Cossack uniforms or 'colors of the rainbow'

Prapor

Active member
When the Tsars ruled Russia, we Cossacks had very strict guidelines on uniforms we wore. In fact, there was a Color Code.

My people, Terekians, wore Blue and White. Kubanians (those guys on the Ukrainian border) - Red And Black. Don Cossacks dressed in Blue and Red. Ural/Yaik host had Green and Yellow. Siberia was Green + Blue.

Today, as Russian Cossack society is still rebuilding itself from decades of Soviet rule and repression, the issue of uniforms is becoming a hot debate once again. Because we still don't have a common leadership, we also don't have strict standards on uniforms either. People, basically, wear what they like.

For example, these are Cossacks of the 'Orenburg Host' (which unites Cossack communities in Orenburg, Kurgan, and Chelyabinsk oblasts and is a part of the greater Ural/Yaik Cossack Host/Army):
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But, so are these
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Then there is this Don Cossack family near Voronezh
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and this one in Novocherkassk
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Older, more distinguished Cossacks dress in more traditional ways. They remember the Color Code, and other rules.

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These are the men we learn from. God bless the elders, hope they'll be with us a long, long time.

Anyway, one has to look at culture also. Kubanian and Terekian Cossacks, of course, are more Caucasianized. We, in centures we've lived in North Caucasus, have mixed with Circassians of all sorts, Ossetians, Chechens, all different kinds of Dagestanis. That is why there one would see Cossacks in traditional Caucasian dress, like cherkeska (long, coat-like jacket of sorts, something we borrowed from, as name suggests, Cherkesy, Circassians), papakha hats, and burka (sleeveless outer 'coat' made from wolf or sheep skin. Invented by Chechens)
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In this picture, the girl wears a burka, usually, men do (most women dislike them, they look 'ugly'. But, it keeps one warm at night, in the steppe :D)
 
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On the Don, on the other hand, they are more Russian/Slav/European. Hence, you see more dress shirts, or military parade-style jackets
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Many, like these young cadets
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wear Tsarist-era uniforms.

Some Cossacks use camouflage, for a more modern look, I guess
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Some I simply do not recognize altogether, some **** they must have thrown together themselves, with no historic or cultural basis
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Looks okay though. And it is not like anyone wants to come up to this man and tell him face to face his uniform is wrong lol

This fellow in Siberia is trying to be Chapayev, I guess
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Chapayev

A Red, and not even a real Cossack, but, a good man though, great fighter. I guess I can get respecting him. :-D

To me, most interesting thing is when different Cossacks and their colors mix together. Like, on the New Year episode of this match-making TV show we here, 'Davai Pozhenimsya' ('Lets get Married'), where they have one groom and three brides or one bride and three grooms competing for him/her. On this episode, first time ever, was a Cossack bride, 18 year old Ulyana, from Sochi (Kuban). All grooms were Cossack also, our women do not marry outside their ethnic group ever. Eventually, she chose 20 year old Pavel, a Terekian Cossack from Stavropolsky krai (over loud objections of her father, who wanted her to go with Ilya, who was a Kubanian, like them. But, Terek wins again hahaha We are bigger men then all others, in all ways :-D)
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Note the Red + White of Kuban and the Black & Blue of Terek.

I guess what I wonder is, what colors will their children have to wear??? The whole damn rainbow... :wink:.
 
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Looks okay though. And it is not like anyone wants to come up to this man and tell him face to face his uniform is wrong lol

Yeah I would give it a go as he looks like he would have a coronary after about 3 swings, smoking, over weight and the heavy drinker facial expression lead me to think that I would at least have a fighting or running chance.

:)
 
Yeah I would give it a go as he looks like he would have a coronary after about 3 swings, smoking, over weight and the heavy drinker facial expression lead me to think that I would at least have a fighting or running chance.

:)

True that, smoking is a big problem for us. Alcohol is not so much, we don't drink like Russians do, we are religious and all. But tobacco is still popular, because many are unaware of its harmful effects.
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Though, many Cossacks prefer pipes to cigarettes
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I heard it's healthier. Don't know, I don't smoke at all :)

Great posts again!
Never before have I learned so much about the Cossack people.

Happy to educate the world about my people :) In Russia at least, there are many misunderstandings and misconceptions and deliberate lies and slander being spread about us. Someone has to go around debunking those.
 
What do you mean people don't know about its harmful effects? Like they ignore warnings or there aren't any?
 
What do you mean people don't know about its harmful effects? Like they ignore warnings or there aren't any?

Maybe it's simply that they, as a "warrior tribe", don't expect to live long enough to suffer from the harmfull effect of smoking?
 
Maybe it's simply that they, as a "warrior tribe", don't expect to live long enough to suffer from the harmfull effect of smoking?

Well, on foreign cigarette brands, they have warnings.

Like on Marlboro
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'Smoking is bad for your health'

But Cossacks don't smoke American cigarettes lol In fact, Cossacks do not smoke foreign cigarettes, period. Only domestic, patriots that we are.

Donskoi Tabak is most popular brand, made on the Don river, on Cossack land, for Cossacks

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Only recently they started putting health warnings on those.

Other well used brands are

Zodiak
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Belomorkanal
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Yava
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Pamir
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etc.

They are all poorer quality than Western stuff, and as you can see, most have no warning labels of any sort...
 
Dont knock plain ciggy packs man when i'm soaked in a harbour a brew and a smoke is the best. It kind of takes away from it when you have to look at some corroded up body part as you puff away with your thoughts. You can't escape anti smoking propaganda here, even alcohol is getting taxed ridiculously. Our government is very politically correct and controlling.
 
Dont knock plain ciggy packs man when i'm soaked in a harbour a brew and a smoke is the best. It kind of takes away from it when you have to look at some corroded up body part as you puff away with your thoughts. You can't escape anti smoking propaganda here, even alcohol is getting taxed ridiculously. Our government is very politically correct and controlling.

Even worse here, taxed in absurdium, only reason the government haven't outlawed alcohol and tobacco is that they will loose the income on it then... :???:
 
Even worse here, taxed in absurdium, only reason the government haven't outlawed alcohol and tobacco is that they will loose the income on it then... :???:

True true man apparently the tax from cigarettes more than pays for the harm it causes here.
 
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Found another example of Cossack uniform.

'Dozor' Cossack druzhina (militia) in Ussuriysk, Siberia

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Berets, something completely new among our ranks. Some militias now begin to wear them to emulate OMON paramilitary police, and other military/security forces.

In Volgograd oblast, Kumylzhensky raion (district), populated mostly by Cossacks, local Cossack militia
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They even borrowed the blue camouflage from OMON... Compare yourself.
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I think it is sad. This is what Putin wants too: absorb Cossack forces into the governments' own, to control and command us as they wish, assimilate us completely...
 
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As always, Prapor, you have provided a very interesting and informative post about your country and your people.

Thank you.
 
Many of my RAF & TA buddies (including me) smoked mainly out of boredom, it also help alleviate hunger.

The anti smoking laws have reached a point in UK where its become ridiculous, a plumber was heavily fined a couple years ago for smoking in his van while he was alone!

What these anti smoking campaigners don't seem to realise or refuse to realise, that even a short 10 mile journey in their cars, they are pumping more toxins into the atmosphere then a smoker does in a week.

One anti smoker told me that he would rather see people using drugs then smoking. I kid you not.

when I took over my gun shop all those years ago I had someone in a suit come in and told me he was from some government agency, he told me that smoking in the shop is illegal. I said, "When you pay my shop rent, pay my staff salaries and all my other overheads, then you can tell me not to smoke."

He left and never did come back.
 
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