Kuban Cossacks. Kuban Cossack Army: history, photo The current stage of development of the Kuban Cossacks

In 1775, the free Cossacks of the Zaporozhye Sich decided to submit Russian Empire. This is how the Kuban Cossacks appeared, which today remain faithful to the oath given at the end of the 18th century.

At the same time, by order of Empress Catherine II, all the settlements of the Zaporozhye Cossacks were destroyed, and the word “Sich” itself was forbidden to be uttered.

Some of the free Cossacks went to Turkey, where the “New Sich” was created. But not all Cossacks went to “foreign shores”; many decided to serve Russia officially, receiving salaries and land for this.

Little Russia needed people who would guard the empty Black Sea border. One of the first to advocate the creation of a new Cossack army was Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky.

The empress's favorite called the Cossacks to serve. From their number the Black Sea Cossack Army was formed. Soon, the Cossacks, led by Sidor Bely, Zakhary Chepega and Anton Golovaty, distinguished themselves in the war with Turkey: they took Izmail and Ochakov.

For their courage and devotion, the Black Sea Cossacks were given new lands in Taman. The rescript of Empress Catherine II said: “The army of the faithful Black Sea Cossacks was granted the island of Phanagoria with the lands between the Kuban and the Sea of ​​Azov.” The reward was also a military banner with the inscription “For Faith and Loyalty” and the right to trade in wine and goods.

From that time on, the Cossacks said goodbye to Ukraine forever. More than 20,000 thousand Cossacks arrived in Kuban and began colonization. Dozens of villages were built, which the Black Sea residents called kurens. The newborn capital was christened in honor of the Empress - Ekaterinodar.

On the territory of the Black Sea Cossacks there also lived the Khopersky and Line Cossacks. They, like the Cossacks, were sent here to settle empty lands and protect the border.

The Black Sea Army had its own flotilla, consisting of frigates, longboats, yachts and boats. Fame came to them in 1811, when the hundred of guards became famous for their feat near Leipzig.

The Black Sea people took part in the wars against Turkey, suppressed the Polish uprising, and had to fight a lot in the Caucasian War. A long and bloody war with the mountaineers required establishing control over the conquered territories. By the end of the war, a decision was made to divide the Caucasian Cossack line and create two troops - Terek and Kuban.

In 1860, the Kuban Cossack Army began its history, to which the Black Sea Army was added. Major General Nikolai Ivanov was appointed the first ataman. The seniority of the army has been considered since 1896. It was then that the Khopersky regiment was formed from the Don Cossacks, which later became part of the Kuban army.

A new Cossack army was formed from the Zaporozhye and Linear Cossacks, which was located on the territory of modern Krasnodar region, parts of the Stavropol Territory, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia.

Kuban Cossacks took part in all the wars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For their military services, they more than once received awards from the hands of the emperors themselves. But Cossack duties extended not only to military service, but also to road repairs, maintenance of post stations and village buildings, and much more. As a reward for all this trouble, a land allotment of 7 to 9 dessiatines was given.

But the Kuban people were not proud of wealth, silver and gold. The Cossacks were famous for their valor and courage, and their army was famous for their centuries-old traditions and culture. “I didn’t drink Kuban water - I didn’t eat Cossack porridge,” they said, reminding that the Cossacks are a way of life where honor and loyalty were above all.

By the beginning of the Civil War, the Kuban Cossack army numbered about 1.5 million people. During revolutionary times, the Kuban people sided with the White movement.

In 1920, tens of thousands of Cossacks, led by Ataman Naumenko, were forced to emigrate. But the descendants of the Cossacks live in Krasnodar region and now, trying to revive the glory of the Kuban army. Devoted to their land, people to this day sing a song dedicated to Kuban:

I remember you here,
Shouldn't I stand up for you?
Is it for your old glory?
Shouldn't I give my life?
We, as a tribute to our humble,
From illustrious banners
We send you, dear Kuban,
Bow to the damp earth.

Dekhtyareva Elena Andreevna

Cossack, Cossacks, Cossack land...

It would seem that we already know a lot about this topic; the revival of the Cossacks has opened up a wide layer of history, culture, and literature for us.

However, no, certain pages of everyday life, rituals, and traditions that significantly distinguish the Cossacks as an ethnosocial unit of great and multinational Russia remain unknown or well forgotten.

And this is precisely what my work is dedicated to: “the unknown about the known” from the life, service, everyday life, folklore of the Kuban Cossacks, their invaluable contribution to the common treasury of Mother Russia.

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Krasnodar region, Novokubansky district, MOUSSH No. 3. Novokubansk

Regional competition "My small homeland"

Educational - research work in the nomination

"Humanitarian-ecological studies"

Work completed :

Dekhtyareva Elena Andreevna

10 "B" class MOUSSH No. 3

Supervisor :

Dekhtyareva Irina Viktorovna

teacher of higher qualification categories

2007 – 2008 academic year

Introduction

Rejoice, free Russia

Show off on many rivers,

And lighten up like lightning,

On the horizon clouds.

Cherish your sons of Kuban,

Feed your daredevils,

They are folk heroes

And Cossack blood boils in them.

Cossack, Cossacks, Cossack land...

It would seem that we already know a lot about this topic; the revival of the Cossacks has opened up a wide layer of history, culture, and literature for us.

However, no, certain pages of everyday life, rituals, and traditions that significantly distinguish the Cossacks as an ethnosocial unit of great and multinational Russia remain unknown or well forgotten.

And this is precisely what my work is dedicated to: “the unknown about the known” from the life, service, everyday life, folklore of the Kuban Cossacks, their invaluable contribution to the common treasury of Mother Russia.

