Editing Cossacks (section)

== Russian Cossacks ==
[[File:Russparis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Imperial Russian Cossacks (left) in Paris in 1814]]
The native land of the Cossacks is defined by a line of Russian town-fortresses located on the border with the steppe, and stretching from the [[Volga region|middle Volga]] to [[Ryazan]] and [[Tula, Russia|Tula]], then breaking abruptly to the south and extending to the Dnieper via [[Pereiaslav|Pereyaslavl]]. This area was settled by a population of free people practicing various trades and crafts.

These people, constantly facing the [[Golden Horde|Tatar]] warriors on the steppe frontier, received the Turkic name ''Cossacks'' (''Kazaks''), which was then extended to other free people in Russia. Many [[Cumans]], who had assimilated [[Khazars]], retreated to the [[Principality of Ryazan]] (Grand Duchy of Ryazan) after the [[Mongol invasions and conquests|Mongol invasion]]. The oldest mention in the annals is of Cossacks of the Russian principality of Ryazan serving the principality in the battle against the Tatars in 1444. In the 16th century, the Cossacks (primarily of Ryazan) were grouped in military and trading communities on the open steppe, and began to migrate into the area of the Don.<ref>[[Vasily Klyuchevsky]], ''The course of Russian History'', volume 2</ref>

[[File:Места проживания казаков.jpg|thumb|left|Distribution of Cossacks in Russia, eastern Ukraine and northern Kazakhstan]] 
Cossacks served as border guards and protectors of towns, forts, settlements, and trading posts. They performed policing functions on the frontiers, and also came to represent an integral part of the [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian army]]. In the 16th century, to protect the borderland area from [[Tatar invasions]], Cossacks carried out sentry and patrol duties, guarding against [[Crimean Khanate|Crimean Tatars]] and nomads of the [[Nogai Horde]] in the [[steppe]] region.

[[File:PG - Semireche Cossack.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Semirechye Cossacks|Semirechye Cossack]], [[Jetisu|Semirechye]], 1911]]

The most popular weapons of the Cossack cavalrymen were the [[sabre]], or ''[[shashka]]'', and the long [[spear]].

From the 16th to 19th centuries, Russian Cossacks played a key role in the expansion of the Russian Empire into Siberia (particularly by [[Yermak Timofeyevich]]), the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Cossacks also served as guides to most Russian expeditions of civil and military geographers and surveyors, traders, and explorers. In 1648, the Russian Cossack [[Semyon Dezhnyov]] discovered a passage between North America and Asia. Cossack units played a role in many wars in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, including the [[History of the Russo-Turkish wars|Russo-Turkish Wars]], the [[Russo-Persian Wars]], and the annexation of Central Asia.

Western Europeans had a lot of contact with Cossacks during the [[Seven Years' War]], and had seen Cossack patrols in Berlin.<ref>Angus Konstam. ''Russian army of the Seven Years' War''. Osprey Publishing (October 15, 1996) {{ISBN|1-85532-587-X}} {{ISBN|978-1-85532-587-6}}</ref> During [[Napoleon's Invasion of Russia]], Cossacks were the Russian soldiers most feared by the French troops. Napoleon himself stated, "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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.napoleon-series.org/reviews/military/c_cossackhurrah.html |series=Napoleon Series Reviews |title=Cossack Hurrah! |website=Napoleon-series.org |access-date=2015-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918183540/http://www.napoleon-series.org/reviews/military/c_cossackhurrah.html |archive-date=2015-09-18 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cossacks also took part in the [[Partisan (military)|partisan]] war deep inside French-occupied Russian territory, attacking communications and supply lines. These attacks, carried out by Cossacks along with Russian light cavalry and other units, were one of the first developments of [[guerrilla warfare]] tactics and, to some extent, special operations as we know them today. Several thousands of Cossacks were commended by [[Pyotr Bagration]] during the French invasion of Russia behind [[Bug (river)|Bug]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-23 |title=French invasion of Russia {{!}} Napoleon, Battles, & Casualties {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/French-invasion-of-Russia |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Don Cossacks===
{{Main|Don Cossacks}}
[[File:Донской козакъ 1821 года.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.9|A Cossack from the Don area, 1821, illustration from [[Fyodor Solntsev]], 1869]]
The [[Don Cossack]] Host ({{langx |ru|Всевеликое Войско Донское}}, ''Vsevelikoye Voysko Donskoye'') was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic, located in present-day Southern Russia. It existed from the end of the 16th century until the early 20th century. There are two main theories of the origin of the Don Cossacks. Most respected historians support the migration theory, according to which they were Slavic colonists. The various autochthonous theories popular among the Cossacks themselves do not find confirmation in genetic studies. The gene pool comprises mainly the East Slavic component, with a significant Ukrainian contribution. There is no influence of the [[peoples of the Caucasus]]; and the steppe populations, represented by the [[Nogais]], have only limited impact.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=M. I. Chukhryaeva |author2=I. O. Ivanov |author3=S. A. Frolova |author4=S. M. Koshel |author5=O. M. Utevska |author6=R. A. Skhalyakho |author7=A. T. Agdzhoyan |author8=Yu. V. Bogunova |author9=E. V. Balanovska |author10=O. P. Balanovsky |title=The Haplomatch Program for Comparing Y-Chromosome STR-Haplotypes and Its Applicationto the Analysis of the Origin of Don Cossacks |journal=Russian Journal of Genetics |date=2016 |volume=52 |issue=5 |pages=521–529 |doi=10.1134/S1022795416050045 |s2cid=845996 }}</ref>

