359 Changes in uniforms and armament of troops of the Russian Imperial army

Kuban Cossacks (russian: кубанские казаки, ''kubanskiye kаzaki''; uk, кубанські козаки, ''kubanski kozaky''), or Kubanians (russian: кубанцы, ; uk, кубанці, ), are Cossacks who live in the

Kuban Kuban (Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and the Caucasus, and separated fr ...

region of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Northern Caucasus in the late 18th century (estimated 230,000 to 650,000 initial migrants). The western part of the host ( Taman Peninsula and adjoining region to the northeast) was settled by the Black Sea Cossack Host who were originally the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

, from 1792. The eastern and southeastern part of the host was previously administered by the Khopyour and Kuban regiments of the Caucasus Line Cossack Host and

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: Д� ...

, who were re-settled from the Don from 1777. The Kuban

Cossack Host A Cossack host ( uk, козацьке військо, translit=kozatske viisko; russian: каза́чье во́йско, ''kazachye voysko''), sometimes translated as Cossack army, was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in the Russian Em ...

(Кубанское казачье войско), the administrative and military unit composed of Kuban Cossacks, formed in 1860 and existed until 1918. During the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, the Kuban Cossacks proclaimed the Kuban People's Republic, and played a key role in the southern theatre of the conflict. The Kuban Cossacks suffered heavily during the Soviet policy of decossackization, which between 1917 and 1933 aimed at the elimination of the Cossacks as a separate ethnic, political, and economic entity.Nicolas Werth, Karel Bartošek, Jean-Louis Panné, Jean-Louis Margolin, Andrzej Paczkowski, Stéphane Courtois. ''

The Black Book of Communism ''The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression'' is a 1997 book by Stéphane Courtois, Andrzej Paczkowski, Nicolas Werth, Jean-Louis Margolin, and several other European academics documenting a history of political repression by c ...

: Crimes, Terror, Repression''.

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

, 1999. p. 98 The decossackization is frequently described as

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

of the Cossacks. Orlando Figes. ''A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891–1924.''

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.

Donald Rayfield Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Jos ...

. '' Stalin and His Hangmen: The Tyrant and Those Who Killed for Him'' Random House, 2004. Mikhail Heller & Aleksandr Nekrich. ''Utopia in Power: The History of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the Present.''Soviet order to exterminate Cossacks is unearthed

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

Communications Office, 21 January 2003 Hence, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Cossacks fought both for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

and against them with the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

. The modern Kuban Cossack Host was re-established in 1990 at the fall of the Soviet Union.

Formation history of the Kuban Cossack Host

Although Cossacks lived in the region prior to the late 18th century (one theory of Cossack origin traces their lineage to the ancient Kasog peoples who populated the Kuban in 9th-13th centuries), the landscape prevented permanent habitation. Modern Kuban Cossacks claim 1696 as their foundation year, when the Don Cossacks from the Khopyor took part in Peter's

Azov campaigns Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The m ...

. Sporadic raids reached out into the land, which was partially populated by the Nogay, though territorially part of the

Crimean khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

. In 1784 the lower Kuban passed to Russia, after which its colonisation became an important step in the Empire's expansion.

Black Sea Cossacks

In a different part of southeastern Europe, on the middle

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

in what is now Ukraine, lived the

. By the late 18th century, however, their combat ability was greatly reduced. With their traditional adversaries, the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

and the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...

now all but defunct, the Russian administration saw little military use for them. The Zaporozhian Sich, however, represented a safe haven for runaway serfs, where the state authority did not extend, and often took part in rebellions which were constantly breaking out in Ukraine. Another problem for the imperial Russian government was the Cossacks' resistance to colonization of lands the government considered theirs. In 1775, after numerous attacks on Serbian colonisers, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great had

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...

destroy the Zaporozhian Host. The operation was carried out by General Pyotr Tekeli. The Zaporozhians scattered; some (five thousand men or 30% of the host) fled to the Ottoman-controlled

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , ...

area. Others joined the

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

Husar and Dragoon regiments, while most turned to local farming and trade. A decade later, the Russian administration was forced to reconsider its decision, with the escalation of tension with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In 1778 the Turkish sultan offered the exiled Zaporozhians the chance to build a new

Danubian Sich The Danubian Sich ( uk, Задунайська Сiч, translit=Zadunaiska Sich) was an organization of the part of former Zaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire (the Danube Delta, hence the name) after their pre ...

. Potemkin suggested that the former commanders Antin Holovaty,

Zakhary Chepiha Zakhary (Kharyton or Kharko) Oleksiyovych Chepiha ( ua, Захарій (Харитон / Харко) Олексійович Чепіга), sometimes transliterated Chepiga, alternative surname: Kulish ( ua, Куліш) (1725 – 14 January 1797) w ...

and Sydir Bily round the former Cossacks into a ''Host of the loyal Zaporozhians'' in 1787. The new host played a crucial role in the

Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 involved an unsuccessful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to regain lands lost to the Russian Empire in the course of the previous Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). It took place concomitantly with the Austro ...