The word "Cossack" is not Russian. It is taken from the Kyrgyz language: the Kyrgyz have called themselves Cossacks since ancient times. It is believed that this word came to us from the Tatars, who called the Cossacks the advanced detachments that served to scout the enemy. The best riders, who have always been Kyrgyz, were recruited into these detachments, i.e. Cossacks, that’s why these detachments were called Cossacks.

The concepts of “Cossack”, “Cossacks”, “Cossacks” have long lived in the consciousness of the people of our country. Already in the heroic epic, dating back to Kievan Rus, among the most ancient images of heroes, one of the most significant and attractive is “the old Cossack and Ilya Muromets and son Ivanovich.” The first mention of the Cossacks - sentinels of the southern borders - was recorded in the chronicle of the 14th century, after the Battle of Kulikovo.

The ancient free Cossacks were imprinted in people's memory as bearers of the ideals of independence and justice, as a principled opponent of any oppression.

The Cossacks played an important role in the development of vast territories. Their troops, led by such brave leaders as Ermak, S.I. Dezhnev, V.D. Poyarkov, E.P. Khabarov, boldly penetrated into little-known areas of Siberia and the Far East. But the Cossacks especially deserved widespread gratitude because throughout their history they were faithful, skillful and courageous defenders of the Fatherland from the encroachments of foreign invaders and enslavers.

At all times, people treated the Cossacks differently. Some admired them, while others hated and scolded them. Nevertheless, the best minds of the past and present devoted pages of their lives to this class of difficult fate. literary works: N.V. Gogol, I. Varabbas, A. Znamensky.

This work provides an attempt at a comprehensive analysis of the history, culture, and rituals of the Cossacks; they are very important for the further development of this multifaceted community.

In Chapter I attention is paid to the resettlement of the Zaporozhye Cossacks to the Kuban and the formation of the Black Sea Cossack Army.

Chapter II draws attention to the distinctive features of the Kuban Cossacks: appearance, Cossack wardrobe.

In Chapter III a system for the development of horse riding and horse riding among the Kuban Cossacks was determined.

And in IV The chapter examines folk traditions, songs, and rituals of the Kuban Cossacks.

The heritage of the Kuban Cossacks is multidimensional and multifaceted, which is why it is interesting.

I. The beginning of the existence of the Black Sea Cossack army

In 1775, immediately after the pacification of the rebellion in the Yaitsky army, the existence of the Zaporozhye Sich on the Dnieper was put to an end. To the government’s demand to lay down their arms, some of the Cossacks dared to respond with disobedience and fled in boats down the Dnieper to seek criminal service from the Sultan, while the majority submitted to the sentence pronounced by the government and dispersed to the nearest provinces to be assigned to the peaceful classes.

A little later, according to a treaty concluded with Turkey in 1783, the Kuban River was declared our border from the side of Turkish possessions in the Caucasus. Whether the government had in mind the settlement of the new border with people accustomed to war, or foresaw a new war with the Turks, but only it turned to the former Zaporozhye Cossacks with a call for service according to the old Cossack order, but not in the old place. The call found a lot of sympathy among those to whom it was addressed: the scattered Sich members willingly gathered at the assembly point between the Dniester and the Bug, and by 1787 they formed an army of twelve thousand armed and equipped Cossacks for service.

Kosh of loyal Cossacks, divided into winter and summer , i.e. on the cavalry and rowing flotilla, served with equal zeal and courage as on the dry route, received the name"the faithful army of the Black Sea",was showered with royal favors, was greeted with a letter and bread and salt from the Mother Queen for his Caucasian housewarming, and finally moved to Kuban in 1792.

Winter moved by dry land, and summer by water, along the Black Sea. Arrived in bothto the new Ukraineabout thirteen thousand men were under arms.

The Zaporozhye Cossacks received a letter from the Empress for the eternal use of the Kuban land and Anton Golovaty wrote a song in honor of this event

“Oh, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-first fate”

In accordance with the dual state of the Cossack, peasant and warrior, the army has a dual institution - civil-military. In the civil and military units, the army is collectively controlled by the appointed ataman.

Cossacks serve a mandatory 22 years in garrison military service, but do not receive unconditional retirement, but are obliged to remain ready for field service even in retirement when special circumstances require it.

Regiments, battalions and batteries of the Black Sea Army constantly retain their personnel. When changing from regular services, they are not destroyed, as happens in other Cossack troops remote from the border, but, one might say, they have the character of permanent troops. Placed on such a footing, devoted soul and body to the service of the tsar, the Black Sea resident moves without hesitation from an unharvested field to a camp bivouac. The saying turned into a military commandment for him:“It’s like calling, it’s holy.”

The Cossack is equipped for service from his own property: a horse, harness, ammunition, uniforms and bladed weapons; he is supplied with one firearm at the expense of the military treasury. If a Cossack prospers in his home life, then he is a serviceable and lively fellow when he goes to work.“Good on the threshing floor, good in war.”

The Black Sea Army has inherent advantages

There you go, bachish, and negarne,

It seems to be irregular,

He's the most evil bastard.

It soon turned out that the Black Sea army, which carried out cordon service, became an indispensable unit of the Russian army.

II. Distinctive features: nationality, faith, Cossack wardrobe. The role of women in Cossack fate.

The Black Sea people, and now some Kuban Cossacks in the villages, speak the Little Russian language, which is well preserved. Under their military Caucasian shell, the features of the Little Russian people in morals, customs, and beliefs in domestic and public life were preserved just as much. The chanting on the choir, the stonefly on the street, the generosity under the window, and the whitewashed corner of the hut - everything reminds you of Hetman Ukraine, Nalivaika and Khmelnytsky in this distant Caucasian Ukraine.

