Siberian Cossack Army

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Siberian Cossack around 1890

The Siberian Cossack Army was the oldest Cossack Army in the Imperial Russian Army . It is also considered to be the "father" of all other Cossack armies , as tribal units for other Russian Cossack armies had been pulled out of them. It was founded in 1582 and dissolved in 1918, they had their headquarters in the Siberian capital Omsk . In 1997 the Siberian Cossacks were reactivated by presidential decree as a paramilitary unit in the Russian Federation .

History of origin

The Russian penetration of Siberia until the death of Tsar Peter the Great in 1725

In the middle of the 16th century, the Stroganov family of merchants had received a large area in Siberia from Tsar Ivan IV (1530–1584) . This was behind the Urals in the area of Perm . There they traded in furs , operated mines , foundries and hammer mills and tried to recruit Russian colonists from 1581 . The workforce consisted to a large extent of serfs , refugees and captured Tatars . But also from experts from Germany and the Baltic States , in captivity or were advised had been deported. An influential and financially strong trading region emerged in the near and far vicinity of Perm, which aroused the desire of the Tartar leader Kütschüm Khan - a descendant of Genghis Khan . The Tartars went on raids and plundered abundantly in the area of ​​the Stroganovs, they left havoc and kidnapped the inhabitants into slavery .

The establishment of the Siberian Cossack Army

Jermark in the battle against the Tartars (by Wassili Iwanowitsch Surikow )

December 6, 1582 is given as the founding day of the Cossack army and celebrated accordingly. After several attacks by the Tartars on the Russian colonists, Stroganov, under the direction of the ataman Yermak Timofejewitsch , launched an attack on the Tartar fortress. For the first time, the Cossacks not only attacked the enemy overland, but also penetrated the ranks of the enemy with fast boats on the rivers. On October 26th, the Cossacks conquered the capital of Siberia and built up a powerful force, so the construction of the Siberian Cossack army began. From 1701 to 1716 the Cossacks built a strong 1,000-kilometer line of defense and built several bases and fortifications . In 1716 the fortress of Omsk was built and expanded as the headquarters of the Cossack army. By 1725, almost 8,000 people had settled along the border line, and the Siberian cities of Tara and Tobolsk and Tyumen emerged . The Cossack army was under the command of the Siberian governor Prince Dolgorukov and consisted of 785 Cossacks. From 1745 to 1752 another 53 Cossack settlements were established and the military personnel grew to 3500 Cossacks. As early as 1734, several hundred Cossacks had been integrated into the Orenburg Cossack army . The situation on the Russian-Chinese border became more and more explosive in the years 1764–1771, several nomad attacks could be repulsed and an 11 kilometer long fortification strip, known as the Bijskoj Cossack Line , was built on the Russian border side 1781 more fortresses.

Border security and war missions

In 1803, when Tsar Alexander I (1777–1825) ruled the tsarist empire, the population in Siberia had grown to 13,000. Of these, 6,000 Cossacks were in arms service. As a result, a major reform was carried out in 1808 and a tight organization was implemented. The Siberian Cossack Army now consisted of divisions and regiments that could be mobilized and increased relatively quickly in times of war. During the Patriotic War in 1812, the Siberian Cossacks set up cavalry regiments and border guards regiments to guard the Russian-Chinese border and to guard the prisoners of war who had been deported to Siberia. At the same time, a Siberian local self-government , a provincial administration, a judicial system and a Siberian governor's parliament developed .

After 1825, at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I (1796–1855), Siberia experienced a further increase in population. Of the now 37,000 people, over 8,000 Cossacks were in the service of the Imperial Russian Army. The army was now gradually upgraded with modern weapons and mainly served as a border guard. The increase in military personnel required a further reform, the area was divided into 9 regimental districts, in each of which a regiment with three brigades were stationed. There was also a guard regiment and nine reserve organizations , a cavalry regiment and three independent cavalry batteries . In addition, several stanizas were built in the Kyrgyz steppe . When Tsar Alexander II (1818–1881) followed in 1855, 12,500 Cossacks were under arms on the Siberian line. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, parts of the cavalry were assigned to the Imperial Russian Army, some of them also served as mounted mountain troops . After the First World War and the subsequent October Revolution , the Siberian Cossack army did not play a decisive role; they were disbanded in 1918.

Second World War

From 1937 the Cossacks were called back to arms and served in the Russian army. Other parts of the Cossack armies joined the Germans in World War II, they moved along with their relatives with the Germans. After the October Revolution, the majority of the Cossacks who had rebelled against the Bolsheviks were exiled to Siberia; in 1944 they formed the core of the Russian Vlasov army . At the time of the German surrender , the many Cossacks were gathered in Styria and Carinthia and placed themselves under the protection of the British Army. They were from the German commander General Helmuth von Pannwitz commanded the Cossack Association consisted of the 1st Don Cossack regiment, the 2nd Siberian Cossack regiment, the 4th Cuba Cossack regiment and a horse artillery department. They were victims of the so-called Lienz Cossack tragedy .

Reactivation of the Siberian Cossack Army

Uniform of the registered Siberian Cossack army

With the presidential decree of the Russian Federation of February 12, 1997, the Siberian Cossack Army was added to the list of " Registered Cossacks of the Russian Federation ". They serve as a kind of home guard for the Russian government and are organized as a paramilitary group, the headquarters are in Omsk.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Yermak and the conquest of Siberia - The Cossacks as conquists of the East. On: kriegsreisen.de , early modern times - the breakthrough, conquest of Siberia
  2. ↑ With Kind & Kegel in the genocide. In: The Cossack Central Organ. Retrieved July 16, 2018 .
  3. ^ Siberian Cossack Army - Omsk. Retrieved July 16, 2018 (Russian).