5 Million Fewer Than in 2010, Ethnic Russians Make Up Only 72 Percent of Russia’s Population
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 20 Issue: 6
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5 Million Fewer Than in 2010, Ethnic Russians Make Up Only 72 Percent of Russia’s Population
Day: January 11, 2023
Russia Expanding Cossack Military Presence
Russia Expanding Cossack Military Presence
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 20 Issue: 5
By:
The ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine has created many changes in Russian society, one of which is the continued expansion of the Cossack movement. Two recent changes highlight this process: First, the creation of a new Cossack host (voiska) in Russia looks to be on the verge of realization (see EDM, October 17, 2022; September 12, 2022; July 25, 2022). Voiska—a term which translates either as “host” or “army”—are the main regional (but not oblast- or raion-level) organizational structures of the movement, which have been coordinated by a central office in Moscow since 2018. The number of Cossack hosts in Russia has steadily increased, with 10 regional movements by the end of the 1990s. The Central Cossack Host, which includes Moscow, was added in 2007, and one was created in annexed Crimea in 2015. Now discussion has begun about creating a Northwestern Cossack Host, which 70 Cossacks voted in favor of at a recent meeting of the All-Russian Cossack Society (VsKO). Read more