The majority of Don Cossacks are either Eastern Orthodox or Christian [[Old Believers]] (старообрядцы).<ref name=ORourke_2000/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.face-music.ch/inform/oldbeliever_siberia_en.html |title=Old Believer – Raskolniks |website=face-music.ch |access-date=23 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922072552/http://www.face-music.ch/inform/oldbeliever_siberia_en.html |archive-date=22 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Prior to the [[Russian Civil War]], there were numerous religious minorities, including [[Muslims]], [[Subbotniks]], and Jews.{{efn|After the Caucasus war, both Russian Imperial policy and internal problems caused some Muslims, Subbotniks, [[Molokan]]e, Jews, and various Christian minorities—both Cossack and non-Cossack—to move away from the Don area, usually to the newly conquered frontier areas or abroad. Many Muslim Cossacks moved to Turkey, because of a lack of Muslim brides in their villages. The Don Host resisted this policy and retained its minorities, as in the case of some Muslim Cossacks, and of [[Rostov-on-Don]] non-Cossack Jews.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lechaim.ru/ARHIV/148/gutman.htm |script-title=ru:Евреи Среди Казаков |website=Lechaim.ru |access-date=2015-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209200413/http://www.lechaim.ru/ARHIV/148/gutman.htm |archive-date=2016-02-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Kuban Cossacks===
{{Main|Kuban Cossacks}}
[[File:Kubanskie kazaki 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Kuban Cossacks, late 19th century]]
[[Kuban Cossacks]] are Cossacks who live in the [[Kuban]] region of Russia. Although many Cossack groups came to inhabit the Western [[North Caucasus]], most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of the [[Black Sea Cossack Host]] (originally the [[Zaporozhian Cossacks]]), and the [[Caucasus Line Cossack Host]].

A distinguishing feature is the ''[[Czupryna|Chupryna]]'' or ''Oseledets'' hairstyle, a [[Mohawk hairstyle|roach]] haircut popular among some Kubanians. This tradition traces back to the [[Zaporizhian Sich]].

===Terek Cossacks===
{{Main|Terek Cossacks}}
The [[Terek Cossack]] Host was created in 1577 by free Cossacks resettling from the Volga to the Terek River. Local Terek Cossacks joined this host later. In 1792, the host was included in the Caucasus Line Cossack Host, from which it separated again in 1860, with [[Vladikavkaz]] as its capital. In 1916, the population of the host was 255,000, within an area of 1.9 million [[Obsolete Russian units of measurement|desyatinas]].{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

