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On the other hand, Cossack units, from the days of Peter the Great (czar 1682-1725) until modern time, have a well-deserved reputation for brutality, anti-Semitism, and looting. They have always been notoriously difficult to control, with Russian officers in past wars becoming frustrated and enraged with drunken, mutinous Cossack soldiers. During the Russian Civil War, Cossacks fought for both sides, especially for the anti-Communist White forces, but they were often divisive, unreliable, and preoccupied with looting and general mayhem. Also, many Russians regarded them as potential rebels, given their unruly history, large numbers, and independent-minded spirit, and those familiar with history know that for a two century period, every major rebellion against the Russian Empire was led by Cossack troops. During the Soviet period, Cossacks were among the many ill-treated minorities, having their distinct culture and language suppressed by the Communist authorities. Cossacks were not allowed to serve in the Soviet military until 1936 and proved particularly effective during World War II, but not as separate Cossack units but as individuals in the Red Army.
Since the 1990s Cossacks are once again involved in Russian conflicts. In an effort to bolster national pride and recover some of the distinct Russian heritage that was suppressed during 70 years of Soviet rule Russia has officially brought back the formation of exclusively Cossack military units, and in a big way. This has accompanied a general explosion of Cossack culture in recent years. Cossack military schools have been established, where student ages 10 to 17 attend classes in army fatigues and learn military tactics alongside regular academic subjects. An entire Kuban Cossack Army, headquartered in Krasnodar, has been established and is incorporated as a unique, but fully integrated, part of the Russian Army. The Russian Minister for Cossack Affairs, general Gennady Troshev (until his death in 2009) was a Cossack himself and had been instrumental in the remilitarization of the Cossack society.
Irregular Cossack paramilitary units fought on the Russian/separatist side in the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, which saw South Ossetia taken from Georgia and made a de facto part of Russia. Cossack volunteers by the hundreds mobilized during the Georgian attack of South Ossetia and crossed the border to engage Georgian forces. Cossacks in nearby North Ossetia apparently organized a relatively efficient and rapid system for clothing, equipping and transporting their paramilitaries into the breakaway province to feed them into combat. Cossack fighters entered South Ossetia by bus, having been issued combat uniforms and gear on the way to the border, and were issued small arms and light weapons once they arrived at the border. Cossack volunteers formed the second major paramilitary force in the war, the first being the South Ossetian militias. According to reports, the Cossack forces fought with dogged determination. Russian army commanders noted the effectiveness of the Cossacks in Georgia which appears to be why the Cossacks showed up in Donbas so quickly. The big difference is that Russian forces soon withdrew from most of Georgia while in Donbas the conflict has gone on for years.
Paramilitary forces and semi-standing armies of "volunteers", of various ethnic and political lines, are a major part of the armed conflict in Russia and the former Soviet Union, particularly among Slavic ethnicities. Such forces exist in disputed territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where a majority of ethnic Armenians live in the unrecognized Republic of Nogorno-Karabakh. The Nogorno-Karabakh Defense Army is the formal defense force of the Nogorno-Karabakh Republic. Similar forces exist in both breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Azkaban. Now Cossacks are trying to settle down in eastern Ukraine (parts of which were once “Cossack lands”).
By 2015 the Russian policy was to encourage, with cash investments and monthly payments to adult Cossacks willing to undergo military training, the establishment of Cossack communities in the Caucasus. These towns and villages would be in touch with the surrounding non-Cossack population and able, if there were problems with the non-Russian natives, to defend themselves until Russian reinforcements show up. That’s a strategy that is centuries old and Russia sees it as succeeding again. The Caucasus natives have a long-standing dislike for the Cossacks, but at the same time fear and respect them, especially when the Cossacks are acting as paramilitary forces. But in Ukraine, the Cossacks often led Ukrainian rebellions against the Russian government. That distant memory is now being reexamined in Moscow and the policies of how to use the Cossacks were reconsidered and in early 2018 it was decided to try reviving some of the czarist traditions by forming all Cossack reserve units as part of the new National Guard. This plan involves moving slowly by forming small units (platoon and company size), noting how well they perform and then deciding how much to expand the program. Whatever the case since the 1990s the Cossacks have been returning to their traditional role as defenders of the Russian empire, a role that was merely interrupted for 70 years by the disastrous Soviet experiment, which collapsed in 1991.
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An entire ethnic group of "mercenaries/fighters".
I suppose similar to the Gurkhas but quite likely more numerous than them.