With the exception of a small number of foreigners, all Kuban Cossacks and residents profess the Orthodox faith, for the integrity of which their great-grandfathers shed streams of blood in the fight against the intolerance of Polish Catholicism. The sacrificial devotion of the people to the church is limitless. There is no inheritance, even the most modest, of which some part would not go to the church. In this regard, the Black Sea people remain faithful to the holy custom of their ancestors: from all acquisitions they bring the best part to the temple of God.

Any Kuban citizen interested in the history of the region and the Fatherland is curious to look at the Cossack wardrobe.

Much was borrowed from those peoples with whom they were neighbors and with whom they fought.

Initially, the Cossack's clothing was poor. The words Cossack and poverty were synonymous. In ancient songs you can find the following:

Feed the Cossacks on the graves

Patch your pants.

Kozak - the soul is truthful -

No shirts.

Over time, Cossack attire changed beyond recognition. According to experts in the history of the Cossacks (there were 12 Cossacks in Russia in total), the clothes of the Zaporozhye and then Kuban Cossacks were the best of all.

A high, pointed hat was put on the head - one and a half quarters high, with a smushko band a quarter of the width, with a bottom made of red or green cloth, covered with cotton wool, with a silver cap at the very top. The band of a hat often served the Cossack instead of a pocket - there he put tobacco, a flint, a cradle or a horn of tobacco.

As soon as he put on his hat, he was already a Cossack.

Knee-length caftan, colored, with grasses and streaks, with buttons, on silk cords, with two gathers at the back, with two hooks for pistols on the sides, with small velvet cuffs at the ends of the sleeves.

The belts were made from Turkish or Persian silk. The ends of the belt were gilded or silvered, and silk strings were tied to the edges.

He put on a hat, caftan, belted himself, hung a dagger, a saber - then he puts on a zhupan or a Circassian coat. This is already a spacious garment, long with wide sleeves. The zhupan should be a different color than the caftan.

A burka was worn over the Circassian coat - down to the toes.

And here is how the Cossacks were described by Kulish in 1856:

“It used to be that every year Cossacks came to the town of Smela for the fair. Dressed up so that, God, your will! Gold and silver!

The hat is velvet, red, with corners, and the band is three fingers wide, gray or black.

From the inside he has a jacket made of the most expensive red cloth, it burns like fire, it simply blinds his eyes. And on top is a Circassian coat with wings, or blue. The trousers were blue cloth, wide, and hung almost over the front of the boots. The boots are red, with gold or silver on the palm. And the saber at its side is all in gold - it’s burning.

The Cossack walks and does not touch the ground, his gait is light!

And when they get on horses and ride through the fair, it’s like sparks sparkle. And what courage! It used to be that a Cossack was walking and you looked - well, by God, he wasn’t touching the ground. Just sham, sham, sham - off and on!

It is a well-known fact that the ancestors of the Kuban Cossacks, the Cossacks, usually did not have a family, and women were not allowed into the Sich. However, it is known that during the resettlement to the granted Kuban lands, the Cossacks were family people. Thus, it is necessary to talk about the role of the Cossack woman in the fate of the Kuban Cossack. Traditionally, the Kuban Cossacks had a mandatory participation of women in customs and rituals associated with military service(seeing off to work and returning from it, and more).

Many traditions were borrowed by the Kuban Cossacks from the population of the areas from which they were resettled, but by the middle of the 19th century local characteristics had also formed.

The traditional duty of women was to prepare their husband's equipment for service. They monitored the serviceability and cleanliness of clothes and linen, and the freshness of dry rations. If something was wrong during the formation check, then the wife was considered to be to blame. Military equipment was very cherished because it was expensive. The horse was considered the main value; it was protected and carefully looked after. Having met her husband from the service, the Cossack woman had to first of all “unbridle the horse, water it, feed it, put it in a stall” and only after that go about her business.

If the Cossack was married, then he would see him off to his service main role the wife played; if single - mother.

The woman always led the horse out of the gate. Why? If the horse stumbles, the Cossack will not return... The smaller brothers handed over weapons, it was a whole ritual. By the way the farewell went, the women tried to guess whether the Cossack would return home or die. One of the songs says:

A black cap fell off - you're screwed, son.

The golden dagger came off - your wife will be a widow.

Small arrows rained down -

Your children will be orphans.

It was considered a bad omen if a horse left the yard with his head down; the neighing of a horse was a harbinger of the death of its owner in military service.

In some Kuban linear villages, a Cossack, already sitting on a horse, tied a black shawl for his wife - “sad man”. She had to wear this headdress on holidays throughout the entire period of her husband's service. If a Cossack died, then the wife lost the right to wear a sad dress.

Thus, the Cossack women of Kuban traditionally played a significant role in the military ritual sphere, which is explained by the specifics of the life and way of life of the Cossacks.

III. The art of horsemanship and daring

Due to the historical conditions of life, the Kuban Cossacks were natural cavalrymen. Therefore, it is no coincidence that various physical exercises and competitions related to horse riding and horse riding have become widespread in Kuban.

Parents' attention to teaching their children the art of horse control manifested itself in the early stages of their lives.

4 days after birth, “... the father fastened a saber on the boy, put him on a horse... returning him to his mother, he said: “Here is a Cossack for you.” Subsequently, by the beginning of the 20th century, this custom was somewhat simplified: a Cossack girl at an early age was ceremonially mounted on a horse.

After initiation, training began. When his son was three years old, his father put him on a horse. During the race in a circle, the pace of which was regulated by the father, the child mastered horse riding techniques.

In children's learning of horse riding and horse riding skills, the principle of gradualism and consistency, the transition from simple elements to more complex ones, was implemented.

The preparation began with individual training: “Standing against the left side of the horse, one boy... from a running start tries to make a jump into the saddle. After struggling a lot, the boy climbed onto the horse’s back.”

