E-mail: ninvlaskina@yandex.ru
Tel.: +7 (863) 250-98-29
41, Chekhov av., Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russian Federation
PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, Federal Research Centre The Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences
The article was prepared within the framework of the state assignment of SSC RAS (reg. No. 125011200150-2).
Today, members of the Don, Terek, and Kuban Cossack Hosts widely celebrate the Day of the Cossack Mother and the Day of the Naur Cossack Woman. Many widely read online publications assert that this holiday is traditional for the Cossacks and has been observed for over 250 years. The purpose of this article is to analyze the historical events that served as the basis for the Day of the Cossack Woman in the annual calendar and their reflection in documents and periodicals from the nineteenth century to the present.
Modern organizers of the the Day of the Cossack Woman refer to the defense of the Naurskaya Stanitsa (a fortified Cossack settlement) in 1774 which involved some Cossack women. This is a historical fact, but no Day of the Cossack Woman was celebrated at that time. The story of the defense of the Naurskaya stanitsa did become part of the oral tradition and during the pre-revolutionary period it was regularly recounted by Cossack historians. The claim that the Day of the Cossack Mother was established by Don Ataman S. D. Efremov (1753–1772) should also be regarded as a legend. The first mention of the Day of the Cossack Woman only appears, without elaboration, in emigré literature from the mid-twentieth century. In the 2000s, the idea was further developed by representatives of the modern Cossack community. Currently, the Day of the Cossack Mother and the Day of the Naur Cossack Woman enable members of Cossack society to emphasize their distinct identity, highlight the glorious history of the Cossacks, and underscore the growing role of women in society. However, to achieve these objectives, advocates for celebrating a Day of the Cossack Woman rely on a pseudo-historical narrative.
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