Amur Cossack Army

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Territory of the Amur Cossacks

The Amur Cossack Army ( Russian : Амурское казачье войско) was set up on December 8, 1858 on the orders of the Russian Tsar Alexander II (1818-1881). The task was to secure the border between Russia and China , before the Baikal Cossack army was based there. The Amur Cossacks had settled along the Amur since 1655. The stanizas were built along the Amur and Ussuri rivers . In 1879 the Transbaikal Cossack army and in 1888 the Ussurian Cossack army were withdrawn from the Amur Cossack army, both became independent Cossack armies . Until 1903, the Amur Cossack Army had grown to 30,000 Cossacks, mostly it consisted of units for border patrol, further comprised of a cavalry - regiment and a light infantry - battalion . The headquarters had been stationed in Blagoveshchensk since 1890 .

history

The Russian fortress of Albazin during a Chinese attack

The river Ulya was known to the Russians since 1639 through the Cossack Moskkwitin, the Cossack leader Vasily Danilowitsch Pojarkow carried out inquiries in the far east and in the direction of the Amur on behalf of the government and the governor of Yakutsk in 1646. That was the first undertaking to investigate the Amur. "Vasili Poyarkov reported to the government that, in his opinion, it would be very easy and useful to conquer the land around the Amur and that this operation would only require 300 Cossacks." After sable hunters had explored the shortest route across the Tungir and Urkal rivers , the government decided to send Cossacks to the Amur. They were supposed to build an ostrog there, oblige the Tungus living there to pay interest, and secure the way there.

The original and earliest settlement of the Amur Cossacks, who called themselves the Khabarovsk Cossacks, after their first great Cossack leader Jerofei Pavlovich Khabarov (1603–1671), dates back to 1651. Its first location was the Albazin fortress in Khabarovsk on the Amur. It was not until the 1850s that the Amur Cossacks developed, most of whom were descended from the Transbaikal Cossacks. With the establishment of the Amur Cossack army and the ordered resettlement of other Cossacks, people spoke of the Amur Cossacks in 1858. Around 1889, 62 families of the Transbaikal Cossacks and 1052 families of the Don, Kuban and Orenburg Cossacks formed new Cossack settlements. By 1876 the Cossack population had grown to over 18,000. The Cossack army was initially subordinate to the military governor of the Amur and Primorye regions , then to the Amour governor-general, who was also the commander of the Amur military district. In this capacity he was also the ataman of the Amur and Ussuri Cossack troops. The main task of the army was to guard the border along the Amur and Ussuri rivers, while parts of the Ussuri Cossacks were transferred to the Ussuri Cossack army in 1889, the Amur Cossacks remained on the Amur River.

By 1916, 120 Cossack settlements with a total of 49,200 people had been built. The Cossack Army now consisted of a Cavalry - Regiment , an infantry - train , two mounted cavalry regiments, a Wachzug for honorary services, five special batteries , a hundred for special tasks and another battery, it comprised a total of 3,600 military personnel.

War participation

The units of the Amur Cossack army were deployed in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 . They fought in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 and in the first World War .

  • Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901)

  • Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)

  • Generals in World War I (1914–1918)

Cossack Congresses

Amur Cossack Army (Russian postage stamp)

The first Cossack congress of the Amur Cossacks took place from December 15, 1905 to January 21, 1906 in Blagoveshchensk. The delegates demanded a seat in the Duma for the Cossack army, not to send the army to police operations, the abolition of the death penalty , military courts and disciplinary punishments . They wanted the Amur region to exercise power freely, to hand over all military equipment to the executive committee, which was yet to be established, and to convene a constituent assembly. These demands and the attempt to establish a state power of their own were violently ended. 35 leading Cossacks were sentenced to forced labor, six Cossacks were exiled to Siberia and another twelve Cossacks were sentenced to prison terms. The second Cossack Congress was held after the fall of the monarchy in March 1917. The Cossacks demanded the establishment of a democratic republic, compensation of around 103,000 rubles , the surrender of the military coffers and the preservation of the Cossack army.

Dissolution and uprisings

In 1918 the Amur Cossack Army was incorporated into the Soviet Army . On March 31, 1918, it was decided to dissolve the Amur Cossack army. In September 1918 another Cossack uprising took place under the leadership of the Ataman IM Gamow. The Soviet rulers were temporarily deposed and the military headquarters in Blagoveshchensk were reactivated. In February 1920, the Amur region came under Soviet sovereignty again and on February 25, 1920, the last commander of the Cossack army, Colonel Shemelin, was deposed. Another so-called Zazeian uprising ultimately led to thousands of Cossack families fleeing to Manchuria . In today's Amur Cossack area, around 15,000 Cossacks live in more than 200 settlements fighting for their national identity. More than half are not included in the Russian state register.

Blagoveshchensk

Coat of arms of the city of Blagoveshchensk

The regions of the later Amur area were surveyed in the 1840s and recorded in 1858. It belonged to the General Government of Amur and was assigned to the Cossacks as a military district. The Boxer Rebellion, which lasted from 1899 to 1901, led to the expulsion of the Chinese population living there in 1900 . From 1920 to 1922 the Amur region belonged to the Far Eastern Republic , since 1932 Blagoveshchensk was the center of the Amur Oblast . After the Second World War , a forced labor camp was built there.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b St. Petersburgische Zeitschrift , Volume 12, 1823. Original from Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, books.google.de
  2. ^ "Albazin, city and fortress in Niuchi Tartarei , on the Damour River, 20 day trips from Beijing . It belonged to the Russians before them, but gave the opportunity for war between China and Russia because of the sable fishing there and pearl fishing in the Amur. The Russians ceded this place to the Chinese in 1668, and peace was restored. ”In: Newly augmented and improved real State Newspaper and Conversations Lexicon , 1782. Original from Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, books.google.de, column 63