The image of a Cossack has always been associated with a horseman, which is reflected in numerous proverbs and sayings common in the Kuban: “A Cossack without a saddle is like a Circassian without a dagger”, “Do not drive a horse with a whip, but drive with oats”, “Don’t let the horse grow thin - on the road” won't."

There were many sayings that reflected the Cossack’s attitude towards the horse: “Everything can be given to a comrade, except a war horse,” “Teach a white swan to swim, and a Cossack son to sit on a horse.”

Analyzing horse riding as a cultural phenomenon, including the culture of motor activity, it is advisable to consider the basic concepts that characterize it and their significance in modern science.

According to the definition given by V. Dahl, the term “horse riding” means: “prancing, riding, practicing horse riding.”

The fundamental physical, moral and volitional qualities necessary for a Cossack to improve in this art include courage, dexterity, and self-confidence. In addition, constant practice in horse dressage is important.

There are individual and group horse riding.

Individual:

1. Getting land

2. Jumping off a horse

3. Riding while standing

4. Jumping upside down

5. Jumping backwards

6. Placing the horse (forcing the horse to lie down on the ground)

Group: (on one horse)

1. Swing (two riders face each other and sideways to the direction of travel, holding the saddle with their hands; legs intertwined).
2. Standing from behind on a suitcase (one rider is in the saddle, the other is standing behind, on the horse’s croup, holding onto the shoulders of the person sitting).
3. Transporting an infantryman (a rider lifts a standing or lying person onto a horse).
4. Pyramid, etc.

Demonstration performances and horse riding competitions were always held solemnly, with the gathering of a large number of residents of the villages, in the presence of guests from neighboring villages.

Famous Kuban historian and public figure P.P. Orlov, addressing the Cossack youth, called: “Let our healthy military life flourish! Don't forget your horse comrade. Ride it to war, to a game, to maneuvers, and then... with a dashing horse show, rush home past the gasping, colorful crowd of village beauties admiring you.”

Thanks to the aesthetic beauty and sporting entertainment, horse riding of the Kuban Cossacks has become widely known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

IV. Ethnocultural traditions of the Kuban Cossacks (songs, proverbs and sayings, holidays and rituals)

1. We read from Gogol: “Show me a people who would not have songs, holidays, rituals, traditions, or oral creativity.

People are born and die to the songs, they are seen off on a long journey and a glorious campaign. I don't talk about the importance of folk songs. This is a people’s history, living, bright, full of colors and truth, revealing the entire life of the people.”

For centuries, beautiful folk songs have been flying over the region, over the Kuban farms and villages. They, like the immortal souls of our glorious ancestors, live among us, reminding us that eternity is people's memory. Folk songs are the river of time. The river is full-flowing, powerful in its spirituality, feeding our souls, our good memory. And the person who forgets about the song, his soul withers, his heart hardens.

In Russia it is difficult to find a more song-filled region than Kuban. Why? Because here there was a synthesis of peoples and cultures of various religions, languages ​​and dialects.

In general, every nation seems to have its own songs as the most beautiful and understandable.

What I like most of all is the song culture of the Kuban Cossacks: sometimes lyrical, sometimes marching, sometimes for a wedding, sometimes as a farewell song. As an example, I would like to cite songs both known to a wide range of listeners and little-known ones.

There is a well-known statement by Suvorov about music and military bands: “Music is necessary and useful, and it must be the loudest. She cheers the warrior’s heart, straightens his step; We dance along it during the battle itself. The old man with great cheerfulness rushes to his death, the milk sucker, wiping his mother's milk from his mouth, runs after him. Music doubles and triples armies."

You involuntarily agree with these words of the commander when you listen to the Cossack version of the famous soldier’s marching song of Suvorov’s times.

Kozachushki, Bravo guys!

Where's your mother?

Eh, gay, yes! Our mats are broken chambers,

That's where our mats are!

Kozachushki, bravo guys,

Where are your sisters?

Eh, gay, yes! Our sisters are shabelki and vostras,

Here are our sisters!

Kozachushki, bravo guys,

Where are your children?

Eh, gay, yes! Our children are behind the belt of the whip

Here are our children!

Kozachushki, bravo guys,

Where are your wives?

Eh, gay, yes! Our wives have loaded guns,

Here are our wives!

This song shows us the life of a military Cossack, whose life is in military campaigns and battles, which is what the Cossacks were busy with.

A completely different song, lyrical, little known, which was sung when they decorated the branch.

Cuckoo, howls, my darling

1. Cuckoo, howl, my darling, howl,

Are you walking quietly?

2. You’re walking quietly, oh,

Niviselaya, zazhrenaya?

3. Niviselaya, zazhrenaya, howls,

Are you separated from your dear friend?

4. Chi is separated from her dear friend,

Let's go to the green garden.

5. I’ll take you to the green garden,

Sarva a flower, and I’ll tie a wine.

6. Sarva a flower, let me tie a wine

Give your friend a tick.

7. Give your friend a tick, voi

Nasi, my friend, don’t throw it away.

8. Don’t throw us off, my friend,

Oh dear, don’t throw it away.

Sad and cheerful, broad and free, the song has always been a companion to the Russian people. And it is not necessary that everyone can sing it well. From time immemorial, Russian people knew how and loved to listen to their native songs. For him, they are like flowers in an unmown meadow, like stars in the vast dome of a warm summer sky. They are the pain and joy of his soul. They are the very soul of the Russian person.

1. Proverbs and sayings related to small folklore genres are widespread in the Kuban territory. People whose speech was filled with proverbs were always respected by the population and were considered interesting interlocutors.

Self-awareness, i.e. awareness of one’s commonality (“kinship”) and one’s difference from others is the most important sign indicating the emergence of a new ethnic community (Kuban Cossacks).

