Cossacks!

[volodymyr_gusak]

Look, as I know there are many things Ukraine is famous for but the first that struck my head was COSSACKS! So if I was you I would surf the net a little and get some info about these people, they were great.
Good luck!

[JetSet]

NEWS ALERT

Belarus vs UKRAINE

World cup qualfier SEPTEMBER FIRST

STAY TUNED!!!

GO UKRAINE!!

[zhuk]

Please, do not be so optimistic about cossacks.
Mostly they were just criminals inclind to drinking and robbering. Nothing of those heroic figures you are reading about in 20 century.
1. They were both cruel and merciless to Tartars and turks and Slavian trading men.
2. During the social riots in 1590-1654 they burnt orthodox monasteries as well as Catolic ones.
3. Usually they were out of state control of King or tsar and made war attacks to muslim cities.
It was a real problem for preserving peace treaty between states.
4. They killed their own leaders, if he did not satisfact them.
Mostly they were illtiterate criminals. So there is little to be proud of them.

[JetSet]

Zhuk, you should check your facts. You state that they were illiterate criminals, yet under the hetmanate, Ukrainians enjoyed a level of literacy far higher than what the Russian Imperialist rule later provided.

And if Cossacks were merciless to the Tartars it was because the tartars invaded then-Ukraine! Do you remember that the tartars were a warlike people, descendents of the Mongolians that laid slaughter to much of the civilised world.

[zhuk]

Please note that hetmanat Ukraine was mostly in 18 century,
but the cossacks uncontroled movements terrorised all the Black Sea coastal cities since 1575 to 1675.
Their merciless raids were the main political problem during the peace talks between King of poland and Turkish Sultan.
Both states Poland and Turkey prefferred to live in peace, but not the Ukrainian cossacks. The Crimean Han became vassal of Sultan of Turky and he did not dare to start raids without permission from Istambul.
Do not pay to much attention to Ukrainian and Russian historians who made devils out of Tartars and Turks, sometimes they were more civilised than our ancestors.
Cossacks very often pillaged Tartars villages in Crimea and Black Sea coast and tartars raids in ukraine in 1620-1700 were often an answer to agression of cossacks.

[Leprechaun]

Yes,cossaks where brutal and killed poles,Russians,tatars and every one else on sight.But that's not because they liked killing but because they whanted freedom.Much like HighLanders of Scotland.

[vladitime]

that the cossucks were also product of inbreding. they where often times metnally retardid, and the paretns were put to death for being borther and sister (and sometimes father/daghter, son/mother).

you're typical cossack is very mongoliod like, and since they are used to living in harsh envirunments, they have a paticularly strong smel to them, as well. they sustain on blackk bean bread and vodka.

whatever you do, DON'T ANGAR A COSSACK. geneticaly, theay have a violent personality, and will kill anyone that upsets them. in 1637, there was a horrible incident in the village of Kurostadt were the cosacks thought someone stole a goat from they're tribe, so they killed all the childrent. it was a horrible event.

please, i apoligeize about my english. still learninG!