The Cossack is a unique light cavalry unit of the Russian civilization in Civilization VI. It replaces the Cavalry.
- Attributes:
- Extra
Combat Strength (67 vs. 62). - +5 Combat Strength when fighting in or next to home territory.
- Can move after attacking.
- Requires no resources.
- Extra
Strategy
In addition to being stronger than the Cavalry it replaces and not requiring Horses, the Cossack gains additional strength in Russian territory and can move after it attacks. Use its superior strength and maneuverability to harry any enemies who invade your homeland, or to protect newly captured cities in wartime.
Historical Context
The kazaki were members of semi-democratic, semi-nomadic, semi-militaristic communities along the steppe-shores of the Dnieper, Don, Ural, Volga and other rivers cutting across the Ukraine. It isn’t clear when these Slavs started settling in the region after the collapse of the Khazar kingdom, but it is likely after the Mongol tide receded, so perhaps late 13th Century AD. A mixture of horse barbarians and “civilized” peoples, by the 1600s the Cossacks were a loose confederation of tribes and independent communes. Internal politics notwithstanding – and the various Cossack hosts fought among themselves as much as against their neighbors – they became a force to be reckoned with, light cavalry par excellence. In time, early 17th Century or so, some of the hosts took service with the growing Russian kingdom to the north, providing a buffer against the Crimean Tatars and Ottomans to the south. The Cossacks would thereafter figure in every war the Russians fought, until virtually annihilated by Stalin following WW2.
Gallery
