The Last Warriors

A name to conjure with: in literature, Cossacks are portrayed as free, independent warriors or cruel and ruthless soldiers. They are, perhaps, the last surviving European warrior caste or culture. Currently, they’re back in the media for a campaign they’re waging in the Ukraine, promoting a “united Slavic state” (read Russian Empire Mk 3).

Cossack boys are trained as fighters almost from birth. They are traditionally master horsemen – not surprising when they learn to ride from the age of three. Their initiation is harsh and violent – a hand to hand fight with a more skilled opponent – and their tactics are cynical at times: recently, several Cossacks confronted Ukrainian police in a long-running dispute over the (illegal) installation of a large Russian Orthodox cross outside a city, and were badly beaten (as they’d expected to be) which looked like police brutality to the Russian Orthodox community that supports the Cossacks. As tactics go, cynicism is an advantage – ever since Sun Tzu, this is an unspoken fact of military strategy

Despite very traditional values and distinct gender divisions, in some ways Cossack culture is pretty democratic – the Ataman/Hetman or leader is elected, along with other officials including clergy (which says interesting things about the place of religion in their society) at a Rada, or Band Assembly. This Assembly has the legislative power (such as it is for a culture that has no written laws, but lives rather by Traditions which bear more than a passing resemblance to Omerta), while the Ataman is the executive power and Commander-in-Chief in battle.

In Russia, things may be changing: Yulia Tkachenko is the Ataman in the Alexandrov area – the only woman to hold the title. She argues that these days, women are morally stronger than the men. Other Atamans aren’t happy about it, but it could be a sign of changing times for the last warrior culture in Europe.