Cossacks were Eastern European and Asian soldiers known for patrolling Russian borders. They were closely tied to the Orthodox Church and infamous for persecuting Jews. They played a significant role in battles and joined the revolution to overthrow the Tsar in 1917. Descendants are now part of the armies of former Soviet Union countries.
Cossacks refer to a group of Eastern Europeans and Asians. They are best known as effective soldiers who patrolled the Russian borders. They are also infamous for their injustices against Jews which ultimately led to Jewish exile from Russia prior to the Russian Revolution.
The first groups of Cossacks were slightly nomadic and always built along military lines. They answered to a high military leader called an ataman. Laws were not written down, but everyone within a Cossack group, including the clergy, would answer to the ataman.
Indeed, Cossack groups are well known for their close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. A minority of Cossacks, however, may have been Muslim or may have been of a different Christian orientation. However, in general, most of the Cossacks were supporters of the Orthodox Church, which gave the Orthodox church a lot of power.
Cossacks also had power as they often formed cavalry units and at first used horses to participate in battles. They played an important role in pushing back French forces during the Napoleonic wars.
The Cossack race split into several possessions in Eastern Europe and some groups intermarried with other local races. Others married within their own ethnic group and were thought to be biased against different ethnicities. This was especially true of the Jews, who were endlessly persecuted by the Cossack troops.
Given the religious stance of the Cossacks, it was extremely surprising that they did not support Tsarist Russia and actually joined the revolution to overthrow the Tsar in 1917. As such, many of the Cossacks became more integrated into the society that followed, and also, dropped out en masse their religions.
With the end of communism in the Soviet Union, many descendants of the Cossacks have shown an interest in examining Cossack life and culture. Now they are once again part of the armies belonging to the countries into which the Soviet Union split. The army designations are based on the old Cossack designations and the descendants of the Cossacks are now honored for their past organizations and as noble members of the army.
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