If we take as a basis the modern, scientifically proven characteristics of the Cossacks in Rus', then in the old days it was an ethnic and social phenomenon, having complex structure. Cossacks are a special class with their own subculture. Without these people it is impossible to imagine the past, present and future of Russia. Kubanskoye Cossack army, history, features of this part of the Cossacks will be covered in this article.

Facts from history

The Kuban Cossacks were part of the Cossacks living in the North Caucasus.

The Kuban Cossack Army was formed in 1860. It consisted of the Black Sea and part of the Caucasian linear troops, which had their own foundations, features of organization and military service.

By the end of the eighteenth century, due to large quantity political victories won by Russia, the need for Cossacks to live on the territory of their homeland (Little Russia), in order to protect the borders of the south of the country, lost its relevance. Catherine II disbanded the Zaporozhye Sich.

Certain circumstances pushed the empress to make this decision. The Cossacks constantly carried out pogroms of Serbian settlements, during the same period of time they supported the uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev.

Several thousand Cossacks fled. They settled at the mouth of the Danube and received protection Turkish Sultan and formed the Transdanubian Sich.

After a certain time, they again “turned their faces” to Russia. The Cossack army made an invaluable contribution to the victory over the Turks and for this received the lands of Kuban and Taman for eternal use.

Cossacks of the Kuban Cossack Army

This army consisted of certain groups Cossacks:

• Black Sea Cossacks. In 1792, Catherine II advised Ataman Golovaty to resettle the Black Sea residents to new territories. By 1793, about 25,000 Cossacks changed their place of residence. They were given certain tasks: the development of populated lands, the creation of a line of defense.
• Linear Cossacks. These are the Cossacks of the Don land, who changed their place of residence to Kuban.
• Assigned Cossacks. In the 19th century, retired soldiers, state peasants, and recruits moved to Kuban. All of them were enrolled in the Cossacks, settled in existing villages, and in some cases, even created new settlements.

The Kuban Cossack army can be called a free military formation. The Cossacks lived in one place and were engaged in agriculture. They fought only when necessary, defending the interests of the Russian State.

Newcomers and fugitives from the central parts of the country flocked to the Kuban lands. They mixed with the population living here, they were accepted as “their own”.

Cossack uniform

Every nation has its own customs and distinctive features which are reflected in clothing. The uniform of the Kuban Cossack army was distinguished by a certain style. The village warriors were proud of her.

The form has been changed many times. This circumstance was significantly influenced by the traditions of the peoples of the Caucasus. It was fully approved in the mid-19th century.

The Kuban Cossack army (history testifies to this) had a uniform that included certain elements of clothing:

• Loose-fitting trousers called harem pants.
• Cherkeska - a caftan made of cloth, flared at the waist.
• Shirt, quilted half-caftan - beshmet.
• Arkhaluk is a caftan that fits close to the body and has a high stand-up collar.
• Hood - bashlyk.
• Winter burka.
• A headdress made of sheepskin or astrakhan fur, called a papakha.
• Boots.

The bashlyk was a source of information about the Cossack who wore it. If he was tied with a knot on his chest, this indicated that the Cossack was on emergency service. The hood crossed over the chest indicated that its owner was on a business trip. The ends of the hood, thrown over the back, symbolized the end of military service.

Management organization

The regiments of the Kuban Cossack army represented a powerful military force. The Cossacks paid special attention military organization and the side of everyday life.

At the head of the army and the Kuban region was an ataman appointed by the state authorities. This person was equivalent to the division commander, and was also endowed with the power of the governor. He had the right to appoint atamans, who were subordinate to the people in power in each individual village or village.

The main body of power in the village was the village gathering. He chose the members of the board: the ataman and his assistant, judges, clerk and treasurer, who constituted the top of the government in the village.

Cossack tradition

House building was one of the main cultural traditions Cossacks living in Kuban. After completing the construction of the house, the owners always celebrated a housewarming party, inviting all the people who took part in the construction work.

The hut usually included two rooms. Interior decoration The smaller rooms included a stove, benches and a table made of wood. In the larger room there was a chest and a chest of drawers for storing linen, and a cupboard. In each house in the “red corner” there was an icon decorated with a towel, and there were paintings and photographs that were family heirlooms.

Cossacks and their families strictly observed their customs. Their non-compliance caused general condemnation and censure. The organization of everyday life while the Cossacks were doing military service fell entirely on the fragile shoulders of women.

Warrior training

The Kuban Cossack army possessed the skills of special knowledge related to military service. They had their own system of training warriors. From childhood, boys in the Kuban villages were taught horse riding and weaponry. Future warriors took part in fist fights, horse races, and special military maneuvers.

The Kuban army had its own system of survival in extreme conditions. The Cossacks, especially the Plastuns, knew how to endure hunger and cold, did not leave any traces themselves, but could read those of others, and much more.

The Kuban Cossack army took part in all wars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The emperors themselves presented awards to the Cossacks for their military exploits.

Valor and courage were inherent in these people, their army was famous for traditions passed down from century to century.

Troop formation

The Kuban Cossack Army was formed in 1860. It was based on the Black Sea Cossack Army and the Khopersky and Kubansky regiments of the Caucasian Linear Cossack Army, which totaled 22 cavalry regiments, 3 squadrons, 13 foot battalions and 5 batteries. Its seniority dates back to 1696, according to the seniority of the Khopersky regiment.

Most of the army - Black Sea Cossacks, who lived in the Yeisk, Ekaterinodar and Temryuk departments of the Kuban region. The second part of the army - the so-called "Liners" - descendants of those resettled to the Kuban at the end of the 18th century. Don Cossacks who occupied the territories of the Batalpashinsky, Caucasian, Labinsky and Maikop departments of the Kuban region.

By the decision of May 10, 1862, 12,400 Kuban Cossacks, 800 Cossacks of the Azov Cossack Army, 2,000 state peasants and 600 married lower ranks of the Caucasian Army were resettled to populate the foothills of the Western Caucasus. They also became part of the Kuban army.

On August 1, 1870, the Regulations on military service and the maintenance of combat units of the Kuban Cossack Army were approved. The order of the troops was established in Peaceful time. It included 2 Life Guards Kuban Cossack squadrons of His Majesty's Own, 10 cavalry regiments, 2 Plastun foot battalions, 5 horse artillery batteries, 1 division in Warsaw, 1 training division.

Regulations on military service The Kuban Cossack Army, approved on June 24, 1882, the service personnel were divided into 3 categories, and the combat personnel into another 3 lines.

By the decision of December 24, 1890, the day of the military holiday was established for the troops - August 30.

Military exploits of the troops

The Kuban Cossack army took part in all military campaigns conducted by the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. In 1861, the Combined Line Regiment and two Kuban cavalry regiments suppressed the Polish rebellion. On July 20, 1865, the army was honored to receive the military St. George banner “For the Caucasian War.” In 1873, the Cossacks of the Yeisk regiment of the Kuban Cossack army took part in the Khiva campaign in Central Asia. The entire army fought in Russian-Turkish War 1877 - 1878 on the territory of Bulgaria; they defended Shipka, Bayazet, defended the Zorsky pass, Deve-Boyna, took Kars.

Approximately 2 thousand Kuban Cossacks took part in the Russian-Turkish War of 1904 - 1905. In the First World War, 37 cavalry regiments, 1 separate Cossack division, 2.5 guards hundreds, 24 Plastun battalions and 1 separate Plastun battalion, 6 batteries, 51 different hundreds, 12 teams of Cossacks of the Kuban army (about 90 thousand people in total) fought.

Cossacks in the events of the 20th century.

During the Civil War, some Cossacks, together with the Kuban Rada, spoke in favor of creating an independent Kuban. Cossacks led by Ataman A.P. Filimonov, in alliance with the Volunteer Army, supported the idea of ​​creating a “Unified and Indivisible Russia”.

