Similar
Holy Russia (1916), Russian Empire
Summary
Holy Russia - Regiment of Cossacks blessed by priest before going into action in the Caucasus - 1916.
Religious ceremony held outdoors. This is strange and mysterious ritual. The Cossacks (with long belted coats and hair cut very short or shaved off) file past; each stopping; bending over a table; and kissing something on it; perhaps the Bible; then they step to the right; and priest touches their head with a ceremonial object that looks like a large paintbrush or a feather duster; finally; they step again to right and kiss something else which is held up by another guy in a Cossack long coat. Next; the priest walks along row of Cossack soldiers; with several military men following; the man closest to him carries a bucket of something like holy water. The priest dips the brush into the bucket repeatedly and sort of shakes it at the soldiers in the row. Priest reading while Cossacks stand; raising their right arms as in making a pledge or oath. Shot of priest blessing the flag; making motions in front of it. Also ON 406 O.
Note: the above seems to be describing the usual 'blessing' ceremony - SL.
World War One; religion; military.
406B
FILM ID:1860.47
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The Cossacks were a group of predominantly East Slavic-speaking people who lived in the lands of the Dnieper, Don, Terek, and Ural rivers in Eastern Europe. The Cossacks were known for their military skills and their semi-nomadic lifestyle. They were organized into autonomous communities and were known for their martial traditions and their resistance to foreign domination. The Cossacks played an important role in the history of Eastern Europe, and they were involved in many conflicts and wars throughout their history. Today, the Cossacks are still recognized as a distinct cultural group in some parts of Eastern Europe. Cossacks had a tradition of independence and finally received privileges from the Russian government in return for military service. Originally (in the 15th century) the term referred to semi-independent Tatar groups, which formed in the Dnieper region. The term was also applied (by the end of the 15th century) to peasants who had fled from serfdom in Poland, Lithuania, and Muscovy to the Dnieper and Don regions, where they established free self-governing military communities. In the 16th century, there were six major Cossack hosts: the Don, the Greben (in Caucasia), the Yaik (on the middle Ural River), the Volga, the Dnieper, and the Zaporozhian (mainly west of the Dnieper).
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