1. On the territory of the Kuban, along with all-Russian proverbs, there were also their variants, which arose as a result of replacing the social (status) definitions of an individual with the ethnonym “Cossack”:

1. Grim ne gryane, Cossack ne perehrestetsya - Thunder will not strike - man will not cross himself.
2. Cossack we are fighting, but the woman is grieving– Warrior fights, and the wife grieves.
3. Cossack on horseback, and the diva is in a blanket - the Bride will be born, groom sits on a horse.

2. A significant place in the proverbial tradition of Kuban is occupied by sayings containing the ethnonym “Cossack” in their texts. The main part of these proverbs, one way or another, is connected with the militarized life of the Cossacks:

1. A Cossack without a host, like a maiden without a namist
2. Biz horse Cossack all around damp
3. The Cossack died and lie down, and bother anyone

3. Proverbs also reflected such categories of the value system as “will”, “courage”, “courage”, “patience”.

1. Step and will - the Cossack's share
2. Cola Cossack in poly, then wine and freedom
3. Kozak is not afraid of clouds or thunder
4. Terps, Cossack, grief - will be tormented
5. Terpy, Cossack, ataman will be

Thus, the following can be noted:

1. Historical proverbs not only testify to historical events, but also, importantly, reflect the people's assessment of these events
2. The proverbs clearly reflect the ethnic self-awareness of the Cossacks as an independent ethnic unit.

The traditional culture of the overwhelming majority of ethnic groups is not homogeneous throughout the entire space occupied by the people. Living in different natural and climatic conditions, a variety of economic activities, migrations and contacts with other peoples and cultures contributes to the formation of cultural dialects and regional characteristics, which are manifested to varying degrees in calendar holidays and rituals. As a result of the action of these causes and processes, regional characteristics are formed in the culture of the ethnic group.

Local traditions include the culture of the Kuban Cossacks. In this work, due place will be given to one of the calendar Christian holidays, with the ritual essence of the Kuban Cossacks.

MASLENITSA

The holiday was popular both in the villages and in the cities and lasted a week, which was popularly called “masnytsi”.

The obligatory dishes for Maslenitsa were dumplings with cottage cheese, pancakes and scrambled eggs. Dinner was especially plentiful on the last day of Maslenitsa, on the eve of Lent. However, they prepared so much food that they did not eat it for a week. The leftover food was dealt with in different ways: buried, given to chickens, pigs.

The playful and entertaining side of Maslenitsa is varied and includes elements that had ritual and magical significance in the past: dressing up, sledding down the mountain, etc.

Horse racing, horse riding, shooting at a target, cutting stuffed animals and fist fights were just as widespread.

The main point of this holiday was mutual guest visits, primarily to relatives on the wife’s side, confirmation of friendly ties, because this week “you can’t quarrel or envy.”

In addition to the main points, in the Kuban Maslenitsa there are many interesting and important details that existed within individual settlements.

In Art. Nikolaevskaya had a belief that pancakes must be baked on the first day in order for money to be made. There was a ban on spinning almost everywhere. In the same village, there was a belief that you could gain power over witches if you put a piece of cheese in your mouth on the last day of the holiday before going to bed, and in the morning sew it under the skin of your palm.

The Easter milestone isForgiveness Sunday.

In every house they set tables, went to visit each other, kissed, bowed to the ground and asked each other for forgiveness: “Matchmaker, forgive me for Christ’s sake!” - “God will forgive you!” or “God forgives you and I forgive you!”

The next day, Lent began.

Conclusion

The surge in social activity and public interest in the search for one’s historical roots, ancestral memory, and family history has greatly stimulated activities to study this topic.

The active development of Cossack issues in Kuban focused attention on the study of history, culture, and customs of the ethnonym “Cossacks.”

Our opinion is that the originality and specialness of the Cossacks allows, in any case, to talk about them as something ethnically specific: be it an independent ethnic group, an ethnographic group of Russians, or a special ethnic class group of the population.

It’s remarkable that almost every component of this work emphasizes the uniqueness of the Cossacks, their deep difference from the rest of the Russian population, which was an attempt to draw attention to.

Kuban Cossacks, Kuban (Cossacks) Cossack army- part of the Russian Cossacks, inhabiting the territories of the modern Krasnodar Territory, the western part of the Stavropol Territory, as well as the Republics of Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia. The center of the Cossacks is the city of Ekaterinodar - modern Krasnodar. The Cossack army was officially formed in 1860 on the basis of the Black Sea (Cossacks) Cossack army and part of the Caucasian (Cossacks) linear Cossack army.
The Cossack army was controlled first by koshev (elected) atamans, and later by assigned atamans appointed by the tsar. The Kuban Cossack region was divided into 7 departments, headed by atamans appointed by the assigned ataman. At the head of the Cossack villages and Cossack farms were elected atamans, approved by the atamans of the departments.

