Kuban Cossack army: history, photo. History of the Cossacks in Russia

Dekhtyareva Elena Andreevna

Cossack, Cossacks, Cossack land ...

It would seem that we already know a lot about this topic, the revival of the Cossacks opened up a wide layer of history, culture, and literature for us.

However, no, individual pages of life, rituals, traditions that significantly distinguish the Cossacks as an ethno-social unit of great and multinational Russia remain unknown or well forgotten.

And this is what my work is devoted to: “the unknown about the known” from the life, service, everyday life, folklore of the Kuban Cossacks, their invaluable contribution to the common treasury of mother Russia.

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Krasnodar Territory, Novokubansky District, MOUSSH No. 3 g. Novokubansk

Regional competition "My small homeland"

Educational - research work in the nomination

"Humanitarian - environmental research"

Work completed :

Dekhtyareva Elena Andreevna

10 "B" class MOUSSH No. 3

Supervisor :

Dekhtyareva Irina Viktorovna

OiD teacher of the highest kv. categories

2007 - 2008 academic year

Introduction

Rejoice, free Russia

Show off on many rivers,

And shine like lightning

On the horizon clouds.

Cherish your sons of the Kuban,

Feed your daredevils,

They are folk heroes

And Cossack blood boils in them.

Cossack, Cossacks, Cossack land ...

It would seem that we already know a lot about this topic, the revival of the Cossacks opened up a wide layer of history, culture, and literature for us.

However, no, individual pages of life, rituals, traditions that significantly distinguish the Cossacks as an ethno-social unit of great and multinational Russia remain unknown or well forgotten.

And this is what my work is devoted to: “the unknown about the known” from the life, service, everyday life, folklore of the Kuban Cossacks, their invaluable contribution to the common treasury of mother Russia.

The word "Cossack" is not Russian. It is taken from the Kirghiz language: the Kirghiz have called themselves Cossacks since ancient times. It is believed that this word passed to us from the Tatars, who called the Cossacks the forward detachments that served for the enemy's reconnaissance. The best riders were recruited into these detachments, which were always the Kirghiz, i.e. Cossacks, therefore these detachments were called Cossacks.

The concepts of "Cossack", "Cossacks", "Cossacks" have long lived in the minds of the peoples of our country. Already in the heroic epic epic, dating back to Kievan Rus, among the most ancient images of heroes, one of the most significant and attractive is "the old Cossack and Ilya Muromets and son Ivanovich." The first mention of the Cossacks - sentinels of the southern borders - was recorded in the annals of the 14th century, after the Battle of Kulikovo.

In the memory of the people, the ancient free Cossacks were imprinted as the bearer of the ideals of independence and justice, as a principled opponent of all oppression.

The Cossacks played an important role in the development of vast territories. Their detachments, led by such brave leaders as Yermak, S.I. Dezhnev, V.D. Poyarkov, E.P. Khabarov, boldly penetrated the little-known regions of Siberia and the Far East. But the Cossacks deserved wide appreciation especially for the fact that throughout its history it was a faithful, skillful and courageous defender of the Fatherland from the encroachments of foreign invaders and enslavers.

At all times, people treated the Cossacks differently. Someone admired them, and someone hated and scolded them. Nevertheless, the best minds of the past and present devoted pages of their literary works to this class of difficult fate: N.V. Gogol, I. Varavva, A. Znamensky.

In this paper, an attempt is made to comprehensively analyze the history, culture, rituals of the Cossacks, they are very important for the further development of this multifaceted community.

Chapter I attention is paid to the resettlement of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks to the Kuban and the formation of the Black Sea Cossack Host.

Chapter II draws attention to the distinctive features of the Kuban Cossacks: appearance, Cossack wardrobe.

Chapter III the system for the development of riding and horse riding among the Kuban Cossacks was determined.

And in IV The chapter deals with folk traditions, songs, rituals of the Kuban Cossacks.

The heritage of the Kuban Cossacks is multidimensional and multifaceted, which is why it is interesting.

I. The beginning of the existence of the Black Sea Cossack army

In 1775, immediately after the suppression of the rebellion in the Yaik army, the Zaporozhian Sich on the Dnieper was put to an end. To the government’s demand to lay down their arms, part of the Cossacks dared to respond with disobedience and fled in boats down the Dnieper to seek criminal service from the Sultan, while the majority obeyed the verdict pronounced by the government and dispersed to the nearest provinces to be assigned to the peaceful estates.

A little later, under an agreement concluded with Turkey in 1783, the Kuban River was declared our border from the Turkish possessions in the Caucasus. Whether the government had in mind the settlement of the new border with people accustomed to war, or foresaw a new won with the Turks, but only it turned to the former Zaporozhye Cossacks with a call to serve in the old Cossack order, but not in the old place. The appeal found a lot of sympathy among those to whom it was addressed: the scattered Sich soldiers willingly gathered at the assembly point between the Dniester and the Bug, and by 1787 they formed an army of twelve thousand armed and equipped Cossacks for service.

Kosh of faithful Cossacks, divided into winter and summer , i.e. to the cavalry and rowing flotilla, served with the same zeal and courage as on a dry path, received the name"Loyal troops of the Black Sea",was showered with royal favors, admonished for his housewarming in the Caucasus with a letter and bread and salt from the Mother Queen, and finally moved to the Kuban in 1792.

Winter moved by land, and summer by water, along the Black Sea. Both arrivedto the new Ukraineabout thirteen thousand people under arms.

Zaporozhye Cossacks received a letter from the Empress for the eternal use of the Kuban land and Anton Golovaty wrote a song in honor of this event

"Oh, one thousand seven hundred and ninety first fate"

In accordance with the dual state of the Cossack, peasant and warrior, the army has a dual institution - civil-military. In the aggregate, the commanding ataman manages the army in the civil and military units.

The Cossacks serve necessarily 22 years in the garrison service of the army, but they do not receive unconditional resignation, but they undertake to be ready for field service even in the retirement itself, when special circumstances require it.

Regiments, battalions and batteries of the Black Sea troops constantly retain their personnel. During shifts from regular services, they are not destroyed, as is the case in other Cossack troops remote from the border, but, one might say, they have the character of permanent troops. Put on such a foot, devoted soul and body to the service of the tsar, the Chernomorian goes without hesitation from an unfinished field to a camping bivouac. The proverb turned into a military commandment for him:"how to call, so holy."

The Cossack is equipped for service from his own property: a horse, harness, ammunition, uniforms and edged weapons; he is supplied with one firearm at the expense of the military treasury. If a Cossack thrives at home, then he is a serviceable and brisk fellow for service."Good at the threshing floor, good at war."

The Black Sea army has inalienable virtues

Look out, bachish, and negarne,

It seems to be irregular

That one is the most evil bastard.

It soon turned out that the Black Sea army, which carried the cordon service, became an indispensable unit of the Russian army.

II. Distinctive features: nationality, faith, Cossack wardrobe. The role of women in the Cossack fate.

The Chernomorians, and now some Kuban Cossacks in the villages speak the Little Russian language, which is well preserved. The traits of the Little Russian people in the manners, customs, and beliefs in domestic and social life have been preserved to the same extent under their military Caucasian shell. The singing in the kliros, the stonefly in the street, the generosity under the window, and the whitewashed corner of the hut—everything reminds you of Hetman's Ukraine, Nalivaik and Khmelnytsky in this distant Caucasian Ukraine.

With the exception of a small number of foreigners, all Kuban Cossacks and residents profess the Orthodox faith, for the inviolability of which their great-grandfathers shed torrents of blood in the fight against the intolerance of Polish Catholicism. The sacrificial devotion of the people to the church is boundless. There is no inheritance, the most modest, from which some part would not go to the church. In this regard, the Black Sea people remain true to the holy custom of their ancestors: from all acquisitions, to bring the best part to the temple of God.

Any Kuban who is interested in the history of the region and the Fatherland is curious to look at the Cossack wardrobe.

Much was borrowed from those peoples with whom they were neighbors and with whom they fought.

Initially, the Cossack's clothes were poor. The words Cossack and poverty were synonymous. In the old songs you can find the following:

Sydyt Cossack on the grave

Thai pants patch.

Kozak - the soul of truth -

No shirts.

Over time, the Cossack attire has changed beyond recognition. According to experts in the history of the Cossacks (and there were 12 Cossacks in Russia), the clothes of the Zaporizhzhya, and then the Kuban Cossacks were the best of all.

They put on a high sharp hat - one and a half quarters of the height, with a band of astrakhan a quarter of the width, with a cloth more often of red or green color on the bottom, on wadding, with a silver kittytsa at the very top. The band of the cap often served as a pocket for the Cossack - he put tobacco, flint, a cradle or a horn with tobacco there.

As he put on his hat, he was already a Cossack.

Knee-length caftan, colored, with herbs and patterns, with buttons, on silk laces, with two gatherings at the back, with two hooks for pistols on the sides, with small velvet cuffs at the ends of the sleeves.

Belts were made from Turkish or Persian silk. The ends on the belt were gilded or silvered, and silk cords were tied to the edges.

He put on a hat, a caftan, girded himself, hung up a dagger, a saber - then he puts on a zhupan or a Circassian coat. This is already spacious clothes, long with wide sleeves. The zhupan must be a different color than the caftan.

A cloak was worn over the Circassian coat - to the toes.

And here is how the Cossacks are described by Kulish in 1856:

“It used to happen that every year the Cossacks come to the city of Smela for the fair. Dressed up so that, God, your will! Gold and silver!

The hat is velvet, red, with corners, and the band of the finger is three times wide, gray or black.

