Don Cossacks and the Great Russian revolution of 1917 (from February to October)

The article discusses the position of the don Cossacks during the February and October revolutionary events of 1917. According to the authors of the February and October revolutions were the stages of the Great Russian revolution of 1917. One of the arguments in favor of this concept is, in our opinion, the position of the don Cossacks. The February revolution and the overthrow of the autocracy, the Cossacks were received with understanding the task of shaping the new democracies, and generally supportive of their participation in the struggle. In terms of the July crisis of the revolutionary army, the Cossacks were used by the new Republican authorities to disperse the protesters, the masses of workers, which caused the protest of the Cossack masses. In the period of the Kornilov revolt the majority of the Cossacks were not included in the rightwing for the army in the Cossack environment weakened conservative forces. During the October revolution, the commanders of all regiments of the don was brought to the attention of the government that the Cossacks refuse to come to the defense of the government without the support of infantry army units, armored cars and machine guns. For the Cossacks “infantry”, consisting of peasants and workers, were the dominant expression of political views and moods of the majority of the population. Speaking about the possibility of any action in support of the government only in conjunction with the infantry, Cossacks joined with the will of the people, the voice of which, in their opinion, could serve as the soldiers of the garrison. The situation was repeated during the unsuccessful campaign Krasnov on Petrograd. The Cossacks at this time were unwilling to take any part in the confrontation erupted opponents and supporters of the Soviet regime, sought to evade the orders of their commanders, I can't wait to go home. With the arrival of the don, they almost spur of the moment went to the native villages. Because of social stratification, the Cossacks were not united in the struggle to preserve the former system of land tenure and property rights. Social-class war-on-don due to the peculiarities of historical development has acquired a caste color. At all critical stages of the revolution of 1917 from February to October - the don Cossacks in the objective reasons showed significant fluctuations on defining its political position up to sabotage and even failure in the support of the authorities. It testifies to a certain natural understanding of the Cossacks of the natural course of events, and, in our opinion, on the integrity and internal unity of the revolutionary process in 1917. In the ensuing civil war, the situation changed radically.