, and for their loyalty and service the Russian Empress rewarded them with eternal use of the Kuban, then inhabited by Nogai remnants, and in the cause of the Caucasus War a crucial progress in further pushing the Russian line into

Circassia Circassia (; also known as Cherkessia in some sources; ady, Адыгэ Хэку, Адыгей, lit=, translit=Adıgə Xəku, Adıgey; ; ota, چرکسستان, Çerkezistan; ) was a country and a historical region in the along the northeast ...

. Renamed the Black Sea Cossack Host, a total of 25,000 men made the migration in 1792-93.

On the Russian frontier (1777–1860)

During the Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774), the

on the Khopyor River took part in the campaign, and in 1770 – then numbering four settlements – requested to form a regiment. Owing to their service in the war, on 6 October 1774 Catherine the Great issued a manifesto granting their request. The end of the war and the

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ( tr, Küçük Kaynarca Antlaşması; russian: Кючук-Кайнарджийский мир), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kayn ...

brought Russia's frontiers south from the

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucas ...

's entry into the

Azov Sea The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

along its right bank and right to the bend of the

Terek River The Terek (; , Tiyrk; , Tərč; , ; , ; , ''Terk''; , ; , ) is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea The C ...

. This created a 500-

verst A verst (russian: верста, ) is an obsolete Russian unit of length defined as 500 sazhen. This makes a verst equal to . Plurals and variants In the English language, ''verst'' is singular with the normal plural ''versts''. In Russian, the no ...

undefended border, and in the summer of 1777 the Khopyor regiment – in addition to the remnants of the Volga Cossacks and a Vladimir Dragoon regiment – were re-settled in the Northern Caucasus to build the

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mo ...

- Mozdok defence line. This marked the start of the Caucasus War, which would continue for almost 90 years. The Khopyor regiment was responsible for the western flank of the line. In 1778-1782, Khopyor Cossacks founded four

stanitsa A stanitsa ( rus, станица, p=stɐˈnʲitsə; uk, станиця, stanytsya) is a village inside a Cossack host ( uk, військо, viys’ko; russian: казачье войско, kazach’ye voysko, sometimes translated as "Cossack Ar ...

s: Stavropolskaya (next to the fortress of

Stavropol Stavropol (; rus, Ставрополь, p=ˈstavrəpəlʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. It was known as ...

, established on 22 October 1777), Moskovskaya, Donskaya and Severnaya – with approximately 140 Cossack families in each. In 1779, the Khopyor regiment was given its own district. The conditions were desperate as the Circassians would mount almost daily raids on the Russian positions. In 1825-1826 the regiment began its first expansions, pushing westwards to the bend of the

and founding five new stanitsas (the so-called new-Kuban line: Barsukovskaya,

Nevinnomyssk Nevinnomyssk (russian: Невинномы́сск) is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. The only single-industry town in Stavro ...

aya, Belomechetskaya, Batalpashinskaya (modern

Cherkessk Cherkessk (russian: Черке́сск) is the capital city of Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: It was previously known as ''Batalpashinskaya'' (until 1931), ''Batalpashinsk'' (u ...

), Bekeshevskaya and Karantynnaya (currently Suvorovskaya). In 1828 the Khopyor Cossacks participated in the conquest of Karachay and became part of the first Russian expedition to reach the summit of Elbrus in 1829. However, the Russian position in the Caucasus was desperate, and to ease administration in 1832 military reform united ten regiments from the mouth of the

all the way to the Khopyor in the western Kabarda, forming a single Caucasus Line Cossack Host. The Khopyor regiment was also given several civilian settlements, raising its manpower to 12,000. With the further advance to the Laba River the Khopyor district was split into two regiments, and Spokoynaya, Ispravnaya, Podgornaya, Udobnaya, Peredovaya, Storozhevaya formed the Laba line.