On the underside, he has a zhupan made of the most expensive red cloth, it burns like fire, it just dazzles his eyes. And on top of the Circassian with departures, or blue. Pants made of blue cloth, wide, hung almost on the front of the boots. The boots are red, with gold or silver on the palm. And the saber at the side is all in gold - it burns.

There is a Cossack and does not touch the ground, the gait is light!

And as they sit on horses and ride through the fair, it’s like sparks sparkle. And what courage! It used to happen that a Cossack was walking, you looked - well, by God, he does not touch the ground. Only sham, sham, sham - go, and go!

It is a well-known fact that the ancestors of the Kuban Cossacks - the Cossacks usually did not have a family, and women were not allowed in the Sich. However, it is known that during the resettlement to the granted Kuban lands, the Cossacks were family people. Thus, it is necessary to tell about the role of a Cossack woman in the fate of the Kuban Cossack. Traditionally, the Kuban Cossacks had an obligatory participation of women in the customs and rituals associated with military service (seeing off and returning from service, etc.).

Many traditions were borrowed by the Kuban Cossacks from the population of those areas from where they were resettled, but by the middle of the 19th century, local features had also formed.

The traditional duty of women was to prepare the husband's ammunition for the service. They monitored the serviceability and cleanliness of clothes and linen, the freshness of dry rations. If, during the check at the construction, something turned out to be out of order, then the wife was considered to be guilty of this. Military equipment was very well preserved, because it was expensive. The horse was considered the main value, it was protected and carefully looked after. Having met her husband from the service, the Cossack woman had to first of all “unbridle the horse, water it, feed it, put it in a stall” and only after that go about their business.

If the Cossack was married, then the main role in the farewell to the service was played by the wife; if single - mother.

The woman always led the horse out of the gate. Why? If the horse stumbles, then the Cossack will not return ... The younger brothers gave weapons, it was a whole ritual. By the way the farewell went, the women tried to guess whether the Cossack would return home or die. One of the songs says:

A black cap fell off - you will be driven in, son.

A golden dagger came off - your wife will be a widow.

Small arrows fell down -

Your children will be orphans.

It was considered a bad omen if the horse left the yard with its head bowed; the neighing of a horse was a harbinger of the death of his master in military service.

In some Kuban linear villages, a Cossack, already sitting on a horse, tied a black shawl to his wife - “sad”. She had to wear this headdress on holidays throughout the entire period of her husband's service. If the Cossack died, then the wife lost the right to wear a mourner.

Thus, the Cossacks of the Kuban traditionally played a significant role in the military ritual sphere, which is explained by the specifics of the life and way of life of the Cossacks.

III. The art of riding and dashing

The Kuban Cossacks, due to historically established living conditions, were natural cavalrymen. Therefore, it is no coincidence that various physical exercises and competitions associated with horseback riding and horse riding have become widespread in the Kuban.

Parents' attention to teaching children the art of horse management was manifested in the early stages of their lives.

40 days after birth, “... the father put on a saber for the boy, put him on a horse ... returning, to his mother, he said:“ Here is a Cossack for you. Subsequently, by the beginning of the 20th century, this custom was somewhat simplified: a Cossack girl at an early age was solemnly mounted on a horse.

After the initiation, the training began. When the son was three years old, his father put him on a horse. During the race in a circle, the pace of which was regulated by the father, the child mastered the techniques of riding.

In mastering the skills of riding and horse riding by children, the principle of gradualness and consistency, the transition from simple elements to more complex ones, was carried out.

Preparation began with individual training: “Standing against the left side of the horse, one little boy ... tries to jump into the saddle with a run. After wrestling a lot, the boy climbed onto the back of the horse.

The image of a Cossack has always been associated with a rider, which is reflected in numerous proverbs and sayings common in the Kuban: “A Cossack without a saddle is like a Circassian without a dagger”, “Don’t drive a horse with a whip, but drive with oats”, “Don’t let the horse get emaciated - on the road won't."

There were many sayings that reflected the attitude of the Cossack to the horse: “Everything can be given to a comrade, except for a war horse”, “Teach a white swan to swim, and a Cossack son to sit on a horse.”

Analyzing horse riding as a phenomenon of cultures, including the culture of motor activity, it is advisable to consider the basic concepts that characterize it and their significance in modern science.

According to the definition given by V. Dahl, the term "jigit" means: "prancing, riding, practicing horse riding."

The fundamental physical and moral-volitional qualities necessary for a Cossack to improve in this art include courage, dexterity, and self-confidence. In addition, great importance is attached to constant practice in horse dressage.

Distinguish between individual and group riding.

Individual:

1. Getting the land

2. Dismounting from a horse

3. Riding standing

4. Jump upside down

5. Jump backwards

6. Laying a horse (forcing the horse to lie down on the ground)

Group: (on one horse)

1. Swing (two riders are facing each other and sideways to the direction of movement, holding hands on the saddle; legs are intertwined).
2. Standing behind on a suitcase (one rider is in the saddle, the other stands behind, on the croup of the horse, holding on to the shoulders of the seated one).
3. Transportation of an infantryman (a rider lifts a standing or lying person onto a horse).
4. Pyramid etc.

Demonstration performances and horse riding competitions were always held solemnly, with a large number of residents of the villages, in the presence of guests from neighboring villages.

The famous Kuban historian and public figure P.P. Orlov, addressing the Cossack youth, urged: “Let our healthy military life boil! Don't forget your fellow horse. Drive it to the war, to the game, to maneuvers, and after that ... with a dashing trick ride, rush home past the gasping, admiring crowd of colorful stanitsa beauties.

Thanks to its aesthetic beauty and sports entertainment, the trickery of the Kuban Cossacks has become widely known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

IV. Ethnocultural traditions of the Kuban Cossacks (songs, proverbs and sayings, holidays and rituals)

1. We read from Gogol: “Show me a people who would not have songs, holidays, rituals, traditions, oral art.

Under the songs people are born and die, see off on a long journey and a glorious campaign. I do not expand on the importance of folk songs. This is a folk history, lively, bright, full of colors, truths, revealing the whole life of the people.

For centuries, beautiful folk songs have been flying over the region, over the Kuban farms and villages. They, like the immortal souls of our glorious ancestors, live among us, reminding us that eternity is the memory of the people. Folk songs are the river of time. The river is full-flowing, powerful in its spirituality, nourishing our souls, our good memory. And for that person who forgets about the song, the soul languishes, the heart becomes callous.

In Russia, it is difficult to find a more songful land than the Kuban. Why? Because a synthesis of peoples and cultures of various religions, languages ​​and dialects was manifested here.

In general, every nation seems to find its songs the most beautiful and understandable.

What I like most of all is the song culture of the Kuban Cossacks: sometimes lyrical, sometimes marching, sometimes wedding, sometimes seeing off on their last journey. As an example, I want to give songs both known to a wide range of listeners and little-known ones.

The following statement by Suvorov about music and military bands is known: “Music is necessary and useful, and it is necessary that it be the loudest. She amuses the heart of a warrior, equalizes his step; along it we dance and in the battle itself. The old man rushes to his death with great vigor, the milk-drinker, wiping mother's milk from his mouth, runs after him. Music doubles, triples armies.

You involuntarily agree with these words of the commander when you listen to the Cossack version of the famous soldier's marching song of the Suvorov era.

Kozachushki, Bravo guys!

Where is your mother?

Hey, hey, yeah! Our mats are broken chambers,

That's where our mats are!

Kozachushki, bravo guys,

Where are your sisters?

Hey, hey, yeah! Our sisters are shabels and vostros,

Here are our sisters!

Kozachushki, bravo guys,

Where are your children?

Hey, hey, yeah! Our children are behind the whip belt

Here are our children!

Kozachushki, bravo guys,

Where are your wives?

Hey, hey, yeah! Our wives are loaded guns

Here are our wives!

This song shows us the life of a military Cossack, whose life is in military campaigns and battles, which is what the Cossacks were busy with.

A completely different song, lyrical, little known to anyone, which was sung when the branch was dressed up.

Cuckoo, howl, my darling

1. Cuckoo, howl, my darling, howl,

Chivo go niviselaya?

2. Chivo walk niviselay, oi,

Niviselay, zazhurenny?

3. Niviselay, zazhurenny, howling,

Chi no with a sweet friend separated?

4. Chi ni with a sweet friend separated,

Paydu with a task in a green garden.

5. Paidu with a task in a green garden,

Sarva a flower, let me tie wine.

6. Sarva flower, let me tie the wine

I'll give my friend a thumbs up.

7. Your friend for a tick, howl

Nasi, my friend, don't throw it off.

8. Nasi, my friend, don’t throw it off,

And me, don't sleep.

Sad and cheerful, wide and spacious, the song has always been a companion of the Russian people. And it is not necessary that everyone can sing it well. From time immemorial, Russian people have been able and loved to listen to their native songs. For him they are like flowers in an unmowed meadow, like stars on an immense dome of a warm summer sky. They are the pain and joy of his soul. They are the very soul of a Russian person.

1. Proverbs and sayings related to small folklore genres are widespread in the territory of the Kuban. People whose speech was filled with proverbs were always respected by the population, were considered interesting interlocutors.

Self-consciousness, i.e. awareness of one's community ("kinship") and one's difference from others is the most important sign that indicates the emergence of a new ethnic community (Kuban Cossacks).

1. On the territory of the Kuban, along with common Russian proverbs, there were also their variants that arose as a result of replacing the social (status) definitions of an individual with the ethnonym "Cossack":

1. Grim ne gryane, Cossack ne perehrestetsya - Thunder will not strike - man will not cross.
2. Cossack you are at war, and the woman is grieving- Warrior fights, and the wife mourns.
3. Cossack on the horses, and the divka - in the peleni - the bride will be born, groom sits on a horse.

2. A significant place in the proverbial tradition of the Kuban is occupied by sayings containing the ethnonym "Cossack" in their texts. The main part of these proverbs, one way or another, is connected with the paramilitary life of the Cossacks:

1. Cossacks without a army, like a girl without a namist
2. Biz horse Cossack all around damp
3. The Cossack died ta lie down, ta t bother anyone

3. The proverbs also reflected such categories of the value system as “will”, “courage”, “courage”, “patience”.

1. Step that will - Cossack share
2. Cola Cossack in poly, then wine and freedom
3. The Cossack is not afraid of either clouds or thunder
4. Terpy, Cossack, grief - budesh pyt med
5. Terpy, Cossack, ataman budesh

Thus, the following can be noted:

1. Historical proverbs not only testify to historical events, but also, importantly, reflect the people's assessment of these events.
2. The proverbs clearly reflect the ethnic identity of the Cossacks as an independent ethnic unit.

The traditional culture of the vast majority of ethnic groups is not homogeneous throughout the space occupied by the people. Living in different natural and climatic conditions, a variety of economic activities, migration and contacts with other peoples and cultures, contributes to the formation of cultural dialects, regional characteristics, which are manifested to varying degrees in calendar holidays and rituals. As a result of the action of these causes and processes, regional features are formed in the culture of an ethnos.

Among the local traditions is the culture of the Kuban Cossacks. In this work, a due place will be given to one of the calendar Christian holidays, with the ritual essence of the Kuban Cossacks.

MASLENITSA

The holiday was popular both in the villages and in the cities and lasted a week, which was popularly called “masnytsy”.

Mandatory dishes for Maslenitsa were dumplings with cottage cheese, pancakes and scrambled eggs. Dinner was especially plentiful on the last day of Shrove Tuesday, on the eve of Lent. However, food was prepared so much that it was not eaten for a week. The leftovers of food were handled in different ways: buried, given to chickens, pigs.

The game and entertainment side of Maslenitsa is diverse and includes elements that had ritual and magical significance in the past: dressing up, sledding down the mountain, etc.

Equally widespread were horse racing, horse riding, shooting at a target, cutting stuffed animals and fisticuffs.

The main moment of this holiday was mutual guest visits, primarily to relatives on the wife's side, confirmation of friendly ties, because. this week "you can not quarrel, envy."

In addition to the main points, in the Kuban Maslenitsa there are many interesting and important details that existed within individual settlements.

In Art. Nikolaevskaya there was a belief that pancakes must be baked on the first day in order for money to be made. Almost everywhere there was a ban on spinning. In the same village, there was a belief that one could gain power over witches if, on the last day of the holiday, before going to bed, put a piece of cheese in your mouth and sew it under the skin of your palm in the morning.

The milestone of Easter isForgiveness Sunday.

In each house they laid tables, went to visit each other, kissed, bowed to the ground and asked each other for forgiveness: “Kuma matchmaker, forgive me for Christ’s sake!” - "God will forgive you!" or “God forgives you and I forgive you!”.

The next day, Great Lent began.

Conclusion

The surge of public activity in and interest of the society in the search for their historical roots, ancestral memory, family history to a large extent stimulated the study of this topic.

The active development of Cossack problems in the Kuban drew attention to the study of the history, culture, and customs of the ethnonym “Cossacks”.

Our opinion is that the originality, the peculiarity of the Cossacks, in any case, allows us to speak of them as something ethnically specific: be it an independent ethnic group, an ethnographic group of Russians or a special ethnic group of the population.

After all, it is remarkable that almost every component of this work emphasizes the originality of the Cossacks, its deep difference from the rest of the Russian population, which was an attempt to draw attention to.

According to the publication Zhivaya Kuban, according to some Kuban Cossacks, the results of the 2010 census regarding the number of Cossacks in the region do not correspond to reality. In this regard, at their next meeting, they decided to organize their own population census in the Krasnodar Territory.

Meanwhile, in January 2012, a group of Cossacks approached Dmitry Medvedev with a demand to publish the real results of the 2010 census. They stated that Rosstat published falsified census results, since they do not contain Cossacks as an ethnic group and are presented only as a part (sub-ethnic group) of the Russian people. “We did not write this in the questionnaires, and there was no such answer during the census,” the text of the appeal says.

Thus, from the statement of this group of Kuban Cossacks it follows that they are not Russians. But is it really so? Are the CIA historians right who trace the origin of the Cossacks either from the Tatar-Mongols, or from the Iranians, or from the Khazars?

In fact, the Kuban Cossacks descended from the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, which, of course, was not some kind of sub-ethnos of the Little Russians, but its usual service class. For the entire army of Little Russia at the time of its union with the Commonwealth was divided into Cossacks who were and were not in the royal register. Non-registered Cossacks were based on the rapids of the Dnieper, which is why they received the name Zaporozhye.

If we define the Zaporozhye Cossacks in ethnic categories, then it is the most active part of the Little Russian sub-ethnos (part) of the great Russian ethnos, along with the Great Russian and Belarusian sub-ethnos. The best representatives of the Kuban Cossacks, its color, recognized themselves as such.

For example, Nikolai Stepanovich Leontiev, a Kuban Cossack officer who organized an expedition to Abyssinia, became the right hand of the Ethiopian king, his main military adviser, helped him defeat the Italian colonialists, and also managed to improve the situation of the Abyssinians at the diplomatic level. As is clear from the entry in his diary, the decision to organize an expedition and go with it to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) largely came from him “out of a desire to show the whole world that we, Russians, can serve the Motherland, and, moreover, without resorting to fire and sword, no worse than the British, French and Germans, who, with the help of these two factors, have made strong nests for themselves in Africa.

The aforementioned group of Kuban Cossacks, refusing their Russian roots, becomes Ivans, who do not remember their kinship, traitors to their Russian Orthodox ancestors, who have always fought for the Faith, the Motherland and the Russian people. And traitors to their people have always been despised in any ethnic group. The Cossacks themselves always executed traitors with their own hands. Taras Bulba himself executed his own son Andriy, who, following the lead of prodigal passion, betrayed his Faith and people. Of course, this is a literary hero, but N.V. Gogol here conveyed the order of things that actually existed in the Zaporozhian Sich.

Of course, no one will execute the new Andrievs. But, as is known from the biblical, traitors usually settle scores with themselves.

As far as I know, the majority of the Kuban Cossacks, despite the difficult situation of the Russian people, recognizes themselves as an inseparable part of it and does not abandon their ancestors, thus showing the true Cossack nobility of the soul. For to abandon one's parents and ancestors, especially when they are humiliated and desecrated, is a violation of God's commandment to honor parents and a sign of weakness of the spirit.

This healthy part of the Kuban Cossacks recognizes itself as part of the great Russian people, who, over the ten centuries of its existence, revealed to the world thousands of reverend fathers, and in the 20th century. - millions of new martyrs and confessors. Who defeated Mamai and his horde on the Kulikovo field, throwing off the Tatar-Mongol yoke; who expelled the Polish invaders in 1612, throwing off the Polish-Catholic yoke; who defeated Napoleon and Hitler. The Russian people showed the world the invincible knights of the Monk Ilya of Muromets, Evpaty Kolovrat, Saint Alexander Nevsky, Saint Dmitry Donskoy, Saint Admiral Theodore Ushakov, the unsurpassed Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov, who liked to repeat: “We are Russians - what a delight!”. Together with all Russians, she is proud of the feat of the martyr Yevgeny Rodionov, who did not betray the Faith, Motherland and his people in Chechen captivity.

True Kubans, I would like to believe, know the prophecies of the great Russian saints about the revival of Russia, about the restoration of the autocratic monarchy in Russia, about the unification of all Slavic countries into one state. When Russia is resurrected, then it will recognize as its sons and daughters only those who did not renounce it in a difficult time. The Turks, the Janissaries and the Uniates, although they left us, were not ours. They went out from us, but were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us; but they went out, and through that it was revealed that they were not all of us (1 John 2:19). They deprive themselves of happiness both in this life and in the next. They will have no place in the future resurrected Russia and in Heavenly Jerusalem. For a worthless citizen of his Fatherland is also unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Kuban Cossacks, Kuban Cossack army- part of the Russian Cossacks of the North Caucasus, inhabiting the territory of the modern Krasnodar Territory, the western part of the Stavropol Territory, as well as the Republics of Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia. The military headquarters - the city of Ekaterinodar - modern Krasnodar. The army was formed in 1860 on the basis of the Black Sea Cossack army, with the addition of a part of the Caucasian linear Cossack army, which was "simplified as unnecessary." , as a result of the end of the Caucasian war.

Initially, the army was controlled by kosh and kuren (from "kuren") chieftains, later - by chief chieftains appointed by the Russian emperor. The Kuban region was divided into 7 departments, headed by chieftains appointed by the chief chieftain. At the head of the villages and farms were elected chieftains, who were approved by the chieftains of departments.

Seniority since 1696, military holiday - since 1890 appointed by the royal decree on August 28-30. The administration of the Krasnodar Territory has designated a new date for the celebration of the KKV, September 12, the day of St. Alexander Nevsky.

History of the Kuban Cossack army

Postage stamp of Russia, 2010: Kuban Cossack army

Modern sleeve patch VKO KKV

Flag of the Kuban Cossacks

Traditional dance of the Kuban Cossacks, 2000

The Kuban Cossack army historically developed from several different groups of Cossacks.

