The Cossacks: An Illustrated History - Hardcover

Ure, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158567138X ISBN 13: 9781585671380

Publisher: Overlook Press, 2002

Synopsis

The word "Cossack" conjures up different images to different people. To some, these ruthless riders from the steppes of Asia -- with their spectacular fur hats and flashing sabres -- are the romantic embodiment of dash and daring; to others, they are horsemen from hell -- alternately rebels against the Romanovs and vicious instruments of Tsarist repression. Both images are equally true.Lavishly illustrated with 135 photographs, paintings, and lithographs, The Cossacks, by career diplomat and noted travel writer John Ure, traces the story of these great warriors from the time of Ivan the Terrible, through the uprisings of the Volga pirate Stenka Razin and the impostor Pugachev, to the harnessing of the Cossack Host to the Tsarist cause. He recounts their fearsome exploits in Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, in the conquest of the Caucasus and in the "Great Game" in Central Asia; how they split in the Russian Revolution between White interventionists and the Red Army; how Hitler lured many of them to turn against Russia during the Second World War, and how Stalin, in turn, persecuted them. And he explodes the long-held theory that the Cossacks are a purely historical phenomenon by detailing present-day activities of Cossacks in Bosnia, Chechnya, and elsewhere. John Ure brings them vividly to life -- in dramatic words and pictures -- mining the most dramatic stories from the rich vein of Cossack legend and lore. The Cossacks emerge from this narrative in all their brilliant glory: dashing and cruel, unpredictable and immensely brave.

About this title

Review:

Cossacks! It's one of those magical, exotic words from distant memories, conjuring up vague but potent images of dashing horsemen, ruthless warriors, terrifying enemies. But the Cossacks are not merely the stuff of a dimming history. Since the fall of the USSR, Cossack organisations have been flourishing across its former territories; there are university departments for the study of Cossack history and customs and summer camps devoted to training aspiring young Cossacks in the ancient chivalric (or more cynically, military) skills. In the last decade, Cossack reservists have appeared in military trouble-spots: Krasnodar, Moldova, North Ossetia, Bosnia (assisting their Serbian "brethren"), Tajikistan and Chechenia. No matter how contrived the Cossack renaissance might be, it's for real and for many it's deeply alarming. John Ure is a retired diplomat who knows the region, the history and how to convey that knowledge elegantly and economically. One of the old school, he knows a good story when he sees it--and the Cossacks have good stories in spades. Ure details this elusive tribe's sometimes bewilderingly inconsistent history--one year, feared rebels of the Tsarist state; the next, ruthless enforcers of the Tsarist status quo-- through their repression under Stalin, to their ongoing re-emergence. As with so many of the world's current political situations, grasping the history is everything (or it's certainly alleged to be) and The Cossacksbrings us a step nearer to understanding one enduring, and still growing, legend. --Alan Stewart

Review:

'Large, sumptuous....the illustrations are colourful and beautifully reproduced, well researched and detailed' -- Miniature Wargames

'This is a fresh, sensual history...Ure's storytelling has the dash to cope with the subject' -- The Spectator

'Ure's book is cheerful and eloquently written...and it is never boring' -- Daily Mail

'a book of startling beauty...depicted in a brilliant range of words and pictures' -- Oxford Times

'a rattling good yarn of lawless origins, martial exploits, and reckless adventures...an excellent introduction to the subject' -- The Daily Telegraph

About this edition

• Publisher: Overlook Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 158567138X
• ISBN 13: 9781585671380
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288