Ussuri Cossack Host (russian: Уссури́йское каза́чье во́йско) 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 ...

in Imperial Russia, located in

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 ...

south of Khabarovsk along the

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 ...

, the

Sungari River The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bo ...

, and around the

Khanka Lake Lake Khanka (russian: о́зеро Ха́нка) or Lake Xingkai (), is a freshwater lake on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia and Heilongjiang province, Northeast China (at ). Etymology On the Delisle map of 1706, the lake is named ...

History

The Ussuri Cossack Host was created in 1889 on the basis of an unmounted half-

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 ...

of the

Amur Cossack Host The Amur Cossack Host (russian: Амурское казачье войско) was a Cossack host created in the Amur region and Primorye in the 1850s on the basis of the Cossacks relocated from the Transbaikal region and freed miners of Nerchinsk ...

and later reinforced with settlers from the

Don Cossack Host Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...

Kuban Cossack Host Kuban Cossacks (russian: кубанские казаки, ''kubanskiye kаzaki''; uk, кубанські козаки, ''kubanski kozaky''), or Kubanians (russian: кубанцы, ; uk, кубанці, ), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban ...

, and other Cossack hosts. The Ussuri Cossack Host headquarters was first located in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

and then in Iman (now

Dalnerechensk Dalnerechensk (russian: Дальнере́ченск) is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Iman'' (until 1972). Names It was originally known as Iman (russian: Има́н; ), but its Russian name was c ...

). Its nakazny ataman (who was also the

military governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

of the region) subordinated to the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

of 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, who, in turn, was the nakazny ataman of the Amur and the Ussuri Cossack Hosts.

Organisation and role

The Ussuri Cossacks possessed 6740 km² of land. In 1916, they numbered 39,900 people in six

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 ...

s, which comprised 76 settlements. In times of peace, the Ussuri Cossacks supplied one cavalry battalion (300 men) and one

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 ...

. The Ussuri Cossack Host was used for border patrol, postal and police service. It participated in 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 ...

. During the

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 ...

, the Ussuri Cossacks supplied one cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

(600 men), one cavalry battalion, one platoon of guards, and six special

sotnya Sotnia (Ukrainian and ) was a military unit and administrative division in many Slavic countries. Sotnia, deriving back to 1948, has been used in a variety of contexts in both Ukraine and Russia to this day. It is a helpful word to create sh ...

s (total of 2,514 men). Most of the Ussuri Cossack Host took the side of the White movement 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 ...

. The majority of Cossacks joined Ataman

Ivan Kalmykov Ivan Pavlovich Kalmykov (russian: Иван Павлович Калмыков; September 5, 1890 – September 1920), was an Ataman of the Ussuri Cossacks and General associated with the Anti-Bolshevik White Movement during the Russian Civil Wa ...

’s Cossack detachment, whilst the other’s joined Ataman Semyonov’s OMO ( Special Manchurian Detachment).

Modern

The Ussuri Cossack Host was disbanded in 1922. It was re-established in 1990, although not as an administrative unit of any sort.

Distinctions

The distinguishing colour of the Ussuri Cossack Host was yellow. This was the color of the cap bands, epaulettes and wide trouser stripes of a green uniform of the loose-fitting cut common to all the Steppe Cossack Hosts. Individual regiments were distinguished by numbers on the epaulettes. Lambs-wool hats (''papakha'') were worn on occasion with yellow cloth tops. From 1907 on, light khaki blouses (''Gymnastyorka, gimnasterka'') summer blouses were adopted to replace the white shirt-tunics previously worn. The blue/grey breeches with yellow stripes continued to be worn through World War I.

References

External links

Ussuri Cossacks
Primorsky Krai History of the Russian Far East Social groups of Russia Cossack hosts {{Russia-stub