This book covers 500 years of the history of the Cossacks -- the recklessly brave, wild horsemen, or the romantic hero of the steppe, or the brutal mounted policemen, as they have been remembered throughout history. A lucid and engaging book that conveys the passion, exuberance and tragedy of these extraordinary people, it will be enjoyed by students, scholars and general readers interested in Russian history.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments List of Maps List of Illustrations. Part One: Beginnings to 1600 Introduction Prologue Chapter One: The Origins of the Cossacks Part Two: The Era of Cossack Rebellions 1600-1774 Chapter Two: Bodan Khmelnytsky Chapter Three: Stepan Razin Chapter Four: Emel'ian Pugachev Part Three: The Cossacks in the Long Nineteenth Century 1774-1914 Chapter Five: Government, Administration and Economy Chapter Six: Cossack Women Chapter Seven: Economic Crisis and Revolution Part Four: The Cossacks in the Soviet Era Chapter Eight:The Cossacks and the February Revolution Chapter Nine: The Cossacks and the Civil War Chapter Ten: The Cossacks Under Soviet Power Epilogue: The Return of the Cossacks? Bibliography Index

About the Author

Shane O'Rourke is Lecturer in History at the University of York

Reviews

"An important, engaging and accessible contribution to scholarly knowledge and understanding of the Russian Cossacks, utilizing a range of archival materials, published primary sources and secondary literature."--Sarah Badcock, University of Nottingham