The socio-economic aspects of the evolution of Cossack community in the Russian Empire from the 16th to 20th centuries

The Cossack community constituted one of the foundations of the tsarist absolutism. At the turn of the 20th century, there were 11 Cossack military formations within the Russian Empire. Initially, Cossack society was characterized by military democracy and equal ownership of property. However, starting in the mid-17th century, the Cossack’s traditional social order was disrupted due to the immigration of new peoples to the Cossack lands as well as by the growing wealth of the Cossack elites. The Cossacks made their living off lands given to them by the state, enabling them to serve in military units that differed from the regular army. The size and value of the lands given to them varied according to their social position as well as the type of military units in which they served. The Cossacks rejected feudal systems, preferring instead to exist as a separate and isolated minority enjoying the privileges from and protection of the tsarist authorities. Thanks to this, they were able to raise stock, grow crops and engage in trade with the local non-Cossack population. The Enfranchisement Act of 1861 led to a wave of migrants from the other parts of the Russian Empire and the newcomers quickly became dominant in trade and industry, gaining an economic advantage over the Cossacks. At the end of the 19th century, the tsarist authorities, seeking to gain the support of conservative Cossacks, introduced a series of legal acts to strengthen Cossack dominion over the migrants. These laws resulted in a major socio-economic confl ict in the Cossack lands that greatly impacted the region during the Russian Civil War. Exploited and scorned by the Cossacks, the migrants and poor peasants backed the Bolsheviks against the White Army, which consisted mainly of Cossacks. This confl ict sealed the fate of Cossack society, which was liquidated between 1918-1920.