ataman
m. (Little Russian otaman and hetman, German Hauptmann) originally meant: leader of a gang, freemen; then, elected, foreman, head of the Cossack community. The military ataman commands the entire Cossack army at home; mediocre or ruling position, ataman; during the march of the regiments, the chief of the marching ataman; the head of the village (Cossack village) is honored by the village ataman, who was once a smoker; head (temporary) of fisheries on the Ural River, fishing chieftain; On regular coastal fishing trips, the artel also elects an ataman. In Ukraine, hetman meant a military man, and otaman a kuren commander; the Cossacks had kuren (rural) otamans and one koshev otaman above them, subordinate to the hetman; in Little Russia and to Novoross. region, ataman is the name of a village foreman, an elective, a headman, also a senior shepherd or shepherd, a large fishing gang, etc. In any thieves, robber gang, an ataman is elected. It is honorable, every Cossack is honored like a soldier with a cavalier; This is the name used in ridicule for an overly lively, arrogant person. Vataman Novg. foreman of the fishing artel; also resembles a gang and Maloros. vatazhok, combining two productions. Well done atamans, appeal to the Cossacks. Be patient, Cossack, you will be an ataman. They go from rank-and-file to atamans. Not all Cossacks can be atamans. Not the ataman with a mace, but the mace with the ataman, his power, will. Without an ataman, a Cossack is an orphan. The artel is strong with the ataman. Without the ataman, the duvan is not blown, the spoils are not divided. To be an ataman is to keep order. And the chieftain does not have two heads on his shoulders. A chieftain turned up, crappy, bad; inhabited by the ataman, formidable, unkind. Don't chase simple thiefs, but catch the chieftain. The gang quarreled and betrayed the chieftain. Atamanka, more jokingly, is the head of some women's community, for example. the eldest of the market women selling one product. Atamansha, wife of the chieftain; sometimes horse guide, atamanka. Atamanov, atamankin, atamanshin, personally belonging to them. Ataman rank, position. Atamanship cf. To become an ataman or ataman, to be an ataman, to command; govern arbitrarily. To be a leader, to give orders like a boss, without the right to do so, or is generally bad. To become an ataman, to take on the appearance of an ataman, to put on airs. It’s time for you to become ataman, there is someone older than you. Atamanshchina collect rank, position of ataman, atamanship; the community under his leadership, the Cossacks.
Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov
ataman
ataman, m.
Chief - the name of various military and administrative positions in the Cossack troops (pre-revolutionary). Military chieftain. Village ataman.
leader of a band of robbers or thieves. Ataman of the robbers.
trans. Horse breeder, leader (joking). A crowd of village boys, led by their chieftain, chased him.
Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.
ataman
The highest commander in the Cossack troops, as well as the military-administrative chief in the Cossack regions. Stanichny A. Voyskovoy A. A. Cossack circle.
trans. Leader, leader. A. robbers.
and. atamansha, -i (to 2 meanings; colloquial).
adj. Atamansky, -aya, -oe.
New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.
ataman
The highest commander of the Cossack army.
The head of the Cossack administrative-territorial unit - district, village, etc., performing military, police and administrative functions.
decomposition The leader of a bandit or thieves' gang.
Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998
ataman
leader of an armed detachment.
The highest commander of the Cossack army (military, command, marching, Koshevoy ataman), the head of a Cossack administrative-territorial unit (district, department, stanitsa, farm ataman) or the commander of a unit (kuren ataman).
Large legal dictionary
ataman
the highest commander of the Cossack army (military, command, marching, kosheva A.), Cossack administrative-territorial unit (district, department, stanitsa, farm A.) or unit commander (kurenno A.)
Ataman
(the word is probably of Turkic origin),
the leader of an irregular military detachment or group (sometimes a bandit gang) independent of state power.
Among the Cossacks, the commander of an army and a separate unit, who enjoyed military and military-administrative power. In the Zaporozhye Cossack army there were Koshev and Kurenny A., in Donskoy there were military ones, chosen by the military circle; for the duration of a separate campaign, marching troops were also selected. After the suppression of the Bulavin uprising of 1707–08, the Don Army was appointed by the government and from 1723 received the name of a military command army; from 1866 he received the rights of governor-general and commander of a military district. In other Cossack troops, the title of Ordered A. was worn by the governors-general of the territories in which these troops were located, or by the commanders of the troops of the corresponding military districts. The administrative-territorial units of the Cossack troops (in the Don, Amur and Ussuri - departments, in other troops - districts and their constituent villages, farmsteads, etc.) were also headed by A. (district, village, etc.). Since 1827, the title of the assigned A. of all Cossack troops was borne by the heir to the throne. A. titles were abolished after the October Revolution with the liquidation of the Cossack class.
