The Russian Cossacks in the battles for the Motherland
The Russian Cossack played an appreciable part in defending our Motherland. Cavalry divisions were being formed in the places of historical living of the Cossacks and strikingly showed their worth at the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. 262 Cossacks were awarded as Heroes of the Soviet Union. At the same time more than 100 thousands Cossacks (immigrants and former Soviet citizens) lived in the territory of Fascist Germany and its allies and took part in the war on the enemy's side.