land (64,000 km²). The Cossack population (120 settlements) numbered 49,200 people. In times of peace, the Amur Cossack Host supplied 1 mounted regiment (4 ) and 1

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

of local guards. In times of war this contribution expanded to two mounted regiments, 1 platoon of guards, 5 special and 1 reserve sotnyas and 1 infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

. These made up a total of 3,600 men. Amur Cossaks 189x 190x

The Amur Cossack Host took part in the suppression of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904-05 and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

a significant number of the Amur Cossacks fought on the side of the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

. There were also some small units that fought on the side of the

White Movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

, more specifically in helping to regain control of the Amur region.

Distinctions

The distinguishing colour of the Amur Cossack Host was yellow; worn on the cap bands and broad trouser stripes of a green uniform of the loose-fitting cut common to the Steppe Cossacks. Epaulettes were green. High fleece hats were worn on occasion with yellow cloth tops. White blouses and cap covers were worn in summer (see photograph opposite). In 1911 their parade uniform comprised a dark green ''chessman'' (frock coat) with yellow piping on cuffs and collar, the fleece hat and blue-grey breeches with yellow stripes. The field service dress worn during World War I consisted of a khaki-grey tunic or blouse, worn with the grey-blue breeches noted above. In common with other Cossacks, no spurs were worn by the Amur Host.

Early history

Region, resources and organisation

Distinctions

References

See also