On January 28, 1918, the Kuban Rada on the lands of the former Kuban region proclaimed an independent Kuban people's republic. Ekaterinodar became the capital. The republic existed until 1920. After the territory was occupied by the Reds, the republic was liquidated, and the Kuban army was abolished.

In 1920 - 1925 supporters of P.P. acted on the lands of the Kuban Cossacks. Skoropadsky - atamans M. Pilyuk, V. Ryabokon and others. In the 1920s - 1930s. Kuban Cossack units were organized in the Red Army. During the Great Patriotic War 1941 - 1945 Kuban Cossack divisions fought at the front. The 4th Guards Kuban Cossack Corps, led by General N.Ya., especially distinguished itself. Kirichenko.

In the early 1990s. The Kuban Cossack army began its revival by organizing a number of public Cossack associations. Currently there is a public Cossack organization “Kuban Military Cossack Society”, included in the State Register of Cossack Societies Russian Federation and having more than 40 thousand Cossacks on its register.

The structure of the Cossack army

The basis of the Kuban army was made up of free paramilitary agricultural residents. At the head of the army was the appointed ataman, who at the same time served as the head of the Kuban region. He was in charge of appointing atamans of departments, to whom the elected atamans of villages and farms were responsible.

The highest body of stanitsa power was the stanitsa assembly, which was responsible for the election of the ataman and the board. The latter at the initial stage consisted of an ataman and two elected judges, and since 1870 the official composition of the board increased and included an ataman, judges, assistants to the ataman, a clerk and a treasurer.

Among the responsibilities of stanitsa societies were: military, “general search” (maintenance of postal stations, repair of roads and bridges), stanitsa (maintenance of “flying mail”, escorting prisoners, guard duty).

TO end of the 19th century V. The Kuban army was divided into 7 departments: Batalpashinsky, Yeisk, Ekaterinodar, Caucasian, Labinsky, Maikop, Taman.

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 demanding to publish real results 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 (subethnic group) 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 own son Andria, who, following the lead of fornication, betrayed his Faith and people. Of course it is 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 biblical history, 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 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.

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, it is even known exact date birth of the Don Cossacks. 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 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 on merchants and merchants. The Cossacks often found themselves next to the Cossacks. officially included the Cossacks in the composition 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 North Caucasus, Krasnodar and Stavropol region, 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 the local population and became “one of their 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. Mass repressions, evictions, famine and dispossession followed. 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.

Cossacks. History of Free Rus' Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

25. FIRST COSSACKS IN KUBAN

25. FIRST COSSACKS IN KUBAN

The great tragedy for Rus' was church schism. In principle, reforms were needed - church books were handwritten for a long time, and discrepancies accumulated during correspondence. And the rituals differed in different places: for example, in Rus' they were baptized with two fingers, and in Ukraine and the Balkans - with three (in the early Church both types of fingers were allowed). Filaret began the work on unification, but he carried it out gradually, without shocks or disruptions. However, Patriarch Nikon decided to bring in one fell swoop church practice to Greek samples. Moreover, even the Patriarch of Constantinople Paisios and the council of the Greek clergy warned that this could lead to disaster. They pointed out that the Church requires uniformity only in the main things, and in small details, differences are quite acceptable and tolerable. Nikon was not satisfied with this; he declared the old ritual heresy, and those who dared to object, began to be imprisoned and exiled.

But soon the patriarch became arrogant and tried to place his power above the royal one, which led to a conflict with Alexei Mikhailovich. The Emperor granted amnesty to those who suffered during the persecution and expressed his readiness to make concessions and seek a compromise. But a group of irreconcilables emerged, led by Avvakum, who, in their penchant for extreme decisions, were quite worth Nikon. They held their own “council”, where they declared the entire Church “damaged”, and those who visited churches and received communion under Nikon were heretics, demanding that they be rebaptized. And in 1666 there were two church cathedral, who decided to depose Nikon, but at the same time approved his reforms, and those who were irreconcilable were condemned, cursed and exiled.