Zaporozhets beyond the Kuban River

KOZAKS of the BLACK SEA on the MAP of 1806

Many traditions of the Zaporozhian Cossacks continued in the Black Sea Cossacks, such as the formal election of the host administration, but in some cases, new traditions replaced the old. Instead of a central Sich, a defence line was formed from the Kuban River Black Sea inlet to the Bolshaya Laba River inlet. The land north of this line was settled with villages called

s. The administrative centre of Yekaterinodar (literally "Catherine's gift") was built. The Black Sea Cossacks sent men to many major campaigns at the Russian Empire's demand, such as the suppression of the Polish Kościuszko Uprising in 1794, the ill-fated Persian Expedition of 1796 where nearly half of the Cossacks died from hunger and disease, and sent the 9th plastun (infantry) and 1st joint cavalry regiments as well as the first Leib Guards (elite)

sotnia Sotnia ( Ukrainian and ) was a military unit and administrative division in many Slavic countries. Sotnia, deriving back to 1948, has been used in a variety of contexts in both Ukraine and Russia to this day. It is a helpful word to create sh ...

to aid the Russian Army in the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. The new host participated in the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) where they stormed the last remaining Ottoman bastion of the northern Black Sea coast, the fortress of Anapa, in 1828. In the course of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

of 1853 to 1856, the Cossacks foiled any attempts of allied landing on the Taman Peninsula, whilst the 2nd and 5th plastun battalions took part in the Defence of Sevastopol. In the land they left behind, the Buh Cossacks were able to provide a strong buffer from the

. After the

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 was sparked by the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829. War broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian ships and revoked the 1826 Akkerman Convention in retalia ...

most of the Danube Cossacks officially turned themselves over and under amnesty were resettled between the

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russi ...

and

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of ...

, forming the Azov Cossack Host.

Expansion

As the years went by, the Black Sea Cossacks continued its systematic penetrations into the mountainous regions of the Northern Caucasus. Taking an active part in the finale of the Russian conquest of the Northern Caucasus, they settled the regions each time these were conquered. To aid them, a total of 70 thousand additional ex-Zaporozhians from the Bug,

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper R ...

, and finally the Azov Cossack Host migrated there in the mid 19th century. All three of the former were necessary to be removed to vacate space for the colonisation of New Russia, and with the increasing weakness of the Ottoman Empire as well as the formation of independent buffer states in the Balkans, the need for further Cossack presence had ended. They made the migration to the Kuban in 1860. Separating the ethnic Ukrainian Black Sea Cossacks from the Caucasian mountain tribes were the Caucasus Line Cossack Host, ethnic Russian Cossacks from the Don region. Although both groups lived in the general Kuban region, they did not integrate with each other.Anna Procyk. (1995). ''Russian Nationalism and Ukraine: The Nationality Policy of the Volunteer Army During the Civil War'' Toronto: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at University of Toronto, pg. 36

Apogee of the Kuban Host

The new Host grew to be the second largest in Russia. The Kuban Cossacks continued to make an active part in the Russian affairs of the 19th century starting from the finale of the

Russian-Circassian War The Russo-Circassian War ( ady, Урыс-адыгэ зауэ, translit=Wurıs-adığə zawə; ; 1763–1864; also known as the Russian Invasion of Circassia) was the invasion of Circassia by Russia, starting in July 17, 1763 ( O.S) with the Ru ...

which ceased shortly after the hosts' formation. A small group took part in the 1873 conquest that brought the

Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva ( chg, ''Khivâ Khânligi'', fa, ''Khânât-e Khiveh'', uz, Xiva xonligi, tk, Hywa hanlygy) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm in Central Asia from 1511 to 1920, except for ...

under Russian control. Their largest military campaign was the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...

, on both the Balkan and the Caucasus fronts. The latter in particular was a strong contribution as the Kuban Cossacks made 90% of the Russian cavalry. Famous achievements in the numerous Battles of Shipka, the defence of Bayazet and finally, in decisive and victorious Battle of Kars where the Cossacks were the first to enter. Three Kuban Cossack regiments took part in the storming of

Geok Tepe Geok Tepe ( tk, Gökdepe) is a city in and the administrative center of Gökdepe District, Ahal province, Turkmenistan, north-west of Ashgabat. The city is built around a former fortress of the Turkmens which bore the same name. The city lies ...

in Turkmenistan in 1881. During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

(1904–1905), the host mobilised six cavalry regiments, five plastun battalions and one battery to the distant region of Russia. The Cossacks also carried out the second strategical objective, the colonisation of the Kuban land. In total, the host owned more than six million tithes, of which 5.7 million belonged to the stanitsas, with the remaining in the reserve or in private hands of Cossack officers and officials. Upon reaching the age of 17, a Cossack would be given between 16 and 30 tithes for cultivation and personal use. With the natural growth of the population, the average land that a Cossack owned decreased from 23 tithes in the 1860s to 7.6 in 1917. Such arrangements, however ensured that the colonisation and the cultivation would be very rational. The military purpose of the Kuban was echoed in its administration pattern. Rather than a traditional Imperial Guberniya (governorate) with

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

s (districts), the territory was administered by the

Kuban Oblast The Kuban Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of the Kuban and Circassia regions. It was created in 1860 out of Kuban Cossack territories that had once been part o ...

