Glimpses of history of combat training management within the Black Sea Cossack host in the pre-reform period (the late 18th-the first half of the 19th centuries)

It is of the utmost importance to modern Russian citizens to study the history of the country and its armed forces, in particular in Kuban region, related to combat training management of the Black Sea Cossack Host in the first half of the 19th century. The research provides an overview of the pivotal regulatory instruments establishing the requirements for the theoretical and practical training of private Cossacks in this period and defines the role of appointed atamans (leaders) in this process. Since new Russian regulations on military training applied to Cossack hosts in the first half of the 19th century, the Black Sea people started acquiring military skills in a simplified form compared to the relevant practice in the regular army. The policy pursued by the country’s military department resulted in the creation of the first training units within the Black Sea Cossack Host in the period under review. Combat training was successfully arranged by the Black Sea Cossack officers who had previously served in the Guards and had a wealth of combat experience. By a case study of the Black Sea Cossack Host, the author analyzed the objective processes observed in the field of military training of the Russian troops. The researcher concluded that the shortcomings in training the personnel of various military units of the Imperial Army were one of the key reasons for the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War of 1853-1856.