...At first, the news that an experimental Cossack air defense battery would be created on the basis of the division of Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Nelyuzov did not cause even the slightest optimism. Maybe because it's not generally accepted to enjoy the unknown. Most likely, there was a wariness that was dominated by an underlying spring of internal resistance: what, please tell me, are the Cossacks better than others, so that they, and not Voronezh residents, Tambov residents, or, for example, former Rostselmash workers, should be driven under a single roof to serve as a soldier?!

But the good thing about being skeptical is that any outcome other than the most dismal one inevitably evokes at least a sense of satisfaction or relief. They say it worked out, and that's good.

...It was not possible to complete the battery completely from the Cossacks: village specialists in this profile were searched literally throughout the air defense association. But even "diluted" by the young replenishment, they gathered "under the wing" of Nelyuzov two platoons. Nevertheless, not a complete Cossack battery was still different from others: both discipline became stronger, and the envoys of the All-Kuban Cossack Army treated the military specialty more seriously than their peers, and Nelyuzov, to his surprise, began to slowly forget about the ever-memorable "hazing". And then there were frequent delegations from the Seversk and Novotitarovskaya stanitsas (from where most of the recruits came to learn the art of air defense) - and the deputy political officer seemed to grow wings behind his back: not only were food preparations for the main types carried out with a large margin, but real home-made peddlers became permanent on the soldiers ' table.

But for the battery commander himself, the following incident remained a notch in his memory. During the next visit of the Cossacks patronizing the air defense unit, the officer somehow accidentally mentioned something; something completely strayed from the hands of Private Gornova. And exactly a day before the arrival of the parents '"commission", the soldier managed to buy and use a hot drink.

"Maybe you can talk to Gornov in your own way," he asked the leader of the group of Cossacks.

"Why don't we talk?" an elderly, mustachioed Cossack reassured him. "It's a holy cause.

After some time, the head of the parent group lined up the young Cossacks and read out an oral order: "For violating the discipline of Private Gornov... ten hot spots.

So that the shame was not visible, the Cossack soldiers formed a square - and the Cossack whip whistled threateningly in the air.

- I understand that this is not entirely pedagogical and not according to the charter. Only Cossacks can do this, " the senior lieutenant later said. - But after this incident, there was not a single serious offense among the battery members (even non-Kaz).

It was 1994.

"You don't have to grieve with our ataman"

- Kuban citizens have the right to use any methods of education, - Vladimir Prokofievich Gromov, ataman of the All-Kuban Cossack Army, Deputy Head of the Krasnodar Territory Administration for Cossack Affairs and Military issues, smiled after listening carefully to this story. - The main thing, as usual, is the result. And he aims the Cossacks to one thing: the sovereign service can not be ruled carelessly.

In the relations between the Army and the Cossacks, 1994 was a milestone. It was then that the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation signed a corresponding directive on the formation of separate military units from among the Cossacks.

In particular, the Kuban Cossacks are assigned the famous Maikop Motorized rifle Brigade, the Novorossiysk Airborne Forces unit, the Novorossiysk and Sochi border units.

"At the same time, we strive to ensure that our cooperation with law enforcement agencies with a clear range of powers is formalized by law on a contractual basis," Vladimir Prokofievich emphasized. - By the way, we have signed a similar agreement with the command of the Caucasian Red Banner Special Border District.

A short excursion is required here. Last summer, at the initiative of the ataman of the All-Kuban Cossack Army, the governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Nikolai Kondratenko, signed a decree "On patronage relations of cities and districts of the Krasnodar Territory with military units and ships of the Black Sea Fleet", the purpose of which is to make a person in uniform feel that he is needed, if not by the whole of Russia, then by the Kuban people - for sure. 48 cities and districts of the region established patronage relations with 138 military units of the Ministry of Defense, the Federal Border Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Over twenty-seven border outposts organized patronage of 29 cities and districts of the region.

The fleet has not been left an orphan: to date, 32 cities and districts have organized patronage over almost fifty ships of the Black Sea Fleet, the submarine cruiser Krasnodar of the Northern Fleet, 33 ships of the Novorossiysk Naval Base, and 21 ships of the Federal Border Service.

"And we are talking not only about high - quality recruitment of conscripts to sponsored military units," Ataman Gromov emphasizes, " but also about comprehensive assistance to the army in the current conditions of elementary survival. So, if last year the Cossack villages handed over 250 tons of food to the security forces free of charge, this year we are planning 300 tons of"humanitarian aid".

Colonel-General Yevgeny Bolkhovitin, Commander of the Red Banner Caucasus Special Border District, has the warmest opinion about such ties.:

- I will not reveal a big secret if I say that almost every fourth Russian border guard serves in our district, - says Evgeny Vasilyevich. - So, those outpost chiefs who report to conscripts from Cossack villages, colleagues consider real lucky ones.

...Building materials, food and even video recorders-this and much more comes to such outposts as Cossack aid. We know very well what conditions Kuban residents live in today, and we are grateful to them for finding the opportunity to support the border guards even now.

By the way, there are outposts in the district where four conscripts of stanichniki are already serving. And in such divisions there is no concept of "non-statutory relations" for a long time.

