"A Cossack without a service is not a Cossack": the collective image of the Cossack warrior (the second half of the 19 <sup>th</sup> - the beginning of the 20 <sup>th</sup> centuries)
Based on archival materials and sources of personal origin, the author comes to the conclusion that in extreme field conditions the second half of the 19 th - the beginning of the 20 th centuries a special image of a Cossack warrior is formed. Regardless of the military troops identity Cossacks were strong, courageous, dexterous, hardy, famous for honesty and sense of duty.