===Yaik Cossacks===
{{Main|Ural Cossacks}}
[[File:Battle Cossacks with Kyrgyz 1826.JPG|thumb|left|Ural Cossacks skirmish with [[Kazakhs]] (the Russians originally called the Kazakhs 'Kirgiz')]]
[[File:DedPogadaev.jpg|thumb|Yaik (Orenburg) Cossacks from Sakmara settlement; Alexander Mertemianovich Pogadaev standing at left, 1912]]
[[File:Russian-Cossacks-on-March.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|Ural Cossacks, {{circa|1799}}]]
The [[Ural Cossack]] Host was formed from the Ural Cossacks, who had settled along the [[Ural River]]. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the river's former name, changed by the government after [[Pugachev's Rebellion]] of 1773–1775. The Ural Cossacks spoke Russian, and identified as having primarily Russian ancestry, but also incorporated many [[Tatars]] into their ranks.<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Wixman|first1 = Ronald|title = The peoples of the USSR: an ethnographic handbook| page = 51|publisher = M.E. Sharpe|date = 1984|isbn = 978-0-87332-203-4}}</ref> In 1577, twenty years after Moscow had conquered the Volga from Kazan to [[Astrakhan]],<ref name="Donnelly1968">{{cite book |last1=Donnelly |first1=Alton S. |title=The Russian Conquest of Bashkiria 1552–1740 |year=1968 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-00430-4}}</ref> the government sent troops to disperse pirates and raiders along the Volga. Among them was [[Yermak Timofeyevich]]. Some escaped to flee southeast to the Ural River, where they joined the Yaik Cossacks. In 1580, they captured [[Saraichik]]. By 1591, they were fighting on behalf of the government in Moscow. Over the next century, they were officially recognized by the imperial government.

===Razin and Pugachev Rebellions===
As a largely independent nation, the Cossacks had to defend their liberties and democratic traditions against the ever-expanding [[Tsardom of Russia|Muscovy]], succeeded by the Russian Empire. Their tendency to act independently of the Tsardom of Russia increased friction. The Tsardom's power began to grow in 1613, with the ascension of [[Mikhail Romanov]] to the throne following the [[Time of Troubles]]. The government began attempting to integrate the Cossacks into the Russian Tsardom by granting elite status and enforcing military service, thus creating divisions among the Cossacks themselves as they fought to retain their traditions. The government's efforts to alter their traditional nomadic lifestyle resulted in the Cossacks being involved in nearly all the major disturbances in Russia over 200 years, including the rebellions led by [[Stepan Razin]] and [[Yemelyan Pugachev]].<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|59}}

[[File:surikov1906.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|''Stenka Razin Sailing in the [[Caspian Sea]]'', by [[Vasily Surikov]], 1906]]

As [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] regained stability, discontent grew within the serf and peasant populations. Under [[Alexis of Russia|Alexis Romanov]], Mikhail's son, the [[Code of 1649]] divided the Russian population into distinct and fixed hereditary categories.<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|52}} The Code increased tax revenue for the central government and put an end to nomadism, to stabilize the social order by fixing people on the same land and in the same occupation as their families. Peasants were tied to the land, and townsmen were forced to take on their fathers' occupations. The increased tax burden fell mainly on the peasants, further widening the gap between the poor and wealthy. Human and material resources became limited as the government organized more military expeditions, putting even greater strain on the peasants. War with Poland and Sweden in 1662 led to a fiscal crisis, and rioting across the country.<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|58}} Taxes, harsh conditions, and the gap between social classes drove peasants and serfs to flee. Many went to the Cossacks, knowing that the Cossacks would accept refugees and free them.

The Cossacks experienced difficulties under Tsar Alexis as more refugees arrived daily. The Tsar gave the Cossacks a [[subsidy]] of food, money, and military supplies in return for acting as border defense.<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|60}} These subsidies fluctuated often; a source of conflict between the Cossacks and the government. The war with Poland diverted necessary food and military shipments to the Cossacks as fugitive peasants swelled the population of the [[Cossack host]]. The influx of refugees troubled the Cossacks, not only because of the increased demand for food but also because their large number meant the Cossacks could not absorb them into their culture by way of the traditional apprenticeship.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|91}} Instead of taking these steps for proper assimilation into Cossack society, the runaway peasants spontaneously declared themselves Cossacks and lived alongside the true Cossacks, laboring or working as barge-haulers to earn food.

Divisions among the Cossacks began to emerge as conditions worsened and Mikhail's son Alexis took the throne. Older Cossacks began to settle and become prosperous, enjoying privileges earned through obeying and assisting the [[Muscovite Russia|Muscovite system]].<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|90–91}}<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|62}} The old Cossacks started giving up the traditions and liberties that had been worth dying for, to obtain the pleasures of an elite life. The lawless and restless runaway peasants who called themselves Cossacks looked for adventure and revenge against the nobility that had caused them suffering. These Cossacks did not receive the government subsidies that the old Cossacks enjoyed, and had to work harder and longer for food and money.

====Razin's Rebellion====
[[File:Ivan Bilibin 129.jpg|thumb|[[Stepan Razin|Stenka Razin]], by [[Ivan Bilibin]]]]

The divisions between the elite and the lawless led to the formation of a Cossack army, beginning in 1667 under [[Stenka Razin]], and ultimately to the failure of Razin's rebellion.

Stenka Razin was born into an elite Cossack family, and had made many diplomatic visits to Moscow before organizing his rebellion.<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|66–67}} The Cossacks were Razin's main supporters, and followed him during his first Persian campaign in 1667, plundering and pillaging Persian cities on the [[Caspian Sea]]. They returned in 1669, ill and hungry, tired from fighting, but rich with plundered goods.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|95–97}} [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] tried to gain support from the old Cossacks, asking the [[ataman]], or Cossack chieftain, to prevent Razin from following through with his plans. But the ataman was Razin's godfather, and was swayed by Razin's promise of a share of expedition wealth. His reply was that the elite Cossacks were powerless against the band of rebels. The elite did not see much threat from Razin and his followers either, although they realized he could cause them problems with the Muscovite system if his following developed into a rebellion against the central government.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|95–96}}

Razin and his followers began to capture cities at the start of the rebellion, in 1669. They seized the towns of [[Tsaritsyn]], [[Astrakhan]], [[Saratov]], and [[Samara, Russia|Samara]], implementing democratic rule and releasing peasants from slavery as they went.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|100–105}} Razin envisioned a united Cossack republic throughout the southern steppe, in which the towns and villages would operate under the democratic, Cossack style of government. Their sieges often took place in the runaway peasant Cossacks' old towns, leading them to wreak havoc there and take revenge on their old masters. The elder Cossacks began to see the rebels' advance as a problem, and in 1671 decided to comply with the government in order to receive more subsidies.<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|112}} On April&nbsp;14, ataman Yakovlev led elders to destroy the rebel camp. They captured Razin, taking him soon afterward to Moscow to be executed.

Razin's rebellion marked the beginning of the end of traditional Cossack practices. In August 1671, Russian envoys administered the [[oath of allegiance]] and the Cossacks swore loyalty to the [[tsar]].<ref name=Avrich_1976/>{{rp|113}} While they still had internal [[autonomy]], the Cossacks became Russian subjects, a transition that was a dividing point again in [[Pugachev's Rebellion]].

====Pugachev's Rebellion====
[[File:Don-kosack.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Don Cossack in the early 1800s]]

For the Cossack [[elite]], noble status within the empire came at the price of their old liberties in the 18th century. Advancing agricultural settlement began to force the Cossacks to give up their traditional [[nomadic]] ways and adopt new forms of government. The government steadily changed the entire culture of the Cossacks. [[Peter the Great]] increased Cossack service obligations, and mobilized their forces to fight in far-off wars. Peter began establishing non-Cossack troops in fortresses along the [[Ural River|Yaik River]]. In 1734, construction of a government fortress at [[Orenburg]] gave Cossacks a subordinate role in border defense.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|115}} When the Yaik Cossacks sent a delegation to Peter with their grievances, Peter stripped the Cossacks of their autonomous status, and subordinated them to the [[College of War|War College]] rather than the College of Foreign Affairs. This consolidated the Cossacks' transition from border patrol to military servicemen. Over the next fifty years, the central government responded to Cossack grievances with arrests, [[flogging]]s, and exiles.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|116–117}}

Under [[Catherine the Great]], beginning in 1762, the Russian peasants and Cossacks again faced increased taxation, heavy military conscription, and grain shortages, as before Razin's rebellion. [[Peter III of Russia|Peter III]] had extended freedom to former church serfs, freeing them from obligations and payments to church authorities, and had freed other peasants from serfdom, but Catherine did not follow through on these reforms.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-first=Jack P.|editor1-last=Greene |editor2-first= Robert|editor2-last= Forster|chapter =Pugachev's Rebellion|title = Preconditions of Revolution in Early Modern Europe|first1= Marc|last1= Raeff|publisher =The Johns Hopkins Press |date= 1975|page= 170}}</ref> In 1767, the Empress refused to accept grievances directly from the peasantry.<ref>Raeff, ''Pugachev's Rebellion'', p. 172.</ref> Peasants fled once again to the lands of the Cossacks, in particular the Yaik Host, whose people were committed to the old Cossack traditions. The changing government also burdened the Cossacks, extending its reach to reform Cossack traditions. Among ordinary Cossacks, hatred of the elite and central government rose. In 1772, a six–month open rebellion ensued between the Yaik Cossacks and the central government.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|116–117}}

