The Cossacks are a mainly East Slavic, Eastern Orthodox Christian group from the Pontic–Caspian steppe in eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. They helped protect the southern borders of Ukraine and Russia, fought against Crimean–Nogai raids, and contributed to the economic growth of steppe areas near the Black Sea and Azov Sea. Historically, they lived a partly nomadic and partly military lifestyle, receiving self-governance in exchange for military service under the rule of various Eastern European states. While many ethnic, language, and religious groups joined the Cossacks, East Slavs were the largest group. Over time, other groups merged with the East Slavs, adopting their culture, language, and religion.

The rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russian Empire gave Cossacks special rights in return for military service. Zaporozhian Cossacks mostly fought as infantry soldiers using war wagons, while Don Cossacks were mainly cavalry soldiers. Cossack groups were organized like armies, with large independent groups called hosts. Each host was responsible for protecting areas with villages called stanitsas.

They lived in sparsely populated regions near the Dnieper, Don, Terek, and Ural rivers. They played a key role in developing horseback riding skills, cavalry battle strategies, and cultural growth in Ukraine and parts of Russia.

The Cossack way of life, centered on their close relationship with horses, continued through the 20th century in descendants and other nations. However, the Russian Revolution caused major changes in Cossack society, similar to other parts of Russia. Many Cossacks moved to Europe after the Soviet Union formed, while others stayed and became part of the Communist state. During World War II, some Cossack groups fought for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

After World War II, the Soviet Union dissolved Cossack military units in the army, leading to the decline of many traditions during Joseph Stalin’s rule. However, in the late 1980s during the Perestroika era, Cossack descendants began to revive their traditions and horse-based lifestyle. In 1988, the Soviet Union passed a law allowing the reformation of Cossack hosts. In the 1990s, local governments in some areas gave Cossack groups new responsibilities, such as local administration and policing.

Today, between 3.5 and 5 million people worldwide identify with Cossack culture, even though most are not directly related to the original Cossacks. Cultural changes over time have altered the meaning of Cossack identity. Cossack groups exist in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Canada, and the United States.

Etymology

Max Vasmer's dictionary that studies the origins of words shows that the name comes from the Tatar Turkic word kazak or kozak, which meant "free man" and also "conqueror." The name Kazakh also comes from the same Turkic root.

The first written record of the name appears in the Codex Cumanicus, a document from the 13th century.

Larysa Pritsak (2024) organized the earliest mentions of the word Cossack into three time periods:

• Late 1300s to early 1400s: Rare mentions of individual Cossacks.
• Late 1400s to early 1500s: Cossacks who worked as soldiers, often serving as paid border guards for the Commonwealth, Muscovy, Crimea, or the Ottoman Empire, and lived in communities called sich.
• Late 1500s to early 1600s: The Cossacks became a distinct social group, marked by the creation of the Cossack Registry and the recognition of the Zaporozhian Host.

The word Cossack first appeared in English writings in 1590.

History

The origins of the Cossacks are not fully agreed upon. Scientific studies show that the genetic makeup of Zaporozhian, Don, and Kuban Cossacks is part of the East Slavic population, with little or no genetic influence from the Caucasus or Asia in their paternal lineage. However, the word "Cossack" was used by the Tatars to describe free, horse-riding tribes living in the Pontic–Caspian steppe, a large area near the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. By the late 1400s, the term also referred to Slavic farmers who fled to areas near the lower Dnieper and Don Rivers, where they formed self-governing communities based on cavalry. These groups remained independent in culture and religion until at least the 1630s. Major Cossack groups in the 1500s included those near the Dnieper, Don, Volga, and Ural Rivers; the Greben Cossacks in the Caucasus; and the Zaporozhian Cossacks, mostly west of the Dnieper.

It is unclear when people other than the Brodnici and Berladnici (who had Romanian roots with Slavic influences) began living near the Don and Dnieper Rivers after the Khazars disappeared. Some believe this happened around the 1200s, after the Mongols weakened the Cumans, who had previously lived in the area. Immigrants inherited a lifestyle that existed long before them, including traditions from the Cumans and Circassian Kassaks. Slavic settlements in southern Ukraine appeared earlier, during Cuman rule, with some as old as the 1000s.

