Military Service of the Cossacks in the Security System of the South of Russia (On the Example of Rostov Region)

Abstract

Introduction. Modern Russian Cossacks, having undergone the process of revival and institutionalization, are now incorporated into the system of state and other services of the Russian Federation. Given the pre-revolutionary status of the Cossacks as a military class of the Russian Empire, Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, beginning from the 1990s, has a particular interest in attracting the descendants of the Cossacks and members of Cossack societies to military service. Methods. Through the institutional analysis, the study assesses the role of the Cossacks in military service and security in the South of Russia. Analysis. In order to incorporate the Cossacks into the system of military service in the Russian Federation, a number of normative legal acts have been adopted that allow the Cossacks to serve in Cossack units with traditional Cossack names, to use Cossack insignia on military uniforms. As part of the implementation of the Strategy of the state policy of the Russian Federation in relation to the Russian Cossacks until 2020, regional plans for its implementation, Cossack societies are actively involved in the preparation of pre-conscription youth, interact with military commissariats. Recently, pilot projects have been launched to create specialized Cossack territorial defense companies. At a high level, the participation of the Cossacks in ensuring public order during important international events has been evaluated: the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the World Cup 2018. Results. The need to expand the participation of the Cossacks in the military service of the Russian Federation by increasing the number of territorial defense companies, opening Cossack cadet corps, forming the role of the Cossacks as a guarantor of stabilization of interethnic relations of the South of Russia.