Biographies Characteristics Analysis

What kind of Cossacks are there? Modern Cossacks: types, classification, divisions, charter, awards, history and historical facts

Bubnov - Taras Bulba

In 1907, an argot dictionary was published in France, in which the following aphorism was given in the article “Russian”: “Scratch a Russian and you will find a Cossack, scratch a Cossack and you will find a bear.”

This aphorism is attributed to Napoleon himself, who actually described the Russians as barbarians and identified them as such with the Cossacks - as did many French, who could call hussars, Kalmyks or Bashkirs Cossacks. In some cases, this word could even become synonymous with light cavalry.

How little we know about the Cossacks.

In a narrow sense, the image of a Cossack is inextricably linked with the image of brave and freedom-loving men with a stern warlike look, an earring in the left ear, a long mustache and a hat on their head. And this is more than reliable, but not enough. Meanwhile, the history of the Cossacks is very unique and interesting. And in this article we will try to very superficially, but at the same time meaningfully understand and understand - who the Cossacks are, what is their peculiarity and uniqueness, and how much the history of Russia is inextricably linked with the original culture and history of the Cossacks.

Today it is very difficult to understand the theories of the origin of not only the Cossacks, but also the word-term “Cossack” itself. Researchers, scientists and experts today cannot give a definite and accurate answer - who the Cossacks are and from whom they came.

But at the same time, there are many more or less probable theories and versions of the origin of the Cossacks. Today there are more than 18 of them - and these are only the official versions. Each of them has many convincing scientific arguments, advantages and disadvantages.

However, all theories are divided into two main groups:

  • theory of the fugitive (migration) emergence of the Cossacks.
  • autochthonous, that is, local, indigenous origin of the Cossacks.

According to autochthonous theories, the ancestors of the Cossacks lived in Kabarda and were descendants of the Caucasian Circassians (Cherkasy, Yasy). This theory of the origin of the Cossacks is also called Eastern. It was this that one of the most famous Russian orientalist historians and ethnologists, V. Shambarov and L. Gumilyov, took as the basis of their evidence base.

In their opinion, the Cossacks arose through the merger of the Kasogs and Brodniks after the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The Kasogs (Kasakhs, Kasaks, Ka-azats) are an ancient Circassian people who inhabited the territory of the lower Kuban in the 10th-14th centuries, and the Brodniks are a mixed people of Turkic-Slavic origin who absorbed the remnants of the Bulgars, Slavs, and also, possibly, the steppe Oguzes.

Dean of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University S. P. Karpov, working in the archives of Venice and Genoa, he discovered references there to Cossacks with Turkic and Armenian names who protected the medieval city of Tana* and other Italian colonies in the Northern Black Sea region from raids.

*Tana- a medieval city on the left bank of the Don, in the area of ​​the modern city of Azov (Rostov region of the Russian Federation). Existed in the XII-XV centuries under the rule of the Italian trading republic of Genoa.

Some of the first mentions of the Cossacks, according to the eastern version, are reflected in the legend, the author of which was Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Stefan Yavorsky (1692):

“In 1380, the Cossacks presented Dmitry Donskoy with an icon of the Don Mother of God and took part in the battle against Mamai on the Kulikovo Field.”

According to migration theories, the ancestors of the Cossacks are freedom-loving Russian people who fled beyond the borders of the Russian and Polish-Lithuanian states either due to natural historical reasons or under the influence of social antagonisms.

The German historian G. Steckl points out that“The first Russian Cossacks were baptized and Russified Tatar Cossacks, since until the end of the 15th century. all the Cossacks who lived both in the steppes and in the Slavic lands could only be Tatars. The influence of the Tatar Cossacks on the borderlands of Russian lands was of decisive importance for the formation of the Russian Cossacks. The influence of the Tatars was manifested in everything - in the way of life, military operations, methods of struggle for existence in the conditions of the steppe. It even extended to the spiritual life and appearance of the Russian Cossacks.”

