Editing Cossacks (section)

{{Short description|Ethnic group of current Ukraine and Russia}}
{{Distinguish|Kazakhs|Cassock}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Cossacks}}
[[File:AmericanCossacks.jpg|thumb|An American Cossack family in the 1950s]]
[[File:Cossacks in parade 2015.jpg|thumb|Cossacks marching in [[Red Square]] at the [[2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade|2015 Victory Day Parade]]]]
 
The '''Cossacks'''{{efn|{{unordered list| {{langx|be|казакi}} {{IPA|be|kazaˈkʲi|}}| {{langx|cs|kozáci}} {{IPA|cs|ˈkozaːtsɪ|}}| {{langx|et|Kasakad}} {{IPA|et|ˈkɑsɑkɑd|}}| {{langx|fi|Kasakat}} {{IPA|fi|ˈkɑsɑkɑt|}}| {{langx|hu|kozákok}} {{IPA|hu|ˈkozaːkok|}}| {{langx|orv|коза́ки}}| {{langx|pl|Kozacy}} {{IPA|pl|kɔˈzatsɨ|}}| {{langx|ru|казаки́}} or {{lang|ru|козаки́}} {{IPA|ru|kəzɐˈkʲi|}}| {{langx|sk|kozáci}} {{IPA|sk|ˈkɔzaːtsi|}}| {{langx|uk|козаки́}} {{IPA|uk|kozɐˈkɪ|}}}}}} are a predominantly [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]] [[Eastern Christian]] people originating in the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] of eastern [[Ukraine]] and [[southern Russia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kollmann |first1=Nancy Shields |title=The Russian Empire 1450–1801 |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-928051-3 |page=58 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1= O'Rourke|first1= Shane |chapter= Cossacks|date= 2011|encyclopedia= The Encyclopedia of War|publisher= American Cancer Society|language= en|doi= 10.1002/9781444338232.wbeow143|isbn= 978-1-4443-3823-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Magocsi|first=Paul Robert|title=A History of Ukraine|year=1996|pages=179–181|author-link=Paul Robert Magocsi}}</ref> Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of [[Ukraine]] and [[Russia]], [[Cossack raids|countering]] the [[Crimean-Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe|Crimean-Nogai raids]], alongside economically developing [[steppes|steppe regions]] north of [[Black Sea]] and around [[Azov Sea]].{{Sfn|Kondufor|1986|page=46}} Historically, they were a semi-[[nomad]]ic and semi-militarized people, who, while under the nominal [[suzerainty]] of various Eastern European states at the time, were allowed a great degree of self-governance in exchange for military service. Although numerous linguistic and religious groups came together to form the Cossacks, most of them coalesced and became [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]]–speaking [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]].

The rulers of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] and [[Russian Empire]] endowed Cossacks with certain special privileges in return for the military duty to serve in the irregular troops: [[Zaporozhian Cossacks]] were mostly infantry soldiers, using [[war wagon]]s,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Stasiewska |first1= Zofia|last2= Meller|first2= Stefan |title=Eryka Lassoty i Wilhelma Beauplana opisy Ukrainy |trans-title=Erich Lassota's and Wilhelm Beauplan's descriptions of Ukraine |location=Warsaw, PL |publisher=Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy |year=1972 |page=110 |language=pl}}</ref> while [[Don Cossacks]] were mostly cavalry soldiers. The various Cossack groups were organized along military lines, with large autonomous groups called [[Cossack host|hosts]]. Each host had a territory consisting of affiliated villages called [[stanitsa]]s.

They inhabited sparsely populated areas in the [[Dnieper]], [[Don (river)|Don]], [[Terek (river)|Terek]], and [[Ural (river)|Ural]] river basins, and played an important role in the historical and cultural development of both Ukraine and parts of Russia.<ref name=ORourke_2000>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=L0Zk3tUQ1M4C&q=cossacks+old+believers&pg=PA62 |title= Warriors and peasants: The Don Cossacks in late imperial Russia |isbn= 978-0-312-22774-6 |last1= O'Rourke |first1= Shane |year= 2000 |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |access-date= 2020-11-10 |archive-date= 2022-02-06 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220206071147/https://books.google.com/books?id=L0Zk3tUQ1M4C&q=cossacks+old+believers&pg=PA62 |url-status= live }}</ref>

The Cossack way of life persisted via both direct descendants and acquired ideals in other nations into the twentieth century, though the sweeping societal changes of the [[Russian Revolution]] disrupted Cossack society as much as any other part of Russia; many Cossacks migrated to other parts of Europe following the establishment of the [[Soviet Union]], while others remained and assimilated into the Communist state.  Cohesive Cossack-based units were organized and many fought for both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during [[World War II]].

After World War II, the Soviet Union disbanded the Cossack units within the [[Soviet Army]], leading to the suppression of many Cossack traditions during the rule of [[Joseph Stalin]] and his successors. However, during the [[Perestroika]] era in the late 1980s, descendants of Cossacks began to revive their national traditions. In 1988, the Soviet Union enacted a law permitting the re-establishment of former Cossack hosts and the formation of new ones. Throughout the 1990s, numerous regional authorities consented to delegate certain local administrative and policing responsibilities to these reconstituted Cossack hosts.

Between 3.5 and 5 million people associate themselves with the Cossack [[cultural identity]] across the world even though the majority, especially in the Russian Federation, have little to no connection to the original Cossack people because cultural ideals and legacy changed greatly with time.<ref name="Cole2011"/><ref name="Tjoe2006"/> Cossack organizations operate in [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]].<ref name=Richard_Arnold_2019>{{Cite web|url= https://www.ponarseurasia.org/whose-cossacks-are-they-anyway-a-movement-torn-by-the-ukraine-russia-divide/ |title= Whose Cossacks Are They Anyway? A Movement Torn by the Ukraine-Russia Divide – PONARS Eurasia }}</ref><ref name=Eva_Hartog_2016>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/01/cossack-comeback-fur-flies-fake-groups-spark-identity-crisis |title=Cossack comeback: Fur flies as 'fake' groups spark identity crisis |newspaper=The Guardian |date=June 2016 |last1=Hartog |first1=Eva }}</ref>