Atamans of the Kuban Cossacks. Ex Ataman KKV about the modern Cossacks
On February 20, a press conference was held by Nikolai Doluda, Ataman of the Kuban Cossack Host, Vice-Governor of the Krasnodar Territory and Chairman of the Council of Atamans of Registered Cossack Troops of Russia. The event was dedicated to the results of the Great Cossack Circle, which took place on February 15 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The Yuga.ru portal recorded the main theses of Doluda's speech, where he talks about the All-Russian registered Cossack army, young Cossacks, cyber squads, the scandal with Ataman Naumenko, the prospects for the Cossack police and the word "mummers".
On the creation of the All-Russian Registered Cossack Army
- With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, on February 15, the All-Russian Cossack circle opened its work. It was attended by delegations of all 11 registered Cossack troops, as well as representatives of some public organizations of non-registered Cossacks.
One of the main questions of the circle was the consideration of the concept of creating the All-Russian Cossack Army. I made a report on this - as the chairman of the Council of Military Ataman Registered Cossack Troops of Russia. Based on the decisions of the first All-Russian Cossack Forum held in Krasnodar last autumn, I said that the time had come to create an All-Russian army. Its creation will enable all 11 registered troops to develop evenly.
Registered Cossack troops throughout Russia number about 600 thousand. They are located in 80 subjects of the Russian Federation. How not to use this potential of the most powerful force? These patriotic people, eager to serve the state and the fatherland?
It is planned that the All-Russian Registered Cossack Army will have a Supreme Ataman. He will be punished. We took this path to avoid conflicts, as each registry society will insist on its chieftain. The Council for Cossack Affairs under the President will represent the candidates for the supreme ataman. And to approve - the president himself.
All registered troops will retain the status of an independent legal entity. But the ataman will coordinate the work of all legal entities, and the headquarters and board will be located in Moscow.
All preparatory activities must be completed by November this year. After that, it is planned to hold a Cossack circle in Moscow, at which the creation of the All-Russian Registered Cossack Army will be announced.
On the draft federal law "On the Cossacks"
The authorities of Kuban sent the draft federal law "On the development of the Russian Cossacks" for examination to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The concept and the draft law were developed in our region last year. Most importantly, the status of the Cossacks in the document is defined as a special form of state and social life of an independent people. It is the people and nothing else.
The current regulatory framework only reflects the attitude of the state towards the Cossacks, but does not define the basic rights and obligations of the Cossacks and the purpose of the Cossack troops in the national system. That is why an absolutely new legal act is urgently needed, in which the status of the Cossacks will be fixed at the state level. We will make efforts to synchronize the adoption of the federal law with the process of creating the All-Russian Registered Cossack Society.
On the opponents of the creation of the All-Russian registered Cossack army
Opponents are, were and will be. But these are not registered Cossacks. These are the Cossacks of public organizations. We have posted on our website an answer to these writers who write these scribbles. Let them first show what they have done for the development of the Cossacks in their territories. They are now criticizing that there is no need for an all-Russian army, there is no need for a registered army. But we, the Cossacks of the Kuban Cossack Army, can show that it is needed, that we are doing a lot. Yes, something does not work, but otherwise it is impossible.
It's easy to criticize. But first you suggest something else. But it's so easy to engage in criticism - low and vile. After all, apart from criticism, absurd criticism, there is nothing. In addition, a real Cossack must understand what the international situation is now. Now more than ever we need the consolidation of all the healthy forces of our society. You need a fist, otherwise they will cut off one finger at a time.
On the financing of the All-Russian Cossack Army
While it is too early to talk about it, it has not yet been created. But I think it will. The first is deductions from each of the 11 registered troops. The second is the provision of assistance from investors. The third is some kind of assistance from the state.
About chinoproizvodstva and"mummers»
We have defined chinoproizvodstvo. After all, you remember, before shoulder straps clung to everything, the generalissimo went. There was a nasty offensive word "mummers". It is now out of use. Specifically, it took us in the Kuban, it is gone. Well, yes, somewhere someone can afford it, but we are fighting it.
Chinoproizvodstvo defined - only for registered troops. Social activists - please, you can walk in a tunic, in a Circassian coat, but do not dare to wear shoulder straps. Because this is only for registered Cossack troops. Determined by decree of Russia. A specific uniform for each Cossack army. The Kuban one has this, the Terek one has another, the Don one has its own.
Children who study in Cossack corps and schools are completely different children, believe me
Nikolai Doluda, ataman of the Kuban Cossack army
About the Cossack youth in the Kuban
We in the Kuban are seriously engaged in the patriotic education of the younger generation. To do this, we have created the Union of Cossack Youth, which now has almost 85 thousand children of school age. This is a huge army. These are children who study in 3,000 Cossack classes and seven Cossack corps. I am sure that future atamans of farm, stanitsa, city, district Cossack societies will come out of these children. They all study the history, culture, traditions of the Cossacks. Children who study in Cossack corps and schools are completely different children, believe me.
These children are very educated, they know the history and traditions of the Cossacks considerably - even better than some chieftains. They respect elders and work. “Fatherland” and “Motherland” are not empty words for them. These words are passed down from generation to generation, passed down at the gene level. It is very important.
All students of cadet corps and Cossack schools go to classes only in Cossack uniforms. All - both boys and girls, from 1st to 11th grade. And they are no longer shy about these clothes. It used to be awkward for some, yes. Not now.
Every year we hold military field training camps. After all, the Cossack is primarily a defender. And it is very important that a large number of children come to the training camp with us. 7 thousand adults and 800 children from the Cossack classes. And so every year.
On the military and public service of the Cossacks
Every year we send about a thousand young Cossacks to serve in the Armed Forces. For each registered army, specific units are identified where the Cossacks are sent to serve.
In addition, now, in agreement with the leadership of the National Guard, we are starting to recruit our company. One company has already been completed - in one of the settlements of the Krasnodar Territory. This is as an experiment for now. But we will continue this work. Let's see how the service of the Cossacks in the National Guard will be organized. Maybe we will complete further.
Also, 1,652 Cossacks are engaged in the protection of public order on an ongoing basis. In order to achieve this, we entered into an agreement with the main department of internal affairs of the region. We also have agreements with the regional border department, the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. On the basis of these agreements, we outlined how much each department needs.
As for the protection of public order: for 1,652 Cossacks, funds were allocated from the regional budget. But there is one caveat. So far, only the region can conclude these agreements, but with the All-Russian Registered Cossack Army, we will be able to directly interact with federal ministries in the types of civil service.
About Cyberguards
I have a very positive attitude towards the idea of cyberteams. They have just started working at the Razumovsky University. And literally in March or April we intend to select our representatives and send them to study at this university. This is a necessary and necessary work.
I can't tell you yet either about the status of the cyber squads or about when they will appear in our region. It's too early to talk about it. So far, we are only selecting the most advanced people and are going to send them to study in Moscow. 20-30 people.
About relations with foreign Cossacks
In no case do we now cut off ties with those Cossacks whose parents or ancestors left Russia. Until now, no matter how strange it may seem, we maintain ties with the Kuban Cossack army abroad - in particular with the United States. Most recently, his ataman Alexander Pevnev came to us in the Kuban with his colleagues. They visited our training camps, in our villages.
We also maintain ties with the Serbs, where a huge number of Cossacks are buried, who left the country in the 1920s. We keep in touch with representatives of Greece, where Cossacks are also buried on Lemnos. Quite recently, at the end of last year, I met with a delegation from Greece, where we discussed the prospect of various joint events.
For us, this is a hot topic. And in the Cossack circle it was said how important it is to facilitate the return of our Cossacks who left Russia. But this is a huge amount of work, of course.
Atamans of the Kuban Cossack army
Who, where are you from, free people,
Proud people - Cossacks,
Separate people came to these steppes
From the sea, from land or from the river?
Time lays torn roads,
Who abandoned the stirrups?
But the Cossacks left us
For history names...
People are strong and hot
Forged in the wind
Isn't it destiny itself,
To serve good?
Our time is a troubled time,
Whatever the day, the message of anxiety.
Time is vague, but not sad,
God is with us, and Russia, and honor!
K. Iskhakova
Interest in the past of the Kuban Cossacks on the part of the scientific community, the general population and participants in the revival is a powerful process today.
Society itself is interested in the revival of the Cossacks in modern conditions, there is an intensive search for the best ways to use it.
The story will be about the chieftains of the Kuban Cossack army and the history and activities of the Gelendzhik city Cossack society at the present time.
There was complete equality among the Cossacks, and people who were distinguished by intelligence, knowledge, talents and personal merits were nominated and elected to leading positions. The Cossacks did not know any privileges due to origin, nobility of the family, wealth or any other grounds. Remote hundreds of miles from state centers, the Cossacks themselves had to create power for themselves on the spot. It was an elective power - the military and. Koshevoy ataman. The supreme executive body was the Military Government, which included 4 persons: ataman, judge, clerk and yesaul.
Scientists associate the origin of the word "ataman" with the Gothic dialect, where " atta" meant "father", and "mann" - "husband", that is, "father of husbands". Hence the appeal "father - ataman" came from. This is how they refer to the ataman today. But the sole power of the ataman was limited by the norms of Orthodoxy and the Cossack customs, and sometimes the ataman could not do anything without the decision of the Rada.
In practice, chieftains were the same Cossacks as all Cossacks, only endowed with special duties and vested with the full confidence of the Cossacks. This applies to the distant past, when the formation of the Kuban Cossack army had just begun.
Over time, a significant role in the development of the administrative administration of the Kuban began to be played by the kosh, military and atamans of the Black Sea, Caucasian linear and Kuban Cossack troops. Combining military and civil power, the chieftains already had significant powers and did a lot to strengthen the economy, improvement and social life of the Kuban. Their activities were carried out in line with the Russian state policy, but the interests of the Cossacks were not forgotten.
The fate and activities of the chieftains of the Kuban Cossack army are inseparable from historical events.
In 1829, according to the Adrianople peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus from the fortress of Ana to Poti, inhabited by Circassian tribes, went to Russia. In order to consolidate the acquired territory along the Caucasian coast, the construction of fortifications began, which began in 1831, when Russian troops landed in the Gelendzhik Bay. In general, from 1831 to 1842. 17 fortifications were erected on the Black Sea coast, which made up the Black Sea coastline
At the same time, construction began on another line from the Kuban to the Black Sea, called Gelendzhik, and stretching for more than 80 kilometers.
This territory was part of the Caucasian linear Cossack army, the first ataman of which was P.S. Verzilin. The management of a vast territory required considerable administrative skills. According to contemporaries, Verzilin, a purely military man, did not possess these abilities. Therefore, Emperor Nicholas 1, after visiting the North Caucasus in 1837, ordered the appointment of Major General S.S. Nikolaev. A hereditary Don Cossack, Stepan Stepanovich Nikolaev, thoroughly knowing the Cossack life, managed to do a lot for the well-being of the troops. Under him, 22 villages were founded, the development of the New Line began, and the "Regulations on the Caucasian Line Cossack Host" were approved. After his death, Major General F.A. was appointed in his place. Krukovsky, about whose exploits the linear Cossacks composed songs that far outlived their chieftain. He devoted all his activities free from campaigns to the organization of military life, inspected the villages, inspected the regiments. At the beginning of 1852, while taking a blockage on the Goite River in Chechnya, he was cut down by mountaineers.
The fourth ataman of the lineians was the head of the center of the Caucasian line, Major General Prince G.R. Eristov. He did not take office, as his health was undermined, and soon left for Tiflis.
The last chieftain of the army became ON THE. Rudzevich. Rudzevich was awarded many awards, participated in the Russian-Turkish and Caucasian wars, in the capture of Shamil. Historians consider his peacekeeping activity to be the most fruitful. Ataman Rudzevich achieved the dissolution of the reserve Cossack battalions from the cordon line, which allowed the Cossacks to take care of their household. He provided financial assistance to the settlers of the new villages, at his request the term of active Cossack service was reduced from 25 to 15 years. Among the Cossack population Rudzevich N.A. had great popularity.
Turning to the history of the settlement of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, we learn that on March 10, 1866. The Black Sea District was established as an independent unit within the Russian state. The settlement of this area was carried out at the expense of Cossack veterans who served for at least 20 years and took an active part in the hostilities. This is how the Shapsug coastal battalion was formed. The Cossacks of the battalion were settled in twelve coastal villages: Gelendzhik, Aderbievka, Pshadskaya, Nebugskaya, Velyaminovskaya, Georgievskaya.
Several hundred Cossacks with their families moved to Gelendzhik and the regions. The government hoped to turn the settlers into a reliable stronghold, to strengthen the protection of the borders and the defense capability of the Trans-Kuban region and the Black Sea coast.
The inhabitants of the new settlements were not ready to work in the local climate, crop failures often occurred. Communication difficulties and the lack of qualified medical care led to high mortality. The settlers suffered from fever, scurvy, dropsy, and dysentery.
In addition to losses from disease, the Cossacks died in battles with the highlanders. Despite being exempted from military service, they had to protect their settlements.
It was a strange and cruel war - without a permanent enemy, without rules, without a front line, without pity for the enemy. In skirmishes and skirmishes, people died, cattle and prisoners were stolen.
In response to this, the Cossacks did the same: they burned villages, stole cattle.
The chronicler of the Kuban regiment wrote about the life of the Cossacks: "... the Kuban Cossacks for 70 years endured a life full of constant anxiety, murders and robberies by the enemy and did not lose heart, but they were always distinguished by cheerfulness and fearlessness."
In 1860 according to the project of the commander of the Caucasian army, Prince A.I. Baryatinsky, instead of the Black Sea and Caucasian linear Cossack troops, two new ones were formed - Kuban with a center in Yekaterinodar and Terskoye with a center in Vladikavkaz. The brigades of the Caucasian linear army retreated to the Kuban army along with the Black Sea coast. The position of the head of the region was combined with the position of the chief ataman. Usually the chief ataman lived in Yekaterinodar.
In 1860 he became the first chieftain of the Kuban Cossack army. commander of the troops of the Kuban region, adjutant general count N.I. Evdokimov. In 1861 he handed over the ataman's mace to the major general ON THE. Ivanov who organized the management of the new army.
August 23, 1862 Adjutant General F.N. Sumarokov-Elston. Under him, the Cossacks settled the foothills of the Western Caucasus, which turned into troubles and hardships for the inhabitants of the new villages.
After the end of the war in 1864, a stream of non-resident immigrants poured into the Kuban region. At the same time, Sumarokov-Elston contributed to the development of education, trade and industry in the region.
In February 1869 lieutenant-general was appointed ataman M.A. Click. During the period of his atamanship, the "Regulations on public administration in the Cossack troops" were introduced, the first work on the delimitation of lands began and the forms of land ownership were established, which existed until 1917. Tsakni also took part in drawing up a regulation on the release of dependent estates in the mountain communities of the Kuban region.
From 1873 to 1882, Lieutenant General was the chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army. ON THE. Karmalin, a graduate of the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, who did a lot for the economic and cultural upsurge of the region. Only from 1874 to 1880. 136 school buildings were built in the Kuban region, the Kuban military ethnographic and natural history museum was opened.
E.D. Felitsyn defines the main feature of this chieftain's activity as follows: "Deep interest in the needs of the region and the Cossack." Karmalin did not miss a single article in the press on the issue of the Russian land community and was familiar with the subject no worse than any specialist. On May 9, 1879, the Caucasian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society elected him as its full member.
January 22, 1882 Lieutenant General S.A. Sheremetev, descended from an ancient boyar family. The list of his military exploits took up several pages, he was respected by the Cossacks.
At the end of March 1884 assumes the position of punished chieftain G.A. Leonov. Cossack origin and knowledge of local life made it easier for G.A. Leonov management of the Kuban region. He was elected an honorary old man in the villages of Korenovskaya and Batalpashinskaya.
After his death in January 1892. The Kuban Cossack army was led by Lieutenant General Ya.D. Malam. During his reign, the region experienced a period of economic and social upsurge.
In 1904-1906. was the chief ataman YES. Odintsov, whose atamanship coincided with the Russo-Japanese War and the events of the Russian Revolution. Under him, 4 mobilizations were carried out in the region, the performances of scout battalions and the rebellion of the Cossacks of the 2nd Urupsky regiment were suppressed.
In March 1906 lieutenant general was appointed ataman N.I. Mikhailov. Despite his Cossack origin (he was a hereditary Ural Cossack), Mikhailov, by his inaction, indulged the revolutionary terrorists, who committed vile atrocities with impunity. At the hands of terrorists, the assistant to the police chief Grigory Zhuravel, the secretary of the Kuban Statistical Committee S.V. Rudenko. The director of public schools G.M. was killed. Spire. All of them were Cossacks. The victims multiplied, so in February 1908 Mikhailov was removed, and he would have been an ataman. appointed a native Kuban Cossack of the village of Novovelichkovskaya Lieutenant General Mikhail Pavlovich Babych. The new ataman decided to put an end to terror and anarchy and introduced a curfew in Ekaterinodar. Most of the Kuban people were satisfied: the Law came into force. Thanks to the will and strict rule of M.P. Babych terrorists will leave the Kuban region. Three weeks later, when the Kuban was cleared of revolutionaries, the restrictions were lifted.
Babych fought against demagogy, the propaganda of imaginary "liberation ideas" that led gullible people away from the pressing vital questions of needs to the obvious death of society, the destruction of their homes and spiritual shrines. The economy and morality were streamlined, public life in the region was revived.
In 1914 M.P. Babych was in Gelendzhik and the surrounding villages. Everyone who needed help came to see the ataman, no one left without hope and consolation, without solving their problem.
For services to the Fatherland M.P. Babych in the same year was promoted to general of infantry.
After the October Revolution of 1917 in the whirlwind of revolutionary events, the Cossacks did not lose their fighting qualities, fighting spirit, showed miracles of courage, heroism, military prowess and discipline. The same applies to the participation of the Cossacks in the Civil and Great Patriotic War: the 4th Guards Kuban Cossack Corps reached Vienna, the Kuban Cossacks took part in the solemn parade on Red Square in 1945. Thousands and thousands of Cossacks have awards, there are Heroes of the Soviet Union, among them are our fellow Gelendzhi residents.
According to the historian A.N. Malukalo, the Kuban Cossack army already by the beginning of the 20th century required fundamental changes in the management system. A situation has developed that requires a radical reorganization of military institutions, without which "the army and the Cossacks as a military estate were doomed to disappear."
And not only as a military ... During 1917-1930. as a result of the repressive policy, more than 5 million people of the Cossack class were destroyed.
But, as a folk proverb says: "No translation to the Cossack family."
During the years of perestroika, the Cossacks entered the era of their revival.
In 1989 in Gelendzhik, an urban Cossack society was created.
Soloviev Yuri Aleksandrovich was chosen as the first ataman.
In 1998 Anatoly Konstantinovich Kovbasyuk is elected ataman, who holds this position to this day.
Here is what he said about how the Cossacks live today: “Until 1990, the authorities claimed that during the years of socialism, the Cossacks ceased to exist. The use of external paraphernalia was allowed: traditional uniforms, paramilitary sports, etc.
Perestroika led to the awakening of the cultural and political consciousness of the descendants of the Cossacks. In autumn 1989 in Krasnodar, the Kuban Cossack Club was created, the main purpose of which was historical education and patriotic education. Summer 1990 representatives of the Cossack societies took part in the Constituent Congress of the Cossacks of Russia in Moscow.
In exile, he was elected ataman V.G. Naumenko.
October 1990 the first Constituent All-Kuban Cossack Congress took place: the Kuban Cossack Rada was created. Already October 12-14, 1990. Krasnodar hosted the 1st (Constituent) All-Kuban Cossack Congress. He approved the name of the regional association (Kuban Cossack Rada), adopted the charter, determined the principles and directions of activity. Ataman of the Kuban Cossack army abroad (USA) A.M. Pivnev presented in Krasnodar the banner of the Kuban Cossack army, brought from abroad.
V.P. was elected ataman. Gromov, a hereditary Cossack from the village of Pashkovskaya, associate professor of the Kuban State University.
The goals and objectives of the activities of the Cossack society were defined: the revival and preservation of the Cossacks as a special ethnic group; restoration of historical truth about the Cossacks; military-patriotic work to prepare young people for military service; propaganda of customs, holidays, rituals, crafts and crafts, life of the Cossacks.
The revived Kuban Cossacks came out in defense of a single strong Russian state. Volunteer Cossacks defended the Orthodox in Transnistria, Yugoslavia, and Chechnya. The Cossack organizations of the region expressed their readiness to carry out military and law enforcement service.
V.P. Gromov, a Cossack general, was an adviser to the Office of the President of the Russian Federation on Cossacks, as well as deputy chairman of the Coordinating Council for Cossacks. At present, V.P. Gromov - Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory, Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and Cossack Affairs.
On November 17, 2007, by the decision of the gathering of Cossacks, the vice-governor of Kuban was elected ataman of the Kuban Cossack army (KKV) Nikolai Doluda. In this post, he replaced Vladimir Gromov, who led the army for 17 years. The new ataman of the KKV thanked the Cossacks for their trust in his response.
On February 1, 2008, the newly elected ataman of the Kuban Cossack army, Nikolai Doluda, swore allegiance to the Kuban Cossacks at the first military Rada this year.
The solemn speech of the ataman, according to tradition, ended with the kissing of the holy Gospel and the cross. After the wishes of the military priest Father Sergius, Nikolai Doluda thanked the Cossacks for the trust placed in him in the election of the ataman, and promised to work day and night, sparing no effort, for the good of the army.
Pavel Frolov, chairman of the KKV Council of Elders, gave the floor for instruction. The elderly Cossack flavored his orders with symbolic blows of the whip on the back of the ataman.
Today, no one doubts that the revival of the Kuban Cossacks took place. Now we need to move forward, live a full life for the benefit of ourselves and the state.
Over the past three years, within the framework of the regional target program, the Cossacks have actively participated in the preservation of the traditional culture of the Kuban, interregional and interethnic cooperation and the protection of public order. But if at first this was enough, today it is not enough.
The Kuban Cossack army is a strong and organized structure, - Nikolai Doluda said. - It is necessary to work on increasing the prestige of the Cossacks and the Cossacks. But only conversations and orders will not raise authority. We need specific things. That is what my work will be aimed at.
According to the ataman, every Kuban farm, every village, every city should be involved in the activities of the troops. Atamans and local heads should not only consult with each other, but also act together for the benefit of all residents.
Now it is impossible to imagine the existence of a separate "Cossack nation", because society lives in completely different historical conditions than hundreds of years ago.
The Cossacks today are a social group of Russian societies focused on employment in agriculture, on military and law enforcement service, on educating the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism and preserving the original culture of the Cossacks.
The Gelendzhik Cossacks number 216 people. Among them are employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, officers and ordinary residents of the city, who take an active part in the public life of the city and the region. The Cossacks take care of maintaining the environmental cleanliness of the bay (the construction of the seaport was picketed for 2 months), forest cordons are created to prevent illegal logging and unlicensed shooting of wild animals, and explosive shells are neutralized.
Cossacks take an active part in parades dedicated to the anniversary of the rehabilitation of the Kuban Cossacks in 2004, Victory Day, in all public events that are held in our city, for example, the consecration of a temple in the village. Divnomorskoe, in memory of F.A. Slits in Dzhanhot.
Particular attention is paid to civil, patriotic and spiritual education: Cossack classes have been created in the secondary school No. 3, a Sunday parochial school is operating, 7 young Gelendzhi residents entered the Cossack cadet corps in Novocherkassk.
The Cossacks are preparing young people to serve in the army, the ataman himself takes part in live firing.
There are sports events.
In the education of young people, they actively participate in the fight against drug addiction and tobacco smoking, promote a healthy lifestyle, in a word, do everything possible so that young people grow up physically and morally healthy, and the state can be proud of the new generation.
At present, the glorious Kuban Cossacks are being revived, headed at all times by chieftains with the true qualities of a real Cossack: military prowess, courage, dignity and honor, the ability to lead people.
Atamans of the Kuban Cossack army
Ludmila Privalova
Who, where are you from, free people,
Proud people - Cossacks,
Separate people came to these steppes
From the sea, from land or from the river?
Time lays torn roads,
Who abandoned the stirrups?
But the Cossacks left us
For history names...
People are strong and hot
Forged in the wind
Isn't it destiny itself,
To serve good?
Our time is a troubled time,
Whatever the day, the message of anxiety.
Time is vague, but not sad,
God is with us, and Russia, and honor!
K. Iskhakova
Interest in the past of the Kuban Cossacks on the part of the scientific community, the general population and participants in the revival is a powerful process today.
Society itself is interested in the revival of the Cossacks in modern conditions, there is an intensive search for the best ways to use it.
The story will be about the chieftains of the Kuban Cossack army and the history and activities of the Gelendzhik city Cossack society at the present time.
There was complete equality among the Cossacks, and people who were distinguished by intelligence, knowledge, talents and personal merits were nominated and elected to leading positions. The Cossacks did not know any privileges due to origin, nobility of the family, wealth or any other grounds. Remote hundreds of miles from state centers, the Cossacks themselves had to create power for themselves on the spot. It was an elective power - the military and. Koshevoy ataman. The supreme executive body was the Military Government, which included 4 persons: ataman, judge, clerk and yesaul.
Scientists associate the origin of the word "ataman" with the Gothic dialect, where " atta" meant "father", and "mann" - "husband", that is, "father of husbands". Hence the appeal "father - ataman" came from. This is how they refer to the ataman today. But the sole power of the ataman was limited by the norms of Orthodoxy and the Cossack customs, and sometimes the ataman could not do anything without the decision of the Rada.
In practice, chieftains were the same Cossacks as all Cossacks, only endowed with special duties and vested with the full confidence of the Cossacks. This applies to the distant past, when the formation of the Kuban Cossack army had just begun.
Over time, a significant role in the development of the administrative administration of the Kuban began to be played by the kosh, military and atamans of the Black Sea, Caucasian linear and Kuban Cossack troops. Combining military and civil power, the chieftains already had significant powers and did a lot to strengthen the economy, improvement and social life of the Kuban. Their activities were carried out in line with the Russian state policy, but the interests of the Cossacks were not forgotten.
The fate and activities of the chieftains of the Kuban Cossack army are inseparable from historical events.
In 1829, according to the Adrianople peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus from the fortress of Ana to Poti, inhabited by Circassian tribes, went to Russia. In order to consolidate the acquired territory along the Caucasian coast, the construction of fortifications began, which began in 1831, when Russian troops landed in the Gelendzhik Bay. In general, from 1831 to 1842. 17 fortifications were erected on the Black Sea coast, which made up the Black Sea coastline
At the same time, construction began on another line from the Kuban to the Black Sea, called Gelendzhik, and stretching for more than 80 kilometers.
This territory was part of the Caucasian linear Cossack army, the first ataman of which was P.S. Verzilin. The management of a vast territory required considerable administrative skills. According to contemporaries, Verzilin, a purely military man, did not possess these abilities. Therefore, Emperor Nicholas 1, after visiting the North Caucasus in 1837, ordered the appointment of Major General S.S. Nikolaev. A hereditary Don Cossack, Stepan Stepanovich Nikolaev, thoroughly knowing the Cossack life, managed to do a lot for the well-being of the troops. Under him, 22 villages were founded, the development of the New Line began, and the "Regulations on the Caucasian Line Cossack Host" were approved. After his death, Major General F.A. was appointed in his place. Krukovsky, about whose exploits the linear Cossacks composed songs that far outlived their chieftain. He devoted all his activities free from campaigns to the organization of military life, inspected the villages, inspected the regiments. At the beginning of 1852, while taking a blockage on the Goite River in Chechnya, he was cut down by mountaineers.
The fourth ataman of the lineians was the head of the center of the Caucasian line, Major General Prince G.R. Eristov. He did not take office, as his health was undermined, and soon left for Tiflis.
