The Amur Cossack Host (russian: Амурское казачье войско) was a

Cossack host A Cossack host ( uk, козацьке військо, translit=kozatske viisko; russian: каза́чье во́йско, ''kazachye voysko''), sometimes translated as Cossack army, was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in the Russian Em ...

created in the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long, ...

region and

Primorye Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of t ...

in the 1850s on the basis of the Cossacks relocated from the

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykalye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and ...

region and freed

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

Nerchinsk Nerchinsk ( rus, Не́рчинск; bua, Нэршүү, ''Nershüü''; mn, Нэрчүү, ''Nerchüü''; mnc, m=, v=Nibcu, a=Nibqu; zh, t=涅尔琴斯克（尼布楚）, p=Niè'ěrqínsīkè (Níbùchǔ)) is a town and the administrative ce ...

region.

Early history

123 Illustrated description of the changes in the uniforms

Their resettlement began in 1854. The first Cossack ''

stanitsa A stanitsa ( rus, станица, p=stɐˈnʲitsə; uk, станиця, stanytsya) is a village inside a Cossack host ( uk, військо, viys’ko; russian: казачье войско, kazach’ye voysko, sometimes translated as "Cossack Ar ...

'' (Khabarovskaya) was created in 1858. A decree announcing the creation of the Amur Cossack Host was issued in 1860. Initially the host was subordinate to the military governor of the Amur

Oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

and

. In 1879 it became responsible to the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Amur Oblast. Subsequently, the Amur Cossack army became the responsibility of the Governor-General of the Amur region and the Commander of the armies of the

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

of the Amur region (the latter was also the ataman of the Amur and Ussuri Cossack Hosts). The headquarters of the Amur Cossack Host was located in

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благове́щенск, p=bləgɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, meaning ''City of the Annunciation'') is a city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur and the Zeya Rivers, o ...

Region, resources and organisation

The Amur Cossack Host patrolled the borders along the Amur River and

Ussuri River The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the S ...

(in 1889, a separate Ussuri Cossack Host was created for patrolling the Ussuri). It also staffed the Amur-Ussuri flotilla (river squadron), created in 1897. The Amur Cossacks possessed 5,8 million

desyatina A dessiatin or desyatina (russian: десятина) is an archaic, rudimentary land measurement used in tsarist Russia. A dessiatin is equal to 2,400 square sazhens and is approximately equivalent to 2.702 English acres or 10,926.512 square metres ...

s of land (64,000 km²). The Cossack population (120 settlements) numbered 49,200 people. In times of peace, the Amur Cossack Host supplied 1 mounted regiment (4 ) and 1

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

of local guards. In times of war this contribution expanded to two mounted regiments, 1 platoon of guards, 5 special and 1 reserve sotnyas and 1 infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

. These made up a total of 3,600 men. Amur Cossaks 189x 190x

The Amur Cossack Host took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China, the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1904-05 and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

a significant number of the Amur Cossacks fought on the side of the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...

. There were also some small units that fought on the side of the White Movement, more specifically in helping to regain control of the Amur region.

Distinctions

The distinguishing colour of the Amur Cossack Host was yellow; worn on the cap bands and broad trouser stripes of a green uniform of the loose-fitting cut common to the Steppe Cossacks. Epaulettes were green. High fleece hats were worn on occasion with yellow cloth tops. White blouses and cap covers were worn in summer (see photograph opposite). In 1911 their parade uniform comprised a dark green ''chessman'' (frock coat) with yellow piping on cuffs and collar, the fleece hat and blue-grey breeches with yellow stripes. The field service dress worn during World War I consisted of a khaki-grey tunic or blouse, worn with the grey-blue breeches noted above. In common with other Cossacks, no spurs were worn by the Amur Host.

Early history

Region, resources and organisation

Distinctions

References

See also