which was split into (regions, which in 1888 counted seven). Each would have its own which in turn would be split into and . The (commander) for each region was not only responsible for the military preparation of the Cossacks, but for the local administration duties. Local Stanitsa and Khutor atamans were elected, but approved by the of the . These, in turn, were appointed by the supreme of the host, who was in turn appointed directly by the Russian Emperor. Prior to 1870, this system of legislature in the Oblast remained a robust military one and all legal decisions were carried out by the and two elected judges. Afterwards, however, the system was bureaucratised and the judicial functions became independent of the . The more liberal policy of the Kuban was directly mirrored in the living standards of the people. One of the central features of this was education. Indeed, the first schools were known to have existed since the migration of the Black Sea Cossacks, and by 1860, the host had one male high school and 30 elementary schools. In 1863, the first periodical Кубанские войсковые ведомсти (''Kubanskiye voiskovye vedomsti'') began printing, and two years later the host's library was opened in Yekaterinodar. In all, by 1870, the number of schools in rural stanitsas increased to 170. Compared with the rest of the Russian Empire, by the start of the 20th century the Oblast had a very high literacy rate of 50% and each year up to 30 students from Cossack families (again a rate unmatched by any other rural province) were sent to study in the higher education establishments of Russia. During the early twentieth century contacts between Kuban and Ukraine were established and clandestine Ukrainian organizations appeared in Kuban.

Uniform and equipment

Until 1914 the Kuban Cossack Host wore a full dress uniform comprising a dark grey/black kaftan (knee length collarless coat) with red shoulder straps and braiding on the wide cuffs. Ornamental containers (''gaziri'') which had originally contained single loading measures of gunpowder for muzzle-loading muskets, were worn on the breasts of the kaftans. The kaftan had an open front, showing a red waistcoat. Wide grey trousers were worn, tucked into soft leather boots without heels. Officers wore silver epaulettes, braiding and

ferrule A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...

s. This Caucasian national dress was also worn by the

Terek Terek may refer to: Places China * (), a list of township-level divisions of Xinjiang, town in Xinjiang, China Kyrgyzstan *Terek, Alay, a village in Alay District, Osh Region *Terek, Kara-Kulja, a village in Kara-Kulja District, Osh Region *Terek ...

Cossack Host but in different facing colors. Tall black fur hats were worn on all occasions with red cloth tops and (for officers) silver lace. A white metal scroll was worn on the front of the fur hat. A whip was used instead of spurs. Prior to 1908, individual cossacks from all Hosts were required to provide their own uniforms (together with horses, Caucasian saddles and harness). On active service during World War I the Kuban Cossacks retained their distinctive dress but with a black waistcoat replacing the conspicuous red one and without the silver ornaments or red facings of full dress. A black felt cloak () was worn in bad weather both in peace-time and on active service. The 200 Kuban and 200 Terek Cossacks of the Imperial Escort (''Konvoi'') wore a special gala uniform; including a scarlet kaftan edged with yellow braid and a white waistcoat. Officers had silver braiding on their coats and epaulettes. A dark coloured kaftan was issued for ordinary duties together with a red waistcoat.

Russian Revolution and Civil War

During the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and resulting

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, the Cossacks found themselves conflicted in their loyalties. In October 1917, the Kuban Soviet Republic and the Kuban Rada were formed simultaneously, with both proclaiming their right to rule the Kuban. Shortly after the Rada declared a

Kuban National Republic The Kuban People's Republic (KPR), or Kuban National Republic (KNR), (russian: Кубанская Народная Республика, Kubanskaya Narodnaya Respublika; uk, Кубанська Народна Республiка, Kubanska Narodn ...

, but this was soon dispersed by Bolshevik forces. While most Cossacks initially sided with the Rada, many joined the Bolsheviks who promised them autonomy. Nicholas II and children with Cossacks of the Guard

Nicholas II and children with Cossacks of the Guard

In March 1918, after Lavr Kornilov's successful offensive, the Kuban Rada placed itself under his authority. With his death in June 1918, however, a federative union was signed with the Ukrainian government of Hetman

Pavlo Skoropadsky Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( uk, Павло Петрович Скоропадський, Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, decorated Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian Army ...

after which many Cossacks left to return home or defected to the Bolsheviks. Additionally, there was an internal struggle among the Kuban cossacks over loyalty towards

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December O.S. 4 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 December1872 – 7 August 19 ...

's Russian Volunteer Army and the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

. On 6 November 1919, Denikin's forces surrounded the Rada, and with the help of Ataman Alexander Filimonov arrested ten of its members, including the Ukrainophile, P. Kurgansky, who was the premier of the Rada, and publicly hanged one of them for treason. Many Cossacks joined Denikin and fought in the ranks of the Volunteer Army. In December 1919, after Denikin's defeat and as it became clear that the Bolsheviks would overrun the Kuban, some of the pro-Ukrainian groups attempted to restore the Rada and to break away from the Volunteer Army and fight the Bolsheviks in alliance with Ukraine; however, by early 1920 the

took most of Kuban, and both the Rada and Denikin were ousted.

World War II

Collaborators in Wehrmacht and Waffen SS

Generał Heinz Reinefarth w czapce kubance i 3 pułk Kozaków

The first collaborators were formed from Soviet Cossack POWs and deserters after the consequences of the Red Army's early defeats in the course of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

. After the horrors of

Collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

and Decossackization, in summer of 1942, many of the Germans reaching Kuban were greeted as liberators. Many Soviet Kuban Cossacks chose to switch to the German side either when in POW camps or on active service in the Soviet Army. For example, Major Kononov deserted on 22 August 1941 with an entire regiment and was instrumental in organizing Cossack volunteers in the

. Some Cossack emigres, such as Andrei Shkuro and Pyotr Krasnov chose to collaborate with the Germans as well and stood at the helm of two Cossack divisions on German service. However, most volunteers came after the Germans reached the Cossack homelands in summer of 1942. The Cossack National Movement of Liberation was set up in hope of mobilizing opposition to the Soviet regime with an intent to rebuild an independent Cossack state.Lt. Gen Wladyslaw Anders and Antonio Muno
Russian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII
/ref> While there were several smaller Cossack detachments in the Wehrmacht since 1941, the

1st Cossack Division The 1st Cossack Cavalry Division (german: 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division) was a Russian Cossack division of the German Army that served during World War II. It was created on the Eastern Front mostly out of Don Cossacks already serving in the We ...

made up of Don, Terek and Kuban Cossacks was formed in 1943. This division was further augmented by the 2nd Cossack Cavalry Division formed in December 1944. Both divisions participated in hostilities against

Tito's partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НО� ...

in Yugoslavia. In February 1945, both Cossack Divisions were transferred into the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

and formed the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps. At the end of the war, the Cossack collaborators retreated to Italy and surrendered to the British army, but, under the

Yalta agreement The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...

, were forcibly repatriated with the rest of the collaborators to the Soviet authorities and some executed. (see Betrayal of the Cossacks) One of the Kuban leaders, the ''ataman''

Vyacheslav Naumenko Vyacheslav Grigorievich Naumenko (25 February 1883 – 30 October 1979) was a Kuban Cossack leader and historian. Cossack Naumenko was born in Petrovskaya, Kuban Oblast near the Black Sea in the territory of the Kuban Host. Pursuing a military ca ...

served as their principle historian after World War Two, writing the first Russian language book about the Repatriation of Cossacks in his two volume work published in 1962 and 1970 entitled ''Velikoe Predatelstvo'' (''The Great Betrayal'').

Red Army Cossacks

Voennaia marka Dovator Smert nemeczkim okkupantam!

Despite the defections that were taking place, the majority of the Cossacks remained loyal to the Red Army. In the earliest battles, particularly the encirclement of Belostok Cossack units such as the 94th Beloglisnky, 152nd Rostovsky and 48th Belorechensky regiments fought to their death. In the opening phase of the war, during the German advance towards Moscow, Cossacks became extensively used for the raids behind enemy lines. The most famous of these took place during the Battle of Smolensk under the command of Lev Dovator, whose 3rd Cavalry Corps consisted of the 50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions from the Kuban and Terek Cossacks, which were mobilised from the Northern Caucasus. The raid, which in ten days covered 300 km and destroyed the hinterlands of the 9th German Army, before successfully breaking out. Whilst units under the command of General Pavel Belov, the 2nd Cavalry Corps made from Don, Kuban and Stavropol Cossacks spearheaded the counter-attack onto the right flank of the 6th German Army delaying its advance towards Moscow. The high professionalism that the Cossacks under Dovator and Belov (both generals would later be granted the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

and their units raised to a Guards (elite) status) ensured that many new units would be formed. In the end, if the Germans during the whole war only managed to form two Cossack Corps, the Red Army in 1942 already had 17. Many of the newly formed units were filled with ethnically Cossack volunteers. The Kuban Cossacks were allocated to the 10th, 12th and 13th Corps. However, the most famous Kuban Cossack unit would be the 17th Cossack Corps under the command of general . During one particular attack, Cossacks killed up to 1,800 enemy soldiers and officers, they took 300 prisoners, seized 18 artillery pieces and 25 mortars. The 5th and 9th Romanian Cavalry divisions fled in panic, and the 198th German Infantry division, carrying large losses, hastily departed to the left bank of the river Ei. During the opening phase of the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

, when the Germans overran the Kuban, the majority of the Cossack population, long before the Germans began their agitation with Krasnov and Shkuro, became involved in Partisan activity. Raids onto the German positions from the Caucasus mountains became commonplace. After the German defeat at

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

, the 4th Guards Kuban Cossack Corps, strengthened by tanks and artillery, broke through the German lines and liberated Mineralnye Vody, and

. For the latter part of the war, although the Cossacks did prove especially useful in reconnaissance and rear guards, the war did show that the age of horse cavalry had come to an end. The famous 4th Guards Kuban Cossacks Cavalry Corps which took part in heavy fighting in the course of the liberation of Southern Ukraine and Romania was allowed to proudly march on the

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical bui ...

in the famous

Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 The Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 ( rus, Парад Победы, r= Parad Pobedy) also known as the Parade of Victors ( rus, Парад победителей, r= Parad pobediteley) was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces (with the C ...