Early "Proto-Cossack" groups likely formed in what is now Ukraine before the 1200s as the Cumans' power declined. Some historians say Cossacks descended from East Slavs, Turks, Tatars, Circassians, and others who lived or passed through the region. Archaeological evidence suggests some Cossacks may be descendants of the Cumans, who lived in Ukraine before the Mongol invasion. Other theories, like those by Serhii Plokhy and Christoph Baumer, argue that early Cossacks were of Turkic origin, but later groups included Slavs such as Russians, Poles, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians, creating a mix of Slavic and Turkic heritage. Genetic studies show little Circassian or Asian influence in Zaporozhian, Don, and Kuban Cossacks, except for the Terek Cossacks, who may have been influenced by North Circassian groups.

As the Grand Duchies of Moscow and Lithuania grew stronger, new political groups formed, such as Moldavia and the Crimean Khanate. In 1261, Slavic people living between the Dniester and Volga Rivers were recorded in Ruthenian chronicles.

By the 1400s, some people explored the Wild Fields, the southern borderlands of Ukraine between Poland-Lithuania and the Crimean Khanate. These were short trips to learn about the area’s rich resources, like horses, cattle, and fish. Cossacks lived by farming, hunting, and returning home in winter. They formed close-knit communities and trained horses in advanced ways, creating a lifestyle known as the Cossack way of life. However, raids by Crimean-Nogai slavers caused destruction and forced many to flee. These attacks shaped the Cossacks’ warrior-like attitudes and their efforts to defend themselves.

In the 1400s, Cossack society was described as a group of independent communities that formed local cavalry units and were not controlled by nearby powers like Poland, Moscow, or the Crimean Khanate. Some sources suggest Cossacks may have descended from the Antes, an ancient group, or from the Brodnici in present-day Romania. There, they may have acted as self-defense groups against attacks by other tribes.

The first mention of Cossacks outside Ukraine was in 1492, when Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray accused Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon of Poland-Lithuania that his Cossack subjects had attacked a Tatar ship. The duke ordered an investigation and punishment for the attackers. In the 1500s, an old Ukrainian ballad about a Cossack named Holota near Kiliya was recorded.

By the 1500s, Cossack groups had formed two major organizations and smaller, independent groups:

• The Zaporizhian Cossacks, centered near the lower Dnieper River in modern Ukraine, with a fortified capital called the Zaporozhian Sich. They were granted autonomy by Poland in 1649.
• The Don Cossacks, living along the Don River, with capitals at Razdory, Cherkassk, and later Novocherkassk.

Other groups, like the Tatar Cossacks, included the Nağaybäklär and Meshchera-speaking Volga Finns, with Sary Azman as the first Don ataman. Some groups were later absorbed by the Don Cossacks, possibly due to raids and slavery. Other Cossack groups, such as the Kalmyk and Buryat Cossacks, also existed.

The Zaporizhian Sich became a vassal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the mid-1600s, under pressure from Poland-Lithuania, the Sich declared independence as the Cossack Hetmanate. This followed a rebellion led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky against Polish rule. The Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654 placed most Cossack lands under Russian control.

The Don Cossack Army, an autonomous military group under the Moscow State from 1671 to 1786, expanded Russian borders by conquering areas along the Volga, Siberia, and the Yaik (Ural) and Terek Rivers. Cossack communities had already formed along these rivers before the Don Cossacks arrived.

Ukrainian Cossacks

The Zaporozhian Cossacks lived in an area called the Pontic–Caspian steppe, which is located below the Dnieper Rapids (Ukrainian: za porohamy), also known as the Wild Fields. This group became well known, and its numbers grew greatly between the 15th and 17th centuries. The Zaporozhian Cossacks played an important role in European political relationships, participating in many conflicts and alliances with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. The Zaporozhians became known for attacking the Ottoman Empire and its allies, though they also sometimes attacked other nearby groups. Their actions increased tension along the southern border of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Small-scale wars happened in those areas for most of the Commonwealth’s time (1569–1795).

Before the Zaporozhian Sich was formed, Cossacks were usually organized by Ruthenian boyars, or noble princes, especially Lithuanian starostas. Merchants, peasants, and people who ran away from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Muscovy, and Moldavia also joined the Cossacks.

The first known version of the Sich was created by Dmytro Vyshnevetsky, a local leader, in 1552. He built a fortress on the island of Little Khortytsia near the Lower Dnieper River. The Zaporozhian Host combined the traditions of the ancient Cossacks with those of the Knights Hospitaller.

The Cossack group formed partly because of the fight against Tatar attacks. Socio-economic changes in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth also helped the Ukrainian Cossacks grow. In the 16th century, serfdom was introduced because of high demand for grain in Western Europe. This reduced the land available to local people and limited their freedom to move. Also, the Commonwealth government tried to spread Catholicism and Polish culture among the local Ukrainian population. Many locals and townspeople resisted by fleeing to the sparsely populated steppe.

Major powers tried to use Cossack military strength for their own goals. In the 16th century, as the Commonwealth expanded south, the Zaporozhian Cossacks were mostly, but not always, seen as subjects of the Commonwealth. Pressure from outside and inside the Commonwealth led the government to give the Cossacks some rights and freedoms in 1578. They began to create their own foreign policy, often acting independently of the government and even against its interests, such as in Moldavian affairs and a treaty with Emperor Rudolf II in the 1590s. Registered Cossacks were part of the Commonwealth army until 1699.

By the late 16th century, Cossack attacks worsened relations between the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. Cossacks started attacking Ottoman lands in the second half of the 16th century. The Polish government could not control them but was held responsible because the Cossacks were technically its subjects. In response, Tatars under Ottoman rule attacked the Commonwealth, mainly in the southeast. Cossacks retaliated by attacking wealthy Ottoman port cities near the Dnieper River, which were only two days away by boat. In 1615 and 1625, Cossacks attacked parts of Constantinople, forcing the Ottoman Sultan to flee his palace. In 1637, the Zaporozhian Cossacks, along with the Don Cossacks, captured the important Ottoman fortress of Azov, which protected the Don River.

The Zaporozhian Cossacks became very strong in the early 17th century under the leadership of hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny, who led successful attacks against the Tatars and Turks. Tsar Boris Godunov angered Ukrainian Cossacks by ordering the Don Cossacks to drive Ukrainian Cossacks away from the Don after failed uprisings in the 1590s. This made Ukrainian Cossacks more willing to fight against him. In 1604, 2,000 Zaporozhian Cossacks fought alongside the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and their proposal for Tsar Dmitri I against the Muscovite army. By September 1604, Dmitri I had gathered 2,500 men, 1,400 of whom were Cossacks. However, two-thirds of these "Cossacks" were actually Ukrainian civilians, with only 500 being professional Cossacks. In July 1610, 4,000 Ukrainian Cossacks fought in the Battle of Klushino on the side of the Commonwealth. They helped defeat a combined Muscovite-Swedish army and contributed to the occupation of Moscow from 1610 to 1611, entering the city with Stanisław Żółkiewski.

The final attempt by King Sigismund and Władysław to claim the Muscovite throne began on April 6, 1617. Though Władysław was the leader, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz commanded the Commonwealth forces. By October, the towns of Dorogobuzh and Vyazma had surrendered. However, a failed counterattack on Moscow by Chodkiewicz between Vyazma and Mozhaysk forced the Commonwealth army to retreat. In 1618, Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny continued his campaign against the Tsardom of Russia on behalf of the Cossacks and the Commonwealth. Many Russian towns, including Livny and Yelets, were destroyed. In September 1618, Konashevych-Sahaidachny and Chodkiewicz laid siege to Moscow, but peace was eventually reached.

Treaties between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth required both sides to control the Cossacks and Tatars, but neither enforced these rules strongly. The Polish forced the Cossacks to burn their boats and stop raiding by sea, but this did not completely stop their

Russian Cossacks

The homeland of the Cossacks is near Russian towns and forts that are on the edge of the steppe. These towns stretch from the middle Volga River to Ryazan and Tula, then turn south toward the Dnieper River through Pereyaslavl. This area was home to people who were free and worked in different jobs.

These people often faced Tatar warriors on the steppe frontier. They were called "Cossacks" (also spelled "Kazaks") by the Tatars, and this name later spread to other free people in Russia. Many Cumans, who had mixed with the Khazars, moved to the Principality of Ryazan after the Mongol invasion. The earliest record of Cossacks serving in battle dates to 1444, when they fought against the Tatars in the Russian principality of Ryazan. By the 16th century, Cossacks (mostly from Ryazan) formed military and trading groups on the open steppe and began moving to the Don River area.

Cossacks acted as border guards, protecting towns, forts, and trading posts. They helped with law enforcement on the borders and became an important part of the Russian army. In the 16th century, they guarded the borderland against Tatar attacks, including those from the Crimean Tatars and the Nogai Horde.

The most common weapons used by Cossack cavalry were the saber (called a "shashka") and the long spear.

From the 16th to the 19th century, Russian Cossacks played a major role in expanding the Russian Empire into Siberia (especially through Yermak Timofeyevich), the Caucasus, and Central Asia. They also guided Russian explorers, traders, and surveyors. In 1648, the Russian Cossack Semyon Dezhnyov discovered a passage between North America and Asia. Cossack units fought in many wars during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, including the Russo-Turkish Wars, the Russo-Persian Wars, and the annexation of Central Asia.

Western Europeans met Cossacks during the Seven Years' War and saw their patrols in Berlin. During Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, French soldiers feared Cossacks the most. Napoleon said, "Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them." Cossacks also fought in guerrilla-style attacks against French forces in Russia, helping to develop tactics used in modern special operations.

The Don Cossack Host was an independent or self-governing group in what is now southern Russia. It existed from the late 16th century until the early 20th century. Most historians believe the Don Cossacks were Slavic settlers who moved there. Genetic studies show their ancestors were mainly East Slavic, with some Ukrainian influence. They were not related to Caucasus peoples or the Nogai steppe population.

Most Don Cossacks were Eastern Orthodox or Old Believers (a religious group). Before the Russian Civil War, there were also Muslim, Subbotnik, and Jewish communities among them.

Kuban Cossacks live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most are descendants of the Black Sea Cossack Host, originally the Zaporozhian Cossacks, and the Caucasus Line Cossack Host. A unique tradition among Kuban Cossacks is the "Chupryna" or "Oseledets" hairstyle, a short haircut that originated with the Zaporizhian Sich.

The Terek Cossack Host was formed in 1577 when free Cossacks moved from the Volga River to the Terek River. Later, local Terek Cossacks joined them. In 1792, they became part of the Caucasus Line Cossack Host but separated again in 1860, with Vladikavkaz as their capital. In 1916, the host had 255,000 people living on 1.9 million desyatinas of land.

The Ural Cossack Host was created by Cossacks who settled along the Ural River. They were also called "Yaik Cossacks" after the river’s old name, which changed after the Pugachev Rebellion. These Cossacks spoke Russian and had mostly Russian ancestry, but also included many Tatars. In 1577, after Moscow took control of the Volga region, troops were sent to stop pirates. Yermak Timofeyevich was among them. Some Cossacks fled to the Ural River and joined the Yaik Cossacks. By 1580, they captured Saraichik, and by 1591, they fought for the government in Moscow. Over the next century, they were officially recognized by the Russian Empire.

As an independent group, the Cossacks resisted the growing power of Muscovy and later the Russian Empire. Their independence caused tension with the Tsardom of Russia. After Tsar Mikhail Romanov came to power in 1613, the government tried to control the Cossacks by giving them elite status and requiring military service. This caused disagreements among the Cossacks, who wanted to keep their traditions. The government also tried to stop their nomadic lifestyle, leading to conflicts like those led by Stepan Razin and Yemelyan Pugachev.