The last chieftain of the army became ON THE. Rudzevich. Rudzevich was awarded many awards, participated in the Russian-Turkish and Caucasian wars, in the capture of Shamil. Historians consider his peacekeeping activity to be the most fruitful. Ataman Rudzevich achieved the dissolution of the reserve Cossack battalions from the cordon line, which allowed the Cossacks to take care of their household. He provided material assistance to the settlers of the new villages, at his request, the term of the valid Cossack
The ex-ataman of the Kuban Cossack army, Cossack General Vladimir Gromov, told Denis Kurenov about the revival of the Cossacks, about the relationship between the Cossacks and the authorities, about the whip as a delusion, and also that the Cossacks should not participate in the dispersal of rallies and demonstrations.
Gromov led the Kuban Cossack army for 17 years. Becoming ataman in 1990, he participated in key events in the revival of the Cossacks in the Kuban. At the end of 2007, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory. In addition to the deputy position, at the moment Vladimir Gromov also holds the post of deputy chairman of the committee on military issues, security, education of pre-conscription youth and the affairs of the Cossacks of the ZSK.
Vladimir Prokofievich, for the history of Russia, the Cossacks, in my opinion, are a special romantic myth, saturated with boldness, dashing, free spirit and even the desire for rebellion and protest. Kondraty Bulavin, Stepan Razin, Emelyan Pugachev… You know what I'm talking about.
Now the Cossacks in the eyes of many people are associated not with freedom, but rather with its enslavement. How did it happen that almost the freest people in our country over several centuries turned into a court force that speaks loudly only when their opinion merges with that of the authorities?
Here we need to turn to history. You correctly said that in the 17th and 18th centuries there were indeed social upheavals and liberation popular movements in Russia. Their initiators were including the Cossacks, yes. But in the 19th century, everything changes. The tsarist government turns the Cossacks into a military class. After the suppression of the Decembrist uprising in 1825, the government of Nicholas I realized that it was necessary to bring the Cossacks closer to itself, that it could become the backbone of the state system. And Nicholas I even appoints the heir to the throne as the August Ataman of all Cossack troops. Now many of our Cossacks think that it was the supreme chieftain. But nothing like that. It was the symbolic August Ataman, the personification of the connection between the monarchy and the Cossacks. And so it was until the revolution of 1917.
During this period, there were practically no actions of the Cossacks against the state. The Cossacks were the backbone of the state, the service class. The land of the state was transferred to the Cossack army for use, and the Cossacks nominated one or another of their contingent to protect the state, to participate in military activities.
How did the Cossacks react to the abolition of the monarchy?
Very calm. And there are reasons for this too. The fact is that by the beginning of the twentieth century, the Cossacks were burdened by their class position and their service. I'll explain why. For example, let's take a young Cossack. They started serving at the age of 18. The first year was preparatory. The Cossack received a land allotment, a share. For his part, he had to provide himself with everything necessary for the service. Only the state issued a rifle. And the Cossack himself had to prepare the necessary property, which included as many as 36 items: boots, underpants, underwear, etc. All this cost about 160-170 rubles. It was a lot of money in those years. And if the Cossack went to the cavalry, then he also had to buy a drill horse, which cost about 200 rubles. It's all big money.
Cossack families had many children. Almost every two years, children were born. Naturally, for them, spending on preparation for the service was a heavy burden. My grandfather, for example, had six sons. And they all had to be provided and prepared for service. This is the first reason.
The second reason for the calm attitude to the abolition of the monarchy was that the Cossacks were tired of the war. By the time the revolutionary events in the country began, the Cossacks were just returning from the fronts of the First World War. And, of course, tired.
When Kornilov organized the anti-Bolshevik movement on the Don, the Cossacks practically did not join him. Cadets, cadets, etc. went to him - about 3 thousand people. Only by the summer of 1918, when the Soviet government began to show its essence in relation to the Cossacks, the Cossacks came to their senses and began to oppose it. In June 1918, for example, more than a thousand wagons of food were taken from the starving Kuban ...
So what is happening with the Cossacks today? Many people are still discussing whether a state register was needed ...
Yes, it's really discussed a lot these days. But I will say this. In order to understand whether the state register of the Cossacks was needed or not, one had to live at that time. As a man who led the Kuban Cossack army from 1990 to 2007, I know what I'm talking about.
In the early nineties, the revival of the Cossacks began in our country. And at the same time, well-known events are taking place in the country. There are political parties of various orientations, social movements. And, of course, many of these parties tried to pull the Cossacks on themselves. And the Cossack organizations themselves were split up. At first we had a single Union of Cossacks of Russia, and then the creation of many Cossack organizations began. By 1995 there were over 300 of them.
So you understand what happened? Some supported the communists, the second - the current government, and the third - the Liberal Democratic Party. And so on. Complete confusion and vacillation. Therefore, we, the Kuban Cossack Host, decided in 1992 at our council that our Cossacks were forbidden to be members of any political parties. It was written in our bylaws. It was necessary to preserve our common unity and achieve common goals.
By the way, the Cossacks then largely occupied the opposition side, we then criticized the authorities. It was for what. Under Yeltsin, this happened ... Some kind of discord, the Cossack movement itself could stall.
We also actively participated in local political life. Governor Dyakonov was removed, for example, because he did not find understanding with the Cossacks. But he did not find understanding, because he himself wanted to be the chieftain of the army. And then some associate professor jumped out - and he was elected. We picketed the regional council twice, and then closed the exit and told the deputies: “You won’t leave here until you vote no confidence in the governor.” And they voted.
But what about the registry?
The registry was then needed. You can't be in opposition all your life. I told this to many, including the ataman of the Union of Cossacks. The Cossack issue cannot be resolved without the help of the authorities. It was necessary to go to the interaction with the state. Therefore, when in 1995 President Yeltsin signed a decree on the State Register of Cossack Societies, we decided to enter this register.
But even though we were one of the first Cossack societies to apply, they accepted us the very last. We did not agree that the presidential administration was trying to impose a model charter for all Cossack troops.
We picketed the regional council twice, and then closed the exit and told the deputies: “You won’t leave here until you vote no confidence in the governor.” And they voted
How is this regulation different from yours?
You see, each army has its own history, its own control system, structure, culture, finally. And we were offered one size fits all. In our country, for example, the charter presupposes the existence of the Military Rada in the management system. I was an ataman, and according to the charter, the chairman of the Rada was, as it were, the head of parliament. The military council approved the composition of the administration, could declare no confidence in the ataman, etc. We have this democratic principle of governance was in the tradition. But this was not spelled out in a single charter.
For two years, as a result, we were brainwashed that, they say, we need to adopt this model charter. But we didn't agree. Either we come with our own, or we don't come at all. And in the end we were accepted with our charter.
When I was ataman, it was always like this with us: we did not make such concessions that would violate the spirit of our Cossack traditions. When the state offered us something, we could say that this, for example, suits us, but this does not. We could also defend our opinion at the federal level. So it was, for example, when I refused to send the Cossacks to the Chechen war. If the Cossacks serve in the army, then they must follow the order, yes. But voluntarily I did not agree to send anyone to the war. Especially in the Caucasus, issues related to the Cossacks are so complex that it is necessary to act very subtly. The participation of the Cossacks in the Chechen war could lead us to a repetition of the Caucasian war.
As for the relationship between the Cossacks and the current government... You know, there are Cossack organizations that are in opposition to both the current government and the president. But I think this: if we are for Russia, then we must support our president. I personally do not see another leader of Russia, I do not see any other real political force.
But I have always said that our business is to serve the Motherland on the border, in the army, but never to oppose the people. Those. not to participate in the dispersal of rallies, demonstrations, etc. I am radically against all this.
Let me give you an example from history. In 1905, when we had the first Russian revolution, both in Yekaterinodar and Novorossiysk there were labor movements that organized protests. And the authorities decided to send two regiments of Kuban Cossacks to disperse all this. But our grandfathers said, “No. Let the police do it. It's none of our business."
Other structures must fight public discontent. Cossacks do not need to participate in this. Here, the protection of public order is, for example, good, but the dispersal of demonstrators is by no means.
I immediately remember the incident in Sochi. When, in the midst of the Olympics, the Cossacks of the Pussy Riot participants were bilinags.
Here with whips is a completely different story. The whip is not our tradition. I am categorically against all this. When I see Cossack warriors walking around with whips, I want to go up and flog them with the same whip so that they don’t disgrace themselves. Look at old Cossack photographs. You will not see anyone with whips on them.
But how then did it happen that for many the whip became almost the personification of the Cossacks?
Here, perhaps, we should turn to would-be writers who spread this delusion even at the time of the beginning of the revival of the Kuban Cossacks. They presented the whip as a symbol of the power of the Cossack, as a symbol of the Cossacks in general. But again, this is all a delusion. Whip - this is the item that the Cossack used when he mounted a horse. And when now the Cossacks do not know which side to approach the horse from, and they go around scaring people with these whips ... There is little honor in all this.
And it's a shame that this misconception is sometimes spread through museums and through performances by artists. I always resent this. Our Cossacks should not walk around with whips. If the Trans-Baikal Cossacks, for example, accompanied the prisoners, let them now accompany them with whips. Our business is to serve in the army, to serve on the border. There is nothing to scare and mislead people.
You are one of those who consider the Cossacks to be a separate people, advocating ethnic Cossack identification. Tell us how you feel about the statements of your successor Ataman Doluda. For example, last year he said that it was necessary to have a million Cossacks in the Kuban. Better yet, two. How realistic is it to raise two million people?
Yes, you can call all 5 million of the population of the region Cossacks. But only the Cossacks from this will no longer be. In 1992, if I'm not mistaken, one sociological service conducted a study - they say, how many descendants of the Cossacks live in the Kuban. They counted about a million people. But you need to understand that these are all very different people. Some have retained their ethnicity, retained the understanding that they are Cossacks. Unfortunately, there are very few of them. Most have lost contact. They do not participate in the life of the Cossacks. Of course, it is possible to replenish the ranks of the Cossacks at their expense, but is there any point in this?
You know, for me, the measure of belonging to the Cossacks is at least an elementary ability to answer the question of which village you are from. Even if a person is urban, he still needs to know from which village his grandfathers and great-grandfathers are from. Well, if a person cannot even answer such a question, then what kind of Cossack is he.
And it would be possible to conduct such an experiment. Now tailoring is carried out at the expense of the municipality. Let's get back to traditions - everyone will buy a uniform at their own expense, individually for themselves. How many Cossacks will remain in the ranks then?
How do you feel about the idea of our governor Veniamin Kondratyev to introduce Cossack classes into the school education of the Kuban?
The idea itself is good. But the question here is different. What is taught in these classes, how is it taught, and is it even necessary for children and their parents? For example, our Black Sea coast is not a native Cossack region. But there, too, mandatory Cossack classes are introduced. What for? Everything should be created where it is needed, where it receives support.
In addition, there are great difficulties with staffing. So they call me and say: “Vladimir Prokofievich, we need a mentor for the Cossack classes.” And that's a big problem. It is necessary to find such a Cossack who would come to school and who would turn every visit for schoolchildren into an interesting educational adventure. So that schoolchildren learn something new, they think about the history of the region. And not only listened to the story that the Cossacks are patriots, the most patriotic people are the Cossacks and that the Cossacks are patriots in the third degree. We need specifics, we need facts, we need something interesting to say. It's all hard work, which not everyone is capable of. A teacher at school works all his life, but he still prepares for each lesson. And then the Cossack mentor should do this at all day and night.
Cossack classes should be formed only on a voluntary basis. When both parents and teachers agree with this, they have the opportunity to realize all this. To bring up a real Cossack, and not to do something for the sake of a tick, you need to do a long and painstaking work. And this work should be carried out not only in schools, but also in the family - this is even more important.
By the way, when they talk about millions of Cossacks in the region, I remember another way to implement all this. As we do - they take and create Cossack private security companies. Excuse me, but what does this have to do with the Cossacks? Anyone can work there. Now people need work. If a job is offered, then they are ready to call themselves Cossacks. But it is necessary that the Cossack uniform was not just a uniform. It is very important that it matches the content. When the form is without content, then we have before us just a person putting on overalls and going to work. This is not a Cossack.
Kuban Cossack army
Nikolai Agapovich Ivanov
Mikhail Argirievich Tsakni
Nikolai Nikolaevich Karmalin
Sergei Alekseevich Sheremetiev
Georgy Alekseevich Leonov
Yakov Dmitrievich Malama
Nikolai Ivanovich Mikhailov
Mikhail Pavlovich Babych
Alexander Petrovich Filimonov
Nikolai Agapovich Ivanov
In 1860, on November 19, instead of the Black Sea and Caucasian linear Cossack troops, two new ones were formed - Kuban with a center in Yekaterinodar and Terskoye with a center in Vladikavkaz; at the same time, a significant part of the former Caucasian army departed to the first, along with the Black Sea coast, and the territory, according to a decree issued a little earlier, in February of the same year, constituted the Kuban region.
Major General Nikolai Agapovich Ivanov became the first ataman of the Kuban Cossack army. He was born in 1813 in the Ryazan province, was educated in the Pavlovsk Cadet Corps, then was an adjutant in the department of the head of parks in the army, served in engineering positions in the district of communications and in the corps of engineers of military settlements in the Caucasus, in 1855 he was appointed to the post of Kutaisi civil governor, and in September 1861 he was assigned the duties of a chief ataman, which he performed for two years, mainly engaged in “regulating various kinds of particulars” related to organizing the management of the newly created army.
Felix Nikolaevich Sumarokov-Elston
Felix Nikolaevich Sumarokov-Elston, a native of "foreign nobles", was approved as the chief ataman on August 23, 1863. He was born in 1821, had the title of count. In 1836 he completed a full course at the artillery academy. He served in the Life Guards of Horse Artillery, was an adjutant and an officer for special assignments at the Minister of War, an aide-de-camp of Emperor Alexander II, for some time he was vice director of the office of the Minister of War. In 1858, Sumarokov-Elston was transferred to the Caucasus, where he first commanded an infantry regiment, and two years later, already in the rank of major general, became assistant chief of the Caucasian Grenadier Division. During his long service, Sumarokov-Elston participated in many campaigns and battles, in particular in the Crimean War and in the final stage of the Caucasian War (1858-1864). He was awarded several orders and medals, both Russian and foreign, had a golden saber "For Courage".
F. N. Sumarokov-Elston assumed the post of ataman of the Kuban Cossack army and head of the Kuban region at the time when the long-term Caucasian war ended. It resulted in such negative processes as the resettlement of a significant part of the highlanders to Turkey, the semi-forced settlement by the Cossacks of the foothills of the Western Caucasus, which was not justified from an economic point of view and turned into many hardships for the inhabitants of the new villages. Naturally, it was difficult to expect any independent policy in these matters related to the prerogatives of autocratic power from the ataman appointed by the emperor.
At the same time, the end of the military campaign opened up opportunities for economic growth, the development of education (to which Sumarokov-Elston contributed a lot), trade, industry, and construction. After all, even the regional center in the 60s of the last century, according to travelers, resembled a large village, there were almost no two-story buildings, and the “palace of the chief ataman” itself was a small one-story house with an iron roof painted green. There was a cannon on wheels near the house, a sentry Cossack walked with a naked saber at his shoulder, and, as F.A. it was hard to believe that after three or four decades this picture, like all life in the region, would change dramatically.
Mikhail Argirievich Tsakni
Mikhail Argirievich Tsakni was appointed chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army on February 3, 1869. He came from the nobles of the Taurida province, began his service in 1834 as a non-commissioned officer in the Nashenburg infantry regiment, after which he served in the Black Sea battalions, and since 1850 the headquarters -officer for special assignments under the chief of the Black Sea coastline ... In 1861, M.A. Tsakni - chief of staff of the Kuban Cossack army, a year later he became assistant quartermaster general of the Caucasian army, in 1865 - assistant chief of the Kuban region and finally receives the post of ataman.
Almost all of his previous military service took place in combat conditions: the eastern coast of the Black Sea, which went to Russia under the Adrianople Treaty of 1829, was attacked from two sides - from the mountains and from the sea. During the Crimean War, M. A. Tsakni participated in the campaign of the Black Sea squadron to the coast of Turkey. He received most of his awards for military merit.
During the period of his atamanship in 1870, the “Regulations on public administration in the Cossack troops” were introduced, the first work on the demarcation of lands began and the forms of land ownership were established, which lasted until 1917. Tsakni also took part in drawing up the regulation on the release of dependent estates in the mountain societies of the Kuban region.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Karmalin
For almost 10 years, from 1873 to 1883, Lieutenant General Nikolai Nikolaevich Karmalin was the chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army. He was born in 1824 in the Ryazan province, was educated in the 1st Moscow Cadet Corps and at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. He began military service as an ensign of the Life Guards in the Moscow Regiment in 1842. Seven years after graduating from the academy, Karmalin received the rank of staff captain for "success in the sciences" and was sent to Hungary. In 1850 he was assigned to the guards headquarters, in 1851 he was appointed senior adjutant of the guards infantry corps for the General Staff, and in 1852 he was at the headquarters of the heir to the throne, who commanded the guards and grenadier corps, and lectured on tactics for seniors officers.
In 1853, Karmalin became an adjunct professor of tactics at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. In 1857, he was appointed chief of staff of the 2nd Guards Infantry Division, two years later - chief of staff of the 3rd Army Corps, in 1861 he was promoted to major general for distinction in service, and in 1862 he was sent to the Caucasus. Here Nikolai Nikolayevich served as quartermaster general of the Caucasian army, and later as head of Upper and Middle Dagestan, in 1869 he was appointed military governor of Erivan and promoted to lieutenant general ...
We dwelled in such detail on the track record of N. N. Karmalin in order to emphasize the following circumstance: it was this seemingly purely military man who became one of the most capable and erudite chiefs of the region, did a lot for the economic and cultural upsurge of the region. Thanks to the support of the ataman E. D. Felitsyn, he managed to achieve significant success in organizing statistical and ethnographic research in the Kuban, create the Kuban Regional Statistical Committee (1879), develop a program for describing populated areas and collect materials on it, and finally publish the first volume Kuban collection (1883). Only from 1874 to 1880, 136 school buildings were built in the region, the Kuban Military Ethnographic and Natural History Museum was opened (1879). Moreover, N. N. Karmalin’s patronage of cultural undertakings was not just a beautiful gesture. “Deep interest in the needs of the region and the Cossack,” - this is how E. D. Felitsyn defined the main feature of his activity.
It is interesting to note that the chief ataman, solving certain issues of local life, was not limited only by his own experience, "but turned to examples of history." So, in the region there were acute problems of communal land use and surveying of stanitsa yurts, and Karmalin "did not miss a single article in the press on the issue of the Russian land community and was familiar with the subject no worse than any specialist." The Caucasian department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society on May 9, 1879 elected him as its full member.
Another feature of N. N. Karmalin, unusual for such a high-ranking official, was that he loved ... to listen to contradictions and objections, “in order to better assess the measure he had conceived,” and even published a circular in the Kuban Regional Gazette, in which he asked everyone, without hesitation, point out the shortcomings of the administrative management of the region ...
Sergei Alekseevich Sheremetiev
Sergei Alekseevich Sheremetiev came from an ancient boyar family. He was born in 1837, graduated from the school of guard ensigns and cavalry junkers. During the Crimean War, he was on the Turkish border as part of the Alexandropol detachment; in the period from 1858 to 1861 he participated in military operations against the highlanders; from 1862 to 1869 he commanded an imperial escort, then served in the guards cavalry. In 1876, already in the rank of major general, he became the commander of the consolidated Caucasian Cossack division, in the same year - the 1st consolidated Caucasian cavalry division, which during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. acted in Transcaucasia, took part in the siege and storming of the Kare fortress. For the difference in military operations, Sheremetyev received the rank of lieutenant general ... The list of his military exploits, especially in battles with the Turks, occupies several pages, therefore, as E. D. Felitsyn noted, having entered the post of ataman on January 23, 1882, Sheremetiev was respected by the Cossacks.
In February 1884, he was appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the civilian unit in the Caucasus and the commander of the troops of the Caucasian military district, and later - the military ataman of the Caucasian Cossack troops.
Georgy Alekseevich Leonov
At the end of March 1884, Georgy Alekseevich Leonov became the chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army. He was born in 1831 in a family of noblemen of the Don army. After graduating from the school of guards ensigns and cavalry cadets in 1849, he entered military service as a cornet in the Life Guards of the Imperial Cossack Regiment. After serving in the guard until 1860, he was transferred to the Donskoy army of his own free will, where he was first a regiment commander, and then, having received the rank of major general, chief of staff. In the last year before his appointment as chief ataman, Leonov commanded the 2nd Caucasian Cossack division, and was also a member of the commission for the organization of the Kuban and Terek Cossack troops. In 1885 he was promoted to lieutenant general. Cossack origin and knowledge of local life made it easier for G. A. Leonov to manage the region. He was elected an honorary old man in the villages of Korenovskaya and Batalpashinskaya. Died January 1892
Yakov Dmitrievich Malama
Yakov Dmitrievich Malama was the head of the Kuban region and the chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army from 1892 to 1904. He was born in 1841 in the Yekaterinoslav province, studied at the Petrovsky Cadet Corps, the Konstantinovsky Military School and at the Academy of the General Staff. In 1868 he was sent to the headquarters of the Caucasian military district, served in Tiflis, Maykop, Krasnovodsk and other places. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, after which, by order of the emperor, he was appointed chairman of the 2nd Special Asia Minor Commission for establishing the border between Russia and Turkey. In March 1885, Malama became chief of staff of the Kuban Cossack army, and a year later, having received the first general rank, senior assistant to the head of the Kuban region. At the beginning of 1890, he was transferred to the post of chief of staff of the Caucasian Military District, but two years later he returned to the Kuban.
At this time, the region experienced a period of economic and social upsurge. The reputation of a fairly liberal person is assigned to the ataman: he supports the society of history lovers of the Kuban region (OLIKO) created in 1897, encourages charity, with him the local newspaper Kuban Regional Vedomosti publishes a lot of historical, geographical, ethnographic materials that truthfully reflect the life of the Cossacks . Yakov Dmitrievich was a member of more than twenty different committees and societies of the region; as chairman of the Kuban Regional Statistical Committee, he took an active part in the preparation and conduct of the first general population census.
Under Ya. D. Malam, the 200th anniversary of the Kuban Cossack army was solemnly celebrated in 1896 (the date was determined “according to the seniority” of the Khoper regiment).
On October 26, 1904, Malama was appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the civilian unit in the Caucasus and the commander of the troops of the Caucasian military district, but after a few months he himself took this high post ...
Dmitry Alexandrovich Odintsov
By the decree of Nicholas II of November 8, 1904, Dmitry Alexandrovich Odintsov was appointed the chief ataman of the Kuban army. He was born in 1852 in the Moscow province. After graduating from the Alexander Military School, he served in the Moscow Regiment, then studied at the Academy of the General Staff. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war, after which he held a number of positions at the headquarters of the Kyiv military district. Then service in the Caucasus. In 1898, Odintsov became the military governor of the Kars region, in 1904 he was appointed commander of the Caucasian Grenadier Division, and soon the ataman's mace.
The atamanship of D. A. Odintsov coincided with the Russian-Japanese war and the events of the Russian revolution, during his time four partial mobilizations were carried out in the region, the unrest of the plastun battalions and the rebellion of the Cossacks of the 2nd Urupsky regiment were suppressed.
Odintsov did not stay long as the chief ataman, in July 1906 he was appointed to the post of assistant commander of the Omsk military district.
Nikolai Ivanovich Mikhailov
Nikolai Ivanovich Mikhailov, appointed chieftain in March 1906, like his predecessor, stayed in this position for about two years. He was born in 1851 in the family of hereditary nobles of the Ural Cossack army. He was educated in the Orenburg Neplyuevsky Cadet Corps and the 3rd Alexander Military School, began military service in 1870 as an ordinary Cossack, and received his first general rank in 1900. Prior to his appointment as ataman, Mikhailov was a general for special assignments under the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian military districts.
Under him, martial law was introduced in the region, mass repressions against political parties began ...
Mikhail Pavlovich Babych
Mikhail Pavlovich Babych - a hereditary Kuban Cossack (His father is the famous Lieutenant General Pavel Denisovich Babych (1801-1883) - from the Black Sea Cossacks, a participant in hostilities in the Western Caucasus), was the chief ataman from 1908 to 1917. He was born in 1844. , was brought up in the Mikhailovsky Cadet Corps in Voronezh. He began military service in 1862 in the Tarutinsky battalion, and the next year he was sent to the Caucasus, where he took part in the last battles of the Caucasian War, then served in various military units, participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 as part of the Erivan detachment ., for distinction in which he received the rank of captain, and in 1880 - 1881. fought against the Akhal-Teke under the command of General M. D. Skobelev, the hero of the battles for the liberation of Shipka.
In 1897, Babych was appointed ataman of the Yekaterinodar department of the Kuban region, in 1899 he was promoted to major general and transferred as senior assistant to the head of the Kuban region and the chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army. During this period, he was also the chairman of the commission for the construction of a monument to Ekaterina P. in Yekaterinodar. In 1906, Mikhail Pavlovich was appointed to the post of military governor of the Kars region, and on February 3, 1908, a decree was issued appointing him already in the rank of lieutenant general as the chief ataman Kuban Cossack army. In 1914, in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of service in the officer ranks, Babych was promoted to general of infantry. In 1917, by order of the Provisional Government dated March 26, M.P. Babych was "dismissed from service in accordance with a petition for poor health, with a uniform and a pension." In 1918 he was shot in Pyatigorsk.
Despite the fact that the name of M.P. Babych is associated with a turning point in the history of the Kuban, his personality and activities have so far been reflected only in fiction...
Alexander Petrovich Filimonov
After the resignation of Babych, several months passed, but only on November 11, 1917, a new military ataman Alexander Petrovich Filimonov was elected at the regional council. He was born in 1866 in the Kuban, was listed as a Cossack in the village of Grigoripolis, was brought up in the Vladimir Cadet Corps in Kyiv, then in the 3rd Alexander Military School, after which he received the first officer rank of a cornet. Then he graduated from the Military Law Academy, a two-year course at the Archaeological Institute, as well as two-year courses in Russian history with Professor S. F. Platonov.
In the years preceding his appointment, Filimonov served as assistant military prosecutor of the Moscow Military District Court, in 1911 he was appointed ataman of the Labinsk department of the Kuban region and in the same year received the rank of colonel.
On the eve of the establishment of Soviet power in Yekaterinodar, the regional government and the chieftain in March 1918, together with detachments of Cossacks loyal to them, fled beyond the Kuban, where they joined the Volunteer Army. Five months later, together with Denikin's men, Filimonov returned to Yekaterinodar, where he was promoted to lieutenant general by the council.
On December 1, 1918, on the basis of the “Regulations on the Administration of the Kuban Territory”, the Rada held new elections for the military ataman, Filimonov again became him. He stayed in this post for about a year, on November 10, 1919, due to aggravated disagreements with Denikin, he voluntarily resigned. Emigrated in 1920
On November 2, 1919, the Kuban Rada elected Major General Nikolai Mitrofanovich Uspensky, a native of the village of Kaladzhinskaya, who was part of the regional government, as a military ataman. He stayed in office for a little over a month, as on December 17 he died unexpectedly of typhus.
Two weeks later, Major General Nikolai Adrianovich Bukretov, who served in the food and supply department of the regional government, was elected military chieftain. In March 1920, after the Red Army entered Yekaterinodar, the Whites retreated to the Black Sea coast. Bukretov was part of the Kuban army, which capitulated in May in the Adler region, from there he fled on a destroyer to Georgia. There he transferred his powers and the ataman's mace to the chairman of the regional government V. N. Ivanis, and then moved to Turkey, where, according to some reports, he opened the Golden Cockerel restaurant in Constantinople.
The next chieftain of the Kuban Cossack army, already in exile, was elected a former member of the regional government for military affairs, Major General Vyacheslav Grigoryevich Shumeiko, who held this position until 1945.
