Richard Arnold

Youth Organization Signals Growing Russian Militarization

Executive Summary: The Movement of the First, a successor to the Soviet Pioneers, is growing, indicating the potential for a more radicalized, militarized Russian future. The Kremlin-sponsored organization is ostensibly…

“Предки всех российских ЧВК”: исследователь – о роли казаков юга России в войне против Украины

Редакция Кавказ.Реалии обсудила с доцентом кафедры политологии и исследователем казачества Ричардом Арнольдом, какую роль казаки играют во вторжении в Украину и каким образом этот институт трансформировался на юге России. Read…

Cossack Youth Join In On ‘Breeding For War’

Executive Summary: Cossack education has increasingly focused on preparing Russian youth for war. New Cossack cadet corps are being developed in Crimea, expanding Russia’s foothold on the peninsula. Cultural events…

Cossacks Plan for February Meeting

Executive Summary: The upcoming “Big Circle” (Bol’shoi Krug) meeting of Russia’s Cossack movement highlights their growing significance in Kremlin planning and national affairs, akin to the involvement of similar groups…

Cossacks Plan More Military Aggrandizement

Executive Summary: A resurgence of Cossack militarism is occurring in Russia, evidenced through proposed legislation to the State Duma to establish a reserve army. Cossack leaders announce plans for new…

Moscow Moves to Establish Cossack Hosts in Occupied Ukrainian Territories

Executive Summary: The Kremlin has expanded the state-registered Cossack movement within Russia and the illegally annexed regions of Ukraine. The Cossack institutions established in the Luhansk region aim to foster…

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Cossacks as a Case Study of Russia’s Paramilitarization

Image license/credit Since the Wagner mutiny of June 2023, the role of paramilitaries in Russia has become a subject of intense scrutiny. Not only do such groups represent a diminution…

Cossack Fighters Replace Wagner Forces in Ukraine

Since becoming ataman of the Cossacks in November 2023, Vitaly Kuznetsov has charted a new direction for the state-registered movement that replicates the Wagner Group model in some ways. In…

ЧВК с нагайкой. Казаков юга России предложили вооружать и привлекать к теробороне

Вооружение казачества и создание на основе реестровых казаков теробороны представляется вполне реальным шагом, поскольку казаки уже сейчас выполняют задачи по охране правопорядка и могут стать противовесом для других военизированных формирований…

Cossack Warriors From Russia and Abroad Meet in Moscow

On November 25, a “Big Circle” (Bol’shoi Krug) meeting of “over 200 delegates from 83 regions of Russia and 43 countries of the world” took place in Moscow to discuss…

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Cossack Education Becoming Further Institutionalized Across Russia’s Regions

Russia is going to great lengths to maintain its war effort in Ukraine without having to resort to another wave of mass mobilization (see EDM, October 10, 31). Military-adjacent structures, such as the…

The Kremlin Uses Registered Cossacks as a Means of Stealth Mobilization

The number of registered “Cossacks” involved in the “Special Military Operation” (SVO) in Eastern Ukraine has risen to 25,000, taking into account rotations and leaves. This number was mentioned in…

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