Which Chechens became Cossacks? How the Chechens saved the Terek Cossacks from extermination. Where did the Terek Cossacks come from?

Avdeeva Arina

Historical essay on the participation of Cossack mineral workers in the Chechen wars.

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Wanderers of the fighting life of the CossacksMineralovodsk departmental Cossack society of the Terek military Cossack society during the Chechen wars.

Avdeeva Arina Olegovna

8th grade student

MBOU secondary school No. 8

With. Levokumka

Supervisor:

Litus Marina Sergeevna

History and Social Studies Teacher

MBOU secondary school No. 8 s. Levokumka

The Chechen conflict arose, like almost all other national conflicts on the territory of the former USSR, in the second half of the 1980s, with the beginning of perestroika. Political scientist V.V. Chernous notes that during this period, “at rallies in Grozny, along with dancing horsemen, the slogans “Russians to Ryazan, Ingush to Nazran, Armenians to Yerevan” began to be heard more often. Slowly but surely, Russians (as well as representatives of other ethnic communities - Armenians, Greeks, Jews) are beginning to sell off their real estate and get out as quickly as possible, some to Ryazan, and some to other places in the vast Russia" (1) Separatist sentiments began to sound louder and louder and louder. As a result, on March 12, 1992, the parliament of Chechnya adopted the constitution of the republic, declaring the Chechen Republic an independent secular state. The new Chechen Republic was created only for Chechens, there was no place for other peoples in it. The policy of the authorities led to a large number of casualties among the population, military and law enforcement authorities, mass genocide of Russians by members of gangs.

How and why did the Cossacks become participants in the Chechen war? In my work I will try to answer this question.

" Against the backdrop of the events taking place in the North Caucasus, back in 1991, a demand was made by Cossack organizations in the region, which boiled down to the following formula and was then repeated several times: “Give us weapons in our hands, and we will defend ourselves and our land ourselves.”. Cossack Circles demanded that the government of the Russian Federation create Cossack territorial military units to counter the spread of negative anti-Russian and anti-state tendencies in the North Caucasus region. The argument for the Cossack statement was also provided by examples of the participation of Cossacks as volunteers in hostilities in North Ossetia, Transnistria, Abkhazia and Yugoslavia. The official authorities avoided resolving this issue in every possible way, citing the lack of a legal basis, and only in 1994, with the outbreak of the military conflict in Chechnya, did the command of the North Caucasus Military District remember the Cossack proposal." (2)

On December 11, 1994, on the basis of the decree of Russian President Boris Yeltsin “On measures to suppress the activities of illegal armed groups on the territory of the Chechen Republic,” units of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs entered the territory of Chechnya - the first Chechen war, as it is called, began.

The 90s of the twentieth century were very difficult for our country. It was a time of “total collapse and cheap sale of the country, betrayal from above and “lostness” from below, when there were neither reliable authorities nor any prominent prospects for life in any way. The officers did not know how to act in within the framework of contradictory and ineffective orders; the soldiers had no idea why and why they should be under bullets in these unkind, far from home mountains... The war waged against Russia by Islamic fundamentalism at the hands of Chechen, Ingush, even Afghan and Arab militants in the Caucasus became an important destructive factor... And at that time, in these conditions, Russia probably needed a battalion that knew what it was fighting for. At least one battalion... - And these were the Cossacks."(3).

From the memoirs of O.V. Gubenko (In 1996, he took part in hostilities on the territory of the Chechen Republic as part of the 694th separate motorized rifle battalion named after General Ermolov):

“Ermolov’s battalion - that’s what the Cossacks themselves called it in honor of the famous general. But officially it was called the 694th battalion of the 135th motorized rifle brigade of the 58th army of the North Caucasus Military District. The battalion was formed from the Cossacks of the Terek and Kuban troops. Before the formation of the battalion, many Cossacks had already gone through combat hardening in Transnistria, Abkhazia, North Ossetia, Yugoslavia, in 1995, a Cossack platoon as part of the 503rd regiment successfully fought in Chechnya.

The Ermolovsky battalion was formed in February 1996 in the ancient Cossack village - the city of Prokhladny. 43 Cossacks came to serve in the battalion from Mineralnye Vody. Outwardly, the battalion was not much different from the regular Russian army, only the Cossack chevrons distinguished the Yermolovites. But strict order reigned inside, as is customary among the Cossacks; the battalion was a model of military discipline."(4)

“When recruiting platoons, the old Cossack principle of community was taken into account. So in the 2nd company of the Ermolovsky battalion, the 1st platoon consisted mainly of Cossacks of the Mineralovodsk department, the 2nd platoon - of the Prokhladnensky department, the 3rd platoon - of the Pavlovsk department. The platoon commanders were not officers of the Russian Army, but their own “field commanders” (camping atamans).The “compatriot” bond allowed the units to most effectively carry out the combat missions assigned by the command.

