"Always on the horseback, always ready to fight..."

The ideal of the Cossack's life was serving his Homeland and Faith as a Warrior. They were in a way a living fence on the frontiers of Great and Little Russia. Historian A. Skalkovsky mentions, that when the Gospel was being read in the church in Zaporozhie, all the Cossacks pulled their sabers half-way out as a manifestation of readiness to defend Church and Land by both word and action, i.e. with weapons. It is significant, that most of the churches in Cossack regions were consecrated to the saints-warriors: St. George and Alexander Nevsky.

A.S. Pushkin wrote about Cossacks: "Always on the horseback, always ready to fight, always on the alert". The Cossacks of the frontier had to live in constant fighting trim, 24 hours a day. It was reflected even in their clothes. For example, among Line Cossacks (living along the border line in the Caucasus) daggers were provided even for women and children. Men were supposed to carry a lot of fire arms all the time, and even babies were carried in a special hood behind the back to have hands free to fight back in case of sudden attack.

When Napoleon came to Russia to conquer, the Cossacks played a crucial role in making a point that it was a bad idea.

Cossacks were not only superior horsemen and exceptional foot soldiers (called plastun), their fleets of small boats terrified Turkish and Persian sea vessels and port cities. Cossacks developed very specific sea warfare tactics. In many wars Cossack detachments demonstrated their highest abilities for reconnaissance and deep rides within the enemy's territory, like the ride made by Kuban Cossacks led by V.D. Gamaliy.

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