Black Sea Cossacks, Black Sea Cossacks
By the end of the 18th century, after numerous political victories of the Russian Empire, the development priorities of southern Ukraine, which was part of the Russian Empire at that time, and the Cossacks of the Zaporozhye Sich living there, radically changed. With the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty (1774), Russia gained access to the Black Sea and Crimea. In the west, the weakened Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was on the verge of partition.
Thus, there was no further need to maintain the presence of Cossacks in their historical homeland to protect the southern Russian borders by the Cossacks. At the same time, the Cossack traditional way of life often led to conflicts between the Cossacks and the Russian authorities. After repeated pogroms of Serbian settlers by the Cossacks, as well as in connection with the Cossacks’ support for the Pugachev uprising, Empress Catherine II ordered the disbandment of the Cossack Zaporozhye Sich, which was carried out by order of Grigory Potemkin to pacify the Zaporozhye Cossacks by General Peter Tekeli in June 1775.
After, however, about five thousand Cossacks fled to the mouth of the Danube, creating the Transdanubian Cossack Sich under the protectorate of the Turkish Sultan, several attempts were made to integrate the remaining twelve thousand Cossacks into Russian army and the society of the future New Russia, but the Cossacks did not want to submit to the demands of harsh discipline.
In the same time Ottoman Empire, which received additional forces in the form of the Danube Cossacks, threatened a new war. In 1787, from the former Cossacks, Grigory Potemkin formed the Army of Loyal Cossacks of the Cossacks.
The Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1792 turned out to be a decisive victory for Russia; the contribution of the Cossacks was significant. As a result of the Peace of Jassy, ​​Russia territorially strengthened its influence on the Southern borders. The new priority was the basis of the land won by the Cossacks and the need for the Cossacks finally disappeared.
In 1784, Russia included Kuban, an uninhabited, fertile steppe land that was strategically important for Russia's expansion into the Caucasus, but vulnerable due to the presence of the Circassians. In 1792, Catherine II invited the Cossack military ataman Anton Golovaty to relocate his Cossack army, (renamed the Black Sea Cossack Army in 1791), to a new frontier.
So, by 1793, the Black Sea Cossacks, consisting of 40 kurens (about 25 thousand people), resettled as a result of several campaigns. The main task of the new Cossack army was the creation of a Cossack defensive line along the entire region and the development of the Cossack National economy on the new Cossack lands. Despite the fact that the new Cossack army was significantly reorganized according to the standards of other Cossack troops of the Russian Empire, the Black Sea Cossacks were able to preserve in the new conditions many traditions of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, for example, free Cossack election and Cossack uniforms.
Initially, the Cossack territory (until the 1830s) was limited from Taman along the entire right bank of the Kuban to the Laba River. Already by 1860, the Cossack army numbered 200 thousand Cossacks and fielded 12 mounted Cossack regiments, 9 foot (Plastun) Cossack battalions, 4 batteries and 2 Cossack guard squadrons.

Linear Cossacks, linear Cossacks
The Lineians are Don Cossacks who were resettled to the Kuban at the end of the 18th century. They inhabited the Caucasian, Labinsky, Maikop and Batalpashinsky departments of the Kuban region.
Assigned Cossacks, Cossacks
In the first half of the 19th century, people moved to Kuban state peasants, cantonists and retired soldiers enrolled in the Cossacks. Sometimes they settled in already existing villages, sometimes they formed new ones.
Organization of the Cossacks
The Kuban Cossacks were a free militarized agricultural population. At the head of the Kuban Cossack army was a task ataman (at the same time the head of the Kuban region), who in military terms enjoyed the rights of a division chief, and in civil terms - the rights of a governor. He appointed atamans of departments, to whom the elected atamans of villages and farms were subordinate. The highest body of stanitsa power was the stanitsa assembly, which elected the ataman and the board (consisted of the ataman and two elected judges, from 1870 - the ataman, judges, the ataman's assistant, clerk, treasurer). Stanitsa societies performed various duties: military, “general search” (maintenance of postal stations, repair of roads and bridges, etc.), stanitsa (maintenance of “flying mail”, escorting prisoners, guard duty, etc.). In 1890, the day of the military holiday was established - August 30. Since 1891, the Cossacks elected additional judges, who were the cassation authority for the decisions of the village courts.
The publications of the Cossacks in 1863-1917 were published “Kuban Military Gazette”; in 1914-1917 - the magazine “Kuban Cossack Messenger” and other publications.
Cossacks in 1916 made up 43% of the population of the Kuban region (1.37 million people), that is, less than half. Most of the arable land belonged to the Cossacks. The Cossacks opposed themselves to the non-Cossack part of the population. The attitude towards nonresident (“gamsel”) men was arrogant and dismissive. By this time there were 262 villages and 246 farms. The bulk of their population were Cossacks. Nonresidents mostly lived in cities and villages.
The literacy rate of the Kuban Cossacks was high for the 20th century - more than 50%. Schools appeared among the Cossacks of Kuban in the 18th century.