[[File:Pugachev.jpg|left|thumb|[[Yemelyan Pugachev]] in prison]]

[[Yemelyan Pugachev]], a low-status [[Don Cossack]], arrived in the Yaik Host in late 1772.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|117}} There, he claimed to be Peter&nbsp;III, playing on the Cossack belief that Peter would have been an effective ruler but for his assassination in a plot by his wife, Catherine&nbsp;II.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|120}} Many Yaik Cossacks believed Pugachev's claim, although those closest to him knew the truth. Others, who may have known of it, did not support Catherine&nbsp;II due to her disposal of Peter&nbsp;III, and also spread Pugachev's claim to be the late emperor.

The first of three phases of Pugachev's Rebellion began in September 1773.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|124}} Most of the rebels' first prisoners were Cossacks who supported the elite. After a five-month siege of [[Orenburg]], a military college became Pugachev's headquarters.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|126}} Pugachev envisioned a Cossack [[tsardom]], similar to Razin's vision of a united Cossack republic. The peasantry across Russia stirred with rumors and listened to the [[manifesto]]s Pugachev issued. But the rebellion soon came to be seen as an inevitable failure. The Don Cossacks refused to help the final phase of the revolt, knowing that military troops were closely following Pugachev after lifting the siege of Orenburg, and following his flight from defeated [[Kazan]].<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|127–128}} In September 1774, Pugachev's own Cossack lieutenants turned him over to the government troops.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|128}}

Opposition to centralization of political authority led the Cossacks to participate in Pugachev's Rebellion.<ref name=ORourke_2008/>{{rp|129–130}} After their defeat, the Cossack elite accepted government reforms, hoping to secure status within the nobility. The ordinary Cossacks had to follow and give up their traditions and liberties.

=== In the Russian Empire ===
[[File:Surikov Pokoreniye Sibiri Yermakom.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|''Conquest of Siberia by [[Yermak Timofeyevich]]'', painting by [[Vasily Surikov]]]]

Cossack relations with the [[Tsardom of Russia]] were varied from the outset. At times they supported Russian military operations, at other times they rebelled against the central power. After one such uprising at the end of the 18th century, Russian forces destroyed the [[Zaporozhian Host]]. Many of the Cossacks who had remained loyal to the Russian Monarch and continued their service later moved to the Kuban. Others, choosing to continue a mercenary role, escaped control in the large [[Danube Delta]]. The service of the Cossacks in the Napoleonic wars led them to be celebrated as Russian folk heroes, and throughout the 19th century a "powerful myth" was promoted by the government that portrayed the Cossacks as having a special and unique bond to the Emperor.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|pages=164–166|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref> This image as the Cossacks as the ultra-patriotic defenders of not only Russia, but also of the House of Romanov was embraced by many ordinary Cossacks, making them into a force for conservatism.<ref name=":0"/>

By the 19th century, the [[Russian Empire]] had annexed the territory of the Cossack Hosts, and controlled them by providing privileges for their service such as exemption from taxation and allowing them to own the land they farmed. At this time, the Cossacks served as military forces in many wars conducted by the Russian Empire. Cossacks were considered excellent for scouting and reconnaissance duties, and for ambushes. Their tactics in open battle were generally inferior to those of regular soldiers, such as the [[Dragoon]]s. In 1840, the Cossack hosts included the Don, Black Sea, [[Astrakhan Cossacks|Astrakhan]], Little Russia, Azov, Danube, Ural, Stavropol, Mesherya, [[Orenburg Cossacks|Orenburg]], [[Siberian Cossacks|Siberian]], Tobolsk, Tomsk, Yeniseisk, Irkutsk, Sabaikal, Yakutsk, and Tartar ''[[Cossack host|voiskos]]''. In the 1890s, the [[Ussuri Cossacks|Ussuri]], [[Semirechye Cossacks|Semirechensk]], and [[Amur Cossacks]] were added; the last had a regiment of elite mounted rifles.<ref name=KnotelKnotelSieg_1980>{{cite book |last1=Knotel |first1=Richard |last2=Knotel |first2=Herbert |last3=Sieg |first3=Herbert |title=Uniforms of the World: A Compendium of Army, Navy and Air Force Uniforms 1700–1937 |year=1980 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York |page=394}}</ref>

Increasingly as the 19th century went on, the Cossacks served as a mounted para-military police force in all of the various provinces of the vast Russian Empire, covering a territory stretching across Eurasia from what is now modern Poland to the banks of the river Amur that formed the Russian-Chinese border.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|page=166|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref> The police forces of the Russian Empire, especially in rural areas, were undermanned owing to the low wages while the officers of the Imperial Russian Army disliked having their units deployed to put down domestic unrest, which was viewed as destructive of morale and possibly an incentive to mutiny.<ref name=":1"/> For the government, deploying Cossacks as a para-military police force was the best solution as the Cossacks were viewed as one of the social groups most loyal to the House of Romanov while their isolation from local populations was felt to make them immune to revolutionary appeals.<ref name=":1"/> Traditionally, Cossacks were viewed in Russia as dashing, romantic horsemen with a rebellious and wild aura about them, but their deployment in the role of a mounted police force gave them a "novel" image as a rather violent and thuggish institution fiercely committed to upholding the social order.<ref name=":1"/> This change from an irregular cavalry force that fought against the enemies of Russia, such as the Ottoman Empire and France, to a repressive gendarmerie deployed against the subjects of the Empire caused much disquiet within the various Hosts, as it was contrary to the heroic ethos of frontier warfare that the Cossacks cherished.<ref name=":1"/>

In 1879, the Shah of Iran, [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar|Nasir al-Din]], who had been impressed with the equestrian skills and distinctive uniforms of the Cossacks while on a visit to Russia the previous year, requested that the Emperor Alexander II sent some Cossacks to train a Cossack force for himself.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|pages=160–161|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref> Alexander granted his request and later in 1879 a group of 9 Cossacks led by Kuban Cossack Colonel [[Aleksey Domantovich]] arrived in Tehran to train the [[Persian Cossack Brigade]].<ref name=":2"/> The shah very much liked the colorful uniforms of the Cossacks and Domantovich devised uniforms for one regiment of the brigade based on the uniforms of the Kuban Cossack Host and another regiment had its uniform based on the Terek Cossack Host.<ref name=":2"/> The uniforms of the Cossacks were based on the flamboyant costumes of the peoples of the Caucasus, and what in Russia were viewed as exotic and colorful uniforms were viewed in Iran as a symbol of Russianness.<ref name=":2"/> Nasir al-Din, who was widely regarded as a deeply superficial and shallow man, was not interested in having his Cossack Brigade be an effective military force, and for him merely seeing his brigade ride before him while dressed in their brightly colored uniforms was quite enough.<ref name=":2"/> Over the shah's indifference, Domantovich and his Cossacks worked hard on training the Cossack Brigade, which became the only disciplined unit in the entire Persian Army, and thus of considerable importance in maintaining the shah's authority.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|pages=160–162|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref>

[[File:Neft.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|Cossack patrol near [[Baku]] oil fields, 1905]]

By the end of the 19th century, Cossack communities enjoyed a privileged tax-free status in the [[Russian Empire]], although they had a 20-year military service commitment (reduced to 18 years from 1909). They were on active duty for five years, but could fulfill their remaining obligation with the reserves. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Cossacks numbered 4.5 million.<!-- Is this total population, or warriors? --> They were organized as independent regional hosts, each comprising a number of regiments. The need for the government to call up Cossack men to serve either with the Army or a mounted police force caused many social and economic problems, which compounded by the growing impoverishment the communities of the Hosts.<ref name=":1"/>

Treated as a separate and elite community by the Tsar, the Cossacks rewarded his government with strong loyalty. His administration frequently used Cossack units to suppress domestic disorder, especially during the [[Revolution of 1905|Russian Revolution of 1905]]. The Imperial Government depended heavily on the perceived reliability of the Cossacks. By the early 20th century, their decentralized communities and semi-feudal military service were coming to be seen as obsolete. The Russian Army Command, which had worked to professionalize its forces, considered the Cossacks less well disciplined, trained, and mounted than the [[hussar]]s, [[dragoon]]s, and [[lancer]]s of the regular [[cavalry]].<ref>{{cite book | title=The Cossacks |author=Seaton, Albert |publisher=Random House |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-85045-116-0}}</ref> The Cossack qualities of initiative and rough-riding skills were not always fully appreciated. As a result, Cossack units were frequently broken up into small detachments for use as scouts, messengers, or picturesque escorts.