Modern Kuban Cossacks

Following the war, the Cossack regiments, along with remaining cavalry were disbanded and removed from the Soviet armed forces as they were thought to be obsolete. Starting in the late 1980s, there were renewed efforts to revive Cossack traditions which went to great lengths; in 1990, the Host was once again recognised by the Supreme

Ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) 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 comma ...

of the All-Great Don Host (Всевеликое Войско Донское). At this time some pro-Ukrainian sentiment emerged among some Kuban Cossack leaders. For example, when in May 1993 Cossack leader Yevhen Nahai was arrested and accused of plotting a coup, another Cossack leader (kish otaman Pyuypenko) threatened to call for support for Ukraine if Nahai's rights were violated. A march of cossack cavalry from eastern Ukraine to Kuban was met with some enthusiasm by locals. The Cossacks have actively participated in some of the more abrupt political developments following the dissolution of the Soviet Union:

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated popula ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...

. The latter conflict was in particular special for the Kuban Cossacks, initially a number of Cossacks fled from the de-Cossackization repressions of the 1920s and assimilated with the

Abkhaz people Abkhazians (russian: Абхазы), or Abkhazs ( ab, Аԥсуаа, Aṕswaа, ), are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora populatio ...

. Before the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict there was a strong movement of creating an Abkhaz-Kuban Host among the descendants. When the civil war broke out, 1500 Kuban Cossack volunteers from Russia came to aid the Abkhaz side. One of the notable groups was the 1st

under the command of Ataman Nikolay Pusko which reportedly completely destroyed a Ukrainian volunteer group fighting on the Georgian side and then went on to be the first to enter Sukhumi in 1993. Since then, a detachment of Kuban Cossacks continue to inhabit Abkhazia, and their presence continues to influence the Georgian-Russian relations. According to human rights reports from the 1990s, the Cossacks regularly harassed non-Russians, such as Armenians and Chechens, living in southern Russia. A contingent of Kuban Cossacks (led by Head of the All-Russian Cossack Society, Cossack General Nikolai Doluda) took part in the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade for the first time.

Present day military units

With the help of the governor of Krasnodar Krai, Aleksandr Tkachyov, the host has become an integral part of the Kuban life, there are joint combat training operations with the Russian Army, policing of the rural areas with the

Police of Russia The Police of Russia () is the national law-enforcement agency in Russia, operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs from . It was established by decree from Peter the Great and in 2011, replacing the Militsiya, the former police servic ...

, and preparation of local youth for the one-year military conscription term. Not only is their aid in military affairs important, during the floods in 2004 of the Taman Peninsula they provided men and equipment for relief missions. Today, the host numbers 25 thousand men and has its own distinct forces: a whole regiment of the 7th "Cherkassy" Guards Air-Assault Division (the 108th "Kuban Cossack" Guards Airborne Regiment) in the Russian VDV; 205th Motorised Rifle Brigade, within the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District ( Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five militar ...

in the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

, in addition to border guards. On 2 August 2012, the governor of

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part o ...

, Alexander Tkachyov announced a controversial plan to deploy a paramilitary force of one thousand unarmed but uniformed Kuban Cossacks in the region to help police patrols. The cossacks were to be charged with preventing what he described as "illegal immigration" from the neighboring Caucasian republics. The Kuban Cossacks has maintained a

guard of honour A guard of honour (British English, GB), also honor guard (American English, US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, o ...

since the mid 2000s. The formation of the guard of honor began in April 2006 by a group of Cossacks with the support of the Cossack chieftain, General Vladimir Gromov. On 12 June 2006, the guard performed for the first time at the Cossack monument in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in south ...

. Cossack Colonel Pyotr Petrenko has been in charge of this unit for 12 years. They wear the historical uniform of the His Majesty's Own Cossack Escort Regiment. After an increase in personnel took place, an equestrian group was formed. The requirements for members of the guard of honor include a lack of a criminal record and being more than 180 centimeters in height.

Culture

Because of the unique migration pattern that the original

undertook, the Kuban Cossack identity has produced one of the most distinct cultures not only amongst other Cossacks but throughout the whole Eastern Slavic identity. The proximity to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

mountains and the Circassian people influenced the dress and uniform of the Cossacks — the distinctive

cherkeska A chokha or ; ab, акәымжәы, akʷymzhʷy; ady, цые, tsiya; kbd, цей, tsei; fa, چوقا, chughā; hy, չուխայ, choukha(y); az, çuxa; krc, чепкен, çepken; kum, чепген, çepgen; nog, шепкен, şepken ...

overcoat and the bashlyk scarf, local dance such as the Lezginka too came into the Kuban Cossack lifestyle. At the same time, the Cossacks continued much of their Zaporozhian legacy, including a Kuban Bandura movement and the Kuban Cossack Choir which became one of the most famous in the world for their performance of Cossack and other folk songs and dances, performed in both the Russian and Ukrainian languages.

National identity

The concept of national and ethnic identity of the Kuban Cossacks has changed with time and has been the subject of much contention. In the 1897 census, 47.3% of the Kuban population (including extensive 19th century non-Cossack migrants from both Ukraine and Russia) referred to their native language as Little Russian (Ukrainian), while 42.6% referred to their native language as Great Russian (Russian). Most cultural productions in Kuban spanning 1890–1910, such as plays, stories, etc., were written and performed in the Ukrainian language, and one of the first political parties in Kuban was the Ukrainian Revolutionary Party. During World War I, Austrian officials received reports from a Ukrainian organization of the Russian Empire that 700 Kuban Cossacks in eastern Galicia had been arrested by their Russian officers for refusing to fight against Ukrainians in the Austrian army. Briefly during the Russian Civil War, the Kuban Cossack Rada declared Ukrainian to be the official language of the Kuban Cossacks, before its suppression by the Russian

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

leader

General Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...

. After the Bolshevik Victory in the

, the Kuban was viewed as one of the most hostile regions to the young Communist state. In his 1923 speech devoted to the national and ethnic issues in the party and state affairs,

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

identified several obstacles in implementing the national programme of the party. Those were the "dominant-nation chauvinism", "economic and cultural inequality" of the nationalities and the "remnants of nationalism among a number of nations which have borne the heavy yoke of national oppression". For the Kuban, this was met with a unique approach. The victim/minority became the non-Cossack peasants who, like their counterparts in New Russia, were mixed population group, with an ethnic Ukrainian majority. To counter "dominant-nation chauvinism" a policy of Ukrainization/

Korenization Korenizatsiia or korenization ( rus, коренизация, p=kərʲɪnʲɪˈzatsɨjə, , "indigenization") was an early policy of the Soviet Union for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the governments of their specific Soviet ...

was introduced. According to the 1926 census, there were already nearly a million Ukrainians registered in the Kuban Okrug alone (or 62% of the total population) Additionally, more than 700 schools with Ukrainian as the language of instruction were opened, and the Kuban Pedagogical Institute had its own Ukrainian department. Numerous Ukrainian-language newspapers such as ''Chornomorets'' and ''Kubanska Zoria'' were published. According to historian A.L. Pawliczko, there was an attempt to have a referendum on the joining of Kuban to the Ukrainian SSR. In 1930, the Ukrainian Minister ("People’s Komissar") Mykola Skrypnyk, involved in solving national issues in the Ukrainian SSR, put forward an official proposal to Joseph Stalin that the territories of

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German str ...

Chornomoriya Black Sea Cossack Host (russian: Черномо́рское каза́чье во́йско; uk, Чорномо́рське коза́цьке ві́йсько ), also known as Chernomoriya (russian: Черномо́рия), was a Cossack host ...

, Kuban regions be administered by the government of the Ukrainian SSR. By the end of 1932, the Ukrainization programme was reversed, and by the late 1930s the majority of Kuban Ukrainians identified themselves as Russians As a result, in the 1939 census, Russians in the Kuban were a majority of 2754027 or 86% The 2nd edition of the

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

explicitly named the Kuban Cossacks as Russians. The modern Kuban vernacular known as balachka differs from contemporary literary Russian and is most similar to the dialect of Ukrainian spoken in central Ukraine near Cherkasy Some regions the vernacular includes many Northern Caucasus words and accents. The influence of Russian grammatical forms is also apparent. Like many other Cossacks, some refuse to accept themselves as part of the standard ethnic Russian people, and claim to be a separate subgroup on par with sub-ethnicities such as the

Pomors Pomors or Pomory ( rus, помо́ры, p=pɐˈmorɨ, ''seasiders'') are an ethnographic group descended from Russian settlers, primarily from Veliky Novgorod, living on the White Sea coasts and the territory whose southern border lies on a ...

. In the 2002 Russian census the Cossacks were allowed to have distinct nationality as a separate Russian sub-ethnical group. The Kuban Cossacks living in

Krasnodar Kray Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of ...

