History UsefulNotes / Cossacks

* ''VideoGame/CossacksEuropeanWars'', the first entry in the ''VideoGame/{{Cossacks}}'' series of historical RealTimeStrategy games (as well as its two expansions) aptly features an entire nation of these, representing 17th and early 18th century Ukraine (the Hetmanate) in the game. There is also a mercenary Cossack light cavalry unit available to all nations, and a Don Cossack medium cavalry unit for the Russian nation. The game used the famous Ilya Repin painting ''Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire'' (the page's pic) as cover art. [[CreatorProvincialism The amount of special attention]] Ukraine has in terms of gameplay and campaigns really stands out due to its studio, Creator/GSCGameWorld, being Ukrainian.

* In VideoGame/MountAndBlade the addon "With Fire and Sword" features Cossack Hetmanate as one of the main factions, central to the plot of the game.

* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/GoldenEye'', the BigBad is the son of Lienz Cossacks, a group of cossacks who fought for Nazi Germany (or perhaps more accurately, ''with'' the Nazis ''against'' the Soviets, in their eyes anyway) and were forcefully repatriated to the USSR (where Stalin had them tried and executed) by the British. Their RealLife counterparts never lived in a place named "Lienz", this was just the name of the Austrian town where they were handed over to the Soviets in late May 1945.

* ''VideoGame/CossacksEuropeanWars'', the first entry in the ''VideoGame/{{Cossacks}}'' series of historical RealTimeStrategy games (as well as its two expansions) aptly features an entire nation of these, representing 17th and early 18th century Ukraine in the game. There is also a mercenary Cossack light cavalry unit available to all nations, and a Don Cossack medium cavalry unit for the Russian nation. The game used the famous Ilya Repin painting ''Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire'' (the page's pic) as cover art. [[CreatorProvincialism The amount of special attention]] Ukraine has in terms of gameplay and campaigns really stands out due to its studio, Creator/GSCGameWorld, being Ukrainian.

* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' opens with the Jewish village of Shostka being subjected to a pogrom by Russian Cossacks, while their cat equivalents that come in their wake terrorize Jewish mice.

* ''Film/TheCossacks'' is a 1928 silent film based on a Creator/LeoTolstoy novel, in which Cossacks spend their time drinking vodka and fighting Turks.
* In ''Film/{{Austerlitz}}'', Kutuzov's army at the eponymous battle has Cossack regiments.
* Adaptations of Creator/NikolaiGogol's ''Taras Bulba'' about Zaporozhian Cossacks:

* A Cossack tries to assassinate UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte in Creator/SachaGuitry's ''[[Film/Napoleon1955 Napoléon]]'', and gets neutralized and shot point-blank.
* In ''Film/{{Golda}}'', Golda Meir recounts her childhood memories of Russian Cossacks - in her words, they would celebrate Christmas by beating Jews to death for fun.
* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/GoldenEye'', the BigBad is the son of Lienz Cossacks, a group of cossacks who fought for Nazi Germany (or perhaps more accurately, ''with'' the Nazis ''against'' the Soviets, in their eyes anyway) and were forcefully repatriated to the USSR (where Stalin had them tried and executed) by the British. Their RealLife counterparts never lived in a place named "Lienz", this was just the name of the Austrian town where they were handed over to the Soviets in late May 1945.

* A Cossack shows up in ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' as an assassin working for Moriarty to kill a UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} who might have been sent information on his plans.
* In ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', Avi refers to Boris (whom he thinks is Russian) as a "Cossack." Because Avi is Jewish and Cossacks were involved in anti-Jewish pogroms, this is meant as an insult.

* There's a lot of Russian folk songs as well, often accompanied by the traditional balalaika instrument.
** [[https://youtu.be/TPeriSAdum0 "Cossack Patrol"]] is one of the most famous, especially its cover by the Red Army Choir.
** The song "Stenka Razin" (with lyrics by Dmitri Sadovnikov) describes a fictional episode in the life of the eponymous hero, a Don Cossack chief. The song describes the Cossacks as wild and warlike, and Stenka sacrifices his beautiful young bride, a Persian princess, to maintain the loyalty of his men.
* Cossack songs such as ''Oysa ti Oyisa'' is frequently found on WebSite/YouTube and elsewhere as the backing to videos featuring ''flankirovna'', a form of energetic [[{{Flynning}} sword-dancing]] which is associated with Kuban Cossack tradition. The song is also known as ''The Cossack's Prayer'' and sets the philosophy of the Cossack Way to music. Folk-rockers Music/OtavaYo perform a version using the same melodic and verse structure, but with different lyrics that appear to take the martial and nationalistic overtones out of it.

* Cossacks play major roles in Creator/NikolaiGogol's stories like ''Literature/TarasBulba'' (see above), including ''Literature/ATerribleVengeance.''

