Tiraspol, December 17. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Black Sea Cossack army celebrates the 28th anniversary of the revival on the Pridnestrovian land. On this occasion, representatives of the Cossack society gathered for a solemn prayer service, and then laid flowers at the Glory Memorial to the soldiers who died in 1992.
“This is a very memorable date for us. Every year we try to worthily note and remember those founders who stood at the origins of the Cossacks` revival. But, unfortunately, some of them have already passed away. This day we begin with a celebratory prayer in the church in the name of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church,” Cossack army sergeant, Head of the spiritual and moral department Anatoly Gavrilenko said.
You can`t learn to be a Cossack. According to Anatoly, the Pridnestrovian Cossacks are not just a club of interests, it is a life where traditions and customs must be respected, that is, living according to God's and Cossack`s commandments. Among the members of the Cossack communities there are hereditary Cossacks, but there are also those who joined the ranks of the Black Sea Cossack Army answering the call of their hearts.
“If a person expresses a desire to become a Cossack, if he is close in spirit, he gets acquainted with the Cossacks of the village, comes to the gatherings of the village. And in the process, if it is to his liking, he fills in the layout. Two Cossacks are entrusted with him, who, in the event of his wrongdoing, will also be responsible. And then they put him to the oath,” Anatoly Gavrilenko said.
The defender of Pridnestrovie, Cossack Vitaly Belov came all the way. He joined the Cossack society during the period of aggression by Moldovan nationalists. According to him, he had to learn everything on the go.
“First, there were facilities in the medical center, we took the wounded. And then they entrusted us weapons, field trips began. There I met other Cossacks, they taught me how to fight,” Vitaly Belov said.
Since then, Vitaly Belov has served in the ranks of the Black Sea Cossack Army. He says: to be a Cossack is an honor that needs to be earned.
On December 17, 1991, in Tiraspol, there was the Descent of the Cossacks gathering held in Tiraspol, which became the basis for the revival of the Cossacks in the PMR. The Black Sea Cossack Army was led by the hereditary Kuban Cossack, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Ivan Pashchenko. The priority activity of the revived Cossacks was determined by the civil service and the creation of military Cossack units.
In operational activity to defend the republic in 1992, the Black Sea Cossacks played one of the main parts. More than 90 Cossacks died during the fighting.