Black Sea Cossacks

By the end of the 18th century, after numerous political victories of the Russian Empire, the priorities for the development of the lands taken from Turkey and Little Russia, which at that time was part of the Russian Empire, and the Little Russians and Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Sich living there, radically changed. With the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji Treaty (1774), Russia received access to the Black Sea and the Crimea. In the west, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, weakened by "gentry democracy", was on the verge of partition.

Thus, the further need to maintain the presence of the Cossacks in their historical homeland to protect the southern Russian borders has disappeared. At the same time, their traditional way of life often led to conflicts with the Russian authorities. After repeated pogroms by the Cossacks of Serbian settlers, and also in connection with the support of the Cossacks of the Pugachev uprising, Empress Catherine II ordered the Zaporizhzhya Sich to be disbanded, which was carried out on the orders of Grigory Potemkin to pacify the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks by General Peter Tekeli in June 1775.

After, however, about five thousand Cossacks fled to the mouth of the Danube, creating the Transdanubian Sich under the protectorate of the Turkish Sultan, several attempts were made to integrate the remaining 12 thousand Cossacks into the Russian army and society of the future New Russia, but the Cossacks did not want to submit to the requirements of harsh discipline.

At the same time, the Ottoman Empire, which received additional forces in the form of the Danube Cossacks, threatened a new war. In 1787, from the former Cossacks, Grigory Potemkin formed The army of faithful Cossacks.

The Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1792 turned out to be a decisive victory for Russia, the contribution of the Cossacks to the victory was significant. As a result of the Iasi Peace, Russia territorially strengthened its influence on the southern borders. After the conclusion of peace, the "Troops of Faithful Cossacks" were given new Russian lands obtained as a result of the war - along the Black Sea coast between the Dniester and Bug rivers, and the army itself was renamed the "Black Sea Cossack Host". In 1792, at the head of the Cossack delegation, the ataman of the Black Sea Cossack army, Anton Golovaty, went to the capital with the aim of presenting Catherine II with a petition for granting land to the Black Sea Cossack army in the Taman region and "surroundings" in exchange for the selected Sich lands. The negotiations were not easy and long - having arrived in St. Petersburg in March, the delegation waited for the Supreme decision until May. Golovaty asked to allocate lands to the army not only in Taman and the Kerch Peninsula (which Potemkin had already agreed to in 1788), but also lands on the right bank of the Kuban River, then still uninhabited by anyone. Tsarist dignitaries reprimanded Golovaty: "You demand a lot of land." But it was not in vain that Golovaty was chosen as a representative - his education and diplomacy played a role in the success of the enterprise - at an audience with the "enlightened monarch" Golovaty spoke Latin and managed to convince Catherine of the general benefit of such a resettlement - the Black Sea Cossacks were granted lands on Taman and Kuban "in perpetual and hereditary possession."

By 1793, the Black Sea people, consisting of 40 kurens (about 25 thousand people), moved as a result of several trips to the Kuban lands. The main task of the new troops was the creation of a defensive line along the entire region and the development of the national economy in the new lands. Despite the fact that the new army was significantly reorganized according to the standards of other Cossack troops of the Russian Empire, the Black Sea people were able to preserve many of the traditions of the Cossacks under the new conditions, though changing Turkish trousers for more comfortable local clothes: Circassians, etc.

Initially, the territory (until the 1830s) was limited from Taman along the entire right bank of the Kuban to the Laba River. Already by 1860, the army numbered 200 thousand Cossacks and fielded 12 cavalry regiments, 9 foot (plastun) battalions, 4 batteries and 2 guard squadrons.

They made up the majority of the Cossacks in the Yeysk, Yekaterinodar and Temryuk departments of the Kuban region.

Kuban Cossacks

Line Cossacks

linemen they call the Cossacks, who, during the formation of the Kuban Cossack army in 1860, left the Caucasian linear Cossack army into a new army.

The first of them is the Kuban regiment, its members were the descendants of the Don and Volga Cossacks who moved to the middle Kuban immediately after the Kuban became part of Russia in the 1780s. Initially, it was planned to resettle most of the Don army, but this decision caused a storm of protests on the Don, and then Anton Golovaty suggested that the Chernomorians leave Budzhak for the Kuban in 1790.

The second is the Khopersky regiment, this group of Cossacks originally lived between the Khoper and Medveditsa rivers since 1444. After the uprising of Bulavin in 1708, the land of the Cossacks was almost cleared by Peter I. Part of the Bulavins who went to the Kuban formed the first outcast Cossacks - the Nekrasov Cossacks, who later went to the Balkans, and then to Turkey. Despite the actual cleansing of Khopra in 1716, the Cossacks who were involved in the Northern War returned there, and after a pardon from the Voronezh governor, they were allowed to build the Novokhopyorsk fortress. For half a century, the Khopersky regiment has grown again. In the summer of 1777, during the construction of the Azov-Mozdok line, the Khoper Cossacks were resettled in the Middle Caucasus, where they fought against Kabarda and founded the Stavropol fortress. In 1828, after the subjugation of the Karachais, they settled in the upper Kuban. They formed part of the first Russian expedition to Elbrus in 1829.

After the formation of the Kuban army in 1860, seniority was borrowed from the Khoper Cossacks, as the oldest. In 1696, the Khopers distinguished themselves in the capture of Azov during the Azov campaigns of Peter I.

A military holiday was also established - August 30, the day of Alexander Nevsky. On the eve of the revolution, the Lineians inhabited the Caucasian, Labinsk, Maikop and Batalpashinsky departments of the Kuban region.

Ascribed Cossacks

In the first half of the 19th century, state peasants, cantonists and retired soldiers who were enrolled in the Cossacks moved to the Kuban. Sometimes they settled in existing villages, sometimes they formed new ones.

Organization

Kuban Cossacks at the May Day parade in 1937

The Kuban Cossacks were a free paramilitary agricultural population. At the head of the Kuban Cossack army was the chief ataman (at the same time - the head of the Kuban region), who militarily enjoyed the rights of the head of the division, and in civil terms - the rights of the governor. He appointed atamans of departments, to whom the elected atamans of villages and farms were subordinate. The highest body of the stanitsa power was the stanitsa gathering, which elected the ataman and the board (consisted of the ataman and two elected judges, since 1870 - ataman, judges, ataman's assistant, clerk, treasurer). Stanitsa societies performed various duties: military, "general search" (maintenance of postal stations, repair of roads and bridges, etc.), stanitsa (maintenance of "flying mail", escort of prisoners, guard duty, etc.). In 1890, the day of the military holiday was established - August 30th. Since 1891, the Cossacks elected additional judges, who were the cassation instance on the decisions of the village courts.

In 1863-1917, the Kuban Military Bulletin was published; in 1914-1917 - the magazine "Kuban Cossack Bulletin", other publications were also printed.

On the eve of 1914, the army had about 1,300,000 Cossacks, 278 villages and 32 farms with a total area of ​​6.8 million acres of land. It was divided into 7 sections: Yekaterinodar, Tamansky, Yeisk, Caucasian, Labinsky, Maykop and Batalpashinsky. In peacetime, the Kuban formed:

• L.-Gv. 1st and 2nd Kuban Cossack hundreds of HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY'S OWN convoy (parking in the city of St. Petersburg);
• 1st Khopersky Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host(1st Caucasian Cossack division, camp in the city of Kutaisi);
• 1st Kuban General-Field Marshal Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (1st Caucasian Cossack division, camp in the village of Karakurt, Kars region);
• 1st Uman Brigadier Holovaty Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (1st Caucasian Cossack division, camp in the city of Kars);
• 1st Poltava Ataman Sidor White Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (2nd Caucasian Cossack division, camp in the village of Kinakiri, Erivan province);
• 1st Labinsky General Zass Regiment, Kuban Cossack Army (2nd Caucasian Cossack division, camp in the Helenendorf colony, near the city of Elizavetpol);
• 1st Black Sea Colonel Bursak 2nd Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (2nd Caucasian Cossack division, camp in Jalal-ogly, Tiflis province, now Stepanavan);
• 1st Zaporozhye Empress Catherine the Great Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (2nd Caucasian Cossack division, camp in the city of Kagyzman, Kars region);
• 1st Taman General Bloodless Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (Transcaspian Cossack brigade, camp in the village of Kashi (near the city of Ashgabat), Transcaspian region);
• 1st Caucasian Viceroy of Yekaterinoslav Field Marshal Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host(Transcaspian Cossack brigade, camp in the city of Merv, Transcaspian region);
• 1st Line General Velyaminov Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (former 1st Urupsky; 2nd Cossack consolidated division, parking in the city of Romny);
• 1st Yekaterinodar Koshevo Ataman Chapegi Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host (parking in the city of Ekaterinodar);
• Kuban Cossack Division (parking in the city of Warsaw);
• 1st Kuban Plastun General-Field Marshal Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich Battalion (Kuban plastun brigade, camp in the city of Artvin, Kutaisi province);
• 2nd Kuban Plastun Battalion
• 3rd Kuban Plastun Battalion (Kuban plastunskaya brigade, parking in the city of Pyatigorsk);
• 4th Kuban Plastun Battalion (Kuban plastun brigade, parking in the city of Baku);
• 5th Kuban Plastun Battalion (Kuban plastun brigade, camp in the city of Tiflis);
• 6th Kuban Plastun Battalion (Kuban plastun brigade, camp in the fortification of Gunib, Dagestan region);
• 1st Kuban General-Field Marshal Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich Cossack Battery (parking in the city of Erivan);
• 2nd Kuban Cossack Battery (parking in the village of Sarykamysh, Kars region);
• 3rd Kuban Cossack Battery (parking in the city of Maykop, Kuban region]);
• 4th Kuban Cossack Battery (parking in the village of Kaakhka, Transcaspian region);
• 5th Kuban Cossack Battery (parking in the village of Kinakiri, Erivan province).