* Ivan Kotlyarevskyi (1769-1838) wrote an parody of the Aenid in Ukrainian which replaces Aeneas and co. with Zaporozhian Cossacks. The poem was later adapted into an animated film (see below).
* "Literature/TheShadowOfTheVulture" by Creator/RobertEHoward: The story's co-heroine, Red Sonya of Rogatino (i.e. Rohatyn in Ukraine) is suggested to be a cossack by her swearing with a "Cossack curse" and going into a "Cossack dance" when she's happy.

* In ''Film/{{Golda}}, Golda Meir recounts her childhood memories of Cossacks - in her words, they would celebrate Christmas by beating Jews to death for fun.

* [[https://www.instagram.com/kozak.siromaha/?hl=fr Kozak Siromaha]] is a Ukrainian singer who's lived simply for years like a Zaporozhian Cossack (no technology etc). The Russian invasion since 2022 made him go public and tour abroad in support of his country.

* ''VideoGame/CossacksEuropeanWars'', the first entry in the ''VideoGame/{{Cossacks}}'' series of historical RealTimeStrategy games (as well as its two expansions), aptly features an entire nation of these, representing 17th and early 18th century Ukraine in the game. There is also a mercenary Cossack light cavalry unit available to all nations, and a Don Cossack medium cavalry unit for the Russian nation. The game used the famous Ilya Repin painting ''Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire'' (the page's pic) as cover art. [[CreatorProvincialism The amount of special attention]] Ukraine has in terms of gameplay and campaigns really stands out due to its studio, Creator/GSCGameWorld, being Ukrainian.

* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' opens with the Jewish village of Shostka being subjected to a pogrom by Russian Cossacks, while their cat equivalents terrorize Jewish mice.

* [[https://www.instagram.com/kozak.siromaha/?hl=fr Kozak Siromaha]] is a Ukrainian singer who's lived for years like a Zaporozhian Cossack. The Russian invasion since 2022 made him go public and tour abroad in support of his country.

* Appear frequently in Ukrainian folk songs regardless of the genre -- epic ballads, love songs, humorous / bawdy songs... anything really. "Dumy" (historical /epics ballads) in particular feature a lot of cossacks and hetmans, often mentioned by name, for example Dmytro Vyshnevetsky, Ivan Mazepa or Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Traditionally accompanied by the bandura, a zither/lute instrument.

* Taras Shevchenko's stories and poems about Zaporozhian Cossacks and their love for freedom against Poland and the Russian Empire form an important part and basis for Ukrainian literature and the nation as a whole.

* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' opens with the Jewish village of Shostka being subjected to a pogrom by Russian Cossacks, while the equivalent cat versions of the Cossacks (Catsacks) terrorize Jewish mice.

* Cossacks play major roles in Creator/NikolaiGogol's stories like ''Film/TarasBulba'' (see above), including ''Literature/ATerribleVengeance.''

* The works of Creator/NikolaiGogol.

Still, the Cossack Hosts, while being mostly a farce movement nowadays, greatly influenced the history and culture of Eastern Europe. Dnieper Cossacks formed the basis for the creation of the modern Ukrainian nation and culture, while Russian Cossacks created separate ethnographic groups in South-Western Russia, with culture and traditions that persist to this day. A lot of Cossacks from the Don host native to the Donbas region and the Kuban host descended from the Zaporozhian Cossacks fought in the war that started in Donbas in 2014 on the pro-Russian side.

For a long time in popular culture, the Cossack look has been the primary image that pops in foreigner's minds when they think of what Russians look like, the same way {{Americans are Cowboys}}. This is due to the fact that the iconic Cossack hats and [[ThatRussianSquatDance dance]] are closely associated with Russians in movies abroad. These days however, Russian Cossacks share that spot with DirtyCommunists. As for Zaporozhian Cossacks, their imagery has showed up a lot on the international scene since early 2022 to symbolize Ukraine's resistance to the full scale Russian invasion.

* ''[[https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-captain-ukraine.html Captain Ukraine]]'': The characters holding the mantle all descend from Zaporozhian Cossacks.

[[folder:Animation]]
* The classic Ukrainian cartoon characters ''Animation/{{Cossacks}}''.
* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' opens with the Jewish village of Shostka being subjected to a pogrom by Russian Cossacks, while the equivalent cat versions of the Cossacks (Catsacks) terrorize Jewish mice.
* The 1991 cartoon adaptation of Ivan Kotlyarevskyi's Eneyida (Aenid) has Aeneas and other Trojans that look and act like Zaporozhian Cossacks ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92J702CxzXU see here]]).
[[/folder]]

[=Cossacks=] were groups of professional warriors first recorded as a separate group of society in Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} around late 15th century. [[UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} Russian]] Cossacks are typically seen as agile cavalry armed with lances and sabres, while [[UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} Ukrainian]] Cossacks mostly fought on their feet and were notorious for their mastery of musketeer tactics.