At first, the split was not nationwide at all. Let me remind you that Razin fought in the name of the “offended” Nikon. And the support of the Old Believers consisted of only a small part of the clergy and opposition nobility - Boyarina Morozova, Princess Urusova, Khovansky. And at first it was not the Old Believers that were persecuted, but only specific crimes committed on this basis. However, it is necessary to distinguish between the terms “Old Believers” and “schismaticism.” Old Believers are a form of Orthodoxy. To the remote corners of Russia church reform It didn’t reach me at all, people prayed in the old way, and it didn’t bother anyone. Schism was a political, anti-state movement. They were called upon to “retire and run,” not to pay taxes, to exclude themselves from the “Antichrist” state. The tsar was not mentioned in prayers; blasphemies were raised against him. Spiritual confusion gradually spread wider. Various sects began to emerge, including self-immolations. Agree, this has nothing to do with the old ritual, not a single Christian denomination does not accept suicide. Moreover, the self-immolations were by no means caused by persecution by the authorities. On the contrary, the “burnings” began first, and they forced the government to take the schismatics more seriously.

And in 1676 Fyodor Alekseevich ascended the throne. And it was he (and not Peter), with the participation of his sister Sophia, who began reforms to “Europeanize” Russia. Polish fashions, customs, and luxury were introduced, all this hit the peasants, taxes rose, and their exploitation by landowners intensified. The Tsar, following the example of the West, led the fight against the poor, ordering them to be “sent to work.” He canceled his father’s decree on the non-extradition of fugitives who had enlisted in military service. It was then that schismatics became widespread. Beggars, deserters, and peasants flocked to the monasteries. Their influx to the Don also increased. In general, this was beneficial for the Cossacks. Barge haulers were hired as workers, and with their help the Army began developing its own salt deposits near Bakhmut and established fish-salt fisheries. But schismatics also began to arrive. So, “a priest and two monks” appeared. Soon the monks reported that “the priest does not pray to God for the great sovereign and does not order them to pray.” Ataman Samarinov ordered him to be taken to the circle, after a trial “according to military law” he was executed. Then a desert appeared on the river. Chir, where priest Job settled with a group of 50 monks and fugitives who “do not bow to the images of God, condemn the Cossacks to themselves and baptize another time.” Fyodor Alekseevich recognized the self-government of the Don, and after correspondence with the Tsar, the Army itself ravaged the desert.

In 1682, Fyodor Alekseevich died. And there was a Streltsy revolt, caused by the abuses of the nobility. At the same time, the head of the Streletsky Prikaz, Khovansky, tried to turn the riot into a “schismatic revolution.” The majority of the Streltsy did not support him, but Sofya Alekseevna, who came to power, then launched a fierce struggle against the Old Believers. The decrees required the interrogation of those who do not go to church, and the use of torture on suspicion of “heresy.” The law of April 7, 1685 introduced the death penalty: “Those who persist ... burn in the log house.” Harboring Old Believers was punishable by confiscation of property and exile.

But Sophia continued and deepened the “European” reforms. Her favorite, Vasily Golitsyn, who blindly worshiped the West, became chancellor. In Russia, Catholic worship was allowed, and the entry of Jesuits was allowed. Sophia's confessor Sylvester Medvedev conducted secret negotiations on union. Finally, to please the West, Golitsyn agreed to join the “Holy League” - an alliance of Austria, Poland, Venice and Rome, which waged a war against Turkey. Most of the boyars and Patriarch Joachim were against the violation beneficial peace with the Ottomans. Hetman Samoilovich also prayed for this - Ukraine only rested for 5 years from the Tatar raids! However, Golitsyn achieved his goal. An alliance was concluded. Russia entered into a war that was unnecessary for it and paid 1.5 million zlotys only because the Poles (not immediately) agreed to conclude an “eternal” peace instead of the Andrusovo truce - they recognized the loss of the Smolensk region, Kiev and Left-Bank Ukraine, which were still stubbornly “ theirs."

In 1687 the Crimean campaign took place. According to the list, a Russian army of 113 thousand was supposed to gather (of which 15 thousand were Don, Yaik and Terek Cossacks). And Samoilovich fielded 50 thousand Ukrainians. However, it turned out that “perestroika” managed to destroy the army. Of the 113, only 60 thousand gathered. And only diversionary operations were successful. Ataman Minaev with the Don people went to Perekop, beat the Tatars near Sheep Waters, and Kasogov was sent to Zaporozhye with soldiers, together with the Cossacks he beat up the enemies in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. The main army crawled through the heat through the waterless steppes. And when 100 miles remained before Perekop, the Tatars set fire to the steppe. And I had to turn back. Without fighting, the army lost 24 thousand dead.

Golitsyn blamed the failure on Samoilovich. He accused him of treason and exiled him to Siberia (while snatching the Ukrainian military treasury into his own pocket). And he appointed hetman without any joy Ivan Mazepa. He was a Pole, a minor nobleman. At one time, he was let down by excessive womanism. The nobleman caught him with his wife, ordered him to be stripped naked, smeared with tar, rolled in feathers, tied to a horse backwards and set on the road. After such a disgrace, Mazepa left for Zaporozhye. He was promoted to Doroshenko and became a general clerk. Was sent to Istanbul. But he was intercepted by Sirko’s Cossacks and handed over to Moscow. There he was recruited, Mazepa began working for the Russians. Samoilovich was the general captain and helped Golitsyn by concocting a denunciation against the hetman. In a word, he was a born traitor, “with experience.”

Extortions for the war and the disaster that occurred caused a murmur among the people. In addition, Sophia, in order to gain popularity, distributed awards to those close to her in hundreds and thousands of peasant households. Yesterday's free people turned into serfs. As a result, the number of fugitives and schismatics grew. On the Don they settled along the outlying rivers - Ilovlya, Kagalnik, Medveditsa. The main center was the Ust-Medveditsky monastery, where Kuzma Kosoy ruled. From here, relations were established with the steppe inhabitants, “lovely letters” were sent throughout the country: “If Moscow falls out of favor, then come to us. There are many hordes and Kalmyks for us, Chagan Bogatur and Nogai-Murza will not leave us, as soon as we go to Moscow, we will stir up everyone. "Faith" became only a banner, not at all preventing an alliance with the "Basurmans".

In 1688, the government planned to build the Novobogoroditsk fortress on the Samara tributary of the Dnieper - in hindsight, Golitsyn realized that an intermediate base was needed for campaigns in the Crimea. The Donets were ordered to distract the Tatars from construction. But they also received orders to destroy the monasteries. Ataman Minaev allocated part of his forces for this, and he himself carried out a raid on the outskirts of Azov. But the Cossacks sent to Medveditsa were not successful. Apparently, they were not very keen to take risks in civil strife. The "thieves" fought back. Only when the ataman returned, the monastery was taken and the schismatic towns were destroyed. 500 people with Kosy went to the Tambov region. And the ataman Murzenko took a party of schismatic Cossacks and the rabble that joined them to Kuban. The Crimean Khan, who owned Kuban, accepted them and allocated places for settlement.

In 1689, Golitsyn’s second campaign took place. According to the lists, the army reached 118 thousand plus 40 thousand Mazepa’s Cossacks (how many actually gathered is unknown). To be in time before the heat, the chancellor ordered the march on February 1. But they got stuck in the spring thaw and had trouble crossing overflowing rivers. They survived several battles with the Tatars. And they approached Perekop on May 20. They discovered that the isthmus was heavily fortified, which could have been known earlier - if Golitsyn had bothered to read intelligence reports. To wage a siege of fortifications without water, fodder and bread meant death. And on May 21 the army retreated. Lost 20 thousand killed and dead, 15 thousand missing, abandoned 90 guns during the retreat.

The Cossacks again launched auxiliary attacks. 3 thousand Donets went to sea, together with the Cossacks captured several ships, and ravaged Taman. But when Ataman Minaev returned to the Don, an order from Moscow awaited him - to go against the schismatics again. The community of Kosoy in the Tambov region has become overgrown with people again. True, it nested outside the Troops, but after the failed campaign the government was afraid to send regular units in case they revolted. The Donets carried out the order. The schismatics defended themselves, but they were quickly defeated, and the leaders were “thrown into the water.” Sophia also demanded the extradition of a number of Cossacks who were associated with schismatics, among them a former military ataman Lavrentieva. She was told that “there is no extradition from the Don.” However, the ruler insisted on her own. Lavrentiev and several other people were sent to Moscow and executed. As a result of these events in 1689–1691. two more large parties of Cossacks and barge haulers left for Kuban. Thus, the first Cossacks in the Kuban were the Don schismatics.

Well, the second Crimean disaster cost Sophia the throne. The patriotic party led by Patriarch Joachim, grouped around the maturing Peter Alekseevich, received the support of the army and the population and overthrew the ruler. The Jesuits were expelled, and the enslaving trade agreements concluded by Golitsyn were terminated. Queen Mother Natalya Kirillovna, who became regent under her son, stopped the persecution of Old Believers. But soon she passed away, and Peter’s independent reign began. The first problem that the young king encountered was the unfinished war with Turkey. The Tatars carried out raids, and Poland turned out to be an ally of “even more”, demanding to intensify actions, threatening to conclude a separate peace with the Sultan, break the agreement with Moscow and leave it alone with the Ottomans.

And in 1695 the Azov campaign took place. It was cleverly conceived. Sheremetev's large army with Mazepa's Cossacks moved along the Dnieper, as if repeating Golitsyn's actions and distracting the enemy. And the second army of 31 thousand selected warriors will unexpectedly attack Azov and capture it. But the plan failed not only because Russia lacked a fleet. Secrecy was not ensured; the king's drinking companions chatted about the campaign on every corner. The Turks strengthened the garrison and prepared for defense. There was no single command; Peter entrusted the leadership to the “consilium” of Lefort, Golovin and Gordon. The siege was carried out stupidly. Gordon wrote: “Judging by our actions, it sometimes seemed as if we had started this whole thing lightly.” Successes were limited to the fact that the Don Cossacks took two towers that blocked the flow of the Don. And the siege was lifted too late, in October, when frost hit. Soon the “great snow” fell. Thousands of soldiers remained in the steppes forever. Sheremetev acted much better. Having blown up a wall with a mine, he took the Kyzy-Kermen fortress. After this, the sub-Dnieper fortresses of Aslan-Kermen, Tavan, Musritt-Kermen, and Mubarek-Kermen were abandoned by garrisons and captured.

Peter drew the proper conclusions from the tragedy. A fleet was built in Voronezh, 2 large ships, 23 galleys, 1300 plows, 300 canoes. For the second campaign, experienced warrior Alexei Shein was appointed commander-in-chief, receiving the rank of generalissimo. In May 1696, the tsar arrived in Cherkassk. Soon the marching chieftain appeared Leonty Pozdeev, who went with 250 Cossacks on reconnaissance to the mouth of the Don, and reported that they saw 2 Turkish ships at sea, attacked them, but could not take them because of their high sides. Peter with 9 galleys and 40 Cossack boats went to the lower reaches. The north wind drove away the water and did not allow the galleys to go to sea. Having boarded the Don boat, the Tsar examined the Don arms. On May 18, they discovered that 13 enemy ships were at sea and were loading weapons and supplies onto 13 flat-bottomed tankbuses and 11 boats for delivery to Azov. Peter ordered the Cossacks to set up an ambush behind the islands. And when the cargo flotilla moved towards Azov, the Don people attacked it (contrary to legends, the tsar did not participate in the battle). 10 Tunbas were captured. sea ​​ships When they saw this, they began to run away. The Cossacks chased after them, one was boarded, the other was abandoned by the crew and burned.

In June, an army arrived to Azov, 30 soldier regiments, 13 streltsy, 5 thousand Don Cossacks under the command of Frol Minaev, 15 thousand Ukrainian ataman Yakova Lizoguba, 500 egg chieftain Andrey Golovan, Kalmyks - only 75 thousand. Shein led the siege competently. Even before the arrival of the foreign engineers hired by Peter, he ordered the construction of a high rampart, which they began to move towards the fortress. Cannons were installed on the rampart and began the bombardment. The Tatar cavalry attacked the besiegers from the outside 6 times, and was repelled by the Cossacks and Kalmyks. And the Turkish squadron, which came to the rescue, saw the Russian fleet, batteries erected on the shore and moved away. Sheremetev and Mazepa at this time launched a raid near Ochakov. And the Cossacks went to sea, capturing 19 Turkish ships. Near Azov, the rampart gradually reached close to the walls, so that “it was possible to fight with the enemies, except for weapons, with one hand.” On July 17, 2 thousand Ukrainian and Don Cossacks moved from the rampart to the tower and knocked out the Janissaries from it. Shein did not want bloody street battles; he acted for sure. Therefore, he did not support the attack; he only sent a grenadier to cover the retreat of the Cossacks. And he turned out to be right. The ease of the invasion convinced the Turks that the fortress was doomed. The next day they capitulated on terms of free withdrawal.

The war lasted another 4 years. And although the Holy League allies deceived Russia by making peace with Turkey without it, fighting ended in complete victory. A harbor was built in Taganrog, the Trinity Fortress and Fort Pavlovsky on the Sea of ​​Azov, Alekseevsky and Petrovsky forts in the lower reaches of the Don. Russian troops achieved major successes on the Dnieper. They occupied the mouth of the river, strengthened the captured fortresses of Kyzy-Kermen and Tavan, and built another one - Stone Zaton. All attacks by the Turks and Crimeans on the annexed territories were repulsed. And the Kuban Tatars took an oath of transfer to royal citizenship. In 1700, peace was concluded in Istanbul, which retained all acquisitions for Russia.

During this war, another fact occurred, noted in the history of the Cossacks. In 1696, during the siege of Azov, the Khoper Cossacks took the bridgehead fortress of Lyutik. And this date is accepted for the seniority of the Kuban Army. Because the Khopertsy subsequently joined the Kuban team. Here we see once again that the seniority of the Troops was established very arbitrarily. For example, for Semirechenskoye it was established in 1582, according to Siberian, from which Semirechenskoye spun off in the 19th century. The Transbaikal Army also separated from the Siberian Army, but the year 1655 was adopted for it. The Amur Army was separated in the 19th century. from Transbaikal, and Ussuri from Amur, and for them the same 1655 was adopted, according to Transbaikal. For the Kuban Army, it would be possible to count according to Zaporozhian, which served Russia even under Ivan the Terrible, and also served Alexei Mikhailovich, Fyodor Alekseevich. However, the Zaporozhye Army fell into disgrace under Peter and Catherine II, and they preferred to “forget” about it. The seniority of the Kuban Army could have been taken according to Donskoy; later many Don people joined it. But the Khopers also served the tsars long before 1696 - as part of the Don Army. And in the documents about the capture of Azov they were simply mentioned separately. And the officials who determined seniority, for their own reasons, latched on to this information. It is therefore worth emphasizing that dates of official seniority should be treated with caution. They can be used, for example, when celebrating anniversaries and military holidays. But relying on them in “parochial” disputes - “we are older, and you are younger” - would be a profound mistake.

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