Russian Cossacks

Imperial Russian Cossacks (left) in Paris in 1814

The native land of the Cossacks is defined by a line of Russian/Ruthenian town-f
ortresses located on the border with the steppe and stretching from the middle V
olga to Ryazan and Tula, then breaking abruptly to the south and extending to th
e Dnieper via Pereyaslavl. This area was settled by a population of free people
practicing various trades and crafts.
These people, constantly facing the Tatar warriors on the steppe frontier, recei
ved the Turkic name Cossacks (Kazaks), which was then extended to other free peo
ple in Russia. Many Cumans, who had assimilated Khazars, retreated to the Ryazan
Grand principality (Grand Duchy) after the Mongol invasion. The oldest referenc
e in the annals mentions Cossacks of the Russian principality of Ryazan serving
the principality in the battle against the Tatars in 1444. In the 16th century,
the Cossacks (primarily those of Ryazan) were grouped in military and trading co
mmunities on the open steppe and started to migrate into the area of the Don.[50
]
Ural Cossacks, 1799
Cossacks served as border guards and protectors of towns, forts, settlements and
trading posts, performed policing functions on the frontiers and also came to r
epresent an integral part of the Russian army. In the 16th century, to protect t
he borderland area from Tatar invasions, Cossacks carried out sentry and patrol
duties, guarding from Crimean Tatars and nomads of the Nogai Horde in the steppe
region.
The most popular weapons used by Cossack cavalrymen were usually sabres, or shas
hka, and long spears.
Russian Cossacks played a key role in the expansion of the Russian Empire into S
iberia (particularly by Yermak Timofeyevich), the Caucasus and Central Asia in t
he period from the 16th to 19th centuries. Cossacks also served as guides to mos
t Russian expeditions formed by civil and military geographers and surveyors, tr
aders and explorers. In 1648 the Russian Cossack Semyon Dezhnyov discovered a pa
ssage between North America and Asia. Cossack units played a role in many wars i
n the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries (such as the Russo-Turkish Wars, the RussoPersian Wars, and the annexation of Central Asia).
Semirechye Cossack, Semirechye (present-day Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan), 1911
Western Europeans had a lot of contacts with Cossacks during the Seven Years' Wa
r and had seen Cossack patrols in Berlin.[51] During Napoleon's Invasion of Russ
ia, Cossacks were the Russian soldiers most feared by the French troops. Napoleo
n himself stated "Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist. If I
had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them."[52] Cossacks a
lso took part in the partisan war deep inside French-occupied Russian territory,
attacking communications and supply lines. These attacks, carried out by Cossac
ks along with Russian light cavalry and other units, were one of the first devel
opments of guerrilla warfare tactics and, to some extent, special operations as
we know them today.
Frenchmen had had few contacts with Cossacks before the Allies occupied Paris in
1814. As the most exotic of the Russian troops seen in France, Cossacks drew a
great deal of attention and notoriety for their alleged purity during Napoleon's
wars. Bistrots appeared after the Cossack occupation of Paris. Stendhal had, th
at "Cossacks were pure as children and great as Gods".