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The Return of the Cossacks

With his horse at a full gallop and his sword hand only inches from the ground the rider skewers an apple on the blade of his saber and slides nimbly back into his saddle.
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With his horse at a full gallop and his sword hand only inches from the ground the rider skewers an apple on the blade of his saber and slides nimbly back into his saddle. His buddies cheer and jostle one another in a blatant display of masculine bravado before charging off to display their own feats of daring-do. Between death-defying stunts on horseback and a lot of self-congratulatory posturing the performers engage in mock battles complete with cannon fire and realistic swordplay.

We are attending the Cossack horse show on Khortitsa Island near the Ukrainian City of Zaporozhye. The show is clearly designed for tourists but the skill and enthusiasm of the performers is genuine. Dressed in traditional baggy pants, loose-fitting tunics and fleece hats, and surrounded by the paraphernalia of 15 th century warfare, the new generation of Cossack horsemen recreate the culture of their warrior ancestors. And for a few hours we are transported back to a time when the Zaporozhye Cossacks controlled the Ukrainian region of Eastern Europe.

Back in the 15 th century the southern European steppe was a sort of no-man's-land, beyond the control of any organized state. It was a place where runaway serfs, criminals, and Orthodox refugees could find sanctuary and this is where the culture of Cossackdom had its beginnings. The word Cossack is variously interpreted as "freeman, adventurer, or outlaw." Any man was free to join the Cossack brotherhood - no questions asked - and over the years they banded together into self-governing, militaristic communities of tough, hard drinking fighters. The only authority they recognized was that of their elected hetman (chieftain) and although they were officially part of either Poland or Russia they were usually left to their own devices.

In 1553 several disparate groups of Cossacks united under hetman Dmytro Baida and built the Zaporizhska sich (fort) on Khortitsa Island. Zaporizhska (Beyond the Rapids) was chosen because a turbulent 40km stretch of the Dnieper gave their fortified island another level of security. Settlements were set up on the nearby shore but the island itself was strictly the domain of men. No women, not even Catherine the Great herself was permitted to set foot on Khortitsa Island. The community on the Dnieper soon became the principal centre of the Cossack movement and for a time the Zaporozhye Sich attained the status of a semi-independent state.

From the very beginning the Khortitsa Cossacks were engaged in almost continuous low-level warfare with someone - Turks and Tatars, Poles and Lithuanians. Initially vassals of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, they made a bid for independence in 1648 and under the leadership of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky succeeded in driving the Poles out of Ukraine. But the Poles struck back and in order to get a decisive victory Bohdan signed a military alliance with the Russians, who eventually betrayed him. Instead of joining the Cossacks in battle the Russians negotiated a separate deal with the Poles and in 1668 the disputed territory was carved up between them. The Ukraine, along with the Khortitsa Cossacks, was absorbed into the Russian Empire where it remained for the next 300 years. In return for a guarantee of their autonomy within Russia the Cossacks pledged their loyalty to the Tsar but continued to manage their own affairs.

Above all the Cossacks were warriors. At the height of their power 20,000 well-armed fighters were based at the Zaporozhye Sich on Khortitsa Island and their superb horsemanship and fearless charges into battle gave them a reputation that discouraged most opponents. Their presence along Russia's western border has been compared to the Great Wall of China - a formidable barrier against would-be invaders. But in the end it was their strength that led to their downfall. In 1775 Catherine the Great saw the growing Cossack presence as a threat to Russian imperial ambitions and had their island fort destroyed. Its leaders were either killed or imprisoned and without any central base or leadership the Cossack brotherhood fragmented again into small disparate groups within the Russian empire.

During the Russian civil war following the October Revolution of 1917 Cossack units fought on both sides of the conflict. Under Stalin's regime of collectivization thousands of Cossacks lost their land and suffered persecution, hunger and humiliation. Not surprisingly during World War II some Cossack units defected from the Red Army and again the Cossacks found themselves on both sides of the conflict.

Today it seems that these once proud warriors are remembered more for their athletic dancing than the role they played in shaping the history of Eastern Europe. Not much remains of their stronghold "beyond the rapids" on the Dnieper River. A bridge now connects Khortitsa Island to the mainland and the rapids that once surrounded it disappeared long ago behind the massive Dniproges Hydroelectric Dam. A small museum with Cossack memorabilia has been built on the north side of the island and farther south the replica of a Cossack village includes the stockade where we are watching the Cossack Horse Show.

After the last of the daredevil riders has thundered past a giant of a man sporting an oseledtsi and wielding a five-metre bullwhip steps onto the field. The oseledtsi, a long ponytail growing from the back of his shaved head, identifies him as a senior, battle-tested warrior - trainees are required to have "bowl cuts." With a report like a pistol shot the big guy warms up with his whip. He then yanks a flowering weed from the ground, hands it to a bowl-cut trainee, and walks 20 feet away. Holding the weed at arms-length with one hand and covering his eyes with the other the young Cossack waits. And then with a resounding crack the bullwhip neatly snips the head off the weed only inches from the hand clutching it. Everyone cheers and we are invited to share a traditional Cossack meal - stewed rice and lamb washed down by a liberal shot of vodka.

As I sipped my drink and watched the young Cossacks of this generation leading their mounts back to the stable I wondered how different the map of Eastern Europe might look today if their ancestors had not set up a powerful military fort here on this island. For a time the Khortitsa Cossacks held the balance of power between the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth and the Russian Empire - but for them things might have gone either way. But one thing is for sure, the Cossack brotherhood, which began as a ragtag bunch of runaway serfs and bandits, had a profound influence on the course of European history.