Exhibition "Cossack Antiquities"

About exhibition

A unique collection of 19th-century shashkas and daggers, examples of firearms, orders and medals, and ceremonial award weapons allows visitors to learn about the full variety and particularities of Cossack service, their system of upbringing, and military training. The uniform of the Terek and Kuban Cossacks, borrowed from highland peoples, illustrates features of clothing cut adapted for military service and horseback riding. At the center of the exhibition is a diorama of a stanitsa (Cossack settlement) from the late 18th century, recreating the appearance of a Cossack stanitsa, its layout, and the external look of Cossack houses. The exhibition recreates the multifaceted life of the Cossacks and vividly presents the history of the emergence of Cossackdom in the North Caucasus and its active role in the incorporation of this territory into the Russian state.