Fyodor Yakovlevich Bursak (1750–1827) was a Russian Imperial General and an ''

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 ...

'' (Cossack military chieftain) of the

Black Sea Cossack Host Black Sea Cossack Host (), also known as Chernomoriya (), was a Cossack host of the Russian Empire created in 1787 in southern Ukraine from former Zaporozhian Cossacks.Azarenkova et al., pp. 9ff. In the 1790s, the host was re-settled to the ...

. Known as a ruthless general with no mercy, he took an active part in the

Circassian genocide The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the systematic mass killing, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement of between 95% and 97% of the Circassian people during the final stages of the Russian invasion of Circassia in the 19th centur ...

Biography

Born in 1750 in the noble family of Antonovich in the Kharkiv region, he studied at Kiev. He participated as an ordinary Cossack raider in the Russian-Turkish War of 1768–1774. His success in raids promoted him in ranks. With the settlement of the Black Sea troops in the Kuban, on December 22, 1799, he was appointed ''ataman'' in the border with

Circassia Circassia ( ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in . It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during ...

. He immediately organized a number of raids against the

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

, and personally ordered his men to burn all Circassian villages they see, even if they are villages that are loyal to the Russian Empire. He died and was buried in 1827 near the military cathedral on the Fortress Square of the

Yekaterinodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

Fortress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bursak, Fyodor People from Krasnodar Krai Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class 1827 deaths 1750 births Russian military personnel of the Caucasian War People of the Caucasian War Circassian genocide perpetrators 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire