De-Cossackization

De-Cossackization (Russian: Расказачивание, romanized: Raskazachivaniye; Ukrainian: Розкозачення, romanized: Rozkozachennja) was the Bolshevik policy of systematic repression against the Cossacks in territories of the former Russian Empire between 1919 and 1933, especially the Don and Kuban Cossacks in Russia, aimed at the elimination of the Cossacks as a distinct collectivity by exterminating the Cossack élite, coercing all other Cossacks into compliance, and eliminating Cossack distinctness. Several scholars have categorised this as a form of genocide, whilst other historians have highly disputed this classification due to the contentious figures involved, which range from "a few thousand to incredible claims of hundreds of thousands". The campaign began in March 1919 in response to growing Cossack insurgency. The process has been described by scholar Peter Holquist as part of a "ruthless" and "radical attempt to eliminate undesirable social groups" that showed the Soviet regime's "dedication to social engineering". Throughout this period, the policy underwent significant modifications, which resulted in the "normalization" of Cossacks as a component part of Soviet society.