Editing Cossacks (section)

=== 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>