«Current war conflict on Donbass is hapenning with active participance of representatives of so-called «»cossack ethnos»». Informator.lg.ua decided to remind that history of this ethnic group is contradictory and ambiguous enough.

Besides faithful service to «»Tsar and Fatherland»», about which we’ve heard, predominantly, from TV-propaganda, cossacks of Don repeatedly organized armed insurrections against Russian throne. And one of them is the rebellion of Bakhmutsky chieftain Kondratiy Bulavin, which began on the territory of present Luhansk region and happened featuring Ukrainian Zaporozhie and Sloboda cossacks from the both sides. «

A little bit of history

Historically, the tradition areal of habitation of Don Cossacks is the territory of modern Rostov, Volgograd, Voronezh regions of RF, Republic Kalmykia and also part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

Historiography of Don Cossacks counts a several centuries. First serious works, dedicated to this ethnic phenomenon, appeared in XVIII century. But first references about “Stanitsa people” are about XV century.

At the end of XVIII century such historians like Peter Simon Pallas, Andrei Karlovich Shtorkh noticed the authentic of Don’s ethnos and constatate the fact of autonomy of Army of Don as a part of Russia.

Interest to Don Cossacks became more stronger after wars of Napoleon, during this period cossacks got the reputation of skilled warriors and cruel robbers and marauders. A big number of references about cossacks appeared in German and French literature after 1812-1815. Wherein, if German historians and ethnographers as usual spoke about them with unconcealed sympathy, French were more reserved about characteristics of this “society”.

First blood

Today not so a lot of people think about image of Don Cossacks, who selflessly fought “for Faith, Tsar and Fatherland”. It is true only by fragments. Don Cossacks actively took part in “Russian Troubles” in XVII century and not one time they were up in arms against Russian throne after this.

The Monument to Kondratiy Bulavin in village Trekhizbnka, Luhansk region

Disagreement of cossacks with imperial throne resulted in a few cossack rebels in XVII-XVIII centuries. The most well-known are riot of Stepan Razin (1670-1671) and Kondratiy Bulavin (1707-1708).

The social fundament of these rebels were in fact that because of policy usual Russian peasants looked for and found asylum on lands of Don Army and this situation inevitably led to the aggravation of the social situation.

As we have told, the riot of Bakhmutka chieftain Kondratiy Bulavin began on the territory of modern Luhansk region.

According to decree of Peter I colonel Jury Dolhorukov went to Don in 1707. He was ordered to look for fluent peasants.

During the raid of Dolgorukov squad along the High Don nearly 2 000 of peasants were come back. However the same or more number was continuing to hide and next they connected to squad of Kondratiy Bulavin.

First clash of Bulavin’s squad with the main squad of Dolgorukov happened in Shulhinsk township (village Shulhinka of Starobelsk district). At that time 150 cossacks of Bulavin absolutely destroyed main unit of Dolgorukov, which stopped there at night.

The example of Bulavin became the ethalon to another cossack chieftains. Their squads began to attack soldiers and Bulavin by himself claimed about march on Moscow.

Donetsk junta and tsar punishers

The army of loyal to throne cossacks under heading of Lukian Maksimov was gathered against rebels on Don and it was strengthen by Kalmyks.

First meeting of “bulaviners” with “loyals” happened on Aidar river near village Zakotnoe (now — Novopskov district of Luhansk region). As a result of betrayal, Bulavin’s squad had run away and chieftain himself was forced to go to Zaporozhskaya Sech where he wintered.

At the beginning of 1708 year Kondratiy Bulavin with squad of Zaporozhie chieftain Schuka went to Don, avoiding direct clashes with “loyals”. Coming to Pristansky township on Hoper river cossacks were met like friends by representatives of local mass. During the “cossacks rounds” (the council of cossacks — ed.) it was decided to go to Cherkassk to finish with cossack masses, betrayed comrades and taken the side of tsar. According to historical opinion Bulavin could unite near 20 thousands of cossacks till that time.

The host of Semen Bakhmetev went from Ostrogozhsk to overwhelm the rebel. They could split one of squads of Bulavin on Bitug.

Peter I appointed prince Dolhorukiy at April 12 to command the punish army, which come to crash the rebel.

That’s interesting, but except two regiments of “Peter’s punishers”, allocated for the operation and 400 dragoons of Voronezh, also 2 Ukrainian regiments were sent by Ivan Mazepa to overwhelm the rebel.

Army of punishers outnumbered troops of Kondratiy Bulavin more than 1,5 and counted 32 thousands of people.

Rebels crashed the squad of Maksimov and captured Cherkassk. Maksimov and his closest comrades-in-arms were executed, beheading so the «pro-Kremlin» party of the Don Cossacks. Kondratiy Bulavin was elected the chieftain of Don Troops after a few days on May 9.

Assault of Azov, betrayal and defeat

Cossack decided to strike in three directions after the victory under inside enemy — Volga, Seversk and Azov.

Squads of Ignat Nekrasov, Ivan Pavlov and Lukian Khokhlach come on Dmitrievsk, which was invaded on May 12-13. Then they had unsuccessful siege of Saratov and after that they went on Tsaritsy, captured it and executed the local governor Afanasiy Turcheninov.

The squads of Semen Drany and Nikita Holyi came on Seversky Donets and in Sloboda Ukraine. They crashed down Sumy Sloboda Cossack Regiment on June 8. After that they met with pusher army of Dolhorukov, from which rebels got two major defeats in the beginning of July.

Serious defeat was waiting for cossacks on Azov direction, headed personally by Bulavin. The squad of Bulavin of 2 thousands of people made the unsuccessful attempt of assault of fortress Azov. After this failure a group of cossacks organized conspiracy against Bulavin and he was killed.

Army of Dolhorukov entered Cherkassk at the end of July, organizers of rebellion in a number of 40 people were hang and Army of Don swore to Russian tsar. Some of disparate squads of Cossacks continued the resistance to punish troops after Bulavin’s death, however rebellion was absolutely crushed to November 1708.

The consequences of rebellion

According to the estimates of historians, as a result of rebel the number of Don’s Army increased trice. Eight absolutely destroyed Stanitsas, taken away lands of Seversky Donets river, returning of all ran away people, who hid on this lands,  to their owners — here is the the sad results of rebellion. The most important fact is that after forced swore to tsar Don’s Army lost a huge part of attributes of its independence.

We will told you more about next attempts of Don cossacks to come back their freedom in next publications of series «History educational program».

Aleksei Chernov for Informator.lg.ua