There were frequent manifestations of heroism (about 100 soldiers were awarded the Order of Courage). There are several examples of how Cossacks wounded during the battle refused to leave the unit, while others, after short treatment in the hospital, returned to duty."(5)

The combat path of the battalion named after General Ermolov begins from the villageChervlennaya Shelkovsky district of Chechnya.I learned about how the battalion fought from the memoirs of O.V. Gubenko. "At the end of February, the battalion arrived in the village of Chervlennaya, Shelkovsky district of Chechnya. The Yermolovites were supposed to guard the left bank of the Terek, help the Cossack brothers protect their families in the villages of the Naursky, Shelkovsky and Nadterechny districts. But on March 5, 1996, Grozny again found itself in the hands of militants, federal troops suffered heavy losses, and the battalion was ordered to advance to Grozny.
In the area of ​​the village. The October battalion arrived on March 7. The Yermolovites received their baptism of fire on March 8. The battalion was supposed to enter the Zavodskoy district of Grozny and gain a foothold there. Without even having time to get their bearings on the ground, the battalion, on orders from the command of the North Caucasus Military District, moved out and was ambushed. The factory area is very complex, there are many underground communications, concrete fences, and pipes. The militants knocked out two cars and an armored personnel carrier, cutting off the fighters' path to retreat. On both sides there are concrete fences. Stone "bag" and a sea of ​​fire. But the Cossacks were not at a loss, the military experience of many of them affected them, and even in such difficult conditions they began to shoot back on the move. They held out for two hours until dusk and began to retreat. Despite the fact that it was difficult for themselves, the Yermolovites brought Chechen women out from under fire and provided first aid to the wounded. A Russian soldier never abandons those who need help.
In that terrible battle, two Yermolovites were killed and 17 were wounded. But worse than the ambush was the betrayal of their colleagues - after the first battle, 90 people deserted from the battalion. It is difficult to blame these people who were first faced with the horrors of war. But those who remained trusted each other unconditionally. There was a feeling of real military brotherhood. The Cossacks felt like Yermolovites and knew that together they would go to the end.

But the Cossacks still took the Zavodskoy district the very next day. Yermolovites liberated the city and carried out “cleansing operations”. But the battalion was withdrawn from Grozny on March 17. This seemed to be a concession to the local authorities, who made a fuss. On the Chechen radio, reports began to circulate about hordes of Cossacks operating in the city. The Cossacks were moved away so as not to cause a stir.
The battalion was abandoned in the foothills of the Achkhoy-Martan region. Here, near the villages of Old Achkhoy, Bamut and Orekhovo, there was a real nest of militants - a fortified area, which was surrounded by three lines of defense, equipped with ceilings, communication passages, and single shelters - the so-called “fox holes”.
The battle for Orekhovo became a tragic page in the history of the battalion. According to the calculations of the command, two regiments and a battalion were supposed to take the village in two weeks. But the Yermolovites managed on their own in a day and a half and entered the village. During the assault, 12 Cossacks were killed and 50 were wounded. Ataman Perepelitsyn also died in that battle. On March 28, Valentin Ivanovich brought humanitarian aid to his soldiers. Having learned that Orekhovo would be taken tomorrow, I decided to go along with my Cossacks. They tried to dissuade him, because the ataman was 53 years old. But Valentin Ivanovich went into battle next to the soldiers. And he saved his guys by repelling the attack of the militants. Pyotr Yurchenko, who tried to carry the wounded chieftain out from under fire, also died.(6)

Later The Mineralovodsk Cossack department of the Terek army will bear the name of Valentin Ivanovich Perepelitsyn - its first chieftain, who died in Chechnya.

“The Yermolovites also took part in the battles of Shali and Vedeno. About three months from battle to battle. The Cossacks did not retreat even once. At any cost, the unit completed all assigned tasks.
In the summer of 1996, the Ermolovsky battalion, which suffered heavy losses, was withdrawn from Chechnya. The battalion was presented with a banner - a native Cossack dark blue color, with the inscription: “1st Cossack Regiment named after General Ermolov” (7).

This is where the history of the battalion named after General Ermolov ended, but the memory of the participation of the Cossacks in the Chechen war is alive.

One of the participants in two Chechen wars was my father Oleg Gennadievich Avdeev. My dad servedto the “COM” unit - Consolidated Police Detachment. Dad spent a year and a half in this unit. They came to Chechnya as young guys: they were only 20-25 years old, many of them had been through the army - they knew how to shoot, they knew what a machine gun and a grenade were, but they had not seen war. We knew about the war only from books and feature films. My dad is one of those guys too. The worst thing for him was to kill the enemy. But life in the war made him understand: “It’s either you or you.”

In 2000, dad went to the Chechen Republic for the second time, where at that time the war had started again. This time he ended up in a reconnaissance detachment. Dad doesn’t like to remember the war, but he knows exactly what the “Cossack spirit” and “Cossack brotherhood” are. For faithful service, dad has awards: the Cossack Order “Kuban Cross”, the Order “For Fighting in Chechnya”, “Stavropol Cossack Cross”, the Order “For Military Actions in the North Caucasus”, “For Service in the Caucasus”.

His fellow countrymen, brothers Andrei and Ivan Nevalenny, Alexander Gubenko, Nikolai Tkachenko, Alexander Mironov and others, served with dad.

The first Chechen war ended with the signingAugust 31, 1996 Khasavyurt agreements, according to which the decision on the status of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was postponed until 2001. The agreement was signed, but there was no peace in Chechnya and the surrounding areas. Every now and then there were reports of terrorist attacks throughout the country - in Armavir, Pyatigorsk, Vladikavkaz, Moscow, Volgodonsk. War could come to our home at any moment.On March 24, 2001, a powerful explosion occurred in the city of Mineralnye Vody; as a result of the terrorist attack, 21 people were killed and about 100 were injured. Who was behind this? Who wanted to intimidate our people?

“Camps were created on the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria to train militants - young people from the Muslim regions of Russia. Mine demolition instructors, specialists in guerrilla warfare and Islamic preachers were sent here from abroad. Numerous Arabs began to play a significant role in the life of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. mercenaries. Their main goal was to destabilize the situation in the Russian regions neighboring Chechnya and spread the ideas of separatism to the North Caucasus republics (primarily Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria)."(8)

Only on April 16, 2009, the counter-terrorist operation regime was officially abolished in the Chechen Republic.

In the course of my research, I realized the following: all Cossack participants in the Chechen wars were, first of all, patriots who were ready to help the Cossack brothers of the Chechen Republic protect their families and their land, were ready to sacrifice themselves for the life of a comrade, for the sake of their homeland. However, the media is very biased in assessing the participation of Cossacks in the Chechen wars, there are a lot of lies and negativity. Apparently, this is beneficial for someone. But I know one thing: as long as there are Cossacks, I can sleep peacefully.

Today my father is a Cossack of the Khutor Left Bank Cossack Society. There is him and many others for whom the word “Cossack” is not an empty phrase. And the most important thing for me and my fellow countrymen is that the Cossacks are a factor of stability and security in our region.

References

• Internet resources:

1. https://ru.wikipedia.

3. http://www.pereprava. Bazhen Petukhov

5. http://srn.su/- About the Ermolovsky battalion and its participation in the Chechen campaign. (preface to “Notes of Yermolovets”)

6. http://gorod.tomsk.ru

7. http://gorod.tomsk.ru

8. https://ru.wikipedia.

• Memoirs of Avdeev O.G.

Certificate of registration of PI No. FS77-33085 dated August 29, 2008.

This is material for conversations about the fact that order cannot be restored in the Caucasus. History shows what else is possible. And the example of Ramzan Kadyrov. The example of Kadyrov and the experience of Russian commanders should be taken into account by the leaders of neighboring republics and not stand on ceremony with the Wahhabis and corrupt officials. The lawless people must know that there is a limit to everything and they or their descendants will eventually be destroyed. The Caucasus, like all of Russia, needs peace, order, prosperity and the rule of law. This article is addressed largely to figures from Dagestan, who, with their subversive work, stupefying the heads of the younger generation, are exposing their people. Nobody will give you the Caucasus. Anyone who doesn’t understand this and doesn’t want it is better off leaving...

Unknown pages of history. How Denikin pacified the Chechens

Some people to this day reproach Stalin for his “cruelty” towards the Chechens. However, “deportation” was only part of the widespread practice of the “leader of the peoples”, who resettled Russians in Central Asia and Mordovians in Russian cities. And the Chechens were affected. Their resettlement to Kazakhstan was humane in conditions of war - with doctors, allowances, and lifts.

According to via-midgard.info, almost no one knows that it was the Bolsheviks who gave the Chechens criminal opportunities. Before the revolution, they sat quietly in their villages and cried at every rustle that vaguely resembled the names “Baklanov” or “Ermolov.” The year 17 broke out, the damned days came. As soon as the state institutions of the Russian Empire collapsed, the highlanders became unruly and began, out of old habit, to slaughter the Russians.

The first Chechen protests during the First World War were suppressed. It is very difficult for a Terek Cossack to explain the difference between a “peaceful, friendly Chechen” and a “ungodly rebel,” so no one tried.

Later, when power collapsed, the front collapsed and the whites got stuck in battles with the reds, the latter decided to establish an International in the Caucasus. The “proud” Vainakhs were bought with the promise of transferring Russian and Cossack lands to them, the black and green banners of Islam gave way to red ones.

Spring of 1919. Chechnya is burning in the fire of uprisings. Russian blood flows in rivers, villages are in flames. In the direction of Novocherkassk and Tsaritsyn there are fierce battles with the Red Army. White can barely cope, there are no reserves.

The commander-in-chief of the volunteer army, Anton Denikin, was amazed at the atrocities of the Chechens in the Caucasus. In this hopeless situation, he called the talented and tough Major General Dratsenko.

The brutalized mountaineers thought themselves safe. They had good reasons for this: in addition to red Moscow, they were supported by the “independent” “republics” of Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as Turkey. The Whites did not recognize it because they came out with the slogan “For a united and indivisible Russia.”

The highlanders fielded an army of 20 thousand people.

Dratsenko decided that he would not waste much time on the rebel Chechens. The problem must be resolved quickly.

Since Dratsenko had only very small forces at his disposal (but complete “scumbags”, these are people who went through the entire First World War and half of the Civil War), he refused long, protracted campaigns and prolonged occupation of villages.

Only four thousand bayonets and sabers. Among them are the remnants of the Alexandria 5th Hussar Regiment (the same ones that “March forward, the trumpet is calling, Black Hussars! March forward, death awaits us, pour the spell!”). Terek Cossacks. Kuban plastuns. People who watered the Carpathian peaks and forests near Moscow, Masurian swamps and Kuban steppes with their blood. One of them was Colonel Pavlichenko, who received nineteen (!) wounds during the First World War and the Civil War. Nineteen. Pavlichenko literally shed more of his blood for Russia than any of us has.

Pavlichenko's unit was once ambushed, and he fell behind, alone. All around are impassable Caucasian rocks and isolated small detachments of red mountaineers. One of these detachments surrounded him and, seeing the officer's shoulder straps, offered to surrender. In the eyes of the Chechens there is a predatory anger, they bawle something in their own language and bare their jaws. On Pavlichenko’s lips there is a daring Cossack smile. In his hands is a naked saber. “I won’t give in.”

And then it began! The Chechens rushed at him with bestial fury, there was no question of salvation, and Pavlichenko only wanted to sell his skin as dearly as possible... The blows of the blades rained down on him like hail, but he fought back again and again. And he struck back. The crowd of enemies thinned out, and soon he was left alone. Cut up, sweaty, half-dead. The sweet melody of death in battle fell silent. Victory remained with the power of the Russian will.

For the whole of Chechnya and 20 thousand soldiers of the Islamic Army of Free Dzhigits named after. Trotsky, Dratsenko had 12 guns and 50 machine guns. The commander, who decided to spare the lives of his subordinates, used the experience of Ermolov and the thunderstorms of the Caucasus. Who was Ermolov? General of the artillery. Dratsenko's artillery set fire to villages and wiped them off the face of the earth. And after the fire... If a shell can fly past, then the Cossack will not miss. “The plastuns who burst into the village were ordered to light everything that could burn.” The Cossacks burned and burned as much as they could and chopped down everyone they saw. They raised us with bayonets. They chopped with checkers. They shot at point blank range. Shamil's tribe curled up into a fetal position and prayed, no longer to Allah, but to Dratsenko's soldiers. The villages turned into a sea of ​​fire; no prisoners were taken at all. The detachments approached the villages, unleashed a hell of shells on them, cut, cut, cut until their hands went numb, set everything on fire and drove on to the next village. The Cossacks cut through the Vainakh crowds like a hot sword through butter.

The village of Alkhan-Yurt turned out to be stubborn - its defenders did not want to surrender or go out to meet the Cossacks. The artillerymen came close to the village and began, in complete calm, to place their guns two hundred meters from the Chechen fortifications. Those, stunned by such audacity, fell into a stupor. The shock prevented them from even firing. Before their eyes, the gun calmly arrived, took its position and opened fire almost point-blank. Naturally, the Chechen positions immediately turned into a burning mountain of firewood, after which the Chechens came to their senses and began machine-gun fire. Too late. Tertsy shouting “Hurray!” burst into the village and did what the Cossacks do best...

By order of Dratsenko, several Chechens were released so that they could tell their relatives about what they saw. Then they finished off the nursery itself. “The entire village was set on fire and burned all night and the next day, illuminating the plain of Chechnya far away at night, reminding the rebellious what awaited them.” They understood.

The next day, early in the morning, the detachment demonstratively carried out a psychic attack on the neighboring village of Valerik. The artillery again occupied the dominant heights, but did not engage in battle. Plastun battalions went into battle in ranks, as if in a parade. The Chechens again began to shoot only when the plastuns came point blank - this time for a different reason: there were so few Chechens that they could not afford any maneuvers. The majority of the population of the village, having heard about Dratsenko’s actions, decided that they did not want to deal with Russian shaitans.

After this, there was a week-long break in hostilities, as negotiations began between the command of the Volunteer Army and the Chechen representatives. The initiative for negotiations this time came from the Chechens. All the demands of the White Guard command put before the “Congress of the Chechen People” were fulfilled. Still would. Pride is pride, but I want to live.

However, isolated pockets of resistance remained. Aul Tsatsen-Yurt decided to prove his courage and refused to comply with the demands of the white command. They soon regretted it. The village itself was a quadrangle, three sides of which were covered by a huge corn field, and only on one side was a meadow adjacent to it. Smart Chechens decided that it would be easy to repel the attacks of the “white infidels” here. Only one minor detail disrupted the Chechens' plans. They did not take into account that they were not fighting against their own kind, but against epic heroes, demigods, forged by fire and steel in a terrible war. The Cossacks ignored the cornfield and climbed through the forest, three kilometers short of Tsatsen-Yurt, and moved across the meadow. Within half an hour, crushing gunfire wiped out the first line of defense. Dratsenko had no time for jokes. He ordered the guns to be brought up close.

The hint was understood, and the Chechens raised white rags on poles. To Dratsenko’s surprise, the mountaineers now agreed to all his conditions. “We’ll do everything, we’ll do everything! Don’t hurt Wai-Wai!” And they blew snot, begging the formidable White Shaitan not to burn their village. The next day the detachment returned to Grozny. This was the end of the operation. Even taking into account the fact that a whole week was spent on negotiations, General Dratsenko conquered Chechnya in 18 days. The lightning-fast campaign broke the will to resist among the mountaineers, which stopped the antics against the Russians. Before the defeat of the white troops in this region.

What happened after is known to everyone. The Red Highlanders, emboldened by impunity, destroyed the Russian population of those regions, appropriated Cossack lands for themselves, turned the villages into auls, and even at the dawn of Soviet power they organized “the genocide of Russians in a single province.”

But I wonder what the veterans of this campaign would have done with the respected Mr. Mirzaev, about whom the current scum is already writing books and singing songs?

But this is not the most important thing.

The most important thing is that it is in vain that Stalin is accused of cruelty towards the Chechens.

The Father of Nations did not lay a finger on them. Relocated - yes. But that's all.

Nina Basilashvili

(FB post by Khasan Bakaev)
“At that time, the Bolsheviks fought with the Terek Cossacks, burning their rich villages and slaughtering the civilian population. Some of the Tertsy fought with the Reds, some remained neutral, and some, having no weapons, could not join the fight. And the Soviet hordes kept pushing and pushing. Several thousand Cossacks, along with their wives and children, were pressed to the Terek, beyond which the lands of the Chechens began. In another day or two, the Reds will come up and destroy the entire Cossack camp, taking away the cattle, carts, horses and young Cossack women for the amusement of their commissars... The only fear is if the Chechens allow the fugitives to come to them. Then it would be easier to fight back with common forces, and crossing the Terek under enemy fire would have been a very difficult task for the Bolsheviks. The Cossacks sent walkers to the Chechens to beg for help and assistance.

The Chechen elders objected.

“After all, we don’t ask anyone for help, why should we help the Terians, from whom we have never seen anything but bad? And because of them we will fight the Bolsheviks?”

Then the former adjutant of the Chechen regiment (Wild Division), captain Tapa Chermoev, spoke. He enjoyed enormous influence among the Chechens both on his own and as the son of a famous and respected Chechen general.

He, Tapa Chermoev, has already become the head of the union of mountain peoples of the North Caucasus. The purpose of this union was to separate the highlanders from Bolshevik Russia, in order to thus save their identity, their culture, their thousand-year-old traditions from Sovietization.

Chermoev turned to the leaders who were hesitating whether to let the Tertsy people in or not:

“Let the Cossacks be our enemies, so be it. But have the Chechens ever refused hospitality to their most implacable enemies? On the contrary, we must let in, treat, and protect the Cossacks, since they ask for our protection. Are we really going to hand them over to be exterminated by vile and bloodthirsty rapists? Yes, this would be the greatest triumph for the Bolsheviks. This would show them that, firstly, we are afraid of them, and secondly, that under the influence of the general collapse, we too have collapsed and trampled on everything that we were so deservedly proud of until now. No, I don’t believe, I don’t believe that the Chechens wouldn’t extend a helping hand to the Tertiary people!”

Chermoev’s words put the leaders to shame, and the response to his call was a unanimous desire to provide shelter to the Tertians. And if the Reds come across the Terek, they will show off their horseman prowess.

And work immediately began to boil. Several ferries were launched, and at noon the Cossacks with their families and their belongings were transported to the Chechen coast and distributed among the villages, where they received shelter, food, and careful care.

And the Bolsheviks had already approached the Terek. The infantry began to cross on boats and barges, and the cavalry began to swim.

Chermoev commanded the defense. The Chechens shot the Red Army soldiers who set off along the river. The current of the Terek carried away their corpses. The number of Bolsheviks was overwhelming and, despite the destructive fire of the Chechens, several companies managed to reach the enemy shore and land. Here the Chechens met them hand-to-hand, stabbing them with daggers and cutting them down with swords. The scouts let us know that fresh Bolshevik units were approaching as reinforcements. Then Chermoev, not relying on his own strength, decided in a purely Eastern way to strike at the imagination of those who could land any hour. He ordered several hundred Bolshevik bodies to be beheaded and laid out along the shore, with severed heads placed between their legs. And at the same time, Chermoev pulled his exhausted detachment, which also suffered significant losses, to second positions.

And when new reinforcements on barges began to cross the river, Chermoev, armed with binoculars, began to observe.

The sight of the Red Army corpses with their heads between their legs had such a stunning effect on the Bolshevik army that, without disembarking, upset and frightened, they turned their ships back, just so as not to see any more of the terrible spectacle, full of chilling threat.

The headless corpses of their comrades seemed to warn: “And the same will happen to you!”
________________________________________ ________
Nikolai Nikolaevich Breshko-Breshkovsky, Russian writer, journalist, military publicist, art critic, representative of the first wave of Russian emigration. "Wild Division", Riga, 1920

A separate Cossack battalion named after General Ermolov was created in January-February 1996 in the city of Prokhladny. This was reminiscent of ancient times, when a cry was thrown, and the Cossacks went on a campaign. There was a war going on, and the Tertiary people said that it was time to regain their ancestral lands: the Naursky, Shelkovsky and Nadterechny districts, which Khrushchev gave to Checheno-Ingushetia forty years ago. The order to form the battalion came from the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, General Kvashnin, after the events in Dagestan and the village of Pervomaisky. According to the states, this unit of eight hundred people was called the 694th battalion of the 135th motorized rifle brigade of the 58th Army of the North Caucasus Military District and was conventionally called “Ermolovskaya”.
The battalion was organized according to the old tradition of a family gathering. “We created our platoon from people close to each other,” said one village resident. “I went to the front with my son Konstantin, nephews Alexei and Sergei. Godmothers, matchmakers. This is a good fusion. People tested each other all their lives, became friends, know what who needs help and what kind of help can be expected from those walking next to you.” Mostly the fighters were from Stavropol, but walkers appeared even from Yakutia. Sniper Ivan Ivanovich, who once worked as a hunter in the taiga, left his grandmother at the age of fifty-five and went to fight. A guy came from Kuban - without money, without things, with only a toothbrush in his pocket - to avenge his murdered friend.

Major Vladimir Stekhov, who had previously had nothing to do with the Cossacks, was appointed commander, and Cossack Alexander Voloshin became his deputy. Career officers made up the battalion's management and commanded companies, the lower ranks of commanders were staffed by Cossacks. Almost half of the Yermolovites had combat experience gained in “hot spots”. From the very beginning, the unit tried to introduce ancient traditions; Instead of verification, morning and evening prayers were read. Already in Chechnya, if any discontent arose, as a rule, due to the quartermaster’s supplies, gatherings were held. They even remembered the old provision that a Cossack during the war had no right to drink alcohol. However, the latter did not take root.
At the end of February, the battalion was transferred to the village of Chervlennaya, Shelkovsky district, and ten days later an order was received to advance to Grozny. On March 8, General Kvashnin personally assigned the Cossacks the task of entering and gaining a foothold in the Zavodskoy district, where the “spirits” surrounded the checkpoint of the internal troops. They didn’t give us time to explore the area, full of underground communications and concrete fences. The Chechens were waiting for the Cossack column sitting on the armor, and the battalion that was ambushed took up a perimeter defense in a stone bag. In two hours, almost all the ammunition was used up. Having lost two killed and seventeen wounded, the Cossacks turned on the smoke and somehow retreated. Only God's grace saved the unit from destruction.
A day later we went on the offensive again, moving by crawling and dashing under the cover of armored vehicles, but we no longer encountered resistance. In the evening there was a gathering, after which ninety people left the battalion. Maybe for the better. Random people left, and those who remained unconditionally believed each other. There was a feeling of real military brotherhood. On the Chechen radio, reports began to circulate about hordes of Cossacks operating in the city. During this time, there were again two killed and many wounded in night skirmishes and under sniper fire. During the fighting, oil wells caught fire, and everything that could burn burned. The battalion was withdrawn from Grozny a week later under pressure from the local Zavgayev authorities, which raised a fuss.
At the top they tried not to talk about the battalion at all. There are no Cossacks, there is a military unit made up of contract soldiers. From a military point of view, it was a mountain rifle unit that had a mortar battery, flamethrower units and AGS-17. The reconnaissance platoon was elegantly equipped: three machine guns with silent firing devices, silent pistols, night vision goggles, and scout tubes for observation from behind cover. Things were worse with armored vehicles: at first they gave them old BTR-70s, then they were replaced with completely useless MTLBs. After Grozny there was the “peaceful” Shali, from where mortar and sniper fire was fired at the Cossack positions. They forbade us to respond, threatening to cover us with our own artillery.
Then the “Yermolovites” were thrown to Orekhovo. More than four hundred “spirits” settled in a small village with tanks, artillery and mortar batteries. The three lines of defense were equipped with trenches, ceilings, communication passages and “fox holes” - single shelters. The reconnaissance group got within three hundred meters of the Chechen positions through the forest, but the battalion could not get through here. The path turned out to be too narrow and in some areas it was well shot through. In addition, along the way we counted about forty tripwires. At first they were marked with rag scraps, when the last handkerchief was torn, they began to cut off the fingers of the gloves. The idea of ​​an outflanking maneuver did not work; a frontal assault remained.
“The night before the operation, no one slept,” recalled Vladislav Ivnitsky, deputy commander of the reconnaissance platoon. “There was a bad feeling, and the drinking continued until dawn. Everyone was screaming and having fun. It was scary. The men talked about everything except tomorrow. Orekhovo is divided by the riverbed into two parts. The federals advanced along the right bank, the Cossacks took the left. We used the tactics of “fishing with live bait.” Four scouts led by me walked ahead, provoking the enemy to open fire. The discovered firing points destroyed the main forces. Then the infantry pulled up, and the reconnaissance went ahead again.Thus, the battalion reached the middle of the village almost without losses.
But near the mosque, one MTLB jumped ahead of the reconnaissance team straight towards the group of militants. To help the poor fellow, we fired several bursts at the Czechs. Then some bastard hit us with a grenade launcher and all four of us were blown away. I woke up, my ears were ringing, there was a veil in my eyes. He flew about three meters, but did not let go of the machine gun. Then it was as if someone from above was guiding me. He immediately started bothering the guys. He lifted one, and together we dragged the rest into a large crater. They had barely carried the last one out when the courtyard was covered with mortars. When we left the battle, I began to have speech delay. I touched the hat, it was covered in blood. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t even notice how my head was cut by shrapnel. My hand started to itch, and I looked and there was a hole in it.”
On the second day, the Cossacks completely captured Orekhovo, losing twelve people killed. The enemy lost six times as much and, in addition, about a hundred prisoners. For three months the battalion wandered around Chechnya - from battle to battle. Apart from the first battle in Grozny, the Yermolovites never retreated. When they were given the task of straddling the Vedeno gorge along the right foothills and controlling the road, less than half the strength remained in the battalion. On June 1, 1996, the remaining one and a half companies from the unit were withdrawn from Chechnya for reorganization, presenting the Cossacks with a dark blue “Yermolov” banner as recognition of their military merits. And then, before the formation, they were read an order that the entire battalion personnel had been dismissed.
During the fighting, the Cossack battalion lost twenty-seven people killed and almost three hundred wounded, another one hundred and thirty left the unit for various reasons. Those wishing to remain in the army had to undergo a medical examination again and collect all the required documents. For the vast majority this turned out to be impossible. The money, paid without delay, was spent on drink. People left in all directions. The battalion was forgotten as if it had never existed. But the Yermolovites did not lose touch with each other. Six months later, the unit gathered almost in full force on a large circle of the Terek army. And later, they themselves and their enemies had to convince themselves more than once that military friendship was truly strong.

According to the recollections of participants in the events

When reprinting this material, reference to

Terek Cossacks living in the North Caucasus, even outwardly, are often confused with Chechens. Over the centuries of coexistence, they have adopted a lot from their closest neighbors.

Where did the Terek Cossacks come from?

The word “Cossacks” appeared at the end of the 15th century. This was the name given to free people who worked for hire or performed military service on the border outskirts of Russia. Cossacks first appeared in the North Caucasus in 1578-1579, when, at the request of Turkey, the Russian fortress on the Sunzha River was demolished. To “monitor” the situation in the region, the Russian authorities sent Cossack detachments from the Volga here. The arriving Cossacks were taken under the protection of the Chechen prince Shikh-Murza Okotsky (Akkinsky), who was in alliance with Moscow. In total, initially there were no more than 300-500 people. Since they were in temporary service, they arrived without families and did not start a household.

At first, the Chechen Cossacks were called Grebensky from the old Cossack word “comb” - “mountain”), and later they were renamed Terek (after the name of the Terek River, which flows in these parts).

By the middle of the 17th century, the local Cossack population became sedentary. The Cossack community was called an “army” and was governed by an elected ataman and a military circle.

Fugitive serfs and townspeople from Central Russia, the Volga region, and Ukraine gradually flocked to the Cossack towns on the Terek. Among the newcomers were Circassians, Kabardians, Chechens, Kumyks, Georgians, and Armenians, who for one reason or another were forced to leave their homes. There were many Christians among them, since before the adoption of Islam the mountain peoples actively professed pagan and Christian cults.

The multinational composition of the Cossack villages, as well as their proximity to mountain villages, contributed to the adoption of many customs and cultural and everyday traditions.

Classes

Just like the mountaineers, in particular their closest neighbors the Chechens, the Cossacks were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Also, together with the Chechens and Ingush, they guarded the borders of the Russian state and built military fortifications.

The Cossacks, like the Chechens, held horse riding competitions, during which they practiced courage, resourcefulness and horsemanship. And Cossack women, like Chechens, took care of horses.

Life

The home life of the Terek Cossacks also developed under the influence of their mountaineer neighbors. So, they often built saklas like the Chechen ones. The internal structure of Cossack dwellings differed little from mountain dwellings. Both of them were divided into two parts. The decoration of the rooms was also similar.

Leo Tolstoy, who lived in these parts in his youth, wrote that the Greben Cossacks “arrange their homes according to Chechen custom.”

Weapon

Traditionally, every Cossack dwelling, as well as a mountain dwelling, had a whole arsenal of weapons. Usually one of the walls was allocated for it. On it hung a pistol holster, a revolver, a Berdanka or double-barreled shotgun, several daggers, including those in leather or silver frames, as well as a saber with silver plaques. The Cossacks ordered all this, as a rule, from Chechen gunsmiths. Ancient Cossack songs even talk about the famous Atagin blades.

Cloth

Cossack clothing also differed little from Chechen clothing. Men wore Caucasian burkas, beshmets, hats, bashlyks, and Circassian coats. They certainly wore a Caucasian belt, and at the belts they carried daggers and gazyrs (gun charges) with tips made of silver or other metal. Boots, leggings, and leggings with braided or velvet stockings were put on the feet. Clothing, like the Chechens, was divided into simple and festive.

Kitchen

Of course, there were some culinary borrowings. And today in the cuisine of the Terek Cossacks there are Chechen national dishes - flatbread stuffed with cheese and vegetables, unleavened bread-paste, dat-kodar - a mixture of cottage cheese with melted butter.

music and dancing

Quite quickly, mountain musical instruments - zurna, pipe, pondur - entered the life of the Terek Cossacks. And the Naur Lezginka turned into a Cossack national dance.

Language

Language borrowings were also inevitable. Many everyday terms used by Chechens, for example those relating to clothing and weapons, entered the vocabulary of the Cossacks. In negotiations between Russians and indigenous inhabitants of the Caucasus, Terek Cossacks usually served as translators.

Common genes

Of course, both the Cossacks and the highlanders often became related to each other. Moreover, the Cossacks often became kunaks (brothers) of their neighbors. A Cossack could marry a Chechen woman - the sister of his kunak. Therefore, today many Terek Cossacks still have Chechen blood flowing through them.