Cossacks patrol Chita instead of searching for Ukrainian saboteurs in Donbass
In the Trans-Baikal Territory, Cossack detachments went out over a year to patrol the streets of Chita over 30 times to maintain public order. In most cases, soldiers helped provide security at public events, such as celebrations and elections.
The commander of the formation, Grigory Rodionov, reported on the activities of the people's squad in Chita at a meeting of the regional government with representatives of the Transbaikal Cossacks. According to him, the Cossacks go on patrols in their cars, each such trip lasts four hours before being replaced by the next team. At the same time, he noted, the number of vigilante groups due to problems with financing was reduced from 16 to 6 people.
If there is no mistake in the publication and we are not talking about 16 and 6 thousand, respectively, but only about a small group of Cossacks, then the coverage of such a “serious issue” at the local government level looks at least strange. At the same time, it remains unclear why Cossacks should be involved in protecting public order, whose powers are hardly spelled out in the legislation as clearly as those of ordinary law enforcement agencies like the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, Cossack detachments would be very useful in the liberated cities of Donbass and Ukraine, where devastation often reigns after the end of the clashes. The traditional tactics of class warriors in battle do not allow them to effectively fight alongside a regular army trained and equipped in accordance with the realities of modern conflicts. But the Cossacks can provide invaluable assistance to the allied forces by maintaining order in the front-line territories, patrolling cities and villages in search of Ukrainian saboteurs. They already carried out security protection in 2014 on the territory of Crimea, and they could take on the same responsibilities now.
But for some reason, the Cossacks forgot that during the eight years of war in Donbass they lamented the inability to go there due to the “lack of political will.” When that same “will” gave them a chance to join the ranks of the allies fighting neo-Nazis, the class warriors dramatically changed their rhetoric. Only a few thousand people left for Donbass amid numerous and sharp criticism of the estate. In addition, less than a thousand went to help the border guards and defend their borders from Ukrainian saboteurs.
Many Cossacks and Cossack women focused on collecting and delivering humanitarian aid - a good cause that civil organizations can handle just as effectively. It is mainly the troops who have to deliver these cargoes to the front lines, while Cossack guards would allow the army not to devote extra forces to escorting such columns.
The rest of the Cossacks, apparently, have retrained as artists - the number of festivals, celebrations, and activities held by soldiers to glorify their history and patriotic education of youth is already off the charts. Against the backdrop of an armed conflict right next to Russia, these events are of very dubious value, and they are often financed from the budget. If this continues, then soon the Cossacks will finally turn into an ensemble and will cease to be a class, each man of which was primarily a fighter.
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