Cossacks return to state service

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov) - The Saiga hunting rifle beloved of Russia's Cossack community may soon be experiencing a boom in sales if a bill currently going through parliament becomes law.

The Duma recently approved in first reading a draft law submitted by President Vladimir Putin on state service by Russian Cossacks. If the bill is passed, Cossacks will be able to return to one of their traditional public roles for the first time in decades.

Although the draft does not specify Cossack uniform and military equipment, should it become law some 600,000 Cossacks will officially be able to guard the country's borders, support law and order, and even fight against terrorism.

It was for exactly these reasons that Cossacks formed an organized military community in the late 16th century.

The original Cossacks were runaway slaves who fled the central areas of Russia and settled the southern steppes along the Don River where they were unlikely to be caught. Later, they acknowledged the sovereignty of the tsar in exchange for the status of a special military community with its own rights and freedoms. Don Cossacks took part in all wars that Russia waged from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, and won renown as especially fearsome defenders of the nation. However, this could not save the Cossacks in 1920, when the Soviet government, encouraged by Lenin, abolished them by special decree.

Nevertheless, the Cossacks, who now predominantly reside in the Rostov Region next to the North Caucasus, have managed to preserve the unique customs, traditions and culture of their predecessors. In the early 1990s, they were officially rehabilitated and given the status of a public organization. But this was not enough for these patriotic and military-minded people: They were waiting for a chance to resume their traditional role of frontier guards, and the new law will give them a chance to do so.

The Cossack revival has been brought about by recent changes in the area. The North Caucasus and the Krasnodar Territory need protection from Islamic extremists, as well as from Chechen and international terrorists. In addition, migrants who have flooded the region often attempt to impose their order on the local population. As a result, the number of Russians is diminishing, and Russians no longer feel safe.

General Gennady Troshin, formerly commander of the federal troops in the Chechen Republic and now presidential aide on Cossack issues, is confident that the Cossacks will help protect Russia's southern borders. He considers the Cossacks a serious force, saying that they are already helping the government bodies to maintain law and order in their stanitsas (large villages). Cossack atamans, or chiefs, are usually members of the local administration, and their opinion carries weight with the local governors.

A rank-and-file Cossack made a typical statement in a recent televised report: "Today both [Islamic extremists] and our 'Western friends' are making attempts to split Russia again. Russia needs to muster its spiritual power. Something has to be done to oppose the rat race, the cult of violence and drug addiction. Who will serve in the Army tomorrow? Weaklings. We don't want this to happen. This is why we, the Cossacks of Russia, are restoring our traditions."

If the bill becomes law, draft-age Cossacks will gain the right to serve in traditional Cossack military units, as well as frontier and internal forces. The bill provides for Cossack involvement in the war on terror, in dealing with emergency situations, and in protecting public order. They will also take part in efforts to guarantee state and border security, as well as ecological and fire safety. The federal authorities will also be obliged to give partial funding to the Cossacks from the state budget, and to grant them certain tax benefits.

But the Cossack renaissance is not welcomed by some human-rights activists, who sense in it a tinge of rising Great Russian chauvinism.

"Needless to say, it is difficult to object to people's desire to unite. If they want to guard the frontiers, let them do this as a version of contract service," Lev Ponomaryov, head of For Human Rights, said. "But it is alarming that they may be given the right to maintain law and order within these borders. Experience shows that the Cossacks have their own interpretation of law and order."

Russian Cossacks are used to skeptical attitudes. But today they have a powerful supporter in Putin, who views the so-far-unregistered 10 million Cossacks as his potential assistants in consolidating Russia's integrity and ensuring its citizens' security. The Kremlin expects the Cossacks to reaffirm their historical reputation as patriots, defenders of the state and champions of moral values.

The gist of the Cossack phenomenon is manifest in a popular anecdote about Napoleon, who is quoted as saying: "Give me 20 thousand Cossacks and I will conquer the whole of Europe and even the whole world." The Don atamans sent him a prompt reply: "Send us 20,000 French women, and in 20 years you will get 20,000 Cossacks. But they will serve Russia nonetheless."

"The only reason there are so many Russians in Ukraine is because the Kremlin exported them after getting rid of 10 million Ukrainians."

Actually, I've heard that most ethnic Russians came to the Ukraine from 1600 to 1800.

"No Ukrainians in Eastern Ukraine? Stalin had no problem finding them when he killed 10 million."

Actually, the death toll is somewhat disputed. For example, I came across this post on the soc.culture.ukrainian newsgroup:

"There are various estimates of the number of victims in Ukraine in 1932-1933. The maximum figure suggested is over six million (1976 samvydav document of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group). Others give a figure of three to four million (D. Solovii, M. Prykhodko, W.H. Chamberlin, and
V. Hryshko). V. Kubijovyc and C. Manning suggest two to three million." Also:

"There is an extensive list of memoirs and studies on the subject [the Famine of 1932-1933 by Ukrainian, Russian, and other writers, but a basic documentary study is still lacking."

That's from Vasyl Markus's article in The Encyclopedia of Ukraine (which is published by the University of Toronto Press, I believe). However, the Encyclopedia of Ukraine dates from 1984, if I'm not mistaken. So there might have been further study.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/soc.culture.ukrainian/browse_frm/thread/f05ce9acf372dffe/e11283046d5a818a?q=murder&rnum=1&hl=en#e11283046d5a818a

Abdul Abulbul Amir

Written By: Percy French
Copyright Unknown

The sons of the prophet were hardy and bold,
And quite unaccustomed to fear,
But the bravest of these was a man, I am told
Named Abdul Abulbul Amir.

This son of the desert, in battle aroused,
Could spit twenty men on his spear.
A terrible creature, both sober and soused
Was Abdul Abulbul Amir.

When they needed a man to encourage the van,
Or to harass the foe from the rear,
Or to storm a redoubt, they had only to shout
For Abdul Abulbul Amir.

There are heroes aplenty and men known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Czar;
But the bravest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

He could imitate Irving, play Euchre and pool
And perform on the Spanish Guitar.
In fact, quite the cream of the Muscovite team
Was Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

The ladies all loved him, his rivals were few;
He could drink them all under the bar.
As gallant or tank, there was no one to rank
With Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

One day this bold Russian had shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer
Downtown he did go, where he trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir

"Young man," quoth Bulbul, "has life grown so dull,
That you're anxious to end your career?
Vile infidel! Know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir."

"So take your last look at the sunshine and brook
And send your regrets to the Czar;
By this I imply you are going to die,
Mr. Ivan Skavinsky Skivar."

Quoth Ivan, "My friend, your remarks, in the end,
Will avail you but little, I fear,
For you ne'er will survive to repeat them alive,
Mr. Abdul Abulbul Amir!"

Then this bold mameluke drew his trusty chibouque
With a cry of "Allah Akbar!"
And with murderous intent, he ferociously went
For Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

They parried and thrust and they side-stepped and cussed
'Till their blood would have filled a great pot.
The philologist blokes, who seldom crack jokes,
Say that hash was first made on that spot.

They fought all that night, 'neath the pale yellow moon;
The din, it was heard from afar;
And great multitudes came, so great was the fame
of Abdul and Ivan Skivar.

As Abdul's long knife was extracting the life -
In fact, he was shouting "Huzzah!" - -
He felt himself struck by that wily Kalmuck,
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

The sultan drove by in his red-breasted fly,
Expecting the victor to cheer;
But he only drew nigh to hear the last sigh
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir.

Czar Petrovich, too, in his spectacles blue
Rode up in his new crested car.
He arrived just in time to exchange a last line
With Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

A loud-sounding splash from the Danube was heard
Resounding o'er meadows afar;
It came from the sack fitting close to the back
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skovar.

There's a tomb rises up where the blue Danube flows;
Engraved there in characters clear;
"Ah stranger, when passing, please pray for the soul
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir."

A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps,
'Neath the light of the pale polar star;
And the name that she murmurs as oft as she weeps
Is Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.