The Cossacks An Illustrated History

by Ure, Jean

• ISBN13: 9781585671380
• ISBN10: 158567138X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-12-02
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Summary

The Cossacks have always exerted a strong pull on the imagination, whether as the ferocious horsemen who harassed the retreating Grande Armee of Napoleon all the way to the gates of Paris, or as the fiercely independent renegades who made several bloody attempts at rebellion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were responsible for various atrocities continuing into the twentieth century. This splendidly-illustrated volume tells the tale of these great warriors, which is itself woven inextricably through the history of the Russian and Soviet empires. Career diplomat and critically-acclaimed travel writer John Ure traces the story of the Cossacks from the times of Ivan the Terrible, who first employed the horsemen of the Don to repel Tartar and Turkish invaders. From this point in history, the Tsars of Russia counted on the service, if not always the loyalty, of the Cossacks. After the period of Cossack rebellions, led successively by Bogdan, Stenka Razin, Mazeppa, and Pugachev, the Tsars once again harnessed the Cossacks for their own purposes, using them in the front lines in the wars against Napoleon and in the Caucasus, and later to suppress the fomenting revolution. Brutally repressed during the Stalin era, the Cossacks have experienced a resurgence in the post-Communist era. In the early- and mid-nineties. Cossack units were re-established in the Russian Army, and some Cossacks saw action in Bosnia and Chechmya. Once again, they are reclaiming their role in history as a force in both the political and military spheres. John Ure also traces the influence of the Cossacks on Russian culture: writers such as Tolstoy (who served in a Cossack regiment in the Caucasus). Pushkin. Lermontov, and Pasternak all romanticized the Cossacks in print. Featured in this volume in full-color are a glorious and broad selection of paintings, lithographs, and photographs that document this fascinating history. The Cossacks emerge from this narrative in all their brilliant glory -- dashing and cruel, unpredictable and immensely brave. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Sir John Ure started his career with the British diplomatic service in Russia where he learned the language. He went on to be ambassador to Cuba. Brazil, and Sweden. He has also written eight well-received travel books and historical biographies. He was chairman of judges for the prestigious Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book of the Year award for ten years, and he writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, and Times Literary Supplement. He describes his recreations as "traveling uncomfortably in remote places and writing about it comfortably afterwards." He lives with his family in Kent, England, and periodically visits Russia and Central Asia as a guest lecturer

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	9	(2)
Prologue: Strangers in the Part	11	(14)
Introduction: Who are the Cossacks?	25	(10)
Ivan the Terrible finds an Unlikely Ally	35	(12)
First Steps into Siberia	47	(23)
Boris Godunov and the Time of Troubles	70	(10)
Cossack against Turk	80	(16)
Stenka Razin: The Volga Pirate	96	(17)
Mazeppa and Peter the Great	113	(26)
Catherine the Great and Pugachev	139	(18)
The Cossacks and Napoleon's Invasion of Russia	157	(14)
The Conquest of the Caucasus	171	(28)
The Cossacks and the Great Game	199	(30)
The Cossacks in the Revolution: The Sword Turns the Hand	229	(22)
The Cossacks in the Second World War: Desertion and Betrayal	251	(12)
The Post-Communist Cossack Revival	263	(16)
Select Bibliography	279	(2)
Index	281