Wikipedia
Ataman (song)
"Ataman"- the last song released to date by the rock group “Kino” (22 years after the death of Viktor Tsoi).
Ataman
Ataman(leader, chief) - the eldest in the family and the leader of the steppe peoples, the leader of the Cossacks or generally the eldest in business (like a toastmaster among the Caucasian peoples).
According to one version, the word comes from the Turkic word “ata” - “father”/“grandfather” with the personal ending “man” and literally means “father of people.” Analogues of the title “ataman” are such addresses to elders and superiors as father-commander, father-tsar, father-ataman (cf. Turkish “aha” or “officer”, from “aha” - senior, foreman).
The first mentions of the name ataman in Russian date back to the times of the Russian principalities. So in Solovyov we find: “The princes sent crowds of their industrialists, gangs, to the White Sea and the Northern Ocean, to the Terek and Pechersk countries for fish, animals and birds: from the letter of Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich we learn that even then, in 1294, three grand princely gangs went to the sea with their ataman".
Ataman (station)
Ataman- 2nd class railway station. Located in the village of Egorlykskaya, Rostov region. It has 7 paths, two of which are currently not used at all. Of the remaining 5 tracks, one is used for the storage of decommissioned freight cars and only two are used for regular movement and crossing of trains. There is a free toilet at the station. Height of Ataman station above sea level: 93 m.
Ataman (disambiguation)
Ataman:
- Ataman is the eldest in the family and the leader of the steppe peoples, the leader of the Cossacks, or generally the eldest in business.
- Ataman is a 2nd class railway station located in the village of Yegorlykskaya.
- Ataman is an all-terrain passenger car produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant.
- Ataman is a basketball club from Rostov-on-Don.
- Ataman Platov - passenger branded train No. 641/642, traveling along the Rostov-Adler railway line.
- Ataman is a 2005 Russian television series.
- Ataman is the last song of the Kino group. Initially - a rough demo recording by Viktor Tsoi.
Examples of the use of the word ataman in literature.
Ataman The pirates, without thinking twice, grabbed the Traffic Inspector by the throat and began to choke him.
Kotovsky brilliantly carried out a cunningly conceived operation to defeat the gang of Antonov’s closest assistant ataman Matyukhina.
For her, just like for all other trades, a day is appointed, and ataman and he is given a cannon, after a shot from which all the Cossacks who have gathered for fishing set off in small budars that cannot accommodate more than one person, and everyone begins to throw out his net of a certain length.
And to hear, - said one of the guests, - in Moscow Bulavinsky ataman showed up, his name is Krechet.
Their grandfathers and fathers went to Turkey under the leadership ataman Ignatius Nekrasa after the suppression of the Bulavin uprising of the Don Cossacks.
On Krivaya Luka they met Bulavinsky ataman Tattered with five thousand Donets and two thousand Cossacks.
Here, they say, in Moscow ataman The gyrfalcon has appeared, is it from the Bulavinsky family or something?
And three years before the first steam locomotive knocked, puffed, whistled along Turksib, behind which, as shown in the famous film, the local population rode horses, camels and cows, ataman Annenkov, having visited China, Japan, America and God knows where else, secretly crossed the border, but not at the terrible memory of the Dzungarian Gate, but further north, at Bukhtarma, and allegedly declared that he had returned with the sole purpose of appearing before the court of his people.
A noisy, drunken band of Cossacks gathered under the windows of the village ataman, shouted abusive speeches at Cornila and the Moscow boyars and sang mocking, mischievous songs.
Towards the end of the third day, having already gathered in a large group, we drove up atamans and Cossacks to Cherkassk.
The Ataman cook, taken instead of Timoshka, lit a fire and cooked food for ataman.
Ataman They tried in every possible way to cause a fire and use the letter to accuse P.
Maturely assessing the exceptional situation experienced by the Army and remembering the tragedy of Kaledin and Nazarov, whom the Don Parliament, by tying their hands, led to death, he fully supported the authority of the Circle in the eyes of the Cossack masses, ardently, however, defended the fullness of individual power Ataman, in the intervals between Circle sessions.
And in addition, her ataman, having just been tracked down, became unattainable and seemed to laugh at the mandates for his arrest sent in all directions!
Olesya, accompanied by Toritsky and Ryabok, ran to her father and brothers, the Haidamaks had already managed to pick up and load the best horses of the fat master, jumped on the horses themselves, and set off at full speed across the field after ataman- and only dust swirled behind them in a thick cloud.