Story
1792 The first Zaporozhye Cossacks, who were renamed in 1791 as the Black Sea Cossacks, arrive in the Taman Cossacks.
1793 The Cossack city of Ekaterinodar was founded.
1796 Two Cossack regiments were sent to the “Persian campaign”, as a result of which the Cossacks lost half of their strength due to hunger and disease. This caused the so-called “Persian revolt” of the Black Sea Cossacks who returned to Kuban in 1797.
1812 in Patriotic War The 9th Foot Regiment of the Cossacks, the 1st Combined Cavalry Regiment of the Cossacks and the Life Guards of the Cossacks, the Black Sea Cossack Hundred, took part.
1828 Cossacks storm the Turkish fortress of Anapa.
1853-1856 During Crimean War The Black Sea Cossacks, represented by the Cossacks, successfully repelled the attacks of the Anglo-French landing forces off the coast of Taman, and the 2nd and 8th Plastun (foot) battalions took part in the defense of Sevastopol by the Cossacks.
1860 Composition of the Cossack army: 22 Cossack cavalry regiments, 3 Cossack squadrons, 13 Cossack foot battalions and 5 Cossack batteries.
1865 The Kuban Cossack Army was awarded the St. George Banner “for the Caucasian War”, and a number of Cossack regiments were awarded the St. George Banners (the 11th and 17th - “for distinguished service in the Turkish War” and “in cases against the highlanders in 1828-1829 and during the conquest Western Caucasus Cossacks in 1864").
1873 A detachment of Kuban Cossacks took part in the Khiva campaign in Central Asia.
1877-1878 Cossacks fought in the war with Turkey, fought in Bulgaria. The Cossacks especially distinguished themselves during the defense of Shipka, Bayazet, the capture of Kars and in actions against the Turks in Abkhazia. For this, a number of Cossack units were awarded the St. George Standards.
1881 Three regiments of the Kuban Cossacks took part in the capture of the Turkmen fortress of Geok-Tepe.
1904-1905 Kuban Cossacks took part in the Russian-Japanese War. In May 1905, Cossacks under the command of General P. I. Mishchenko captured 800 Japanese soldiers during a horse raid and destroyed an enemy artillery depot.
1914 Number of troops: 11 cavalry regiments and 1 division, 2.5 guards hundreds, 6 Plastun battalions, 5 batteries, 12 teams and 1 hundred police (total up to 19 thousand people)
History First World War. The Kuban Cossack army fielded 37 cavalry regiments and 1 division, 2.5 guard hundreds, 22 Plastun battalions, 6 batteries, 49 different hundreds and 6 fifty, 12 teams (about 90 thousand people in total).
1917-1920 A large mass of Cossacks, led by the Kuban Rada, supported the idea of ​​independence of the Kuban, as well as the Volunteer Army of General A.I. Denikin.
1918 The Cossack leadership supported the idea of ​​uniting Kuban with the Ukrainian State of Hetman Skoropadsky as a federation. Ambassadors were immediately sent to Kyiv, but the unification was not destined to come true, since Ekaterinodar was occupied by the Red Army, and after some time Skoropadsky’s power fell under the pressure of the Directory’s troops.
1918-1920 On January 28, 1918, the Kuban Rada proclaimed an independent Kuban People's Republic with its capital in Yekaterinodar on the lands of the former Kuban region, which existed until 1920.
1920 Republic and Army abolished.
1920-1932 Repression and dispossession.
1932-1933 Famine. Mass evictions.

Cossacks... A completely special social stratum, estate, class. Its own, as experts would put it, subculture: way of dressing, speaking, behaving. Peculiar songs. A heightened concept of honor and dignity. Pride in one's own identity. Courage and daring in the most terrible battle. For some time now, the history of Russia has been unimaginable without the Cossacks. But the current “heirs” are, for the most part, “mummers”, impostors. Unfortunately, the Bolsheviks tried very hard to uproot the real Cossacks back in the 1990s. Those who were not destroyed rotted in prisons and camps. Alas, what was destroyed cannot be returned. To honor traditions and not become Ivans, not remembering kinship...

History of the Don Cossacks

Oddly enough, even the exact date of birth of the Don Cossacks is known. It became January 3, 1570. Having defeated the Tatar khanates, in fact, provided the Cossacks with every opportunity to settle in new territories, settle and take root. The Cossacks were proud of their freedom, although they took an oath of allegiance to one or another king. The kings, in turn, were in no hurry to completely enslave this dashing gang.

During the Time of Troubles, the Cossacks turned out to be very active and active. However, they often took the side of one or another impostor, and did not at all stand guard over statehood and the law. One of the famous Cossack atamans- Ivan Zarutsky - even he himself was not averse to reigning in Moscow. In the 17th century, Cossacks actively explored the Black and Azov Seas.

In a sense, they became sea pirates, corsairs, terrifying merchants and merchants. The Cossacks often found themselves next to the Cossacks. officially included the Cossacks into the Russian Empire, obliged them to serve the state, and abolished the election of atamans. The Cossacks began to take an active part in all the wars waged by Russia, in particular with Sweden and Prussia, as well as in the First World War.

Many of the Donets did not accept the Bolsheviks and fought against them, and then went into exile. Well-known figures of the Cossack movement - and A.G. Shkuro - actively collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War. During the era of Gorbachev's perestroika, they started talking about the revival of the Don Cossacks. However, on this wave there was a lot of muddy foam, following fashion, and outright speculation. To date, almost none of the so-called. Don Cossacks and especially atamans by origin and rank are not such.

History of the Kuban Cossacks

The emergence of the Kuban Cossacks dates back to a later time than the Don Cossacks - only to the second half of the 19th century. The location of the Kuban residents was the North Caucasus, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, Rostov region, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia. The center was the city of Ekaterinodar. Seniority belonged to the Koshe and Kuren atamans. Later, the supreme atamans began to be appointed personally by one or another Russian emperor.

Historically, after Catherine II disbanded the Zaporozhye Sich, several thousand Cossacks fled to Black Sea coast and tried to restore the Sich there, under the patronage of the Turkish Sultan. Later, they again turned to face the Fatherland, made a significant contribution to the victory over the Turks, for which they were awarded the lands of Taman and Kuban, and the lands were given to them for eternal and hereditary use.

The Kubans can be described as a free paramilitary association. The population was engaged in agriculture, led a sedentary lifestyle, and fought only for state needs. Newcomers and fugitives from the central regions of Russia were willingly accepted here. They mixed with local population and became “our own”.

In the fire of revolution and civil war The Cossacks were forced to constantly maneuver between the Reds and the Whites, looked for a “third way,” and tried to defend their identity and independence. In 1920, the Bolsheviks finally abolished both the Kuban army and the Republic. followed mass repression, evictions, hunger and dispossession. Only in the second half of the 30s. The Cossacks were partially rehabilitated, the Kuban Choir was restored. The Cossacks fought along with others, mainly together with regular units of the Red Army.

History of the Terek Cossacks

The Terek Cossacks arose around the same time as the Kuban Cossacks - in 1859, on the date of the defeat of the troops of the Chechen Imam Shamil. In the Cossack power hierarchy, the Terets were the third in seniority. They settled along rivers such as the Kura, Terek, and Sunzha. The headquarters of the Terek Cossack army is the city of Vladikavkaz. The settlement of the territories began in the 16th century.