Adygea The Republic of Adygea (; russian: Республика Адыгея, Respublika Adygeya, p=ɐdɨˈɡʲejə; ady, Адыгэ Республик, ''Adıgə Respublik''), also known as the Adyghe Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated ...

Karachayevo-Cherkessia The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (russian: Карача́ево-Черке́сская Респу́блика, ''Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika''; krc, Къарачай-Черкес Республика, ''Qaraçay-Çerkes Respublika''; Cir ...

and some regions of

Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia, and is ad ...

and

Kabardino-Balkaria The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика, ''Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika''; kbd, Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, ''Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublik� ...

counted 25,000 men. However, the strict governance of the census meant that only Cossacks who are in active service were treated as such, and at the same time, 300,000 families are registered by the Kuban Cossack Host. Kuban Cossacks not politically affiliated with the Kuban Cossack Host, such as the director of the Kuban Cossack Choir Viktor Zakharchenko, have maintained at various times a pro-Ukrainian orientation.The politics of identity in a Russian borderland province: the Kuban neo-Cossack movement, 1989-1996, by Georgi M. Derluguian and Serge Cipko; Europe-Asia Studies; December 199
URL
/ref>

Organisation

Early 20th century

Within the Empire, the Kuban land was administered through the

with a semi-military administration. It was composed of seven subdivisions (), and numbered 1.3 million people (278 and 32 ). Kuban Cossacks formed regular units of the Imperial Russian Army as listed below. The following lists the structure prior to the outbreak of World War I, although this was re-organised during the conflict (see foot-note). In peacetime the Host provided 10 horse regiments making up a Kuban Cossack division, six ''plastun'' (infantry) battalions and six horse-artillery batteries; in addition to irregular and support units. The "first" regiments were linked to the specific locales that they were recruited from, although they would often be deployed elsewhere in the Empire. In wartime, recruits were drafted from each region to form "second" regiments during the stage of initial mobilization. If further manpower was required, a "third" regiment would be formed to be dispatched as reinforcements. During World War One a total of 37 horse (cavalry) regiments were raised by the Kuban Cossack Host. Map of Kuban Oblast (1916)

Regiments: * 1st and 2nd Kuban Life Guard sotnias of His Imperial Majesty's personal convoy (a special unit of the Imperial Guard acting for personal protection of the monarch) * 1st Khopyor regiment "Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna" * 1st Kuban regiment "General Field Marshal Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich" * 1st Zaporozhian regiment "Empress Catherine the Great" * 1st Yekaterinodar regiment "Kosh Ataman Chepiga" * 1st Poltavskaya regiment "Yekatrinoslav Viceroy General Field Marshal Prince Potyomkin-Tavrichesky" * 1st Umanskaya regiment "Brigadier Golovaty" * 1st Taman regiment "General Bezkrovny" * 1st Laba regiment "General Zass" * 1st Line regiment "General Velyaminov" * 1st Black Sea regiment "Colonel Bursak" Divisions: * Kuban Cossack Division (after the outbreak of World War I, the Russian Army began reforming this system along modern lines, but only one division was in existence in 1914) Plastuns: * 1st Kuban plastun battalion "General Field Marshal Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich" * 2nd through 6th Kuban plastun battalions As noted the ''plastun'' units served as infantry. On mobilization an additional six battalions (numbered 7th through 12th) were added to the peacetime establishment, and a further two (13th and 14th) raised as reserve units. The effectiveness of these units was demonstrated during the war, particularly the Caucasus Front and by 1917 a total of 22 battalions, comprising one division plus four brigades, were on active service. A further three battalions were in reserve. Horse artillery: * 1st Kuban Cossack battery "General Field Marshal Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich" * 2nd through 5th Kuban Cossack batteries. In addition there four commands that were responsible for support and home front organisation in the Kuban (supplies, hospitals etc.): Ust-Labinskaya, Armavirskaya, Labinskaya and Batalpashinskaya. From 1914 to 1917 the Kuban Cossack Host committed a total of 89 thousand men to the Russian war effort. These included 37 horse regiments, a cavalry division, 2 mounted regiments recruited from mountain peoples (Adyghe and Karachay), six ''convoy'' (Imperial Guard) escort half-sotnias, two Leib Guard HIH personal sotnias, 4 infantry plastun brigades (22 battalions), a special plastun division, nine horse artillery batteries, four reserve horse regiments and three reserve plastun battalions.

Notes and citations

External links

Official website

Official section about Cossackdom at the Krasnodar Kray administration's site

Unofficial website

{{Authority control Kuban Ukrainian diaspora Ethnic groups in Russia Cossack hosts Kuban Oblast Ethnic groups in Ukraine Peoples of the Caucasus