Who is a Cossack ataman and how does he differ from an ordinary person? Ataman. “Don’t drift, Cossack, you will become an ataman.” Agree, this phrase is heard quite often, even by those who come into contact with the Cossacks, only when they see these gentlemen on TV. Although, it immediately becomes clear that being an ataman is a prize for courage, like being a deputy or being a director: drive your subordinates as hard as you can while you warm your sides in the Canary Islands... However, it’s not the same. Atamans in the past somehow did not strive for positions and did not go over the heads of other comrades, pushing them aside with their elbows. This post was especially life-threatening for some. When someone was called a dad, he automatically became, in the literal sense, the father of the people who placed their trust in him (both the executive and legislative branches rolled into one). And just try not to justify this trust! Sometimes they would chop with a saber. The ataman was re-elected very often, they say, once a year - such a manifestation of filial care, so that the authorities would not turn their heads and would not have to remove that same head from their shoulders. But those who showed themselves to be the best were often called “honorary chieftain” and he bore this title with dignity until the end of his days. And also... The proverb does not specify what kind of ataman one who is not drifting can become. They are different even in the same structure. For example, a military ataman is now a very cool gentleman who leads some kind of army: Kuban, Don... etc... in our case - Terek. But there are still a lot of others! For example, district or village: they are elected in Circles by a majority vote. Further more. Marching, punishment, koshev... and all the atamans! Only the functions are different for everyone, and also...they are not chosen, but assigned. Koshevoy is the status of the chief of skeet, he is responsible for the satiety of his comrades on the campaign... although, not only them. The duties of the Koshevoy Ataman included feeding the horses and others, providing everyone with temporary accommodation for the night and guarding the camp. The ordered ataman is the cooler one. This could easily be I.O., left by the ataman to rule during his absence. As for the marching officer, everything is more confusing: it seems that he is responsible for combat, military and other training immediately before, after and during combat operations. He makes sure that the gun fires and the saber cuts... Oh yes, there is one more post - the chieftain's comrade. Not “brother” or “buddy”, but comrade. Perhaps you have even come across such a phrase somewhere as “first comrade of the ataman” and did not understand anything. However, this is not a literary passage or a joke. This is a position! From now on, be savvy: we are talking about a deputy.
Cossack atamans were key participants in all wars of the Russian Empire. Their role is often underestimated, but the most important events in Russian history are associated with their names.
1. Ermak
Oh, despite the scale of this figure, we don’t know very much. We don’t even know the exact place of his birth. Ermak was in the popular consciousness a kind of semi-legendary character, a “people's protector.” In the Kungur Chronicle it is said about him that he robbed and plundered on the Oka in a crowd of 5,000 people, then on the Volga, already with 7,000 Cossacks, then he wanted to go to Persia...
We also don’t know how Ermak died. One thing is certain: there was no “chain mail or fur coat from the royal shoulder” on Ermak. Ivan the Terrible had previously granted Ermak cloth and gold, and ordered Ermak to return.
2. Mikhail Cherkashenin
Ataman Cherkashenin and his Cossacks made a huge contribution to the victory when the troops of Devlet-Girey were defeated. This was a key moment in Russian history - if Russia, weakened by the Livonian War and the plague, had lost, it would have changed the course of history.
Cherkashenin was one of the main atamans of the times of Ivan the Terrible; he participated in the defense of Polotsk and Pskov from troops. Legends arose about his bravery. It was believed that the chieftain was charmed by bullets, and even the chronicler wrote that he charmed enemy cannonballs. The chronicler wrote about the ataman’s death: “Yes, they immediately killed Mishka Cherkashenin, but he guessed to himself that he would be killed, but Pskov would be intact. And that’s what he told the governors.”
3. Kondraty Bulavin
Ataman Kondraty Bulavin was very dissatisfied with the fact that the Cossacks were forbidden to mine salt at the Bakhmut mines and with the fact that Peter I issued a decree on the forced return of fugitive peasants, so in 1707 he gathered an army and went to fight the tsar. The so-called “Bulavin uprising” lasted two whole years; in 1708, Bulavin was killed as a result of a conspiracy, but the uprising did not subside. Its leadership passed to Ignat Nekrasov.
4. Ignatiy Nekrasov
He accepted Bulavin’s leadership of the uprising and gathered a Cossack circle, but a unified decision on further measures was never made. Nekrasov’s troops were eventually defeated by the Tsar’s and he first, which at that time was on the territory of the Crimean Khanate, and then completely moved to Turkey.
The transition of the Ignatov Cossacks to Turkish banners was recorded by Pushkin: “Spears, which they had never seen before, were seen from the Turks; these spears were Russian: the Nekrasovites fought in their ranks.”