During the Great War, 41 cavalry regiments (including 2 highlander regiments), 1 plastun regiment, 2 cavalry divisions, 27 plastun battalions, 50 special cavalry hundreds, 9 cavalry batteries and 1 spare cavalry artillery battery were put up - a total of about 89,000 people. and 45 thousand combat horses. After Russia entered the war with Germany and Austria-Hungary (July 19, 1914), the state requisition of horses from the population was announced on the territory of the Kuban region until the end of hostilities.

Story

17th century

• 1696 - Khoper Cossacks distinguished themselves on May 21, having participated in the defeat of the Turkish fleet, and on July 17, when Azov was taken, this date then became the seniority of the Kuban army.

18th century

• 1708 - the departure of the Nekrasovites from Khopra and Don to the Kuban.
• 1700−1721 - participation of the Khoper Cossacks in the Northern War.
• 1777 - construction of the Azov-Mozdok line and resettlement of the Khoper Cossacks.
• 1781 - participation of the Khoper Cossacks in the campaign against Anapa;
• 1787−1791 - participation of the Black Sea Cossacks as part of the Chepega cavalry regiment and the White foot regiment in the Russian-Turkish war.
• 1788 - January 14 - Royal favor was declared to the colonel of the former Zaporizhzhya army Sidor Bely and other foremen of this army, and the Cossacks who repented of their error were allowed to settle on the Taman Peninsula.
• 1788 - February 27 - Count Suvorov granted the Zaporizhzhya army a military banner with the inscription " For faith and loyalty ».
• 1788 - May 13 - the army "Kosha of the faithful Zaporozhian Cossacks" settled on Taman was named " The army of faithful Cossacks of the Black Sea ».
• 1792 - the first Black Sea Cossacks arrived in Taman.
• 1792 - June 30 - the army of the Black Sea Cossacks, "as an expression of special attention and mercy, for courageous deeds on land and on the waters and unflinching loyalty during the successfully ended war with the Port of Otoman", granted Phanagoria Island with lands lying between the Kuban and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov , “for eternal possession” and, in addition, 2 silver timpani, 2 silver trumpets and a military banner “ For faith and loyalty ».
• 1792−1796 - participation of the Black Sea Cossack regiment in the Russian-Polish war, where he distinguished himself in the capture of Prague in 1794.
• 1793 - the city of Yekaterinodar was founded.
• 1796 - two Black Sea Cossack regiments, together with the Cossacks of the Khopersky and Kuban regiments settled on the Caucasian line, were sent to the Persian campaign, as a result of which they lost half of their composition from hunger and disease. This caused in 1797 the so-called Persian revolt on the part of the Black Sea residents who returned to the Kuban.
• 1799 - October 18 - a flotilla was established under the army of the Black Sea Cossacks.

19th century

A platoon of old Kubans from St. George Knights. From an article on the 200th anniversary of the Kuban army.

• 1800 - Black Sea Cossacks participated in a punitive expedition against the highlanders for raids on their villages.
• 1801 - February 16 - the army was ordered "to signify the service to his Throne" to use the bestowed: military banner " Grace to him ”, 14 regimental banners, mace and pernach.
• 1802 - November 13 - the first Regulation on Black Sea Cossack Army , in the composition ten equestrian and ten foot (5-hundred) plkov, and service with guns and flotilla was also assigned to foot Cossacks.
• 1803 - May 13 - the previous charters were confirmed to the army and 6 more regimental banners were granted.
• 1806−1812 - four Cossack regiments participated in the Russian-Turkish war.
• 1807 - two regiments of the Black Sea Cossacks participated in the capture of Anapa, the regiment of Colonel Lyakh was dressed up for the Crimea and the regiment of Colonel Polivoda for the war with Turkey.
• 1808 - March 12 - ordered to relocate to the lands of the Black Sea army, with enrollment in it, about 15,000 Little Russian Cossacks.
• 1810 - the service of the Cossacks in the flotilla was terminated.
• 1811 - May 18 - formed from the best people of the army Guards Black Sea Hundred , assigned to the Life Guards Cossack Regiment.
• 1812 - the 9th foot regiment of the Black Sea Cossack troops, the 1st combined cavalry regiment of Colonel Plokhoy and the Guards Black Sea Hundred participated in the Patriotic War.
• 1813 - April 25 - for the exploits shown in the Patriotic War, the Guards Black Sea Hundred was ordered to be kept in everything in the position of the Life Guards of the Cossack Regiment.
• 1813 - June 15 - L.-Gds. Silver pipes were granted to the Black Sea Hundred For distinction against the enemy in the past campaign of 1813 ».
• 1813−1814 - participation of the Black Sea Cossacks in foreign campaigns of the Russian Army.
• 1815 - 4 cavalry Black Sea regiments of colonels: Dubonosov, Bursak, Porokhni and Golub were sent on a foreign campaign, but only reached the borders of Poland.
• 1820-1864 - The Black Sea Cossacks, together with the Caucasian linear Cossacks, took part in all campaigns and expeditions against the highlanders in the Caucasus.
• 1820 - April 17 - The Black Sea Cossack army is included in the composition of the troops of the Georgian Corps.
• 1820 - April 19 - 25,000 Little Russian Cossacks were enrolled in the army.
• 1825 - from the Black Sea troops for service dressed up: one cavalry regiment on the Prussian border and eight cavalry and six foot regiments for internal service.
• 1826−1828 - participation of two cavalry regiments of the Black Sea, cavalry artillery company and a special team of five hundred in the Russian-Iranian war.
• 1828−1829 - participation of three Black Sea regiments: one foot colonel Zhitovsky and two horsemen: Zalessky and Zavgorodny (on the Danube), as well as four foot regiments and a horse-artillery company of the Black Sea troops (near the Anapa fortress) in the Russian-Turkish war.
• 1828 - assault on June 12 by the Cossacks of the Turkish fortress of Anapa.
• 1830−1831 - 2 Black Sea cavalry regiments participated in the Russian-Polish war.
• 1831 - December 25 - the schedule of the Black Sea Cossack army was drawn up, consisting of: one L.-Gv. Black Sea Squadron (as part of the Life Guards Cossack Regiment), one Black Sea Cavalry Artillery Cossack No. 4 companies, eleven equestrian and ten foot regiments.
• 1832−1853 - Cossacks take part in the fighting in the Caucasus.
• 1842 - July 1 - a new Regulation on the Black Sea Cossack Host was approved, according to which it is divided into 3 districts: Tamansky, Yekaterinodar and Yeisk and is obliged to show one Life Guards Black Sea Cossack Division, twelve horse regiments, nine foot boots and one horse artillery brigade (from three horse-artillery light batteries and one garrison artillery foot company).
• 1843 - October 10 - the military banner of St. George was granted without an inscription, in commemoration of the 50-year existence of the army and in attention to the useful service of the Black Sea people and their courage.
• 1849 - participation of the Assembly Line Regiment in the Hungarian campaign.
• 1853−1856 - during the Crimean War, the Black Sea Cossacks successfully repulsed the attacks of the Anglo-French landings off the coast of Taman, and the 2nd and 8th Plastun (foot) battalions took part in the defense of Sevastopol.
• 1856−1864 - almost the entire Black Sea Cossack army, along with the Caucasian linear Cossack army, participated in hostilities in the Caucasus.
• 1856 - August 26 - The St. George banner was granted to the Black Sea army For bravery and exemplary service in the war against the French, British and Tours in 1853, 1854, 1855 and 1856 ».
• 1856 - August 30 - L.-Gds. The Black Sea Cossack division was granted the St. George standard in memory of the exploits of L.-Gds. Cossack regiment, to which he belonged.
• 1857 - April 12 - L-Guards. Silver pipes were granted to the Black Sea division: “ L.-Gv. The Black Sea Cossack division for the difference rendered by the guards hundred against the enemy in 1813, as part of the L.-Gds. Cossack regiment».
• 1860 - November 19 - renaming of the Black Sea Cossack army in Kuban Cossack army , with the accession to the latter in full force of the first six bridad, foot battalion and two horse batteries of the Caucasian linear Cossack army.
• 1860 - composition of the Army: 22 cavalry regiments, 3 squadrons, 13 foot battalions and 5 batteries.
• 1861 - A combined line regiment and two Kuban cavalry regiments participated in the suppression of the Polish rebellion.
• 1861 February 2 - ordered the Life Guards Black Sea Cossack division, connecting with the Life Guards Caucasian line Cossack squadron of HIS MAJESTY'S OWN convoy, to reorganize into L.-Gv. 1st, 2nd and 3rd Caucasian squadrons of His Majesty's Own convoy , in which to have 3/4 of the Cossacks of the Kuban army and 1/4 of the Terek army. Standard and silver trumpets of the L.-Gds. The Black Sea Cossack division was ordered to have with the squadron that is in the service.
• 1862 - May 10 - in order to populate the foothills of the Western Caucasus, it was ordered to resettle there 12,400 people of the Kuban Cossacks, 800 people, 2,000 state peasants (including the Little Ossian Cossacks) and 600 people married to the lower ranks of the Caucasian army, including everyone in the Kuban army.
• 1864 - October 11 - for the resettlement of most of the Cossacks to the Kuban region Azov army , this army, as an independent one, was abolished and its banners were ordered to be transferred to the Kuban army.
• 1865 - July 20 - The St. George banner was granted to the Kuban Cossack army For the Caucasian War ", A number of regiments (10th and 11th, 12th and 13th, 14th and 15th, 16th and 17th, 18th and 19th, 20th and 21st, 22nd) - St. George banners" ", with the preservation of the previous inscriptions; all other regiments, foot battalions and horse artillery batteries of the Kuban Cossack army - insignia for headgear " For distinction during the conquest of the Western Caucasus in 1864 » .
• 1867 - October 7 - Terek Cossacks L.-Gds. allocated to a special squadron, and from the Kuban made up L.-Gv. 1st and 2nd Caucasian Kuban Cossack squadrons of His Majesty's Own convoy .
• 1870 - August 1 - a new regulation on military service and on the maintenance of combat units of the Kuban Cossack army was approved, according to which the composition of the army in ordinary peacetime was determined as follows: 1) two L.-Gv. Kuban Cossack squadron of HIS MAJESTY'S OWN convoy; 2) ten horse regiments; 3) two foot scout battalions; 4) five horse artillery batteries, 5) one division in Warsaw and 6) one educational division.
• 1873 - part of the Yeysk regiment of the Kuban army participated in the Khiva campaign in Central Asia.
• 1874 - March 28 - the seniority of the Kuban Cossack army was established for the Khopersky regiment from 1696, the regiments: Urupsky - from 1858, Labinsky - from 1842 and Kuban - from 1732, and the rest of the regiments and battalions - from 1788. No special seniority was assigned to batteries.
• 1877−1878 - on the occasion of the war with Turkey, the entire Kuban army took part in hostilities, the Cossacks fought in Bulgaria; they especially distinguished themselves in the defense of Shipka (scouts), Bayazet (two hundred Umanets), in the defense of the Zorsky pass, in the Deva-Boynu and in the capture of Kars, and, likewise, in suppressing the uprising of the highlanders in Dagestan and in actions against the Turks in Abkhazia . For this, a number of Cossack units were awarded the St. George standards.
• 1880 - August 30 - The St. George banner was granted to the troops " For distinction in the Turkish war of 1877 and 1878 ».
• 1881 - three regiments of the Kuban army: Tamansky, Poltava and Labinsk took part in the capture of the Turkmen fortress Geok-Tepe.
• 1882 - June 24 - a new regulation on the military service of the Kuban Cossack army was approved, according to which its service staff is divided into 3 categories, of which the combatant, in addition, into 3 lines. The troops were ordered to be put into service: 1) in peacetime: two squadrons of His Majesty's convoy, ten cavalry regiments, one cavalry division, two battalions of scouts and five cavalry artillery batteries; 2) in wartime, in addition to these units, there are also: twenty cavalry regiments and four plastun battalions.
• 1890 - December 24 - the day of the military holiday is established: August 30 .
• 1891 - March 12 - the squadrons of the convoy are named L.-Gv. 1st and 2nd Kuban Cossack Hundreds of His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy .
• 1896 - September 8 - in commemoration of the special Monarch's favor for loyalty and devotion to the Throne and the Fatherland, the army was granted: St. George's military banner "In memory of the 200-year existence of the Kuban Cossack army » « 1696-1896" with the anniversary Alexander ribbon - to the Kuban Cossack army. St. George banner "' For distinction in the Turkish War and in deeds against the Highlanders in 1828 and 1829 and during the conquest of the Western Caucasus in 1864'» « 1696-1896 - 1st Khopersky Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna Regiment; St. George Banner For distinction during the conquest of the Western Caucasus in 1864 » « 1696-1896 "- 2nd Khopersky regiment; a simple banner For fighting in the Turkish war and in cases against the Highlanders in 1828 and 1829 » « 1696-1896 "- to the 3rd Khopersky regiment, all three - with commemorative Alexander ribbons.

