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The Cossacks
The story of a people who have survived throughout history...
The legendary Cossack, the sabre wielding horseman of the lonely Russian steppes, is brought vividly alive in the first complete account of Cossack history in the English language.
This panoramic view of Cossack history from the 15th to 20th century is a comprehensive study of a people whose culture has shaped both modern Ukraine and Russia.
Philip Longworth’s The Cossacks is an informative and stimulating account for the general reader on the five-hundred year history of a fascinating people.
Praise for The Cossacks:
'Philip Longworth has filled a long-felt he has written a history of the Cossacks and has done it magnificently, managing to be both enthralling and scholarly' - Daily Telegraph
'One is plunged into the stream of Cossack life and carried along as it surges through the centuries and across the Russian land with a turbulent and tremendous force' - The Times
'A memorable account of these brave, rough, cruel men' - Daily Mail
'A compelling story … It will be read with great pleasure by the general reader, and it will also stay as the scholarly work on its subject' - The Guardian
Philip Longworth was born in 1933 and educated at Willesden County Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford. He learnt Russian at the School of Slavonic Studies, London. His translation of Lermontov’s novel A Hero Of Our Time has sold throughout the world and his biography of Suvorov was described by Edward Crankshaw, the well-known Russian commentator and writer, as ‘brilliant’.
The legendary Cossack, the sabre wielding horseman of the lonely Russian steppes, is brought vividly alive in the first complete account of Cossack history in the English language.
This panoramic view of Cossack history from the 15th to 20th century is a comprehensive study of a people whose culture has shaped both modern Ukraine and Russia.
Philip Longworth’s The Cossacks is an informative and stimulating account for the general reader on the five-hundred year history of a fascinating people.
Praise for The Cossacks:
'Philip Longworth has filled a long-felt he has written a history of the Cossacks and has done it magnificently, managing to be both enthralling and scholarly' - Daily Telegraph
'One is plunged into the stream of Cossack life and carried along as it surges through the centuries and across the Russian land with a turbulent and tremendous force' - The Times
'A memorable account of these brave, rough, cruel men' - Daily Mail
'A compelling story … It will be read with great pleasure by the general reader, and it will also stay as the scholarly work on its subject' - The Guardian
Philip Longworth was born in 1933 and educated at Willesden County Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford. He learnt Russian at the School of Slavonic Studies, London. His translation of Lermontov’s novel A Hero Of Our Time has sold throughout the world and his biography of Suvorov was described by Edward Crankshaw, the well-known Russian commentator and writer, as ‘brilliant’.
468 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 13, 2026
A thought-provoking history of one of the most distinctive military and cultural communities in Eastern Europe. Covering several centuries, Longworth explores the rise of the Cossacks, their often-complex relationships with the Russian state, and the gradual erosion of their independence.
For me, the most compelling sections were those dealing with the period following the Russian Revolution, when the Cossacks found themselves caught between loyalty to their traditions and the new realities imposed by Bolshevik rule. The book explains why many Cossack communities resisted the emerging Soviet regime. Longworth doesn't reduce their opposition to a simple political disagreement. Instead, he shows how the Revolution threatened a way of life built on local autonomy, military service, land ownership, and deeply rooted cultural traditions. The resistance that followed becomes far more understandable when viewed through this broader historical lens, even as the book acknowledges that the Cossacks themselves were never a completely unified people.
The aftermath of the Revolution is particularly striking. Longworth describes the harsh measures taken against many Cossack communities and the devastating impact these policies had on families, villages, and regional identities. Rather than focusing solely on military campaigns, he highlights how sweeping political change transformed the lives of ordinary people, many of whom found themselves on the losing side of history regardless of the choices they made.
The book is clearly the product of extensive research, and Longworth succeeds in placing the Cossacks within the wider history of Russia and Eastern Europe. His analysis is balanced, recognising both the important role the Cossacks played in expanding the Russian Empire and the contradictions within Cossack society itself. This nuanced approach makes the history feel richer and avoids presenting the subject in simplistic terms.
The level of detail is impressive, but it can also become overwhelming, particularly when covering the many different Cossack hosts, military campaigns, and political developments across several centuries.
While the scholarship is excellent, it occasionally reads more like an academic study than a book for the general reader.
The Cossacks is an informative and worthwhile history that provides valuable insight into a fascinating people and their often turbulent relationship with the Russian state. Although its depth and density made it a slower read than I expected, its examination of Cossack resistance following the Russian Revolution and the profound consequences for ordinary communities made it particularly memorable.