5. Yakov Baklanov
Cossack songs dedicated to Baklanov mention the “terrible Baklanov blow” - Yakov Petrovich was known for cutting a rider in half with a saber from the shoulder to the pommel of the saddle.
A hero of the Caucasian War, Baklanov was the first to make his personal banner a flag of black fabric, which depicted a skull with crossbones and a circular inscription from the “Creed”: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Amen". This banner had the most decisive effect on the mountaineers.
One of the eyewitnesses wrote: “Wherever the enemy saw this terrible banner, fluttering high in the hands of the giant Don, like the shadow of one following his commander, the monstrous image of Baklanov also appeared there, and inseparably with it was the inevitable defeat and death of anyone who fell on paths."
6. Naum Vasiliev
For Ataman Naum Vasiliev (Sheludyaki), we do not know either the date of birth or the date of death, but we know that he was the Ataman of the Don Army, in 1637 he participated in the capture of Azov, led its defense from the Turkish-Tatar troops and from time to time led forays . Sheludyak traveled to Moscow several times as an ataman of a Cossack village with the news that the Cossacks had retained Azov. In 1656, the ataman took part in the assault on Azov, but this time it was not possible to take it.
7. Ivan Galkin
Ivan Galkin was the founder of the Ilimsky, Ust-Kutsky and Barguzinsky forts.
Galkin can also be considered one of the founders of Yakutsk. Under him, on February 6, 1638, the Yakut Voivodeship, independent of the Yenisei Voivodeship, was established. Yakutsk received the status of capital for the first time.
8. Epifan Rodilov
Despite the fact that Epifan Rodilov was “removed” from the post of ataman several times, his fame thundered and he became an ataman again. He took part in several assaults on Azov, and in the spring of 1627, Rodilov led a naval campaign of a united detachment of Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks on the Turkish coast. A Cossack flotilla suddenly appeared in the vicinity of Istanbul. They burst into the Golden Horn Bay and set fire to the standing warships and merchant ships of the Turks. In the Turkish capital, the Cossacks “made a lot of noise,” after which they disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. But already in decent booty.
9. Zakhary Chepega
Zakhary Chepega, Cossack ataman of the Black Sea Cossack Army, was an unusual Cossack: he had a house, he had serfs, but Chepega rarely visited this house - he fought more and more. The Black Sea Cossacks under his command particularly distinguished themselves during the capture of Ochakov, the fortified island of Berezan, Gadzhibey, Akkerman, and Bender. In 1790, the Cossacks showed incomparable courage during the assault on Izmail.
Chepega also took an active part in the resettlement of the Black Sea Cossacks to the Kuban (to protect the border), and in the pacification of the Polish uprising of 1794. For the successful assault on the outskirts of Warsaw - Prague - Chepega he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 2nd class.
10. Mikhail Tatarinov
The name of Ataman Mikhail Tatarinov entered Russian history - under his leadership, the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks besieged and took the Azov fortress in 1637.
About 4000-4500 people took part in this campaign (of which there were one thousand Zaporozhye Cossacks).
After the capture of Azov, Tatarinov asked the Moscow Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to take the captured Turkish Azov under his authority, but the Tsar refused - he did not want a war with the Ottoman Empire. The Cossacks began the famous “Azov Sitting”.
11. Matvey Platov
Military ataman of the Don Army, count, cavalry general, hero of the War of 1812. The most famous ataman not only on the Don, but throughout Russia and in the world. Hero of Russian wars of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. It was Platov who led the Indian campaign conceived by Paul the First, it was Platov who subordinated all Cossack formations abroad during the war with Napoleon, it was Platov who went to London with the emperor to make peace.
The Don Cossack became a living legend for the British. Eyewitnesses of those events said that one day the crowd after the service carried Platov out of the temple in their arms and carried him all the way to the carriage. The ataman's visit to the theaters suspended the performance. Cossacks became fashionable in London, and the British began to call themselves that way. Including the famous Lord Byron once declared: “And I am a Cossack!”
12. Ivan Zarutsky
Zarutsky is a far from unambiguous figure in Russian history, but this makes him even more ambitious. He was the favorite of Marina Mnishek in 1608 - 1614 and the most likely real father of her son, Ivan False Dmitrievich Vorenok. It was he who Ivan Zarutsky saw on the Russian throne.
However, it didn’t work out. Zarutsky’s forces were not enough to provide worthy resistance in the Astrakhan Kremlin, and in May 1614, with Marina Mnishek and her son, he fled to Yaik, where he took refuge on Bear Island, but was captured there after the battle.
On July 6, 1614, Zarutsky was brought to Astrakhan, and from there, together with Marina Mnishek and her son, he was sent to Moscow. “In Moscow you put that Zarutskovo on a stake, and you hanged Vorenka, and Marina died in Moscow.”