As Russia became more stable, unrest grew among serfs and peasants. Under Tsar Alexis Romanov, the 1649 Code divided the population into fixed social classes. This made it harder for peasants to move or change jobs, and taxes increased, hurting the poor. The government’s military campaigns and wars with Poland and Sweden in 1662 caused a financial crisis and led to riots. Peasants and serfs fled to the Cossacks, who accepted them as refugees and freed them.

The Cossacks struggled under Tsar Alexis as more refugees arrived. The Tsar gave them food, money, and supplies in exchange for border defense. These supplies were inconsistent, causing conflicts between the Cossacks and the government. War with Poland also disrupted food and military aid to the Cossacks, worsening their situation.

Cossacks after the Russian Revolution

On March 8, 1917, a period of disorder began in Russia, leading to the fall of the tsarist government. At that time, about 3,200 Cossacks from the Don, Kuban, and Terek Hosts were stationed in Petrograd. Though these Cossacks made up only a small part of the 300,000 soldiers near the capital, their decision to switch sides on March 10 surprised the government and other loyal troops. This action excited the crowds in the city.

After the February Revolution, the Russian Provisional Government allowed the Cossack Hosts to reorganize their leadership. Local groups, called krugs (or rada for Kuban Cossacks), were formed to choose leaders called atamans and make decisions. At the national level, a meeting in Petrograd brought together Cossacks from across Russia to create the Union of Cossack Hosts, which aimed to represent Cossack interests.

Throughout 1917, the new Cossack governments in the borderlands challenged the authority of the Provisional Government. These Cossack groups faced competition from other groups, including councils formed by non-Cossack Russians and groups made up of people who had moved to Cossack lands.

In Ukraine, Cossacks also began organizing themselves, inspired by past traditions like the Zaporozhian Sich and the Cossack Hetmanate. In April 1917, a meeting in Zvenyhorodka, Kyiv Governorate, created a group called the Free Cossacks to protect Ukrainian freedoms and maintain order.

The Free Cossacks in Ukraine were organized by region. Villages provided volunteer soldiers, who were grouped into units called kurin (battalions) at the volost level. These units were part of regiments led by polkovnyk, which were grouped into divisions called kish, led by an Ottoman. All officers were elected, and taxes funded the group. Most volunteers were farmers, though some workers also joined.

By 1917, the Free Cossack movement spread to areas like Kyiv, Volhynia, Kherson, Poltava, and Chernihiv. At a meeting in Chyhyryn in October 1917, Pavlo Skoropadskyi was chosen as the leader, or otaman, of the movement.

After the Bolsheviks took control of Petrograd on November 7–8, 1917, most Cossack leaders refused to accept their rule. Aleksey Kaledin, the leader of the Don Cossacks, invited opponents of the Bolsheviks to join him. However, many Cossack governments struggled to maintain control, even within their own regions. In some areas, groups formed by non-Cossacks and ethnic minorities challenged Cossack authority. Cossack leaders often represented wealthy landowners and officers, while poorer Cossacks and soldiers were influenced by Bolshevik promises to protect them from losing their land.

By late 1918, the Red Army had taken over most Cossack lands because many Cossacks did not fight strongly for their government. However, the Bolsheviks’ policy of taking food from the countryside to feed northern cities caused Cossacks to rebel. These rebels chose new leaders and joined anticommunist groups like the Volunteer Army. Cossack lands became bases for the White movement during the Russian Civil War.

During the civil war, Cossacks sometimes fought as allies of the White armies or as helpers. In South Russia, General Anton Denikin’s forces relied on Cossacks from the Don and Kuban Hosts. These Cossacks provided skilled horsemen that the Red Army could not match until later in the war. However, the relationship between Cossack leaders and White commanders was often tense. Cossack units sometimes acted without discipline, causing anger among local people. In Ukraine, Kuban and Terek Cossacks carried out violent attacks against Jews, even though Denikin had ordered them to stop. Kuban Cossack leaders wanted their own semi-independent state and often opposed Denikin’s leadership. In the Russian Far East, Cossacks disrupted the Trans-Siberian Railway and supported rebellions against White forces.

As the Red Army gained the upper hand in late 1919 and early 1920, many Cossacks fled with the White forces. Some continued fighting in Crimea and the Far East. Between 80,000 and 100,000 Cossacks eventually joined the defeated Whites in exile.

Although some sources claimed all Cossacks opposed the Bolsheviks, many Cossacks fought with the Red Army. Poorer Cossack communities were often open to communist ideas. In late 1918 and early 1919, many Cossacks fighting with the Whites deserted, creating problems for the White forces. After the Whites were defeated in early 1920, many Cossacks switched sides and fought with the Red Army.

On December 22, 1917, the Bolshevik government canceled the Cossacks’ special status by ending their military duties and privileges. After Cossacks rebelled against the Bolsheviks in 1918, the Soviet government took harsh actions, including sending the Red Army into Cossack areas and carrying out a policy called “de-Cossackization.” This involved moving Cossacks, killing veterans from White armies, and favoring non-Cossacks in Cossack regions. This policy led to more Cossack rebellions in 1919.

When the Red Army retook Cossack lands in 1919 and 1920, the Soviet government did not officially restart de-Cossackization. However, some historians disagree about how harshly Cossacks were treated. Cossack groups were divided into new provinces or republics. In some areas, Cossacks were moved to allow others to

Culture and organization

In early times, a leader called an ataman (later called a hetman) led a group of Cossacks. He was chosen by the members of the Host during a meeting called a rada, just like other important leaders such as judges, scribes, and clergy. The ataman’s sign of power was a ceremonial mace called a bulava. Today, Russian Cossacks are led by atamans, and Ukrainian Cossacks are led by hetmans.

After the Polish–Russian Treaty of Andrusovo divided Ukraine along the Dnieper River in 1667, Ukrainian Cossacks were called Left-bank and Right-bank Cossacks. The ataman had the power to make decisions and was the top military leader during wars. The Band Assembly, or Rada, made laws. Senior officers were called starshyna. Since there were no written laws, the Cossacks followed rules called "Cossack Traditions," which were common, unwritten laws.

Cossack society and government were focused on military life. The group was called a host, meaning "army." People and land were divided into areas like regiments, companies, and villages. A group of Cossacks could be called a Kurin. Each settlement, alone or with others, formed military units like light cavalry or mounted infantry. They could respond quickly to threats.

Ukrainian Cossacks valued education. In 1654, when a religious leader named Macarius III Ibn al-Za’im traveled to Moscow through Ukraine, his son, Deacon Paul Allepscius, wrote:

Russian Cossacks are divided into two groups: the Stepnoy (from the Steppes) and the Kavkas (from the Caucasus). In 1917, the Caucasians were split into two groups, the Kuban and the Terek. The Stepnoy were split into eight groups, including the Don (the largest), Siberia, Orenburg, Astrakhan, Trans-Baikal, Semiretchi, Amur, and Ussurki.

Russian Cossacks built many settlements and forts along borders. These included forts like Verny (now Almaty, Kazakhstan), Grozny (in the North Caucasus), Fort Alexandrovsk (now Fort Shevchenko, Kazakhstan), Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan), Novonikolayevskaya stanitsa (now Bautino, Kazakhstan), Blagoveshchensk, and towns along rivers like the Ural, Ishim, Irtysh, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur, Anadyr (Chukotka), and Ussuri. Some Albazin Cossacks settled in China as early as 1685.

Cossacks interacted with nearby people and shared cultural influences. For example, Terek Cossacks were influenced by North Caucasian tribes. They also married people from other groups, sometimes ignoring religious rules. War brides from faraway places were common in Cossack families. A Russian officer named General Bogaevsky wrote in his 1918 memoir that one of his soldiers, Sotnik Khoperski, was a Chinese man who was taken from Manchuria during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and raised by a Cossack family.

Cossacks first relied on raiding, herding, fishing, and hunting, but they avoided farming, seeing it as lowly work. After the defeat of Stenka Razin in 1672, Cossacks began farming, but it remained a secondary activity until the late 19th century.

When Cossack men fought far from home, women became family leaders. Women also defended villages and sometimes attacked nearby settlements. Leo Tolstoy wrote about this in his book The Cossacks. In Cossack communities, relations between men and women were relatively equal. An American historian, Thomas Barrett, wrote that the history of Cossack women challenges ideas about male dominance in Russian society.

When Malorossian Cossack regiments were disbanded, those not promoted to nobility or joining other groups formed a civil Cossack estate. Sergei Korolev’s mother was the daughter of a leader in the civil estate of the Zaporozhian Sich.

Cossacks have been seen as symbols of freedom and resistance to authority, partly because of their military actions. Others view them as symbols of repression, due to their role in suppressing uprisings, such as the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648–1657, and in violent attacks, including those by Terek Cossacks during the Russian Revolution and by Cossack leaders in Ukraine in 1919, such as Zeleny, Hryhoriv, and Semosenko.

Cossack culture appears in many books, including works by Nikolai Gogol (Taras Bulba), Taras Shevchenko, Mikhail Sholokhov (And Quiet Flows the Don), Henryk Sienkiewicz (With Fire and Sword), and Leo Tolstoy (The Cossacks). Isaac Babel’s stories, like those in Red Cavalry, describe Cossack soldiers based on his experiences as a war reporter.

Polish Romantic writers often wrote about Cossacks. Some, like Michał Czajkowski and Józef Bohdan Zaleski, celebrated Cossack history, while others, like Henryk Rzewuski and Michał Grabowski, were more critical.

In Western European literature, Cossacks appear in Lord Byron’s poem Mazeppa, Alfred Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade, and Richard Connell’s short story The Most Dangerous Game. Harold Lamb’s adventure stories often feature Cossack characters.

During the Russian Empire, Cossacks were seen as fierce defenders of an antisemitic state. However, during the Soviet era, Jews were encouraged to admire Cossacks as opposites of the "parasitic" Jewish communities. Some Yiddish writers, like Khaim Melamud and Viktor Fink, wrote about

Modern-day Cossack identity

Ethnic, or "born" (prirodnye), Cossacks are people who can trace their family history back to groups known as Cossacks during the Tsarist era. Most are Christian, practicing either Orthodox Christianity or Old Believers. However, more Ukrainian Cossacks are now practicing Rodnover beliefs.

Some people may become Cossacks through military service. These individuals might not be ethnic Slavs or Christians. Not everyone agrees that these people should be considered Cossacks. There is no agreement on how to officially welcome new members or set rules for becoming Cossacks.

In other situations, people may wear Cossack clothing and pretend to be Cossacks. This might happen in areas with many ethnic Cossacks, where someone wants to blend in. Others wear Cossack clothes to connect with the group's legendary image. Ethnic Cossacks often call these people "ryazhenye" (ряженые), meaning "dressed-up phonies."

Because there is no clear definition of what makes someone a Cossack, exact numbers are unknown. According to the Russian Census of 2010, 67,573 people in Russia identify as ethnic Cossacks. Between 3.5 and 5 million people worldwide associate with the Cossack identity.

Organizations

The Cossack Congress in America brings together Cossack groups in North America. It has branches in the United States, Canada, and Colombia.

On April 24, 1999, the first meeting of the International Armenian-Cossack Friendship and Cooperation Association took place in Yerevan, Armenia. A separate Cossack group called the Great Don Army operates in Armenia. This group was created by the Council of Atamans on December 15, 2015. It works with the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.

The Association of Cossacks of Azerbaijan functions in the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was founded in 1992 and officially registered with the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan on November 16, 1994. The group has 1,500 members, and many of its members join the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

In Belarus, there are three Cossack organizations: the All-Belarusian United Cossacks, the All-Belarusian Unified Cossacks, and the Belarusian Cossacks. These groups have been active since the mid-1990s.

Registered Cossacks in the Russian Federation are a group that helps with public services. This group follows the Federal Law of the Russian Federation from December 5, 2005, No. 154-FZ, which outlines the duties of Russian Cossacks.

The All-Russian Cossack Society (Всероссийское казачье общество) helps organize the work of all 11 registered Cossack groups in Russia. It focuses on teaching patriotism and preserving Cossack traditions. Both registered and unregistered Cossack groups can join the society. On November 4, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin named Nikolai Doluda, the Ataman of the Kuban Cossack Host, as the Ataman of the All-Russia Cossack Society. Doluda was chosen two years after the society was created in October 2017. The idea for the society was first suggested in 1994. On November 27, 2018, members of the Constitutive Assembly voted to form the society and approved its official rules. Doluda was then selected as the society’s leader with support from the Presidential Council on Cossack Affairs.

The following organizations operate in Ukraine:

Notable people

• Nikolai Gogol – Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright
• Yury Trifonov – Russian writer
• Sergei Korolev – main Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer
• Vladimir Borovikovsky – Russian artist
• Dmitry Bortniansky – Russian Imperial composer
• Nikolay Shcherbina – Russian poet
• Leonid Zhabotinsky – Ukrainian weightlifter
• Yuri Andropov – Soviet politician and the sixth leader of the Soviet Union
• Sergey Shakhray – Russian politician
• Vasily Safonov – Russian pianist, teacher, conductor, and composer
• Nikolay Samokish – Ukrainian and Soviet painter and illustrator
• Vladimir Mayakovsky – Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor
• George Kistiakowsky – Ukrainian-American professor of physical chemistry at Harvard who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Science Advisor
• Aleksandr Khanzhonkov – pioneering Russian cinema entrepreneur, film director, and screenwriter
• Vladimir Vernadsky – Ukrainian and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist
• Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay – Russian explorer
• Mykola Markevych – Ukrainian historian, ethnographer, musician, and poet
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Russian composer
• Fyodor Pirotsky – Russian engineer and inventor of the world’s first railway electrification system and electric tram
• Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina – Count of Merenberg
• Petro Prokopovych – Ukrainian beekeeper who made revolutionary contributions to the practice
• Semyon Kataev – Soviet scientist and inventor in the field of television and radio electronics
• Andrei Krasnov – Russian botanist
• Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny – political and civic leader
• Vasily Karazin – Russian enlightenment figure, intellectual, inventor, and scientific publisher
• Zinaida Yermolyeva – Soviet microbiologist of Don Cossack origin most notable for producing penicillin for the Soviet military
• Alexander Zasyadko (general) – Russian general
• Sergei Winogradsky – Ukrainian and Russian microbiologist, ecologist, and soil scientist who pioneered the cycle-of-life concept
• Boldyrev, Ivan Vasilyevich – photographer and inventor

Noble families

• Doroshenko family
• Khanenko family
• Kobyzewicz family
• Lyzohub family
• Mazepa family
• Paskevich
• Poltoratsky family
• Razumovsky
• Skoropadsky family
• Tereshchenko family

• Ilovaiski family
• Orlov-Denisov family
• Shivtzov family (Orenburg)

Flags and emblems

• Flag of the Don Cossacks
• Flag of the Kuban Cossacks
• Flag of the Semirechye Cossacks
• Flag of the Terek Cossacks
• Flag of Russian Sloboda-Ukrainian Cossacks
• Flag of the Orenburg Cossacks
• Unofficial flag representing the Cossack people and Cossackia
• Flag of the Free Cossack Detachment of the Russian Volunteer Corps
• Flag of the Registered Cossacks in the Russian Federation
• Flag of the Cossack National Guard [ru]
• Flag of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
• Flag of Zaporizhzhia Oblast

• Emblem of the Registered Cossacks in the Russian Federation
• Emblem of registered Don Cossacks
• Emblem of registered Kuban Cossacks
• Modern patch used by the Kuban Cossack military unit in the Russian armed forces
• Emblem of registered Terek Cossacks
• Emblem of registered Volga Cossacks
• Emblem of the registered Orenburg Cossacks
• Coat of arms of the Zaporozhian Host

Propaganda and stereotypes

Napoleon, a French military and political leader, used propaganda to spread the idea that Scottish people were similar to Cossacks, a group of people from Russia. French propaganda described the people of the Scottish Highlands as barbaric and inhuman, claiming they were said to take pleasure in destroying homes, farmland, and entire communities. This image of Scottish people was later combined with observations of Russian soldiers fighting in Europe. In Europe, the word "Cossack" refers to a thief, while French writers often described Russians as exotic.