The fact that the Cossacks are not a funny army is indicated by the following figures: only in the All-Kuban Cossack Army there are 140 thousand souls, more than 9 thousand reserve officers. Every year, about 1,000 young Cossacks are called up to the security forces, living under the motto of their ancestors, the words of which were written back in the forties of the last century: "Arise glory, don't be dead."

How the Cossacks form brigades and regiments

The all-great Don army is also not small - it is more than 50 thousand Cossacks. And the plans are also extensive.

"We are ready to deploy hundreds or even thousands of Cossacks to protect the Russian borders," explains Gennady Nedvigin, ataman of Novocherkassk and a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region. - As it was before, under the tsar-father: Cossack lines along the same administrative borders of Chechnya. This implies that the Don Cossacks live directly at the place of public service, and the Cossack family runs its own economy, and the construction of housing...

But this is the desired strategy. And the life tactics and practice are as follows: the Don Cossacks signed 11 agreements with administrations of various levels and departments on the activities of the Cossacks. This includes border and customs service duties, environmental protection activities, and work in the Ministry of Emergency Situations system. But still, the main thing for the village residents is the help of the army.

...For the meeting with soldiers and sergeants of the special forces detachment, where Major Alexander Subbotin serves, the Cossacks prepared thoroughly: three protective kits for hand-to-hand combat classes were purchased as a gift to the special forces, and Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrey Venkov was invited to talk with the military elite.

- A small example from history, - Venkov began the conversation. - Did you know that the Cossacks had their own special forces-these are "plastuns"? And a true professional in their field was considered one of them who could destroy up to thirty soldiers in one battle.

Some of the listeners even whistled: with the weapons of the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, this seemed completely unrealistic.

Cossacks led by the deputy military ataman for military affairs of the military Cossack society "All-Great Don Army" under the Administration of the President of Russia, Colonel of the reserve (and Cossack troops) Sergey Kalinin, came to the representatives of the army elite with a practical proposal: to call the detachment Baklanovsky. The following fact is connected with the name of this commander: during the Caucasian War, Imam Shamil once complained to his abreks: "My soldiers are more afraid of the Cormorant than of Allah." Where there was a famous Cossack general, there was a victory. As a gift to the distinguished soldiers of the modern special forces, the Don residents also brought the distinctive breastplates of the once famous regiment of Ataman Baklanov.

- Such events are not isolated, - says Sergey Vladimirovich. - And these meetings are of a permanent nature.

"Under the wing" of the Don Cossacks are three military units of the North Caucasus Military District. One is the already mentioned special forces, the second is an amphibious assault unit, and the third is a motorized rifle unit. And the villagers have already visited each of them.

Don residents have a strict system of selection for sponsored military units. Cossacks who have proved themselves in summer military sports camps or participated in teenage defense clubs are issued officially certified certificates by the village atamans. On the basis of which, in the district military enlistment office, an entry is made in the conscript's documents - "Cossack". Then this data is sent to the regional military enlistment office. Similar lists with the names of activists of initial military training are submitted by the heads of Cossack societies to the military administration under the military ataman. Then the lists of future candidates signed by the military ataman of the military Cossack society "All-Great Don Army" A. Khizhnyakov for sending to sponsored regiments and brigades are sent to the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, Colonel-General V. Kazantsev.

- Maybe someone thinks that such a selection system is too cumbersome, - says Kalinin, commenting on the draft scheme. "But I dare say this is a case where butter doesn't spoil the porridge.

Everything goes to the recruit's credit: the state of health, educational qualification, the presence of a specific specialty.

The best of the best are sent to the special forces, who does not reach the "elite" - the road to the paratroopers. But what about Mother Infantry?.. Well, a real Cossack will prove himself there, too.

Most recently, the yurt ataman from Krasny Sulin went to inspect the service of his fellow countrymen in a motorized rifle regiment. And he returned with a sad report: there are no Cossack mouths there. The regimental commander referred to the fact that there is no specific order to equip units exclusively with Cossacks.

This is all the more incomprehensible because the commander of the district troops, Colonel-General A. Kazantsev, has repeatedly noted in his speeches at the military council: ten Cossacks came to the regiment - you can form a squad; twenty appeared - you need to create a platoon... Instructions, though oral, were given. What is the problem?

- In the simplest way. And where can I find specialists? - this is the battalion commander, Major Viktor Mezentsev. "The regiment needs professionals in at least ninety specialties. How can the Cossacks train conscripts across this entire spectrum? The company, of course, has slightly fewer specialists. But if, for example, a conscript Cossack does not pull on an infantry fighting vehicle driver, because of this problem, the entire squad may be left without an infantry fighting vehicle.

- I believe that these are just problems of the so-called growth sickness, - Kalinin is full of optimism. - After all, the concrete work of the Don Cossacks with military units began relatively recently-about two years ago. And the Cossacks will certainly achieve their goal.

For two hundred years, the Cossack trinity "people-army-estate" faithfully served Russia. And, judging by the scale of the revival of the Cossacks themselves, the growing influence of military atamans on the way of life and politics in the North Caucasus, this process should be taken for granted and promoted in every possible way.

Permanent link to this publication: