Moscow Increases Cossack Presence in Occupied Territories

Executive Summary:

• Russian State Duma Deputy Viktor Vodolatsky, former ataman of the Don Cossacks, gave an interview on May 14 discussing plans to open new state-registered Cossack societies in the occupied territories of Ukraine, highlighting the Cossacks’ role in the Kremlin’s consolidation of control over these regions.
• The new Cossack societies loyal to the Kremlin are doling out discipline through horseback patrols, establishing Cossack educational institutions, and spreading support for Russian Orthodoxy in an effort to further ingrain themselves in Ukrainian society with Moscow’s backing.
• The historical presence of Cossacks in these regions and the role they play in Cossack history is a significant motivator for Cossacks to fight on the Russian side, which the Kremlin uses to its advantage to keep the registered movement under its control by supporting the regular establishment of new Cossack societies.

Reports in early July claimed that in Russian-occupied Kherson oblast, all men will be required to register as “Cossacks” and thus become eligible for Russian military service in a new wave of mobilization (Sprotyv.mod.gov.ua, July 8; TSN, July 9). Such a move, along with the erection and consecration of a Cossack cross near Avdiivka in Donetsk oblast, highlights the centrality of the Kremlin’s state-registered Cossack movement in the war against Ukraine and consolidating control over the occupied territories (News.1777.ru, July 12). Earlier, on May 14, State Duma Deputy Viktor Vodolatsky  provided glimpses into this role during an interview given to the Russian Cossackdom portal in which he discussed plans for the opening of new Cossack societies in the occupied territories (see EDM, April 10; Kazachestvo.ru, May 14). Vodolatsky was ataman of the Don Cossacks from 1999 to 2013 and a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Cossack Affairs. Since 2016, Vodolatsky has been a member of the United Russia faction in the Duma and is now a member of the Presidential Council for interethnic Relations (Svobodnaya Pressa, accessed May 24). His presence on the council aids in maintaining the veneer that the registered Cossacks are an ethnic group and not just people who simply wear Cossack clothes and re-enact social stereotypes—known as “Asphalt Cossacks.” The presence of Russian Cossacks and their influence in the occupied territories of Ukraine is growing, as seen with the reportedly forced registration of men in Kherson as “Cossack.” This is further evidenced by the Kremlin’s increasing use of Cossacks as part of the war effort and to feign interethnic harmony in Russia (see EDM, February 14, October 10, 2023, February 8, June 26).

Since the beginning of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, it has been opening Cossack societies in the “new regions” to establish a greater presence in the region. These Cossack societies dole out discipline, establish Cossack educational institutions, and spread the Cossack support of Russian Orthodox. Examples of doling out discipline include patrols on horseback in villages in the occupied territories to “maintain order” and “preserve Cossack traditions” (see EDM, January 30, 2023, January 25, April 10; Novorossiysk.bezformata.com, November 11, 2023; RIA Novosti Media Bank, July 10). In his interview, Volodatsky disputed the use of the term “new regions of Russia,” explaining that “new territories” is incorrect because Donbas has always been a part of Russia. He asserted, “Even in the time of the Soviet Union, when Lenin decided to create the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic in the territories where contemporary Luhansk and Donetsk are located, they were part of the Don Cossack region” (Kazachestvo.ru, May 14). Such sentiments reiterate the centrality of the land itself to Cossack mythology and the level of ideological motivation of registered Cossack troops to fight on the Russian side (see EDM, November 28, 2023). Vodolatsky is correct that the Don Army oblast was an autonomous administrative unit of the Russian Empire but was reconciled to Soviet forces in 1920. Further back, many rebel figures in Russian history had Cossack origins, fueling their assumed mission of vigilante justice.

Vodolatsky pointed to the centrality of the Cossack image in the ideological struggle that underpins the war in Ukraine. He stated, “The most important thing is that the Nazi ideology in Ukraine loses its foundation from which it springs. Our history is our Cossackdom. The anthem of Ukraine is based on the Zaporizhian Cossacks; if today we knock out this ideological crutch, the whole system of Ukraine will simply fall apart” (Kazachestvo.ru, May 14). Russian President Vladimir Putin sees the war as existential for Russia at the ideological level to prevent the mosaic of Russian peoples from choosing other parts of the Russian cultural lore as a foundation for their own national projects. Historical accounts considered part of Russian national identity, such as that of the Cossacks, could be broken off to fortify claims to independence from smaller ethnic peoples through historical precedence. Putin’s speech about the “historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians” from 2021 pointed to the Zaporizhian Cossacks as one of the lynchpins of his case (Kremlin.ru, July 12, 2021). This can be seen in how he has brought the Cossacks further under the Kremlin’s control by providing them a platform and significant role in his war (see EDM, February 14, October 10, 2023, February 8, June 26).

This discussion underscores the importance of establishing pro-Russian registered Cossack societies in the occupied territories for the Kremlin. Vodolatsky reported that the Luhansk Cossacks were in the process of being completely absorbed. He declared, “In the Luhansk People’s Republic, there will be more than 29 city and district Cossack societies, as well as farmsteads and stanitsas [Cossack term for village], but most Cossacks are currently fighting. … According to our data … about 40,000 people will be assigned to the stanitsa and farm societies” (Kazachestvo.ru, May 14). One possible implication of the establishment of Cossack farmsteads and villages is that after the war, all the inhabitants of these regions will be treated as “Cossacks” regardless of how they self-identify. The same is apparently true in occupied Donetsk, where several Cossack societies are said to be created, though many “Cossacks” are fighting on the front (Kazachestvo.ru, May 14). While it is unclear how many of these fighters are willing participants in the war, reports of forcible conscription and the use of threats to convince Ukrainians to fight against their county make it probable that some, if not most, of these “Cossacks” are being forced to fight (Radio Svoboda, November 30, 2023). The Cossack image, nevertheless, is being exploited to deepen Russian social control over these regions (see EDM, February 20; Kazachestvo.ru, May 19).

The same process is taking place in the even “newer” regions, including parts of Zaporizhzhia oblast. According to Vodolatsky, some people in the region reportedly “want to recreate the Zaporizhzhia Cossack Army. At present, appropriate measures are being taken and there are more than 50 applications for the creation of farm stanitsa societies.” He adds that “most of the Zaporizhzhia Cossacks today are fighting in the Don and Dnepr battalions.” Vodolatsky goes on to detail plans for youth development. He announced, “In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, we are creating centers for the development of military and sports training as well as the patriotic education of youth called ‘Warrior [Voin],’ which interact with the Cossacks” (Kazachestvo.ru, May 14).

The Cossack military presence is also being used to strengthen ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. Efforts have been made to ensure that each unit on the front has its own chaplain, as seen in the construction of the Cossack cross and a chapel in Donetsk (VsKO, July 9). This is a further example of Russia impressing itself into the occupied territories of Ukraine, using the Cossacks as a means of promoting and spreading Russian influence through the church. The Volodatsky interview and the growing establishment of Cossack societies in the occupied territories demonstrate just how fundamental the history and image of the Cossacks is to the lands currently being fought over, with the possible establishment of a registered Cossack republic in the area after the war.