The Cossacks’ Involvement in Armed Conflicts in the 20th – Early 21st Centuries: To the Question of the Specifics of the Cossacks as a Modern Military Force

Introduction. As a result of the renaissance process in Russia at the end of the 20th century, the Cossacks became active actors in political, social, and economic processes. Positioning themselves as warriors and defenders of the Fatherland, the Cossacks also joined the foreign policy processes taking place in the post-Soviet space and in Eastern Europe. The motives and formats of this participation are clarified in this article. Methods and materials. The historiography of the topic is small due to its poor knowledge. The historiography of the topic is small due to its poor knowledge. The main sources were the memoirs of participants and contemporaries of the events, materials from information and analytical websites, and Telegram channels of Cossack societies. Analysis. The participation of the Cossacks in several of the largest military-political conflicts of the post-Soviet space is considered: Transnistrian (1991–1992), Georgian-Abkhazian (1992), Georgian-South Ossetian (2008), events in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, in Donbas and Crimea in 2014, as well as in special military operations. The motives of the Cossacks are revealed, and changes in the number and organization of their participation in these events are determined. Results. The voluntary nature of the Cossacks’ participation in military and political conflicts has been determined. The main motive of the 1990s was to help the brothers (Cossacks, Slavs, and Orthodox Christians). In the 2000s and early 2020s, the main motive was to protect the country’s security. During this period, the number of volunteer Cossacks increased significantly, and they became more organized and openly supported by the state.