20th century

Kuban Cossacks on the side of Germany

• 1904−1905 - about 2 thousand Kuban Cossacks participated in the Russo-Japanese War. In May 1905, the Cossacks under the command of General P. I. Mishchenko during a horse raid captured 800 Japanese soldiers and destroyed the enemy’s artillery depot.
• 1904 - August 26 - in eternal preservation and reminder of the glorious names of the commanders of the Kuban army, who led it to victories, it was ordered to give the first order regiments: Tamansky, Poltava, Umansky, Ekaterinodarsky, Labinsk and Urupsky names: General Bezkrovny, Kosh Ataman Sidor Bely, Brigadier Golovaty, Kosh Ataman Chepega, General Zass and General Velyaminov.
• 1905-1906 - the entire second line of the Kuban army was mobilized to maintain order within the Empire.
• 1910 - April 22 - in eternal preservation and reminder of the glorious name of the organizer of the Yekaterinoslav and Black Sea troops Viceroy of Yekaterinoslavsky, Field Marshal Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky , it was ordered to give his name to the 1st Caucasian regiment of the Kuban Cossack army.
• 1910 - August 8 - in memory of the merits to Russia of the glorious Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, who had been serving frontier service for a long time, and in memory of the founder of the Black Sea army, it was commanded to name the 1st Yeysk regiment of the Kuban Cossack army 1st Zaporozhye Empress Catherine the Great Regiment, Kuban Cossack Host , and the 2nd and 3rd Yeysk regiments - to name 2nd and 3rd Zaporozhye .
• 1911 - May 18 - St. George's Standard was granted For distinction in the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from Russia in 1812 and for the feat shown in the battle of Leipzig on October 4, 1813» « 1811-1911 » L.-Gv. 1st and 2nd Kuban hundreds of His Imperial Majesty's Own convoy, with the jubilee St. Andrew's ribbon.
• 1914 - the number of troops: 11 cavalry regiments and 1 division, 2.5 guard hundreds, 6 battalions of scouts, 5 batteries, 12 teams and 1 hundred militia (up to 19 thousand people in total).
• 1914−1918 World War I. The Kuban Cossack army fielded 37 cavalry regiments and 1 separate Cossack division, 2.5 guard hundreds, 24 plastun battalions and 1 separate plastun battalion, 6 batteries, 51 different hundreds, 12 teams (about 90 thousand people in total).
• 1917−1920 - part of the Cossacks, led by the Kuban Rada, supported the idea of ​​the independence of the Kuban. Another part, led by the chieftain of the regiment. A.P. Filimonov, in alliance with the Volunteer Army, advocated the slogan "United and indivisible Russia."
• 1918 - the leadership of the Cossacks supported the idea of ​​uniting the Kuban with the Ukrainian Power of Hetman Skoropadsky as a federation. Ambassadors were immediately sent to Kiev, but the unification was not destined to come true, since Yekaterinodar was occupied by the Red Army, and after a while the power of Skoropadsky fell under the onslaught of the troops of the Directory.
• 1918−1920 - On January 28, 1918, the Kuban Rada on the lands of the former Kuban region proclaimed an independent Kuban People's Republic with its capital in Yekaterinodar, which existed until 1920. Immediately after the execution of the Chairman of the Kuban Cossack Rada, Kulabukhov, on the orders of Denikin, for refusing to transfer the gold of the Rada, the Cossacks, one by one and in whole units, began to withdraw from the front and go home, and the White Guards rolled away from Moscow.
• 1920 - The Republic and the Army are abolished.
• 1920−1932 - repression and dispossession.
• 1932-1933 - famine and mass evictions (see "Black Boards").
• After 1933, repressive measures against the Cossacks were abolished, the Kuban Cossack choir was restored, and the Cossack units of the Red Army were formed.

During the Great Patriotic War, with the threat of the occupation of the Kuban, a whole corps was created, which consisted of about 20 thousand Kuban Cossacks. There were also Kuban units on the side of the Third Reich, a special contribution to the creation of which was made by Andrey Shkuro.

In the late 1940s the feature film "Kuban Cossacks" was released on the screens.

• January 9-10, 1956 - riots in the city of Novorossiysk. When a group of Kuban Cossacks was detained, a fight broke out between them and the police, which formed a huge crowd (about 1000 people) threw stones at the police station, broke into it and attacked employees, attacked the building of the State Bank, tried to break into the post office. Several people were killed, 3 policemen and 2 soldiers were injured, 15 Cossacks were detained. [ source not specified 544 days]
• 1961 riots in the city of Krasnodar due to rumors about the beating of a serviceman by police officers during detention for violation of wearing a uniform. The events involved 1300 Cossacks, who surrounded the building of the GOVD. During dispersal, firearms were used, 1 person was killed. 24 participants in the unrest were brought to criminal responsibility. [ source not specified 544 days]
• December 1980-9 KGB note to the secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU “On the negative processes in the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region”: “Among a certain part of the indigenous population of the KChAO, negative processes are noted, characterized by nationalist, anti-Russian sentiments. On this basis, antisocial manifestations take place, as well as criminal offenses ... Daring hooligan antics, rape and group fights, sometimes threatening to turn into riots.
• On August 28, 1991, the Regional Public Organization “Kuban Cossack Circle “Kruglik” was registered in the Department of Justice of the Krasnodar Territory under No. 61.

Kuban Cossack Association "Russia" 09/24/91 for No. 75 Rada (All-Kuban Cossack Host) 08/27/93 for No. 307 Kuban Cossack Host 05/15/92. for number 284

• In the early 1990s The "Kuban Cossack Army" formed by the Cossacks, headed by Ataman Vladimir Gromov, declared itself the successor to the historical Army. The new army showed itself in the Georgian-Abkhaz war, breaking into Sukhum first in 1993. Today, the VKO "Kuban Cossack Army" has about 30 thousand fighters in the register. Separate Cossack units appear in the armed forces for contract soldiers and conscripts from Cossack families [ source not specified 1024 days] .

XXI Century

• 2008 Nikolai Doluda, vice-governor of the Krasnodar Territory, was elected the new Ataman of the Kuban Cossack Army, at the initiative of Governor Alexander Tkachev.

Kuban Cossacks in Moscow at the 1945 Victory Parade

Troop organization

• 1st Khopersky Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna Regiment
• 1st Kuban General Field Marshal Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich Regiment
• 1st Zaporozhye Empress Catherine the Great Regiment
• 1st Ekaterinodarsky Koshevogo Ataman Chepegi Regiment
• 1st Poltava Koshevoy Ataman Sidor Bily Regiment
• 1st Caucasian Viceroy of Yekaterinoslav General-Field Marshal Prince Potemkin-Tauride
• 1st Uman Brigadier Holovaty Regiment
• 1st Taman General Bloodless Regiment
• 1st Labinsky General Zass Regiment
• 1st Line General Velyaminov Regiment
• 1st Black Sea Colonel Bursak 2nd Regiment

• Kuban Cossack division:
  • 1st Kuban Plastun Battalion
  • 2nd Kuban Plastun Battalion
  • 3rd Kuban Plastunsky battalion
  • 4th Kuban Plastun Battalion
  • 5th Kuban Plastun Battalion
  • 6th Kuban Plastun Battalion

• Kuban Cossack artillery:
  • 1st Kuban Cossack Battery
  • 2nd Kuban Cossack Battery
  • 3rd Kuban Cossack Battery
  • 4th Kuban Cossack Battery
  • 5th Kuban Cossack Battery

• Kuban local teams
  • His Imperial Majesty's Own Escort. 1 and 2 hundred. Seniority 05/18/1811. The general holiday of the convoy is October 4, the day of St. Erofei. Dislocation - Tsarskoye Selo (1.02.1913). The bulk of the ranks of the Convoy (including officers) shaved their heads. The general suit of horses is bay (grey for trumpeters).

Population

Cossacks in 1916 accounted for 43% of the population of the Kuban region (1.37 million people), that is, a little less than half. Most of the arable land belonged to the Cossacks. The Cossacks opposed themselves to the non-Cossack part of the population. Attitude to nonresident ("gamselam"), peasants was arrogant and disdainful. By this time there were 262 villages and 246 farms. The bulk of their population were Cossacks. Non-residents mostly lived in cities and villages. Believing Kuban Cossacks are Orthodox.

Quite high for the beginning of the 20th century was the literacy rate of the Kuban Cossacks - more than 50%. The first schools appeared among the Kuban Cossacks at the end of the 18th century.

Administration of the Kuban army

Yeysk Cossack Department of the KKV

Corresponds to the old Yeysk department of the Kuban region. 7 RKO, headquarters - Yeysk

• Yeysk RKO - covers the Yeysk district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Yeysk.
• Shcherbinsk RKO - covers the Shcherbinovsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters - the station of Staroshcherbinovskaya
• Starominsk RKO - covers the Starominsk district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters - the station of Starominskaya
• Kushchevskoye RKO - covers Kushchevskaya district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - station Kushchevskaya
• Kanev RKO - covers the Kanev district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the station Kanevskaya
• Uman RKO - covers the Leningradsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the Leningradskaya station (until 1934 - Umanskaya)
• Krylovskoye RKO - covers the Krylovskaya district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - station Krylovskaya
• Pavlovsky RKO - covers Pavlovsky district (Krasnodar Territory), headquarters - Pavlovskaya station

Caucasian Cossack Department of the KKV

Corresponds to the old Caucasian department of the Kuban region. 10 RKO, headquarters - Tikhoretsk

• Bryukhovetsky RKO - covers the Bryukhovetsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the station Bryukhovetskaya
• Timashevskoye RKO - covers the Timashevsk district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Timashevsk
• Korenovsky RKO - covers the Korenovsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Korenovsk
• Vyselkovskoye RKO - covers the Vyselkovsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the village of Vyselki
• Tikhoretsk RKO - covers the Tikhoretsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Tikhoretsk
• Novopokrovskoye RKO - covers the Novopokrovskiy district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters - the station Novopokrovskaya
• Beloglinskoye RKO - covers the Beloglinsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters is the village of Belaya Glina
• Tbilisi RKO - covers the Tbilisi district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the station Tbilisskaya
• Caucasian RKO - covers the Caucasian region of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Kropotkin
• Gulkevichsky RKO - covers the Gulkevichsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Gulkevichi

Taman Cossack Department of the KKV

Corresponds to the old Taman department of the Kuban region. 8 RKO. Headquarters - Krymsk

• Primorsko-Akhtarskoye RKO - covers the Primorsko-Akhtarsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk
• Kalinin RKO - covers the Kalinin district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the station Kalininskaya
• Slavyansk RKO - covers the Slavyansky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Slavyansk-on-Kuban
• Poltava RKO - covers the Krasnoarmeisky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - station Poltavskaya
• Temryuk RKO - covers the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Temryuk
• Anapa RKO - covers the territory of the urban district of Anapa, headquarters - the city of Anapa
• Crimean RKO - covers the Krymsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Krymsk
• Abinsk RKO - covers the Abinsk district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Abinsk

Yekaterinodar Cossack Department of the KKV

Partially corresponds to the old Ekaterinodar department of the Kuban region. 5 RKO. Headquarters - Krasnodar (until 1920 - Yekaterinodar)

• Ust-Labinsk RKO - covers the Ust-Labinsk district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Ust-Labinsk
• Dinskoye RKO - covers the Dinskoy district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the station Dinskaya
• RKO Ekaterinodar Cossack Society - covers the territory of the urban district of the city of Krasnodar, there is also a headquarters.
• Seversky RKO - covers the Seversky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters of the Severskaya station
• Goryacheklyuchevskoye RKO - the territory of the Goryachiy Klyuch urban district, headquarters - Goryachiy Klyuch

Maikop Cossack Department of the KKV

Partially corresponds to the Maykop department of the Kuban region. 8 RKO. Headquarters - Maykop

• Krasnogvardeyskoye RKO - covers the Krasnogvardeysky district of the Republic of Adygea, headquarters - the village of Krasnogvardeyskoye
• Belorechenskoye RKO - covers the Belorechensky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Belorechensk
• Apsheronsk RKO - covers the Apsheronsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Apsheronsk
• Giaginskoye RKO - covers the Giaginsky district of the Republic of Adygea, the headquarters - the village of Giaginskaya
• RKO of the city of Maikop - covers the territory of the urban district of Maikop, there is also a headquarters.
• Maykop RKO - covers the Maikop district of the Republic of Adygea, the headquarters - the urban-type settlement of Tulsky
• Koshekhablsky RKO - covers the Koshekhablsky and Teuchezhsky districts of the Republic of Adygea, the headquarters is the village of Koshekhabl
• Mostovskoe RKO - covers the Mostovsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters - the urban-type settlement of Mostovskoy

Labinsk Cossack Department of the KKV

Corresponds to the old Labinsk department of the Kuban region. 6 RKO. Headquarters - Armavir

• Kurganinsk RKO - covers the Kurganinsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Kurganinsk
• Novokubansk RKO - covers the Novokubansky district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Novokubansk
• Armavir RKO - covers the territory of the city district of Armavir, headquarters - the city of Armavir
• Uspenskoye RKO - covers the Uspensky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters is the village of Uspenskoye
• Labinsk RKO - covers the Labinsk district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - Labinsk
• Otradnensky RKO - covers the Otradnensky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the headquarters - the station Otradnaya

Batalpashinsky Cossack Department of the KKV

Corresponds to the old Batalpashinsky department of the Kuban region. 5 RKO. Headquarters - Cherkessk (until 1934 - Batalpashinsk)

• Batalpashinsky GKO - covers the Abaza, Adyge-Khablsky districts of Karachay-Cherkessia, as well as the territory of the urban district of Cherkessk, and the headquarters there.
• Prikubansky RKO - covers the Prikubansky district of Karachay-Cherkessia, headquarters - the village of Kavkazsky
• Urupskoye RKO - covers the Urupsky district of Karachay-Cherkessia, the headquarters of the station Predgradnaya
• Zelenchuksky RKO - covers the Zelenchuksky district of Karachay-Cherkessia, the headquarters of the station Zelenchukskaya
• Ust-Dzhegutinsky RKO - covers the Ust-Dzhegutinsky district of Karachay-Cherkessia, headquarters - the city of Ust-Dzheguta

Black Sea Cossack District KKV

Historically, it was not part of the Kuban region, but in the Black Sea province. Today 7 RKO. Headquarters - Sochi

• Novorossiysk RKO - covers the territory of the urban district of Novorossiysk, headquarters - Novorossiysk
• Gelendzhik RKO - covers the territory of the urban district of Gelendzhik, headquarters - Gelendzhik
• Tuapse RKO - covers the Tuapse district of the Krasnodar Territory, headquarters - the city of Tuapse
• Lazarevskoye RKO - covers the Lazarevsky district of the Sochi urban district, headquarters - the Lazarevskoye microdistrict
• Sochi RKO - covers the Khostinsky district of the Sochi urban district, the headquarters is the Khosta microdistrict
• Central RKO of the resort city of Sochi - covers the Central District of Sochi, headquarters - Sochi
• Adler RKO - covers the Adler district of the Sochi urban district, the headquarters is the Adler microdistrict

Abkhaz Special Cossack Department of the KKV

Historically, the territory of the Gagra region was part of the Black Sea province. After the civil war, the famine in 1933 and the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict in 1993, many refugees and volunteers from the Kuban settled in Abkhazia. Now the special department includes one full-fledged RSC.

• The Gagra RKO covers the Gagra district of Abkhazia, the headquarters is the city of Gagra

The KKV also includes many villages in the neighboring Stavropol Territory, including in the territories of the Novoaleksandrovsky, Izobilnensky, Shpakovsky, Kochubeevsky, Andropovsky and Predgorny districts. In addition, there are many organizations located outside the Kuban, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg, on the Don and in other cities and regions of Russia and beyond.

Cossacks ... A very special social stratum, estate, class. Its own, as experts would say, subculture: the manner of dressing, speaking, behaving. Peculiar songs. A sharpened concept of honor and dignity. Pride in one's own identity. Courage and dashing in the most terrible battle. For some time now, the history of Russia has been unimaginable without the Cossacks. Here are just the current "heirs" - for the most part, "mummers", impostors. Regrettably, the Bolsheviks really "tried" to uproot the real Cossacks to the root back in. Those who were not destroyed were rotted in prisons and camps. Alas, the destroyed cannot be returned. To honor traditions and not become Ivans, not remembering kinship ...

History of the Don Cossacks

Oddly enough, even the exact date of birth of the Don Cossacks is known. She became January 3, 1570. , having defeated the Tatar khanates, in fact, provided the Cossacks with every opportunity to settle in new territories, settle and take root. The Cossacks were proud of their freedom, although they took an oath of allegiance to one or another king. The kings, in turn, were in no hurry to enslave this dashing gang completely.

During the Time of Troubles, the Cossacks turned out to be very active and active. However, they often took the side of one or another impostor, and by no means stood guard over statehood and the law. One of the famous Cossack chieftains - Ivan Zarutsky - even himself was not averse to reigning in Moscow. In the 17th century, the Cossacks actively explored the Black and Azov Seas.

In a sense, they became sea pirates, corsairs, terrifying merchants and merchants. The Cossacks often found themselves next to the Cossacks. officially included the Cossacks in the Russian Empire, obliged them to the sovereign service, canceled the election of chieftains. The Cossacks began to take an active part in all the wars waged by Russia, in particular, with Sweden and Prussia, as well as in the First World War.

Many of the Don people did not accept the Bolsheviks and fought against them, and then went into exile. Well-known figures of the Cossack movement - and A.G. Shkuro - actively collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War. In the era of Gorbachev's perestroika, they started talking about the revival of the Don Cossacks. However, on this wave there was a lot of muddy foam, following fashion, outright speculation. To date, almost none of the so-called. Don Cossacks, and even more so chieftains, by origin and by rank, are not.

History of the Kuban Cossacks

The emergence of the Kuban Cossacks dates back to a later time than the Don Cossacks - only to the second half of the 19th century. The place of deployment of the Kuban was the North Caucasus, the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, the Rostov Region, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia. The center was the city of Ekaterinodar. Seniority belonged to the koshevoy and kuren chieftains. Later, one or another Russian emperor began to appoint the supreme chieftains personally.

Historically, after Catherine II disbanded the Zaporozhian Sich, several thousand Cossacks fled to the Black Sea coast and tried to restore the Sich there, under the auspices of the Turkish Sultan. Later, they again turned to face the Fatherland, made a significant contribution to the victory over the Turks, for which they were granted the lands of Taman and Kuban, and the lands were given to them for eternal and hereditary use.

Kuban can be described as a free paramilitary association. The population was engaged in agriculture, led a settled way of life, and fought only for state needs. Newcomers and fugitives from the central regions of Russia were willingly accepted here. They mixed with the local population and became "their own".

In the fire of revolution and civil war, the Cossacks were forced to constantly maneuver between the Reds and the Whites, looking for a "third way", trying to defend their identity and independence. In 1920, the Bolsheviks finally abolished both the Kuban army and the Republic. Massive repressions, evictions, famine and dispossession followed. Only in the second half of the 1930s the Cossacks were partially rehabilitated, the Kuban choir was restored. The Cossacks fought on an equal footing with others, mainly together with the regular units of the Red Army.

History of the Terek Cossacks

The Terek Cossacks arose approximately at the same time as the Kuban Cossacks - in 1859, according to the date of the defeat of the troops of the Chechen Imam Shamil. In the Cossack power hierarchy, the Tertsy were the third in seniority. They settled along such rivers as Kura, Terek, Sunzha. Headquarters of the Terek Cossack army - the city of Vladikavkaz. The settlement of the territories began in the 16th century.

The Cossacks were in charge of protecting the border territories, but they themselves sometimes did not disdain raids on the possessions of the Tatar princelings. The Cossacks often had to defend themselves from mountain raids. However, close proximity to the highlanders brought the Cossacks not only negative emotions. The Tertsy adopted some linguistic expressions from the highlanders, and in particular the details of clothing and ammunition: cloaks and hats, daggers and sabers.

The centers of concentration of the Terek Cossacks became the founded cities of Kizlyar and Mozdok. In 1917, the Tertsy self-proclaimed independence and established a republic. With the final establishment of Soviet power, the Tertsy suffered the same dramatic fate as the Kuban and Donets: mass repressions and eviction.

• In 1949, the lyrical comedy directed by Ivan Pyryev "Kuban Cossacks" was released on the Soviet screen. Despite the obvious varnishing of reality and the smoothing of socio-political conflicts, the mass audience fell in love with it, and the song “What were you like” is performed from the stage to this day.
• Interestingly, the very word "Cossack" in translation from the Turkic language means a free, freedom-loving, proud person. So the name stuck to these people, to know, is far from accidental.
• The Cossack does not bow to any authorities, he is fast and free, like the wind.

In 1775, the free Cossacks of the Zaporizhzhya Sich decided to submit to the Russian Empire. This is how the Kuban Cossacks appeared, which today remains faithful to the oath given at the end of the 18th century.

Then, at the behest of Empress Catherine II, all the settlements of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks were destroyed, and the word "Sich" itself was forbidden to be pronounced.

Part of the free Cossacks went to Turkey, where the "New Sich" was created. But far from all the Cossacks went to "foreign shores", many decided to serve Russia officially, receiving salaries and lands for this.

Little Russia needed people who would guard the empty border of the Black Sea. One of the first who advocated the creation of a new Cossack army was Prince Potemkin-Tauride.

The favorite of the empress called for the service of the Cossacks. From their number, the Black Sea Cossack army was formed. Soon the Cossacks led by Sidor Bely, Zakhary Chepega and Anton Golovaty distinguished themselves in the war with Turkey: they took Izmail and Ochakov.

For courage and devotion, the Black Sea Cossacks were granted new lands on Taman. The rescript of the Empress Catherine II said: "The army of the faithful Black Sea Cossacks was granted the island of Phanagoria with lands between the Kuban and the Sea of ​​Azov." The award was also a military banner with the inscription "For Faith and Loyalty" and the right to trade in wine and goods.

Since that time, the Cossacks forever said goodbye to Ukraine. More than 20,000 Cossacks arrived in the Kuban, and they took up colonization. Dozens of villages were built, which the Black Sea people called kurens. The newborn capital was christened in honor of the Empress - Ekaterinodar.

On the territory of the Black Sea Cossacks, the Khoperskys and Cossacks of the line lived. They, like the Cossacks, were sent here to populate empty lands and guard the border.

The Black Sea troops had their own flotilla, consisting of frigates, longboats, yachts and boats. Fame came to them in 1811, when the guards hundred became famous for their feat near Leipzig.

The Black Sea people participated in the wars against Turkey, suppressed the Polish uprising, and had to fight a lot in the Caucasian War. A long and bloody war with the highlanders demanded the establishment of control over the conquered territories. By the end of the war, a decision was made to divide the Caucasian Cossack line and create two troops - Terek and Kuban.

In 1860, the Kuban Cossack army began its history, to which the Black Sea army was also attached. Major General Nikolai Ivanov was appointed the first ataman. The seniority of the troops has been considered since 1896. It was then that the Khopersky regiment was formed from the Don Cossacks, which later became part of the Kuban troops.

A new Cossack army was formed from the Zaporizhzhya and Linear Cossacks, which was located on the territory of the modern Krasnodar Territory, part of the Stavropol Territory, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia.

The Kuban Cossacks participated in all the wars of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. For their military merits, they repeatedly received awards from the hands of the emperors themselves. But the Cossack duties extended not only to military service, but also to the repair of roads, the maintenance of postal stations and village buildings, and much more. As a reward for all these efforts, a land allotment from 7 to 9 acres was given.

But the Kuban people were not proud of wealth, silver and gold. The Cossacks were famous for their valor and courage, and their army - for centuries-old traditions and culture. “I didn’t drink Kuban water - I didn’t eat Cossack porridge,” they said, recalling that the Cossacks are a way of life where honor and loyalty were above all.

By the beginning of the Civil War, the Kuban Cossack army was about 1.5 million people. In revolutionary times, the Kuban sided with the White movement.

In 1920, tens of thousands of Cossacks, led by Ataman Naumenko, were forced to emigrate. But the descendants of the Cossacks live in the Krasnodar Territory even now, trying to revive the glory of the Kuban army. Loyal to their land, people to this day sing a song dedicated to the Kuban:

Remembering you here
Can't stand up for you
Is it for your old glory
Shouldn't you give your life?
We, as our humble tribute,
From glorified banners
We send you, dear Kuban,
Bow to the damp earth.