For me, the most compelling sections were those dealing with the period following the Russian Revolution, when the Cossacks found themselves caught between loyalty to their traditions and the new realities imposed by Bolshevik rule. The book explains why many Cossack communities resisted the emerging Soviet regime. Longworth doesn't reduce their opposition to a simple political disagreement. Instead, he shows how the Revolution threatened a way of life built on local autonomy, military service, land ownership, and deeply rooted cultural traditions. The resistance that followed becomes far more understandable when viewed through this broader historical lens, even as the book acknowledges that the Cossacks themselves were never a completely unified people.
The aftermath of the Revolution is particularly striking. Longworth describes the harsh measures taken against many Cossack communities and the devastating impact these policies had on families, villages, and regional identities. Rather than focusing solely on military campaigns, he highlights how sweeping political change transformed the lives of ordinary people, many of whom found themselves on the losing side of history regardless of the choices they made.
The book is clearly the product of extensive research, and Longworth succeeds in placing the Cossacks within the wider history of Russia and Eastern Europe. His analysis is balanced, recognising both the important role the Cossacks played in expanding the Russian Empire and the contradictions within Cossack society itself. This nuanced approach makes the history feel richer and avoids presenting the subject in simplistic terms.
The level of detail is impressive, but it can also become overwhelming, particularly when covering the many different Cossack hosts, military campaigns, and political developments across several centuries.
While the scholarship is excellent, it occasionally reads more like an academic study than a book for the general reader.
The Cossacks is an informative and worthwhile history that provides valuable insight into a fascinating people and their often turbulent relationship with the Russian state. Although its depth and density made it a slower read than I expected, its examination of Cossack resistance following the Russian Revolution and the profound consequences for ordinary communities made it particularly memorable.
June 4, 2022
Rich and captivating, yet concise.
A first-class telling of Cossackdom from its very beginning through to its final days of despair and death.
Along with the myths and the legends, this is an unfettered telling with warts-an'-all: the chivalry, bravery, loyalty, discipline, honour, the song, the dance, the romance; and the banditry, criminality, thievery, piracy, rape and pillage.
Bullies and brigands, ...
... 'the hated instruments of Tsarist tyranny, but also once the champions of the downtrodden serfs' ...
... a warrior people, used as mercenaries, spoiling for a fight and not cowed by the odds; and as able and willing to side with the oppressed should they deem fit to do so.
With compelling analogies between the American frontiersman of the 'Wild-West', forever retreating from officialdom, in centuries long past they survived as fisherman, trappers, herdsmen and farmers, to become chivalrous knights, noble savages, adventurers, freedom-fighters and seen to occupy places in history alongside Daniel Boone, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.
As both warriors and woodsmen, these hardy, ingenious pathfinders found the routes east across the Urals, conquered unknown Siberia, built forts on the shores of the Pacific and stood in defence of Christendom against the invading Islamist.
Stories that could fill the pages of Boys' Own.
An adventure story, but also a history book of great quality. I recommend it.
A first-class telling of Cossackdom from its very beginning through to its final days of despair and death.
Along with the myths and the legends, this is an unfettered telling with warts-an'-all: the chivalry, bravery, loyalty, discipline, honour, the song, the dance, the romance; and the banditry, criminality, thievery, piracy, rape and pillage.
Bullies and brigands, ...
... 'the hated instruments of Tsarist tyranny, but also once the champions of the downtrodden serfs' ...
... a warrior people, used as mercenaries, spoiling for a fight and not cowed by the odds; and as able and willing to side with the oppressed should they deem fit to do so.
With compelling analogies between the American frontiersman of the 'Wild-West', forever retreating from officialdom, in centuries long past they survived as fisherman, trappers, herdsmen and farmers, to become chivalrous knights, noble savages, adventurers, freedom-fighters and seen to occupy places in history alongside Daniel Boone, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.
As both warriors and woodsmen, these hardy, ingenious pathfinders found the routes east across the Urals, conquered unknown Siberia, built forts on the shores of the Pacific and stood in defence of Christendom against the invading Islamist.
Stories that could fill the pages of Boys' Own.
An adventure story, but also a history book of great quality. I recommend it.
November 11, 2019
Subtitled "Five Centuries of Turbulent Life on the Russian Steppes", this book gives the reader a lot of valuable background on Russian History. However, it is good to keep in mind that it is a view of Russian History from 1970. So it seems a bit truncated to the contemporary reader. I got it at a yard sale and I enjoyed it. But it's going back in the donation box because I probably wouldn't read it again.
October 20, 2023
Distinctly slanted towards Soviet friendly perspective while at the same time telling the at times romantic but ultimately tragic story of how the vital Cossack culture was all but completely destroyed by collectivization and de-kulakisation. It is despite this both entertaining and detailed in its exploration and explanation of what a Cossack was at every stage of their much-entwined-with-Russian history.
June 16, 2024
Very interesting book covering most of the known history of the Cossack people, with a big emphasis on the biggest figures of Khmelnitski, Razin and Pugachev.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews