| Summary: | Introduction. The article considers the government policy for the Cossacks in the 1860s. During this period, the processes of organization/reorganization of the Cossack troops were most brightly shown. These processes were developed against the background of discussions between imperial officials about the roles and values of the Cossacks from the point of view of his military and colonization potential. Only the Semirechensky (Almaty) army created in 1867 was a “new” Cossack army for the empire. Methods and materials. As the main material for writing the article the contemporary records found in the 330th fund of the Russian state military and historical archive (Moscow) and the Historical archive of Omsk region (Omsk) served. The note of the chief of Tersky region in 1863–1875 M.T. Loris-Melikov “About education of the Transcaucasian Cossack army”, prepared in December, 1868, is of particular importance. The specifics of the sources attracted required the use of methods of source studies in accordance with the type of documents under consideration, followed by the structural analysis of the identified data based on the systematic approach. Discussion. The announced subject is poorly developed in historical literature, and only the studying of Semirechensky Cossack army history has a long tradition. Separately, the question of the place of the Cossacks in the projects for the administrative structure of the Central Asian possessions of the empire and plans for the training of new troops, except for Semirechensk, has not yet been considered in historiography. Analysis. At the initiative of the governor general of Western Siberia A.P. Khrushchov in 1867–1868, projects on the organizations of the Irtysh, Akmola, Semipalatinsk Cossack troops, as well as plans for the resettlement of the Cossacks to the lands bordering Western China, were prepared. Despite the support of the initiatives of A.P. Khrushchov from the Minister of War D.A. Milyutin and the Steppe commission, the projected Cossack troops nevertheless were not created, and the Cossack colonization of border territories did not take place. The negative decision of the authorities was also made on the note of the chief of Tersky region M.T. Loris-Melikov “About education of the Transcaucasian Cossack army” (1868). Conclusions. The article examines the reasons why colonization plans and projects for the creation of new Cossack troops were unclaimed in the 1860s.
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