Astrakhan Cossacks

Astrakhan Cossack Host (Russian: Астраханское казачье войско) was a Cossack host of Imperial Russia drawn from the Cossacks of the Lower Volga region, who had been patrolling the banks of the Volga River from the time of Russia's annexation of Astrakhan Khanate in 1556.

In 1737, the Russian government relocated a number of the Volga Cossacks to Astrakhan and formed a Cossack unit of 3 sotnyas, or 300 men, for escorting couriers and correspondence and for guard duty, which would be re-organized into the Astrakhan regiment (5 sotnyas, or 500 men) on March 28, 1750. It was settled along the right bank of the Volga River from Astrakhan to Cherniy Yar (a town in the Astrakhan Oblast). In the early 19th century, the regiment was reinforced with the Cossaks from Tsaritsyn, Kamyshin, Saratov, and also with the remnants of the Volga Cossaks, some Kalmyks and Tatars. In 1817, the Astrakhan regiment (16 sotnyas, by that time) was reorganized into a 3-regiment Astrakhan Cossack Host. In 1833, it was transferred from under the authority of the Caucasus corps to the governor (ataman) of Astrakhan. In 1872, the Astrakhan Cossack Host was divided into 2 departments and re-grouped into 1 cavalry regiment. The Astrakhan Cossack Host possessed 4 stanitsas next to Tsaritsyn, Saratov, Cherniy Yar and Krasniy Yar, 16 yurt stanitsas, 57 khutors (farms), and 808,000 desyatinas of land. One desyatina equals 2,7 acres (11,000 m²).

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