Cossack

Cossack {{Audio|ru-kazak.ogg|listen}} (Russian Kazak (?????); plural, Kazaki (??????), Polish Kozak; plural, Kozacy, Ukrainian Kozak (?????); plural, Kozaky (??????)) is the name given to a portion of the population of Eastern Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia. Cossacks settled in parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, particularly in areas now comprising southern Russia and Ukraine. They were known for their military skills although in the Soviet Union their special service was discontinued and the Cossack culture was suppressed. Their culture began a revival in Russia and Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
Russian - Polish - Ukrainian - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Russian Empire - Soviet Union - Russia - Ukraine - Collapse of the Soviet Union

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The name is derived from the Turkic word quzzaq, "adventurer", "freeman". The term is first mentioned in a Ruthenian document dated 1395.

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Cossacks should not be confused with the Kazakhs (Kazakh is spelled Qazaq (?????) in the native language).

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"Cossacks" (Kozacy) was also the name given to a kind of light cavalry in Poland-Lithuania regardless of ethnicity.

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