The Cossacks

Bust of Cossack Chief

Last Saturday, Sean and I went upriver from Rostov to tour an old Cossack fortress. The fortress consisted of a modest palace, a kitchen house, a church and one other unknown building. The Cossacks were, according to Wikipedia:

...a traditional community of people living in the southern steppe regions of Eastern Europe (primarily Ukraine and southern Russia) and Asian Russia. They are famous for their self-reliance and military skills, particularly horsemanship. "Cossack" may also refer to a member of a Cossack military unit. Originally Cossacks were runaway Rutherian peasants who escaped Polish and Russian feudal pressure and settled in the southern steppes.

The name Cossack "ultimately derived from a Turkic social term qazaq meaning 'adventurer' or 'free man.'"

The particular group that inhabited this fortress was known as the Don Cossacks, since they had settled along the Don River. According to our guide, Moscow hired out the Cossacks to guard the southern frontiers from attacks by Turks and Mongols. They were paid with bread, gold and weapons. A Cossack boy was able to ride a horse by age 5 and was able to handle most weapons by age 10. Since they were to guard the southern frontiers, they were prohibited from farming, so that all of their time could be spent on military matters. In the 19th century, as their military services diminished, the prohibition on farming was lifted.

Gateway into Cossack fortress

Orthodox church inside fortress

Cossack wall tapestry and bench seat

Central room of Cossack palace with showcases

Iconic depiction of beheading of John the Baptist

Really old books

Dining room inside palace

Cossack man's outfit

Cossack woman's outfit

Old well in courtyard of fortress

Just outside the fortress