词汇 | cossack |
词源 | Cossack. The Cossacks, quartered in 11 communities throughout Russia, were 4 million strong before the country’s revolution. In return for certain privileges their men were all re- quired to give military service for 20 years, from age 18. These cruel, fearless fighters and expert horsemen, constituting an elite Russian cavalry, were used by the czars to suppress revolu- tion and were much feared by the people. Cossack is still often used to describe a brutal or brave warrior. The Cossacks were descended from serfs who had fled their masters in the 15th to 17th century and settled on the border steppes, their name coming from the Russian Kayaki, “wanderers.” In World War II they were used as cavalry by the Soviet Union. See gussuk. |
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