Kuban Cossacks
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Kuban Cossacks (Russian: Кубанские кaзаки, Kubanskiye Kаzaki) were cossacks that were settled in the region around the Kuban River to protect the southern borders of the Russian Empire.
The Kuban Cossack Host (Kuban Cossack Voisko, Кубанское казачье войско) was formed in 1860 from Black Sea Cossack Host and part of Caucasus Line Cossack Host (Кавказское линейное казачье войско). Its administrative center was Ekaterinodar.
The Kuban cossacks are descendants of the Zaporozhian Cossacks from Ukraine. The Kuban Cossack Host fought in several wars including the First World War.
[edit] Russian Revolution and Civil War
During the Russian Revolution and the Civil War, the Cossacks found themselves conflicted in their loyalties. The population of Kuban was divided into two hostile groups: the Cossacks and the gorodoviks, non-Cossack city dwellers. The latter group formed a Soviet provisional government while in October 1917 some of the Cossacks created the Council of the Host (Rada) which elected a leader (Ataman). After the Revolution the Kuban Cossack Rada declared a Kuban National Republic but was soon dispersed by Soviet forces. Many of the Cossacks, actually fought for the Bolsheviks as well, who initially promised them autonomy.
In March 1918, the Kuban Rada placed itself under the authority of the anti-Bolshevik forces of Lavr Kornilov. After his death in June 1918 the rada attempted to enter a federative union with the Ukrainian government of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky, after which many Cossacks left to return home or defected to the Bolsheviks. In addition to that there was a great internal struggle among the Kuban cossacks between loyalty towards the Russian Volunteer Army of Denikinn and Ukrainian nationalist forces, whose ideas for Kuban did not suit many. The Kuban Ataman, A. Filimonov, was a pro-Denikin whilst the premier of the Rada, P. Kurhansky, was a Ukrainophile. On November 6, 1919, Denikin forces surrounded the Rada, arrested ten of its members and publicly hanged one of them for treason. On the whole by now most of the Kuban Cossacks returned home, and the followers of the Rada left it. Most of the Cossacks joined Denikin and fough in the ranks of the White Guard. In December 1919, after Denikin's defeat and as it became clear that the Bolsheviks would overrun the Kuban, some of the pro-Ukrainian groups attempted to restore the Rada and to break away from the Russian Voluntary Army and to fight the Bolsheviks in alliance with Ukraine [1] , however by early 1920 the Red Army took most of Kuban, and both the Rada and Denikin were evicted.
After the Soviet victory, some of the Kuban cossacks, that fought in the ranks of the White Army fled the country to avoid persecution from the Bolsheviks, (most notable eviction point was the Greek island of Lemnos, were many died of starvation and disease). In 1920 the Kuban Cossack Host was dissolved and the Bolsheviks unleashed an anti-Cossack campaign including segregating the Cossack homelands by giving a lot of the Forecaucasus territory to the new republics of local minorities and encouraging the settlement of the pre-mountain steppes by them, sometimes forcefully evicting the Cossacks from their native homes.
Collectivisation of the Kuban immediately began, with so much fertile soil on the steppe. Most of the Cossacks became local peasants and worked in the new conditions. In 1933 the Kuban was hit by the massive famine (see Holodomor) and many of the Cossacks descendants have died of starvation.
[edit] World War II and Afterwards
Nevertheless in 1936 the Red Army decided to reincarnate the Cossack cavalry into regular service and the Kuban Cossacks, amongst others were the first to be formed. In the Second World War while the majority of the Cossacks and their descendants fought for the Red Army, some did chose to collaborate with the German Invaders. However, most of the latter were members of the Don Cossack Host, which survived much harsher purges and repressions in the 1920s. The Cossack regiments of the Red Army itself saw heavy action, starting from the defence of their homeland during the Battle of Stalingrad and acted mostly on the southern sections in the front. Whilst they did prove especially useful in reconnaissance and rear guards, the war did show that the age of horse cavalry has come to an end. After the war the Cossacks were once again removed from the military, but not before they proudly marched on the Red Square in the famous victory parade of 1945 (only the Kuban Cossacks were allowed to march, being the largest group). Those few Kuban cossacks who had fought for the Germans against the Allies escaped to Italy amongst Cossacks but were mostly repatriated and some executed [1].
Following the war, the Cossack regiments, along with remaining cavalry were disbanded and removed from Armed Forces as they were thought to be obsolete. Most of the cossack descendants living in the rural territories nevetheless kept their traditions alive even though postwar USSR refused to officially recognise their existence.
Since the late 1980s there were renewed to revive Cossack traditions which went great lengths, in 1990 the Host was once again recognised by the Supreme Ataman of the All-Great Don Host (Всевеликое Войско Донское). The Cossacks have actively participated in some of the more abrupt political developments following the dissolution of the Soviet Union: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, Kosovo and Transdnestr are just some of the places that Cossacks have been seen.
Some Kuban Cossacks never agreed to identify themselves as ethnically Russian or Ukrainian but rather claimed to be a separate Ruthenian subgroup. In 2002 the Russian census ([2]) finally allowed the Cossacks to be declared as a separate Russian sub-ethnical group. The results of the census are presented in the table below. However, this table only shows Cossacks who are in active service, there are estimated several million people with Kuban Cossack heritage, some identifying with it more than others.
| All Russia | 145166731 | 140028 |
| Republic | Total Population | Cossacks |
|---|---|---|
| Adygea | 447109 | 470 |
| Kabardino-Balkaria | 901494 | 307 |
| Karachayevo-Cherkessia | 439470 | 2501 |
| Krasnodar Krai | 5125221 | 17542 |
| Stavropol Krai | 2231759 | 3902 |
| Total in Kuban | 9145053 | 24722 |