The Cossacks were in charge of protecting the border territories, but they themselves sometimes did not hesitate to raid the possessions of the Tatar princes. The Cossacks often had to defend themselves from mountain raids. However, the close proximity to the highlanders brought the Cossacks not only negative emotions. The Tertsy adopted some linguistic expressions from the mountaineers, and in particular the details of clothing and ammunition: burkas and hats, daggers and sabers.

The founded cities of Kizlyar and Mozdok became centers of concentration of the Terek Cossacks. In 1917, the Tertsy people declared independence and established a republic. With the final establishment of Soviet power, the Tertsy people suffered the same dramatic fate as the Kuban and Donets people: mass repression and eviction.

• In 1949, the lyrical comedy “Kuban Cossacks” directed by Ivan Pyryev appeared on the Soviet screen. Despite the obvious varnishing of reality and the smoothing out of socio-political conflicts, it fell in love with the mass audience, and the song “What You Were” is performed on stage to this day.
• It is interesting that the word “Cossack” itself, translated from the Turkic language, means a free, freedom-loving, proud person. So the name stuck to these people, you know, is far from accidental.
• The Cossack does not bow to any authority; he is fast and free, like the wind.

According to the Living Kuban publication, according to some Kuban Cossacks, the results of the 2010 census regarding the number of Cossacks in the region do not correspond to reality. In this regard, at their next meeting they decided to organize their own population census in the Krasnodar Territory.

Meanwhile, in January 2012, a group of Cossacks turned to Dmitry Medvedev with a demand to publish the real results of the 2010 census. They stated that Rosstat published falsified census results, since in them the Cossacks are absent as an ethnic group and are presented only as a part (subethnos) of the Russian people. “We didn’t write this in the questionnaires, and there was no such answer option during the census,” the text of the appeal says.

Thus, from the statement of this group of Kuban Cossacks it follows that they are not Russians. But is this really so? Are the CIA historians right who trace the origins of the Cossacks either to the Tatar-Mongols, or to the Iranians, or to the Khazars?

In fact, the Kuban Cossacks descended from the Zaporozhye Cossacks, which, undoubtedly, were not some subethnic group of Little Russians, but their ordinary service class. For the entire army of Little Rus' at the time of its union with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided into Cossacks who were and were not on the royal register. The unregistered Cossacks were based on the rapids of the Dnieper, which is why they received the name Zaporozhye.

If we define the Zaporozhye Cossacks in ethnic categories, then they are the most active part of the Little Russian subethnic group (part) of the great Russian ethnos, along with the Great Russian and Belarusian subethnic groups. The best representatives of the Kuban Cossacks, their flower, recognized themselves as such.

For example, Nikolai Stepanovich Leontyev, a Kuban Cossack officer who organized an expedition to Abyssinia, became the right hand of the Ethiopian king, his main military adviser, helped him defeat the Italian colonialists, and also managed to improve the situation of the Abyssinians at the diplomatic level. As is clear from the entry in his diary, the decision to organize an expedition and go with it to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) largely came from his “desire to show the whole world that we, Russians, can serve our Motherland, and without resorting to fire and sword, no worse than the British, French and Germans, who, with the help of these two factors, built strong nests for themselves in Africa.”

The above-mentioned group of Kuban Cossacks, abandoning their Russian roots, become Ivans, who do not remember their kinship, traitors to their Russian Orthodox ancestors, who always fought for the Faith, Motherland and the Russian people. And traitors to their people have always been despised in any ethnic group. The Cossacks themselves always executed traitors with their own hands. Taras Bulba himself executed his own son Andriy, who, following the lead of fornication, betrayed his Faith and people. Of course, this is a literary hero, but N.V. Gogol here conveyed the order of things that really existed in the Zaporozhye Sich.

Of course, no one will execute the new Andrievs. But, as we know from the Bible, traitors usually settle scores with themselves.

As far as I know, the majority of Kuban Cossacks, despite the difficult situation of the Russian people, recognize themselves as an inextricable part of it and do not abandon their ancestors, thereby demonstrating the true Cossack nobility of soul. For to abandon one’s parents and ancestors, especially when they are humiliated and insulted, is a violation of God’s commandment to honor parents and a sign of weakness of spirit.

This healthy part of the Kuban Cossacks recognizes themselves as part of the great Russian people, which over the ten centuries of its existence has shown the world thousands of reverend fathers, and in the 20th century. - millions of new martyrs and confessors. Who defeated Mamai and his horde on the Kulikovo field, throwing off the Tatar-Mongol yoke; who expelled the Polish occupiers in 1612, throwing off the Polish Catholic yoke; who defeated Napoleon and Hitler. The Russian people showed the world the invincible knights St. Elijah Muromets, Evpatiy Kolovrat, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Dmitry Donskoy, St. Admiral Theodore Ushakov, the unsurpassed Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov, who loved to repeat: “We are Russians - what a delight!” Together with all Russians, she is proud of the feat of the warrior-martyr Yevgeny Rodionov, who did not betray the Faith, Motherland and his people in Chechen captivity.

True Kuban people, I want to believe, know the prophecies of the great Russian saints about the revival of Russia, about the restoration of the autocratic monarchy in Rus', about the unification of all Slavic countries into one state. When Russia is resurrected, then it will recognize as its sons and daughters only those who did not renounce it in difficult times. The post-Turkish people, the Janissaries and the Uniates, although they came from us, were not ours. They left us, but they were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us; but they went out, and through this it was revealed that they were not all ours (1 John 2:19). They deprive themselves of happiness both in this life and in the next. There will be no place for them in the future resurrected Russia and in the Heavenly Jerusalem. For an unfit citizen of his Fatherland is also unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven.