About the right to enroll in the military cossack estate and about leaving it in the Russian empire

Abstract

Who could “become” a Cossack without being one by “nature”? This question was first raised in literature in the 1860s. The article focuses on the historiography of this problem. Issue about “become” a Cossack passed into the practical area in the second half of XIX century. It was expressed in the opinions of officials who participated in the preparation of various projects affecting the class status of the Cossacks. But not all of these projects were implemented at the legislative level. The most important realized initiatives were the law of April 21, 1869 and the Regulations on the service of Cossacks outside their troops, on leaving the military class and on enlisting in it dated January 19, 1883. According to the first law, universal norms for leaving the military class and transitioning to it were introduced for all Cossack host. The subsequent “Regulations” modified the norms of the previous act towards their harder line.

The article discusses the legal basis for enlisting in the military Cossack class and leaving it, adopted in the Russian Empire since the 18th century. The emphasis is on the discussion of these foundations in the War Ministry, military administrations and among the Cossacks in the 1860-1880s. The question of how the law of 1869 and the Regulations of 1883 affected the discussion is considered. It is concluded that cases of both exclusion and enrollment from the Cossacks had a family – domestic nature, socio-economic or educational background. In other words, integration and exclusion were symbolic and not widespread.