====Cossacks between 1900 and 1917====
[[File:Stanisław Masłowski, Świt 1906 (Wiosna 1905).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|''Wiosna roku 1905'' ([[Revolution of 1905|Spring of 1905]]) by [[Stanisław Masłowski]], 1906 – Orenburg Cossacks patrol at [[Ujazdów Avenue|Ujazdowskie Avenue]] in [[Warsaw]] ([[National Museum in Warsaw]])]]

In 1905, the Cossack hosts experienced deep mobilization of their menfolk amid the fighting of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] in Manchuria and the outbreak of [[1905 Russian Revolution|revolution]] within the Russian Empire. Like other peoples of the empire, some Cossack [[stanitsa]]s voiced grievances against the regime by defying mobilization orders, or by making relatively liberal political demands. But these infractions were eclipsed by the prominent role of Cossack detachments in stampeding demonstrators and restoring order in the countryside. Subsequently, the wider population viewed the Cossacks as instruments of reaction. [[Tsar Nicholas II]] reinforced this concept by issuing new charters, medals, and bonuses to Cossack units in recognition for their performance during the Revolution of 1905.<ref name=ORourke_2007>{{cite book |first1=Shane |last1=O'Rourke |title=The Cossacks |location=Manchester |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2007 |pages=194–201}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=McNeal |title=Tsar and Cossack, 1855-1914 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |year=1987}}</ref>{{rp|81–82}}

In September 1906, reflecting the success of the Cossacks in putting down the Revolution of 1905, ''Polkovnik'' (Colonel) [[Vladimir Liakhov]] was sent to Iran to command the train and lead the Persian Cossack Brigade.<ref name=":5">{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|page=164|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref> Liakhov had led a Cossack squad in putting down the revolution in the Caucasus, and following the outbreak of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran he was sent to Tehran to recognize the Cossack Brigade as a force for power to the shah.<ref name=":5"/> The Persian Cossack Brigade had not been paid for months and proved to be dubious loyalty to the House of Qajar during the Constructional revolution while its Russian officers were uncertain what to do with Russia itself in revolution.<ref name=":5"/> Liakhov, a vigorous, able, and reactionary officer firmly committed to upholding absolute monarchies whatever in Russia or Iran, transformed the Persian Cossack Brigade into a mounted para-military police force rather than as a combat force.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|pages=164–167|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref> Liakhov was close to the new Shah, Mohammed Ali, who ascended to the Peacock Throne in January 1907, and it was due to the shah's patronage that Liakhov transformed the Persian Cossack Brigade into the main bulwark of the Iranian state.<ref name=":5"/> In June 1908, Liakhov led the Cossack Brigade in bombarding the ''Majlis'' (Parliament) while being appointed military governor of Tehran as the shah attempted to do away with the constitution his father had been forced to grant in 1906<ref>{{cite book |last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|chapter=Deserters, convicts, Cossacks, and revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian service, 1800-1920|pages=167–168|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions Since 1800|editor=Stephanie Cronin|publisher=Routeldge|location=London|date=2013|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6}}</ref> Reza Khan, who became the first Iranian to command the Cossack Brigade led the coup d'état in 1921 and in 1925 deposed the Qajars to found a new dynasty.

After the outbreak of [[World War I]] in August 1914, Cossacks became a key component in the cavalry of the Imperial Russian Army. The mounted Cossacks made up 38&nbsp;regiments, plus some infantry battalions and 52&nbsp;horse artillery batteries. Initially, each Russian cavalry division included a regiment of Cossacks in addition to regular units of [[hussar]]s, [[lancer]]s, and [[dragoon]]s. By 1916, the Cossacks' wartime strength had expanded to 160 regiments, plus 176 independent [[sotnia]]s (squadrons) employed as detached units.<ref>{{cite book |title=Russian Hussar |author=Littauer, Vladimir |publisher=The Long Riders' Guild Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59048-256-8 |pages=296–297}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=DiMarco, Louis |title=War Horse |location=Yardley |publisher=Westholme Publishing |year=2008 |page=310}}</ref>

The importance of cavalry in the frontlines faded after the opening phase of the war settled into a stalemate. During the remainder of the war, Cossack units were dismounted to fight in trenches, held in reserve to exploit a rare breakthrough, or assigned various duties in the rear. Those duties included rounding up deserters, providing escorts to war prisoners, and razing villages and farms in accordance with Russia's [[scorched earth]] policy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seaton |first1=Albert |title=The Horsemen of the Steppes |date=1985 |publisher=The Bodley Head |location=London |pages=205–216}}</ref>