And the historian Karamzin advocated a mixed version of the origin of the Cossacks:

“The Cossacks were not only in Ukraine, where their name became known in history around 1517; but it is likely that in Russia it is older than Batu’s invasion and belonged to the Torks and Berendeys, who lived on the banks of the Dnieper, below Kyiv. There we find the first dwelling of the Little Russian Cossacks. Torki and Berendey were called Cherkasy: Cossacks - also... some of them, not wanting to submit to either the Moguls or Lithuania, lived as free people on the islands of the Dnieper, fenced by rocks, impenetrable reeds and swamps; lured to themselves many Russians who fled oppression; mixed with them and, under the name Komkov, formed one people, which became completely Russian, all the more easily because their ancestors, having lived in the Kyiv region since the tenth century, were already almost Russian themselves. Multiplying more and more in numbers, nourishing the spirit of independence and brotherhood, the Cossacks formed a military Christian Republic in the southern countries of the Dnieper, began to build villages and fortresses in these places devastated by the Tatars; undertook to be defenders of the Lithuanian possessions on the part of the Crimeans and Turks and gained the special patronage of Sigismund I, who gave them many civil liberties along with the lands above the Dnieper rapids, where the city of Cherkassy was named after them..."

I would not like to go into details, listing all the official and unofficial versions of the origin of the Cossacks. Firstly, it’s long and not always interesting. Secondly, most theories are only versions, hypotheses. There is no clear answer about the origin and origin of the Cossacks as a distinctive ethnic group. It is important to understand something else - the process of formation of the Cossacks was long and complex, and it is obvious that at its core representatives of different ethnic groups were mixed. And it’s hard to disagree with Karamzin.

Some orientalist historians believe that the ancestors of the Cossacks were Tatars, and that supposedly the first detachments of Cossacks fought on the side against Rus' in the Battle of Kulikovo. Others, on the contrary, argue that the Cossacks were already on the side of Rus' at that time. Some refer to legends and myths about bands of Cossacks - robbers, whose main trade was robbery, robbery, theft...

For example, the satirist Zadornov, explaining the origin of the well-known children’s yard game “Cossacks-robbers,” refers to “unbridled by the free character of the Cossack class, which was “the most violent, uneducable Russian class.”

It’s hard to believe this, because in the memory of my childhood, each of the boys preferred to play for the Cossacks. And the name of the game is taken from life, since its rules imitate reality: in Tsarist Russia, the Cossacks were people's self-defense, protecting civilians from raids by robbers.

It is possible that the original basis of the early Cossack groups contained various ethnic elements. But for contemporaries, the Cossacks evoke something native, Russian. I remember the famous speech of Taras Bulba:

The first Cossack communities

It is known that the first Cossack communities began to form back in the 15th century (although some sources refer to an earlier time). These were communities of free Don, Dnieper, Volga and Greben Cossacks.

A little later, in the 1st half of the 16th century, the Zaporozhye Sich was formed. In the 2nd half of the same century - communities of free Terek and Yaik, and at the end of the century - Siberian Cossacks.

In the early stages of the existence of the Cossacks, the main types of their economic activity were trades (hunting, fishing, beekeeping), later cattle breeding, and from the 2nd half. 17th century - agriculture. War booty played a major role, and later government salaries. Through military and economic colonization, the Cossacks quickly mastered the vast expanses of the Wild Field, then the outskirts of Russia and Ukraine.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. Cossacks led by Ermak Timofeevich, V.D. Poyarkov, V.V. Atlasov, S.I. Dezhnev, E.P. Khabarov and other explorers participated in the successful development of Siberia and the Far East. Perhaps these are the most famous first reliable mentions of the Cossacks, beyond doubt.


V. I. Surikov “Conquest of Siberia by Ermak”
  • M. Cossack ardar lower-max. round Cossack haircut, with a top, a forelock, a round cut, not in a bracket. The uncut crown, contrary to custom, in the lower part. lips along the Volga
  • Cossack haircut - round, stubby, not in a bracket

STANITSKA

  • a Cossack detachment located next to the abatis line to protect it in the Russian state of the 16th-17th centuries; later - a large Cossack village
  • large Cossack settlement or association of several. small villages, the traditional name for large villages on the territory of the Cossack troops
  • large Cossack village
  • a large village in the Cossack regions
  • Cossack security detachment
  • large Cossack village
  • in the 16th-17th centuries. Cossack detachment to protect the section of the abatis line
  • Cossack village
  • Cossack village

Banner

  • A unit in the knightly army of medieval Poland and Lithuania, in the 16th-18th centuries. unit in the Polish-Lithuanian army corresponding to a company

BUNCHUK

  • A shaft with a ball or a point at the upper end, with a ponytail and two silver tassels, which in ancient times served as a sign of power (Cossack chieftain, Ukrainian or Polish hetman, Turkish pasha)
  • Cossack atamans, hetman: a short decorated shaft with a tied horse tail, tassels as a symbol of power
  • Cossack ataman's shaft
  • sign of power in the XV-XVIII centuries. at the tour Pashay, Polish and Ukrainian Hetmans and Atamans Rus. Cossack army

CHEPRAK

  • In old Cossack saddles there is a cover made of leather or strong material, stretched over a wooden archak and hanging below it on the sides of the horse.

Yesterday, Alexander Parkhomenko, a member of the organizing committee of the Cossack Party of Russia, which was formed in November last year, was appointed head of the youth policy committee. It seems that strange people who indignantly come to contemporary art exhibitions with protective slogans will not be so easily turned away. In the new issue of the instruction section“How to” “Sobaka.ru” tells how today’s Cossacks relate to the Don and Kuban, on what day it is recommended to take the oath, how to win a grant of 3.9 million for the creation of a multimedia artistic and journalistic project “Russian Cossacks in periods of social transformation "and how to be in trend and organize a Cossack rock band.

The Cossacks in Russia are experiencing a renaissance. This began with the concept of the development of the Cossacks, adopted in 2008. And three years later, detachments of Cossacks began to appear en masse in St. Petersburg and Moscow, claiming that they were maintaining order in the city. In order to somehow control the emerging subculture, the state created the “registered Cossacks” - essentially the registration and accounting of Cossacks in society, and also endowed them with the powers and responsibilities of civil servants. According to experts, there are now about 700 thousand registered Cossacks in the country. Another 600 are classified as “public”. They bear the same titles, use pre-revolutionary paraphernalia, but at the same time they have no rights to interfere in the public life of the city.

How to organize a Cossack detachment?

1. Register

A Cossack society that intends to enter the state register of Cossack societies in the Russian Federation must register in the form of a non-profit organization. To do this, according to Federal Law No. 7 “on state non-profit organizations”, you will need an application from the founder (and separate information about him), a charter (with the name of the organization) in three copies, minutes of the meeting at which you decided to voluntarily create a detachment, a document confirming payment of the state duty ( 2000 rubles) and 50 people. You can, of course, do less, but then you won’t be included in the official register of Cossack societies.

Dmitry Yurchenko, Chief of Staff of St. Petersburg OKO "Cossack Guard"

There is a register in which the Cossack society is entered by the Ministry of Justice as a non-profit organization (NPO), in accordance with federal law (FZ154 and FZ101), then all active members of the society sign an application for public service and begin it. From such associations the register of public Cossack organizations of the Russian Federation is formed. Now there are more than eighty Cossack structures in it. There are different types of Cossack associations: the Oded Cossack society, stanitsa, farm, community, fraternity, detachments, some of them are organized according to other principles. That is, de facto you may be a Cossack detachment, but de jure you may not be one. Although, one way or another, the activities of the Cossacks presuppose the existence of a legal entity. Most often, Cossack patrols, or detachments, as they are called, are just an association of citizens who, in one form or another, are part of some large Cossack society."

2. Oath


fragment of the Don Icon of the Mother of God

The oath is obligatory for all active members of the Cossack society. It takes place in any Orthodox church in the presence of the ataman, elders and all newcomers. Before the oath, the priest performs a short prayer service. Each society, depending on its traditions and geographical location, has its own text of the oath. But it could roughly sound like this:

“I, (full name), before the Honest Cross and the Holy Gospel, swear: to faithfully and truly serve the Fatherland, the Orthodox Church, the honest Cossacks, to sacredly preserve the good Cossack traditions and customs. To protect them in times of battle, not sparing your belly. Not out of fear, but according to conscience, to fulfill the duties assigned to me, to obey the legitimate Authority, the Ataman, the Hierarchy, and not to use the rights and authority given to me for evil.”

It is highly recommended to take the oath on the day of the Orthodox Cossacks (Don Icon of the Mother of God) - May 12

3. Respect traditions

Ceremonies of nailing down the banners of military Cossack societies in the Donskoy Stavropegial Monastery

Not everyone can become a Cossack. The moral character of the future Cossack is determined by Christian commandments. Religiosity is fundamental. Another tradition of the Cossacks is support for Russian statehood (i.e., no “Russia without Putin”), selflessness, service to the homeland - all this is joyfully welcomed. If you are a Cossack who has arrived in a new community, you will be given a probationary period where these and other qualities can be tested (the period usually varies from six months to two years).

4. Service

Stage of the military sports game “Cossack Flash”

The main mission of the Cossacks today is not only the dispersal of anti-Orthodox exhibitions and demands to ban Nabokov's performances. A 2011 presidential decree defines service for the benefit of the Fatherland as: “protecting public order and natural resources, maintaining the patriotic education of youth and preserving cultural heritage monuments.”

Dmitry Yurchenko, Chief of Staff of St. Petersburg OKO “Cossack Guard”:

Now in St. Petersburg there is a consolidated association of “Cossack police,” for example, and a law enforcement department together with the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There is a mounted Cossack hundred. Cossacks of St. Petersburg organized educational courses for police officers, Cossack ensembles and groups, reconstruction of great battles and much more."

Boris Almazov, writer, honorary ataman of the North-Western District of the Cossack Union:

If the Cossacks are officially recognized as a subethnic group, this will solve our main problem. The legislative framework exists. There is a law on national-cultural autonomy (which is now being violated everywhere), and there is a law on local self-government. If you want to introduce ataman rule in your village - gather a meeting, introduce it, who is stopping you? Forward!
This is if the Cossacks are a people. And if the Cossacks are something incomprehensible, then clown patrols and the Russian Balalaika ensemble remain. If they definitely decided to have national patrols, then why do they have to have Cossack ones? Why not Ingush or Mordovian? Already, there are almost no Cossacks by origin in the register. Any business (and law enforcement) should be handled by professionals.”


Two more ways to follow the Cossack trend:

1. Put on a play

Workshop Theater Troupe

In the wake of interest in the Cossacks, the St. Petersburg theater “Masterskaya” last year won a grant of 3.9 million to create a multimedia artistic and journalistic project “Russian Cossacks in periods of social transformation.” The director of the theater, Mikhail Barsegov, fit into the grant program almost by accident - he was looking for money to stage the play “Quiet Don” based on the novel by Sholokhov.

Nikita Dengin, press secretary of the Workshop Theater:

Of course, Cossacks have now become a trend, in this, as it seems to me, there is a certain desire of society for stability, for “soilism”, for the basics: everything is changing quickly now, but I want some concepts, such as family, fatherland, duty to remain unchanged . But one cannot blame the “Workshop” for a primitive PR stunt and a banal pursuit of the audience for one simple reason: the play “Quiet Don” was conceived by Grigory Kozlov with a different course almost 10 years ago - the class of 2005 was engaged in a novel, but for a number of reasons the play never went on stage. As part of the project “Russian Cossacks in periods of social transformation,” on May 18-19, the premiere of “The Quiet Flows the Flow” will take place with third-year students of Grigory Kozlov’s workshop at the Theater Academy (SPbGATI), for them this will be their first appearance on stage. It will be a psychological theater, a theater about people, about the inextricable connection of each individual fate with the events of great history.”

2. Cossack rock band

Group "AS Ventura"

Cossack songs are not only “Lyubo, brothers, lyubo.” While in Krasnodar the radio “Cossack fm” is already in full swing - the only radio station of its kind with Kuban folklore and the slogan “Real free radio”, in St. Petersburg the formation of the Cossack rock movement is taking place in cramped clubs and rock cafes. The group As Ventura, for example, positions itself as a mixture of alternative, folk and indie, and releases albums using crowdfunding.

Ivan Andrianov, group leader:

The group was formed in Kamchatka when I was 16 years old. We were just a regular punk band back then. A little later I found out that I come from Cossacks (at that time there was no fashion for Cossacks, it was 1998). I found out by chance, and this topic really interested me. I became interested in the history of the Cossacks and my family, and realized that it was mine. As a result, he joined the Cossack organization, and songs about the Cossacks appeared in his work, which gradually became the basis of the repertoire. Moreover, these were both rock songs and Cossack songs, it seems to me.
We arrived in St. Petersburg in 2007. Now I am a Cossack of the Admiralteyskaya-Nevskaya village. Not all Cossacks accept our creativity, because for the most part they are conservative people. Give many people a folk song, and that’s it. And fate, they say, comes from the evil one. However, there are enough people who understand that tradition must live in the present, in modern forms. The task of “modernizing” Cossack culture without spoiling, simplifying or robbing it is a complex one, and probably only a great artist can do.”

photo: www.kazakirossii.ru, www.kazakispbilo.ru

The important thing in PR theory is to find a sign of identity. This is also incredibly important for tourism. Well, let’s say, in Sochi it’s the sea and mountains, in Volgograd it’s the Motherland, in Nizhny Novgorod it’s the “arrow”.

In Rostov it is difficult to find a location with which you will strongly associate this city. But sometimes the identity of a city lies in the uniqueness of its culture. The Don Cossacks in Rostov-on-Don became a symbol of this identity. There is even an airport named after Ataman Platov, and in the city to this day you can meet entourage riders who keep order in their hometown.

Where to look for them?

Finding Cossacks is not as easy as it seems. But not on the days of World Cup matches. Before football, equestrian detachments constantly flash on the left bank of the Don, not far from the stadium.

Here, nearby, they organize a squad separation ceremony two hours before the game. Meanwhile, we managed to talk with a representative of the Cossack detachment, Maxim. He himself works in the press service, and therefore knows many interesting details about the Cossacks and their lives.

How many Cossacks are in your community?
- The Great Don Army operates on the territory of Rostov and Volgograd. In Rostov there are 200 foot warriors and 30 horsemen, in Volgograd - 100 foot soldiers. Cossack troops also operate in the Astrakhan region and in the Republic of Kalmykia. But in Rostov our people from Rostov are patrolling.

What powers do they have?
- Observation and information. They cannot detain or use force.

If an offense occurs before their eyes, do they have the right to intervene?
- In this case, they must inform the police officers with whom they serve.

That is?
- Every Cossack detachment must have a policeman, and all powers are in his hands. The role of the vigilante is, roughly speaking, extra eyes that can notice something. We have been working with the police for a long time, about 18 years. We have already established practice, and before the World Cup we conducted joint exercises. Plus, training camps are held regularly.

What do they teach the Cossacks?
- Terrorist protection, legal framework, medical care. There are also horse training sessions.

How many horses do you have?
- About a hundred. But a horse is not a whim. There are areas where technology will not work. For example, when patrolling the coast or in operations against poachers. The car is less efficient here.

What about the whips? Can Cossacks carry weapons?
- We proceed from the fact that Cossacks cannot carry weapons. The whip is needed to control the horse. But actually it's just an attribute. I don’t remember a time when a whip was used in action.

By the way, if you still don’t understand what a whip is, it’s the very same thing as a whip in the illustration to the article. The Cossacks show it reluctantly, as if fearing condemnation for carrying weapons with them. For the same reason, some commanders pretend that the Cossacks don’t have any whips.

The conversation had to be interrupted; the Cossack detachments began to disperse. An interesting scene: it attracts the attention of many onlookers. True, first of all, not by the direction, but by the number of horses.


However, what difference does it make? It’s still very cool to be in such an atmosphere. Once here, even Russian people are imbued with the spirit and remember folklore.


Foreigners are absolutely delighted with the Cossacks. “This is fantastic,” says an Icelander named Lars, “a very unusual sight, beautiful horses, it’s interesting to watch.”

Conversation with a Cossack

Cossacks, like many Russian people, are modest people and do not like to stick out. Therefore, talking them into a small conversation is not such a simple matter. But with the help of Maxim, I managed to find a person who agreed to spend a few minutes for a conversation. His name is Yaroslav, and his horse is Bosch.

About dark-skinned Cossacks, motivation and horses

How long have you been a member of the movement?
- Since the age of 14. I'm local, from Novocherkassk. My grandmother is also from our region.

Is it possible to join the Cossacks without being a Cossack by blood?
- It would be desirable to be. At least along one line. You can get into an ordinary Cossack squad if there is a shortage of people, but non-Cossacks are reluctantly accepted into the community itself. It’s also important to be Orthodox. This is one of the foundations of the Cossack movement.

So it’s difficult to find dark-skinned Cossacks?
- No, we don’t have black people.

Do you get money for this or is it more of a tribute to tradition?
- Yes, sure. This is my job. But traditions are also important. Just like the love for animals - horses.

By the way, where do horses live? Don't you take it home?
-We have many bases in the region. In Bataysk, for example. There are also stables there. If there are long journeys, we use trucks for transportation.

About alcohol, English and football

Do you relax with your Cossack brothers outside of work?
- Certainly.

That is, horseradish, mead, everything is as it should be?
- No, this is not about me, I don’t drink at all. We go for walks in nature, on the Don. We also spend a lot of time on horses.

Now to work. Do you often have to come to the aid of foreigners?
- No, fortunately, I didn’t have to do this at all. Everyone is walking peacefully.

I heard that the Cossacks were going to monitor the “moral order.” Have you seen someone behave... differently from everyone else?
- What do you have in mind?

Well, maybe someone was making a lot of noise or the men were walking hand in hand...
- I haven’t seen anything like this (it’s clear that the Cossacks are being prepared for such issues).

Do you speak English?
- No, but it’s not necessary either. Foreigners understand sign language very well. Recently the Mexicans gave us a flag.

Do you like football?
- Yes, I love it a lot. My father was a goalkeeper, he played for the city in the USSR.

Working at the World Cup - what is it for you?
- I am very glad that I came here. I made my small contribution to this grand event.

About the working day and exploits

How does your work day generally go?
- We come to the stables outside the city in the morning, feed and wash the horses, and train with them.

Are you training?
- Yes, regularly. We won’t go deeper, it’s a long story. Then we go on patrol. In the evening we bring the horses back, wash them and put them to bed.

How long is a working day?
- Differently. From 8 to 17 is standard, and then whatever happens.

Well, one last thing. Think about a specific thing you did in the workplace that you are especially proud of.
“I’ll tell you this: caring for this horse every day is already a big deed.” This is not ciao-ciao. On January 1, you can rest, but the Cossack wakes up early in the morning and goes to clean his horse. For you this is an act, but for us it is the norm.

Moscow Cossack special forces unit named after St. Alexander Nevsky was originally created as a separate special-purpose Cossack outpost in Moscow from the Cossacks of the Kuban Cossack Association (KKA) by order of the Kuban Cossack Association in 2000. Major General Alexander Fedorovich Tkachev was appointed ataman of the outpost. The order was signed by Ataman of the KKA, Lieutenant General V.I. Kayuda.
In 2004, the Cossack special purpose outpost was reorganized into the Moscow Special Purpose Detachment named after. St. Alexander Nevsky. Major General of the Cossack Troops Alexander Fedorovich Tkachev was confirmed as the chieftain of the detachment. The main tasks that the detachment sets for itself can be traced through the decoding of the name:

1) “MOSCOW…” - indicates that the detachment is based in Moscow and was created to expand activities in the Moscow region.

2) “COSSACK…” - indicates the essence of the detachment. And on his tasks:

Work to revive the Cossacks and their traditions;

To unite the Cossacks of Moscow and the Moscow region in our ranks;

Interact with the Cossack Troops and Cossack organizations in various regions of Russia and abroad;

Conduct propaganda of the Cossack movement.

The detachment, like the Cossacks as a whole, is not a political organization and does not bind itself within narrow party and ideological boundaries. But he does not declare himself outside of politics (since in our time any organized, and sometimes private action, opinion, way of thinking is already politics). The detachment supports those political parties, public organizations, movements that correspond to traditional Cossack values ​​- the foundations of Orthodoxy and patriotism. And it counteracts those of them that are directly or covertly hostile to these principles.

Squad named after St. Alexander Nevsky does not recognize and does not support the division of the Cossacks into “white”, “red” and similar divisions. Because the general turns out to be immeasurably higher than the particular contrived differences in views.

3) “Squad…” - indicates that it is not a random and amorphous collection of Cossacks, but a structured organization. And if, for example, the term “stanitsa” can mean an association based on household, economic, production characteristics, or place of residence, then “detachment” is a military term. Cossacks have always been called warriors of Christ. A true Cossack serves all his life. The Lord calls him by his very rank as a Cossack. And only the Lord gives him resignation.

Squad named after St. Alexandra Nevsky provides Cossacks who feel such a calling with opportunities for service, organizes and directs it. Gives you the opportunity to express yourself and realize your best qualities. Any activity of the Cossacks within the framework of the detachment and its tasks is considered Cossack service.

The tasks of the detachment are also:

Creation and maintenance of the spirit of Cossack military brotherhood;

Increasing the combat readiness of the Cossacks, developing and strengthening the Cossack organization and discipline;

Maintaining and improving the military skills of older Cossacks, mastering them by young Cossacks, ensuring the traditional military continuity for the Cossacks;

Interaction with army, navy, border structures, special forces and anti-terrorism organizations.

Interaction with veteran organizations;

Military historical research, propaganda of the military glory of the Cossacks and Russia;

Military-patriotic work among youth.

4) “SPECIAL PURPOSE...” - indicates that the detachment is not a randomly recruited contingent, but a special, elite formation, “Cossack special forces.” Unlike many other Cossack organizations that accept everyone, the detachment named after. St. Alexander Nevsky is not chasing the number of Cossacks. The emphasis is on quality, which ensures cohesion, efficiency, and strength of the ranks. Admission of new Cossacks to the detachment is carried out on the recommendations of Cossacks already serving in it. Candidates are checked, probationary periods are assigned, and in each specific case, the detachment command has the right to approach it individually. Persons who have shown themselves unworthy, who have violated the principles of the Cossacks, are excluded from the detachment.

The special purpose of the detachment is implemented in two directions:

4.1. Its core consists of participants in wars and military conflicts, honored veterans of special forces, Border Troops, Soviet and Russian Armies, Navy, and Internal Troops. They form the traditions of the detachment, pass on their experience to young Cossacks, and contribute to the fulfillment of military tasks (see paragraph 3)

4.2. But in our time, purely military methods and skills are far from sufficient to defend the Fatherland and Orthodoxy. A fierce struggle is going on for minds and souls. Therefore, the detachment named after St. Alexander Nevsky unites in his ranks the intellectual elite of the Cossacks. The squad consists of: academicians, professors, doctors of science, writers, poets, journalists, artists, theater workers. Tasks of the detachment in this direction:

The struggle for the establishment of patriotic and Orthodox values ​​in national culture;

Close interaction with the Association of Cossack Journalists, publication and distribution of the newspaper “Preobrazhenie”;

Participation in Cossack cultural events, support and development of the traditions of Cossack culture;

Participation in scientific conferences and other events, scientific developments aimed at strengthening the Fatherland, exposing anti-Russian, anti-Cossack and anti-Christian falsifications;

Work to create literary, journalistic, poetic, artistic and other works that oppose attempts to destroy the Fatherland, the Cossacks, national morality and culture, mobilizing the Cossacks and the Russian people to resist.

5) “IN THE NAME OF ST. ALEXANDER NEVSKY” - the patron saint of the detachment was the defender of our Fatherland. Moreover, at one of the most difficult moments in history, in the era of discord and collapse of Rus', its enslavement and the Mongol-Tatar yoke - which is quite comparable to the present time. St. Alexander Nevsky was not only a valiant warrior and a talented commander. To save and protect Rus', he acted as a politician, diplomat, and agitator. Which also corresponds to the diverse and versatile activities of the detachment. Finally, St. Alexander Nevsky was directly related to the history of the Cossacks - on his initiative and through his efforts, the Sarsko-Podon diocese was created in 1261, caring for the Cossacks. Ensuring their unity with the Russian Orthodox Church, and through the Church - an unbreakable spiritual connection with the Russian state. And the name of St. Alexander Nevsky in the name of the detachment indicates its tasks:

The appeal of the Cossacks to the Orthodox Faith, its propaganda and approval;

Cooperation with the Orthodox Church, interaction with various Orthodox organizations and structures;

Love for the Fatherland and its defense even in the most difficult, seemingly hopeless, circumstances.

As St. said noble prince: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword! This is where the Russian land stands and will stand.” And for skeptics and the faint-hearted, who give up, it is useful to remember other words of St. Alexander Nevsky: “God is not in power, but in truth!”