13. Kornily Yakovlev
The life of Kornily Yakovlev is definitely worthy of a film adaptation. The drama of its plot will be given by the fact that the ataman was the godfather of Stepan Razin and his main opponent. It was Yakovlev who managed to defeat his godson and take him prisoner. The chieftain served the tsar faithfully and it was from him that the Cossack tradition of swearing allegiance to the new sovereign began.
14. Stepan Razin
Legendary person. Ataman Stepan Razin maintained his mythology. Thus, Razin spread a rumor about himself that the Tsar’s heir, Alexei Alekseevich (in fact, deceased) and the disgraced Patriarch Nikon were following with his army. The first two ships sailing along the Volga were covered with red and black cloth: the first was supposedly carrying the prince, and Nikon was on the second. Razin's propaganda policy was so successful that the tsar even interrogated Nikon about his connection with the rebels.
We know how it all ended. Razin was publicly executed.
15. Pavel Grabbe
Ataman Pavel Grabbe became famous during the Caucasian War for capturing the impregnable stronghold of the mountaineers - the Akhulgo fortress, where Shamil had his residence. The fortress was located on steep cliffs and was surrounded on three sides by a river. On June 12, 1839, Akhulgo was besieged by a 13,000-strong Russian detachment under the command of Lieutenant General Grabbe. Ahulgo was defended by about 2 thousand mountaineers. After a 70-day siege, Akhulgo was taken. Russian troops lost 500 people killed and 2,500 people wounded; Highlanders about 2000 killed and captured.
The first and, unfortunately, not preserved panorama of Franz Roubaud “The Assault of Aul Ahulgo” was dedicated to the capture of the village, which was considered impregnable.
16. Alexey Kaledin
On February 11, 1918, the famous hero of the First World War, Ataman Kaledin, fired a shot that largely determined history. After the February Revolution, Kaledin on the Don spoke out against the destruction of the army; for the first time in 300 years, he was elected by the Cossacks themselves in the Military Circle. After October, Kaledin opposed the Bolsheviks and Soviets on the Don. Under him, the creation of the Volunteer Army and the entire White movement began in Novocherkassk. In 1918, the ataman was unable to mobilize the Cossacks, and after a meeting of the Don government he shot himself. But after his shot, the Civil War on the Don took on a new form - a mass struggle against Soviet power.
Ataman Semenov was for a long time an “enemy of the people” and one of the main villains of Soviet propaganda. This is not surprising - for the Bolsheviks he was not only a military enemy, but also an ideological enemy. Semenov became the author of the idea of “Russianism” - an ideological aspiration that cements Russian society and is opposite to communism. In 1938, he even wrote the theses of “Russianism.”
Despite nationalist sentiments, Ataman Semenov followed the principle of cosmopolitanism in his troops. Thus, he even created the Jewish Infantry Regiment. Sending his multinational Cossacks to the First World War, Semenov wrote: “To awaken the conscience of the Russian soldier, who would have these foreigners fighting for the Russian cause as a living reproach.”
19. Ivan Krasnoshchekov
The fame of Ataman Krasnoshchekov thundered among the people. There are many Cossack songs and poems about Krasnoshchekov. Even in his youth, he became famous as a brave “gouler”, that is, a hunter of raids from the Don into the neighboring lands of the Tatars, Nogais and Trans-Kuban highlanders. Cossack legends tell posterity about Krasnoshchekov’s feat of single combat with the Circassian hero Ovchar, whom he killed and, having taken possession of his horse, bred the “Ovchar” breed of horses on the Don. In 1740, he was the first of the Don Cossacks to be awarded the rank of brigadier.
20. Peter Krasnov
Because of his collaboration with the Third Reich, he remained in history as a traitor ataman, but Pyotr Nikolaevich was an extraordinary person. He wrote more than 20 books. In Germany, during the Great Patriotic War, Pyotr Krasnov, already at an advanced age, spoke out from an anti-Russian position. In 1944, in Postdam, he said: “Cossacks! Remember, you are not Russians, you are Cossacks, an independent people. The Russians are hostile to you. Moscow has always been the enemy of the Cossacks. She crushed them and exploited them. Now the hour has come when we, the Cossacks, can create our own life independent of Moscow.”
On January 16, 1947, Pyotr Krasnov was executed in Moscow.
In the photo: Vladimir Panteleimonovich
Veklenko - ataman of Tambov
separate Cossack society
Ataman is an elected leader in the Cossack community, a leader, a worthy Cossack who has shown personal valor and glory. The ataman is the highest commander of the Cossack army (depending on the form of performance of duties - military, marching, command, koshev) or the head of the Cossack administrative-territorial unit (district ataman, department ataman, stanitsa or farm ataman). Also, the commander of a military unit or any armed detachment was appointed ataman.
The word "ataman" has several versions of origin:
1. “Ata” is translated from Turkic as “grandfather”, “man” in translation means “I”. If you combine the two meanings, you get “I am the eldest.” It can also be translated from Turkic as “elder of a thousand,” given that the word “men” means “thousand.”
2. “At” in the Tatar language means “father,” “aman” means “with a horse” or “on a horse.” Consequently, from Tatar “ataman” is translated as “father on horseback.”
3. Amtman is a German word meaning chief of service or head of office.
4. “Odaman” in Kumyk means “master”, “chief”. The word “oda” in the Kumyk language means a large house, yard or family. Consequently, the “ataman” is the “chief in the family.” When the shepherds formed a nomadic camp (kosh), they chose an ataman for themselves. The Cossacks also have a “koshevoy ataman,” which confirms this version of the formation of the word “ataman.”
5. The Goto-Germanic, or Asalan, version is the most common. According to this version, the word atta means “father”, and the word mann is translated as “husband” or “knight”. And now the Cossacks call the ataman “father” or “father,” which not only reflects the role of the ataman in Cossack society, but also serves as a reminder of a certain layer of the historical and cultural heritage of the Russian people.
Historically, the word “ataman” was mentioned back in the 14th century on the pages of the Lithuanian Chronicle. At that time, the Cossacks, together with the Lans and Goths, formed the squad of the Crimean Khan. Ancient acts from Crimean history mention “Ataman Duvan”, and from the middle of the 16th century the word “Ataman” began to be mentioned in various sources related to the Cossacks.
The Cossack ataman had executive and judicial powers, occupying a military-administrative position. The activities and functions of the ataman depended on the historical period and the goals set. For example, for campaigns, military operations or for serving outside the troops, a marching ataman was elected, and atamans of light and winter villages were appointed to perform diplomatic or representative functions; they were considered the heads of embassies. The military ataman was elected as the main leader of the army. In the absence of a military ataman, the functions were transferred to the appointed ataman. There were also atamans of kurens (kuren atamans), Lisitsky atamans (responsible for hunting), krany atamans (responsible for trade), koshevye, regimental, stanitsa, farm, and district atamans. The leader in any business could be called an ataman; for example, the head of a fishery on the Ural River was called a fishing ataman. In the coastal fishing artels, an ataman (vatamman) was elected, who was the main manager of the work, the head of the fishing party. Such atamanship is mentioned in Novgorod charters of the 13th century. In Little Russia and Novorossiya, ataman was the name given to the village foreman and other experienced, authoritative elders in various areas of activity.
The main leader of the entire army was called the military ataman. He was elected by the military circle. The position of military chieftain was elective until 1718, then the military chieftain was appointed by the government, and the election of chieftain among the Cossacks was abolished. Military atamans carried a “nasek” (cane) in their hands, which they then handed over to the newly elected one. Peter the Great decided to give the military chieftains a special status and in 1704 granted the Don Army a decorated insignia with the inscription “Insect of the Don Army of 1704.” and a silver seal. In 1705, Peter I granted the military atamans a pernach, gilded with silver and decorated with precious stones, as a sign of their dignity.
In Ukraine, a military chieftain was called a hetman. The chieftain of the Zaporozhye Sich, who was also elected, was called the koshev chieftain and reported directly to the hetman. The Zaporozhye Sich was divided into kurens, and, accordingly, there were kuren atamans (in the modern sense, the commanders of individual units of the army).
From October 2, 1827, the heir to the throne became the august ataman of all Cossack troops, and the Cossack troops were controlled by appointed atamans.
After the events of 1917, the status of military chieftains was restored. Throughout the Civil War, the military atamans of the Cossack troops were not only talented military leaders, but also a shining example of heroism and courage in the fight against the Bolsheviks and against the “Red Terror.” Observing loyalty to the oath taken for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland, the Cossacks, led by military atamans, shed blood and performed feats that were included in the glorious history of the Cossacks.
Since the 1990s The revival of the Cossacks began, and the institution of military atamans was restored. At the moment, military atamans are appointed by decree of the President of the Russian Federation.
The procedure for electing an ataman
The ataman is chosen in a circle by an open vote of the Cossacks. Candidates for atamans sit bareheaded next to the priest. They vote for each candidate separately, before voting, the candidate for atamans goes to the middle of the circle, bows to the cross, the priest, then the old people and Cossacks, reads out his program, and then the Esau resident asks those present: “Gentlemen, honest Cossacks, do you like such and such ataman?” The candidate who gets the most votes becomes the Ataman.
In the Cossack tradition, it is believed that at the moment of the oath, the new ataman receives special power. To take the oath, the chosen ataman is led by two bailiffs, holding hands. According to tradition, it is not permissible to touch the chieftain’s cheek or bare arm with his bare hand, so that the new chieftain does not lose strength. To do this, the bailiffs hold the chieftain by the sleeves above the elbow, and the chieftain puts his hands on the bailiffs' cuff-covered wrists. The ataman's uniform is removed, his shirt is unbuttoned or torn to reveal the cross, a symbol of belonging to the Orthodox faith. The Esau resident exclaims: “Orthodox!” - and the Cossacks shout: “Lyubo!” and get up. The chieftain, facing them, says in complete silence:
“On the Life-Giving Cross of Christ, on the Holy Scriptures, I swear:
Serve faithfully, not sparing your head and belly.
Protect the Cossack honor.
Increase the property of the village.
Take care of the Cossacks!
I am your father. You are my children!
After pronouncing the oath, the ataman bows to the Cossacks and, led by the bailiffs, goes to the old men and makes a bow before them. The Cossacks and old men bow in response, and the bailiffs bring the ataman to the priest and lectern, he kisses the cross and the Gospel. After this, the bailiffs take the chieftain to the middle of the circle, and the elder whips the chieftain three times on the back with a whip.
The chieftain receives symbols of military and economic activity: a saber is put on him over his right shoulder, and a towel over his left, which symbolizes the cross - the protection of the chieftain’s activities by Christ.
The ataman receives from the senior in rank and age a pernach or mace, symbolizing military power. The old men present the ataman with a staff or insect, the Esaul man puts a hat on the ataman’s head and gives the command: “Hats off before the ataman!” Everyone who is of lower rank than the ataman takes off their hats. From this moment the oath is considered accepted. The chieftains, who are of lower rank, swear allegiance to the newly elected chieftain. All the Cossacks come up to the cross and the Gospel and kiss them. In this way, a new ataman is chosen, who will be responsible before the Cossacks and God for his actions and efforts for the benefit of the Cossacks.
Sayings:
They go from rank-and-file to atamans.
Be patient, Cossack, you will become an ataman.
It’s time for you to become ataman, there is someone older than you.
Without an ataman, a Cossack is an orphan.
The artel is strong with the ataman.
Without the ataman, the duvan is not blown, the spoils are not divided.
Don't chase a simple thief, but catch the chieftain.
Not the ataman with a mace, but the mace with the ataman, his power, will.
To be an ataman is to keep order.
Not all Cossacks can be atamans.
Wherever you turn your eyes, Ataman, we will turn our heads.
Igor Martynov,
military foreman, deputy ataman of the Tambov department
Cossack society
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Therefore, it is not surprising that the Don Cossacks continued to call their leaders atamans. The main leader of the entire Don Army was called the military ataman. He was elected by the military circle - the people's assembly of the entire Cossack army. At these public gatherings in the open square, the Cossacks actually formed a circle, standing without hats as a sign of respect for the place and occasion. Elections took place annually and were decided by majority vote. Often during elections there was a struggle between parties, which, among this unbridled freedom, often ended in a bloody battle between the embittered parties.
To assist the military ataman, a military clerk and two military esauls were also elected, and a military clerk was elected to conduct the written part. The military ataman was only the executive body of the military circle; he had no independent power. The guardian of order and the executor of the decisions of the circle, he could not and did not dare to do anything on his own initiative, otherwise he was threatened with shameful deprivation of his position, and sometimes severe execution.
The military ataman usually reported on the matter in the circle and raised questions that required the decision of the entire army, for which he, together with his esauls, went to the middle of the circle, but this was not his exclusive right: any Cossack could go to the middle and propose questions to the people's court. The ataman's voice was equal to the voice of any other Cossack: it had weight only insofar as it was supported by the ataman's personal valor and the respect that the army had for him. Having relinquished his rank at the end of the election term, the ataman entered the general army and was no different from ordinary Cossacks. Following the model of this general military administration, private administrations in towns began to take shape at the end of the 16th century. Every Cossack community that lived in towns or winter huts, as well as those sent somewhere (for example, to Moscow for the royal salary), was called a village and had its own village ataman.
But the Cossacks called not only their commanders and officials atamans; every valiant Cossack, distinguished by his daring and courage, was honored with an ataman. Ataman is the flower of the Cossacks, the highest class of the army, but it was not a closed class: the right to be called an ataman was not given by birth, but was acquired by personal valor and glory. This meaning of the word “ataman” explains the formulas of the royal letters sent to the Don. So, for example, during the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich and Feodor Ioannovich, in the letters (after the title) they wrote: “to the Don Don atamans and Cossacks” or even “to the Don Don atamans (their names follow) and to all atamans and Cossacks.” The same meaning of the word “ataman” is reflected in the sayings “from the rank and file they become atamans”, “be patient with the Cossack, you will become an ataman” in the traditional address to the Cossacks “Atamans - well done!”, in the preserved custom of honoring every Cossack with “ataman”.
But over time, things changed: a whole class of atamans arose on the Don, sharply separated from the people and ordinary Cossacks. However, along with this, the word “ataman”, both in the sense of a chief and official, and in the sense of simply a noble Cossack, begins to be replaced by the word “sergeant major.” The name of the foreman was first mentioned in 1649 in the report of the nobleman Andrei Lazarev to the Ambassadorial Prikaz, where this word was used instead of “ataman”. Further, in the testimony given in the Ambassadorial Order to the village atamans Kozma Dmitriev, who came from the Don to Moscow in 1655, it is said, among other things, that the commander of the Cossacks on the sea voyage was foreman Pavel Neskochikhin. After this, the title of foreman is very often found in acts, which meant the same as ataman. Since 1680, the name “ataman” is very rarely found in acts, except for letters alone, in which they usually wrote: “to the Don in the lower and upper yurts to the atamans and Cossacks, the military ataman (such and such) and the entire Don army”; in reports to the Ambassadorial Prikaz of various officials who were on the Don, atamans were always called foremen.
Under Peter I, the title of foreman became so general that the Don Army itself, in its reports to the sovereign, referred to noble people as foreman: “and we, having chosen in a circle,” the Cossacks reported to the sovereign in 1705, “foremen Maxim Frolov, Vasily the Great Pozneev, Efrem Petrov and others...” From modern acts it is not clear at what time the name of elders turned into a class rank and rank. It must be assumed that this followed in the middle of the 17th century, when the number of Cossacks increased significantly, permanent and extensive settlements arose, rich and poor appeared, luxury and ambition penetrated among the Cossacks.
Atamans and foremen, as the leading class of the army, naturally had an advantage over other Cossacks, being distinguished by their wealth and intelligence, and therefore they gradually appropriated to themselves forever the advantages associated with a temporary position, and placed themselves in a position that sharply distinguished them from the entire army. The power and importance of the elders increased as Cossack liberties were limited; Soon after the accession of Peter I to the throne, they little by little concentrated the rights of the circle in their hands.
This was facilitated by various circumstances, but mainly by the continuous equipment of Cossack detachments into the Moscow army under the command of elders and the appointment of a military chieftain by the authority of the sovereign. Promotion to the rank of sergeant major depended on the army, which also deprived them of this dignity for crimes, but in 1754 it was forbidden for the Don Army to be promoted to sergeant major without presentation to the military board. Along with the emergence of a separate class of elders, the power of the military ataman expanded and strengthened. From the second half of the 17th century. he is already the direct commander of the Cossacks in days of peace and battle. Various kinds of affairs regarding internal administration and external relations, which had previously been handled only by the military circle, were transferred to him: he handled litigation, defended against offenders, divided the royal salary among the Cossacks, received Turkish, Tatar and Kalmyk ambassadors, conducted preliminary negotiations with them and only the final decision was passed on to the circle for judgment.
The position of military ataman remained elective until 1718, the elected and mandated (appointed) ataman of the All-Great Don Army (-) was Military Clerk P. E. Romazanov (? - 1718), and from then on it was filled by appointment from the government, that is Atamans were no longer elected. The first military ataman appointed by royal decree was Vasily Frolov; after his death in 1723, sergeant major Andrei Lapatin was appointed to his place; in 1735, Ivan Frolov was appointed; in 1738, Danilo Efremov. Since that time, the appointment of military personnel has depended on the highest authority. From time immemorial, military chieftains, as a sign of their dignity, carried in their hands a “nasek” (stones were called
Finally, ataman is generally the name given to the senior person in the business, for example, a fishing ataman is the temporary head of fisheries on the Ural River. In permanent coastal fishing, the artel or gang also elects an ataman (vatamman). This is the main manager of the work: “they don’t duvan without the ataman,” that is, they don’t divide the spoils. In this very sense of the head of a fishing party, a fishing gang, the word “vatamman” (vatagaman, ataman) was first mentioned in Novgorod charters of the 13th century. In the Little Russian and Novorossiysk regions, ataman is the name of a village foreman, headman, also a senior shepherd or shepherd, a big leader of a fishing gang, etc.
