Until the seventies, the Cossacks' uniforms were: short, single-breasted, hook-and-loop uniforms of dark green cloth with the same trousers worn over the boots; overcoats made of sfro cloth and hats made of black smokka. The horse equipment consisted of: a saddlebag with equipment, a saddle cloth, a pillow, a bridle, etc. There were as many boots, buffalo and small things as were necessary in the household of a field Cossack. The cost of a completely new uniform with a combat horse did not exceed 70-too rubles, and a used one was, of course, much cheaper. At that time, it was not required of a Cossack that his uniform be absolutely new, brand new, and therefore it was often passed from father to son and even grandson. It was contained in a bolfa or a less serviceable vidf, as this was required by time and necessity. Given the enormous natural wealth that the Cossacks had at that time, their expenses for this uniform were abundantly covered by their income.
Not so now. With the inclusion of regiments in the cavalry divisions in 1875, the requirements for Cossacks when equipping for service began to increase rapidly. For the division commanders, accustomed to the uniformity in the uniforms of the lower ranks of the regular cavalry, even the slightest deviation in the direction “stung the eye,” and therefore, forgetting the instructions that “demand from the Cossacks the same uniformity that exists in regular regiments, it’s completely impossible” *), they very naturally always strived for this uniformity, and therefore, at every convenient opportunity, they gave the military authorities “every bast in line” in this regard. | This is later, seeing the shortcomings of the combatant authorities in orders for the Cossack troops, of necessity had to obey the demands and/ in turn, present them to the Cossacks. Thus, the requirements for equipment grew more and more every year. e and, finally, they have now reached the point where they are completely absorbing the entire Cossack budget without a trace.
The fairness of what has just been said is confirmed by a comparison of the following: firstly, what gives a Cossack a land allotment, i.e. $. then his advantage over the peasant and | mB5shchanin, for which he serves military service at his own expense, and, secondly, what the fees for the service cost him. |
Thanks to the proximity of Bashkir and Kyrgyz empty lands throughout the military territory, the full rent of the entire Cossack shower allotment in the villages ranges from 5 to 5 rubles per year or 100-200 rubles per 20 liters, that is, during the entire period of a Cossack’s service, and it costs him 204 rubles to gather, i.e. on average one and a half times more.
If we add to this that a Cossack supports his family from the same allotment, then it becomes quite understandable why nowadays, when equipping for service, he most often cannot do without benefits from public funds, and one can hardly blame him for this.
—*) Order on `military Bydometv 1875, No. 203.
When seeing off Cossacks to the regiments, a melting phenomenon is now constantly repeated: the Cossack has no money, neither in public money, but it is necessary to equip him at all costs. To get out of this situation, the atamans of the villages spend the first available cash and then replenish it from public sums, and if from the last day, then according to the distribution from the residents.
The modern Cossack uniform, while requiring such unbearable sacrifices from him, is at the same time far from perfect. Let's listen to what such an outstanding expert on cavalry as General Sukhomlinov says about this. “The zipun (Cossack uniform) is so impractical, inconvenient and ugly, moreover, that the Cossacks are absolutely right to despair of their long-skirted chlamys, fantasized in a pseudo-traditional way; this is truly “contrary to incentives.” If there had been a competition in which it was proposed to come up with the most inconvenient costume for the rider, then the most modern Cossack zipun would probably have received a prize. It combines all the inconveniences for the rider, namely: m) long skirts without any slit at the back, thanks to this it turns out to be a kind of women's skirt, with all its inconveniences of riding like a man, and 2) the coat is fastened on the right side, the zipun on the left. It turns out to be some kind of trap in which it is difficult for the Cossack to spread his legs. Thanks to this, he can neither ride a horse freely nor remain comfortably in the saddle." *). And one cannot but agree with this. If we add to this,