Oleh Shypylov

After graduating from Zaporozhye Machine-Building Institute. V. Ya. Chubar, Faculty of Automobiles and Tractors, works in the department of the Chief Designer of ZAZ.

Design engineer, head of the design bureau, chief designer, deputy chairman of ZAZ.

In 2007, by the decision of the Supervisory Board of UkrAVTO Corporation, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the Car Plant in Warsaw (Poland).

From 2008 to May 2013 he held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board for Procurement of UkrAVTO Corporation.

The Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic Orthodox Christian people who became known as members of democratic, self-governing, semi-military communities originating in the steppes of Eastern Europe (in particular the Dnieper, in the Wild Fields). They inhabited sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper, Don, Terek, and Ural river basins, and played an important role in the historical and cultural development of both Ukraine and Russia.

After World War II, the Soviet Union disbanded the Cossack units in the Soviet Army. During the Perestroika era in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, descendants of Cossacks moved to revive their national traditions. In 1988, the Soviet Union passed a law allowing the re-establishment of former Cossack hosts and the formation of new ones. During the 1990s, many regional authorities agreed to hand over some local administrative and policing duties to their Cossack hosts.

In the 2002 Russian census, 140,028 people declared Cossack ethnicity, while 67,573 people identified as Cossack in the 2010 census. Between 3.5 and 5.0 million people associate themselves with the Cossack cultural identity across the world; Cossack organizations operate in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, and the United States.

Main article: History of the Cossacks

The origins of the Cossacks are disputed. Originally, the term referred to semi-independent Tatar groups (qazaq or "free men") who inhabited the Pontic–Caspian steppe, north of the Black Sea near the Dnieper River. By the end of the 15th century, the term was also applied to peasants who had fled to the devastated regions along the Dnieper and Don Rivers, where they established their self-governing communities. Until at least the 1630s, these Cossack groups remained ethnically and religiously open to virtually anybody, although the Slavic element predominated. There were several major Cossack hosts in the 16th century: near the Dnieper, Don, Volga and Ural Rivers; the Greben Cossacks in Caucasia; and the Zaporozhian Cossacks, mainly west of the Dnieper.

The Zaporizhian Sich became a vassal polity of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during feudal times. Under increasing pressure from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the mid-17th century the Sich declared an independent Cossack Hetmanate. The Hetmanate was initiated by a rebellion under Bohdan Khmelnytsky against Polish and Catholic domination, known as the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Afterwards, the Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654) brought most of the Cossack state under Russian rule. The Sich, with its lands, became an autonomous region under the Russian protectorate.

The Don Cossack Army, an autonomous military state formation of the Don Cossacks under the citizenship of the Moscow State in the Don region in 1671–1786, began a systematic conquest and colonization of lands to secure the borders on the Volga, the whole of Siberia (see Yermak Timofeyevich), and the Yaik (Ural) and Terek rivers. Cossack communities had developed along the latter two rivers well before the arrival of the Don Cossacks.

By the 18th century, Cossack hosts in the Russian Empire occupied effective buffer zones on its borders. The expansionist ambitions of the Empire relied on ensuring Cossack loyalty, which caused tension given their traditional exercise of freedom, democracy, self-rule, and independence. Cossacks such as Stenka Razin, Kondraty Bulavin, Ivan Mazepa and Yemelyan Pugachev led major anti-imperial wars and revolutions in the Empire in order to abolish slavery and harsh bureaucracy, and to maintain independence. The empire responded with executions and tortures, the destruction of the western part of the Don Cossack Host during the Bulavin Rebellion in 1707–1708, the destruction of Baturyn after Mazepa's rebellion in 1708,[b] and the formal dissolution of the Lower Dnieper Zaporozhian Host after Pugachev's Rebellion in 1775. After the Pugachev rebellion, the Empire renamed the Yaik Host, its capital, the Yaik Cossacks, and the Cossack town of Zimoveyskaya in the Don region to try to encourage the Cossacks to forget the men and their uprisings. It also formally dissolved the Lower Dnieper Zaporozhian Cossack Host, and destroyed their fortress on the Dnieper (the Sich itself). This may in part have been due to the participation of some Zaporozhian and other Ukrainian exiles in Pugachev's rebellion. During his campaign, Pugachev issued manifestos calling for restoration of all borders and freedoms of both the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Lower Dnieper (Nyzovyi in Ukrainian) Cossack Host under the joint protectorate of Russia and the Commonwealth.

By the end of the 18th century, Cossack nations had been transformed into a special military estate (sosloviye), "a military class". The Malorussian Cossacks (the former "Registered Cossacks" ["Town Zaporozhian Host" in Russia]) were excluded from this transformation, but were promoted to membership of various civil estates or classes (often Russian nobility), including the newly created civil estate of Cossacks. Similar to the knights of medieval Europe in feudal times, or to the tribal Roman auxiliaries, the Cossacks had to obtain their cavalry horses, arms, and supplies for their military service at their own expense, the government providing only firearms and supplies.[clarification needed] Lacking horses, the poor served in the Cossack infantry and artillery. In the navy alone, Cossacks served with other peoples as the Russian navy had no Cossack ships and units.[citation needed] Cossack service was considered rigorous.[citation needed]

Cossack forces played an important role in Russia's wars of the 18th–20th centuries, including the Great Northern War, the Seven Years' War, the Crimean War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Caucasus War, many Russo-Persian Wars, many Russo-Turkish Wars, and the First World War. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Tsarist regime used Cossacks extensively to perform police service. Cossacks also served as border guards on national and internal ethnic borders, as had been the case in the Caucasus War.

During the Russian Civil War, Don and Kuban Cossacks were the first people to declare open war against the Bolsheviks. In 1918, Russian Cossacks declared their complete independence, creating two independent states: the Don Republic and the Kuban People's Republic, and the Ukrainian State emerged. Cossack troops formed the effective core of the anti-Bolshevik White Army, and Cossack republics became centers for the anti-Bolshevik White movement. With the victory of the Red Army, Cossack lands were subjected to decossackization and the Holodomor famine. As a result, during the Second World War, their loyalties were divided and both sides had Cossacks fighting in their ranks.[citation needed]

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Cossacks made a systematic return to Russia. Many took an active part in post-Soviet conflicts. In the 2002 Russian Census, 140,028 people reported their ethnicity as Cossack. There are Cossack organizations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, and the United States.

Max Vasmer's etymological dictionary traces the name to the Old East Slavic word козакъ, kozak, a loanword from Cuman, in which cosac meant "free man" but also "adventurer". The ethnonym Kazakh is from the same Turkic root.

In written sources, the name is first attested in the Codex Cumanicus from the 13th century.[17][18] In English, "Cossack" is first attested in 1590.

Cossack bandurist, 1890

It is unclear when people other than the Brodnici and Berladnici (which had a Romanian origin with large slavic influences ) began to settle in the lower reaches of major rivers such as the Don and the Dnieper after the demise of the Khazar state. Their arrival is unlikely before the 13th century, when the Mongols broke the power of the Cumans, who had assimilated the previous population on that territory. It is known that new settlers inherited a lifestyle that long pre-dated their presence, including that of the Turkic Cumans and the Circassian Kassaks. In contrast, Slavic settlements in southern Ukraine started to appear relatively early during Cuman rule, with the earliest, such as Oleshky, dating back to the 11th century.

Early "Proto-Cossack" groups are generally reported to have come into existence within what is now Ukraine in the 13th century as the influence of Cumans grew weaker, although some have ascribed their origins to as early as the mid-8th century. Some historians suggest that the Cossack people were of mixed ethnic origin, descending from Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Turks, Tatars, and others who settled or passed through the vast Steppe. Some Turkologists, however, argue that Cossacks are descendants of the native Cumans of Ukraine, who had lived there long before the Mongol invasion.

As the Grand Duchies of Moscow and Lithuania grew in power, new political entities appeared in the region. These included Moldavia and the Crimean Khanate. In 1261, Slavic people living in the area between the Dniester and the Volga were mentioned in Ruthenian chronicles. Historical records of the Cossacks before the 16th century are scant, as is the history of the Ukrainian lands in that period.

As early as the 15th century, a few individuals ventured into the Wild Fields, the southern frontier regions of Ukraine separating Poland-Lithuania from the Crimean Khanate. These were short-term expeditions, to acquire the resources of what was a naturally rich and fertile region teeming with cattle, wild animals, and fish. This lifestyle, based on subsistence agriculture, hunting, and either returning home in the winter or settling permanently, came to be known as the Cossack way of life. The Crimean–Nogai raids into East Slavic lands caused considerable devastation and depopulation in this area. The Tatar raids also played an important role in the development of the Cossacks.

Map of the Wild Fields in the 17th century

In the 15th century, Cossack society was described as a loose federation of independent communities, which often formed local armies and were entirely independent from neighboring states such as Poland, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Crimean Khanate. According to Hrushevsky, the first mention of Cossacks dates back to the 14th century, although the reference was to people who were either Turkic or of undefined origin.[28] Hrushevsky states that the Cossacks may have descended from the long-forgotten Antes, or from groups from the Berlad territory of the Brodniki in present-day Romania, then a part of the Grand Duchy of Halych. There, the Cossacks may have served as self-defense formations, organized to defend against raids conducted by neighbors. By 1492, the Crimean Khan complained that Kanev and Cherkasy Cossacks had attacked his ship near Tighina (Bender), and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander I promised to find the guilty party. Sometime in the 16th century, there appeared the old Ukrainian Ballad of Cossack Holota, about a Cossack near Kiliya.

In the 16th century, these Cossack societies merged into two independent territorial organizations, as well as other smaller, still-detached groups:

• The Cossacks of Zaporizhia, centered on the lower bends of the Dnieper, in the territory of modern Ukraine, with the fortified capital of Zaporozhian Sich. They were formally recognized as an independent state, the Zaporozhian Host, by a treaty with Poland in 1649.
• The Don Cossack State, on the River Don. Its capital was initially Razdory, then it was moved to Cherkassk, and later to Novocherkassk.

There are also references to the less well-known Tatar Cossacks, including the Nağaybäklär and Meschera (mishari) Cossacks, of whom Sary Azman was the first Don ataman. These groups were assimilated by the Don Cossacks, but had their own irregular Bashkir and Meschera Host up to the end of the 19th century.The Kalmyk and Buryat Cossacks also deserve mention.

Ottoman Turks in battle against the Cossacks, 1592

The Zaporozhian Cossacks lived on the Pontic–Caspian steppe below the Dnieper Rapids (Ukrainian: za porohamy), also known as the Wild Fields. The group became well known, and its numbers increased greatly between the 15th and 17th centuries. The Zaporozhian Cossacks played an important role in European geopolitics, participating in a series of conflicts and alliances with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire.

The Zaporozhians gained a reputation for their raids against the Ottoman Empire and its vassals, although they also sometimes plundered other neighbors. Their actions increased tension along the southern border of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Low-level warfare took place in those territories for most of the period of the Commonwealth (1569–1795).

Zaporozhian Cossack by Konstantin Makovsky, 1884

Prior to the formation of the Zaporizhian Sich, Cossacks had usually been organized by Ruthenian boyars, or princes of the nobility, especially various Lithuanian starostas. Merchants, peasants, and runaways from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Muscovy, and Moldavia also joined the Cossacks.

The first recorded Zaporizhian Host prototype was formed by the starosta of Cherkasy and Kaniv, Dmytro Vyshnevetsky, who built a fortress on the island of Little Khortytsia on the banks of the Lower Dnieper in 1552. The Zaporizhian Host adopted a lifestyle that combined the ancient Cossack order and habits with those of the Knights Hospitaller.

The Cossack structure arose, in part, in response to the struggle against Tatar raids. Socio-economic developments in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were another important factor in the growth of the Ukrainian Cossacks. During the 16th century, serfdom was imposed because of the favorable conditions for grain sales in Western Europe. This subsequently decreased the locals' land allotments and freedom of movement. In addition, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth government attempted to impose Catholicism, and to Polonize the local Ukrainian population. The basic form of resistance and opposition by the locals and burghers was flight and settlement in the sparsely populated steppe.

But the nobility obtained legal ownership of vast expanses of land on the Dnipro from the Polish kings, and then attempted to impose feudal dependency on the local population. Landowners utilized the locals in war, by raising the Cossack registry in times of hostility, and then radically decreasing it and forcing the Cossacks back into serfdom in times of peace.[35] This institutionalized method of control bred discontent among the Cossacks. By the end of the 16th century, they began to revolt, in the uprisings of Kryshtof Kosynsky (1591-1593), Severyn Nalyvaiko (1594-1596), Hryhorii Loboda (1596), Marko Zhmailo (1625), Taras Fedorovych (1630), Ivan Sulyma (1635), Pavlo Pavliuk and Dmytro Hunia (1637), and Yakiv Ostrianyn and Karpo Skydan (1638). All were brutally suppressed and ended by the Polish government.

Foreign and external pressure on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth led to the government making concessions to the Zaporizhian Cossacks. King Stephen Báthory granted them certain rights and freedoms in 1578, and they gradually began to create their foreign policy. They did so independently of the government, and often against its interests, as for example with their role in Moldavian affairs, and with the signing of a treaty with Emperor Rudolf II in the 1590s.

The Zaporizhian Cossacks became particularly strong in the first quarter of the 17th century under the leadership of hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny, who launched successful campaigns against the Tatars and Turks. Tsar Boris Godunov had incurred the hatred of Ukrainian Cossacks by ordering the Don Cossacks to drive away from the Don all the Ukrainian Cossacks fleeing the failed uprisings of the 1590s. This contributed to the Ukrainian Cossacks' willingness to fight against him. In 1604, 2000 Zaporizhian Cossacks fought on the side of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and their proposal for the Tsar (Dmitri I), against the Muscovite army. By September 1604, Dmitri I had gathered a force of 2500 men, of whom 1400 were Cossacks. Two thirds of these "cossacks", however, were in fact Ukrainian civilians, only 500 being professional Ukrainian Cossacks. On July 4, 1610, 4000 Ukrainian Cossacks fought in the Battle of Klushino, on the side of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They helped to defeat a combined Muscovite-Swedish army and facilitate the occupation of Moscow from 1610 to 1611, riding into Moscow with Stanisław Żółkiewski.

The final attempt by King Sigismund and Wladyslav to seize the throne of Muscovy was launched on April 6, 1617. Although Wladyslav was the nominal leader, it was Jan Karol Chodkiewicz who commanded the Commonwealth forces. By October, the towns of Dorogobuzh and Vyazma had surrendered. But a defeat, when the counterattack on Moscow by Chodkiewicz failed between Vyasma and Mozhaysk, prompted the Polish-Lithuanian army to retreat. In 1618, Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny continued his campaign against the Tsardom of Russia on behalf of the Cossacks and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous Russian towns were sacked, including Livny and Yelets. In September 1618, with Chodkiewicz, Konashevych-Sahaidachny laid siege to Moscow, but peace was secured.

After Ottoman-Polish and Polish-Muscovite warfare ceased, the official Cossack register was again decreased. The registered Cossacks (reiestrovi kozaky) were isolated from those who were excluded from the register, and from the Zaporizhian Host. This, together with intensified socioeconomic and national-religious oppression of the other classes in Ukrainian society, led to a number of Cossack uprisings in the 1630s. These eventually culminated in the Khmelnytsky Uprising, led by the hetman of the Zaporizhian Sich, Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

As a result of the mid–17th century Khmelnytsky Uprising, the Zaporozhian Cossacks briefly established an independent state, which later became the autonomous Cossack Hetmanate (1649–1764). It was placed under the suzerainty of the Russian Tsar from 1667, but was ruled by local hetmans for a century. The principal political problem of the hetmans who followed the Pereyeslav Agreement was defending the autonomy of the Hetmanate from Russian/Muscovite centralism. The hetmans Ivan Vyhovsky, Petro Doroshenko and Ivan Mazepa attempted to resolve this by separating Ukraine from Russia.

Relations between the Hetmanate and their new sovereign began to deteriorate after the autumn of 1656, when the Muscovites, going against the wishes of their Cossack partners, signed an armistice with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Vilnius. The Cossacks considered the Vilnius agreement a breach of the contract they had entered into at Pereiaslav. For the Muscovite tsar, the Pereiaslav Agreement signified the unconditional submission of his new subjects; the Ukrainian hetman considered it a conditional contract from which one party could withdraw if the other was not upholding its end of the bargain.

The Ukrainian hetman Ivan Vyhovsky, who succeeded Khmelnytsky in 1657, believed the Tsar was not living up to his responsibility. Accordingly, he concluded a treaty with representatives of the Polish king, who agreed to re-admit Cossack Ukraine by reforming the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to create a third constituent, comparable in status to that of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Union of Hadiach provoked a war between the Cossacks and the Muscovites/Russians that began in the fall of 1658.

In June 1659, the two armies met near the town of Konotop. One army comprised Cossacks, Tatars, and Poles, and the other was led by a top Muscovite military commander of the era, Prince Aleksey Trubetskoy. After terrible losses, Trubetskoy was forced to withdraw to the town of Putyvl on the other side of the border. The battle is regarded as one of the Zaporizhian Cossacks' most impressive victories.

In 1658, Yurii Khmelnytsky was elected hetman of the Zaporizhian Host/Hetmanate, with the endorsement of Moscow and supported by common Cossacks unhappy with the conditions of the Union of Hadiach. In 1659, however, Yurii Khmlenytsky asked the Polish king for protection, leading to the period of Ukrainian history known as The Ruin.

Historian Gary Dean Peterson writes: "With all this unrest, Ivan Mazepa of the Ukrainian Cossacks was looking for an opportunity to secure independence from Russia and Poland".[45] In response to Mazepa's alliance with Charles XII of Sweden, Peter I ordered the sacking of the then capital of the Hetmanate, Baturyn. The city was burnt and looted, and 11,000 to 14,000 of its inhabitants were killed. The destruction of the Hetmanate's capital was a signal to Mazepa and the Hetmanate's inhabitants of severe punishment for disloyalty to the Tsar's authority.[46] One of the Zaporizhian Sichs, the Chortomlyk Sich built at the mouth of the Chortomlyk River in 1652, was also destroyed by Peter I's forces in 1709, in retribution for decision of the hetman of the Chortmylyk Sich, Kost Hordienko, to ally with Mazepa.

The Zaporozhian Sich had its own authorities, its own "Nizovy" Zaporozhsky Host, and its own land. In the second half of the 18th century, Russian authorities destroyed this Zaporozhian Host, and gave its lands to landlords. Some Cossacks moved to the Danube Delta region, where they formed the Danubian Sich under Ottoman rule. To prevent further defection of Cossacks, the Russian government restored the special Cossack status of the majority of Zaporozhian Cossacks. This allowed them to unite in the Host of Loyal Zaporozhians, and later to reorganize into other hosts, of which the Black Sea Host was most important. Because of land scarcity resulting from the distribution of Zaporozhian Sich lands among landlords, they eventually moved on to the Kuban region.

Victorious Zaporozhian Cossack with the head of a Tatar, 1786 print

The majority of Danubian Sich Cossacks moved first to the Azov region in 1828, and later joined other former Zaporozhian Cossacks in the Kuban region. Groups were generally identified by faith rather than language in that period, and most descendants of Zaporozhian Cossacks in the Kuban region are bilingual, speaking both Russian and Balachka, the local Kuban dialect of central Ukrainian. Their folklore is largely Ukrainian.[c] The predominant view of ethnologists and historians is that its origins lie in the common culture dating back to the Black Sea Cossacks.

The major powers tried to exploit Cossack warmongering for their own purposes. In the 16th century, with the power of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth extending south, the Zaporozhian Cossacks were mostly, if tentatively, regarded by the Commonwealth as their subjects. Registered Cossacks formed a part of the Commonwealth army until 1699.

Bohdan Khmelnytsky's entry to Kyiv by Mykola Ivasyuk, end of the 19th century

Around the end of the 16th century, increasing Cossack aggression strained relations between the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. Cossacks had begun raiding Ottoman territories in the second part of the 16th century. The Polish government could not control them, but was held responsible as the men were nominally its subjects. In retaliation, Tatars living under Ottoman rule launched raids into the Commonwealth, mostly in the southeast territories. Cossack pirates responded by raiding wealthy trading port-cities in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, as these were just two days away by boat from the mouth of the Dnieper river. In 1615 and 1625, Cossacks razed suburbs of Constantinople, forcing the Ottoman Sultan to flee his palace.[54] In 1637, the Zaporozhian Cossacks, joined by the Don Cossacks, captured the strategic Ottoman fortress of Azov, which guarded the Don.

Consecutive treaties between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth called for the governments to keep the Cossacks and Tatars in check, but neither enforced the treaties strongly. The Polish forced the Cossacks to burn their boats and stop raiding by sea, but the activity did not cease entirely. During this time, the Habsburg Monarchy sometimes covertly hired Cossack raiders against the Ottomans, to ease pressure on their own borders. Many Cossacks and Tatars developed longstanding enmity due to the losses of their raids. The ensuing chaos and cycles of retaliation often turned the entire southeastern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth border into a low-intensity war zone. It catalyzed escalation of Commonwealth–Ottoman warfare, from the Moldavian Magnate Wars (1593–1617) to the Battle of Cecora (1620), and campaigns in the Polish–Ottoman War of 1633–1634.

An officer of the Zaporozhian Cossacks in 1720

Cossack numbers increased when the warriors were joined by peasants escaping serfdom in Russia and dependence in the Commonwealth. Attempts by the szlachta to turn the Zaporozhian Cossacks into peasants eroded the formerly strong Cossack loyalty towards the Commonwealth. The government constantly rebuffed Cossack ambitions for recognition as equal to the szlachta. Plans for transforming the Polish–Lithuanian two-nation Commonwealth into a Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth made little progress, due to the unpopularity among the Ruthenian szlachta of the idea of Ruthenian Cossacks being equal to them and theirs elite becoming members of the szlachta. The Cossacks' strong historic allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox Church also put them at odds with officials of the Roman Catholic-dominated Commonwealth. Tensions increased when Commonwealth policies turned from relative tolerance to suppression of the Eastern Orthodox Church after the Union of Brest. The Cossacks became strongly anti-Roman Catholic, an attitude that became synonymous with anti-Polish.

The waning loyalty of the Cossacks, and the szlachta's arrogance towards them, resulted in several Cossack uprisings against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early 17th century. Finally, the King's adamant refusal to accede to the demand to expand the Cossack Registry prompted the largest and most successful of these: the Khmelnytsky Uprising, that began in 1648. Some Cossacks, including the Polish szlachta in Ukraine, converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, divided the lands of the Ruthenian szlachta, and became the Cossack szlachta. The uprising was one of a series of catastrophic events for the Commonwealth, known as The Deluge, which greatly weakened the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and set the stage for its disintegration 100 years later.

Kozacy (Cossacks), drawing by Stanisław Masłowski, c. 1900 (National Museum in Warsaw)

Influential relatives of the Ruthenian and Lithuanian szlachta in Moscow helped to create the Russian–Polish alliance against Khmelnitsky's Cossacks, portrayed as rebels against order and against the private property of the Ruthenian Orthodox szlachta. Don Cossacks' raids on Crimea left Khmelnitsky without the aid of his usual Tatar allies. From the Russian perspective, the rebellion ended with the 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav, in which, in order to overcome the Russian–Polish alliance against them, the Khmelnitsky Cossacks pledged their loyalty to the Russian Tsar. In return, the Tsar guaranteed them his protection; recognized the Cossack starshyna (nobility), their property, and their autonomy under his rule; and freed the Cossacks from the Polish sphere of influence and the land claims of the Ruthenian szlachta.

Only some of the Ruthenian szlachta of the Chernigov region, who had their origins in the Moscow state, saved their lands from division among Cossacks and became part of the Cossack szlachta. After this, the Ruthenian szlachta refrained from plans to have a Moscow Tsar as king of the Commonwealth, its own Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki later becoming king. The last, ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to rebuild the Polish–Cossack alliance and create a Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth was the 1658 Treaty of Hadiach. The treaty was approved by the Polish king and the Sejm, and by some of the Cossack starshyna, including hetman Ivan Vyhovsky. The treaty failed, however, because the starshyna were divided on the issue, and it had even less support among rank-and-file Cossacks.

Under Russian rule, the Cossack nation of the Zaporozhian Host was divided into two autonomous republics of the Moscow Tsardom: the Cossack Hetmanate, and the more independent Zaporizhia. These organisations gradually lost their autonomy, and were abolished by Catherine II in the late 18th century. The Hetmanate became the governorship of Little Russia, and Zaporizhia was absorbed into New Russia.

In 1775, the Lower Dnieper Zaporozhian Host was destroyed. Later, its high-ranking Cossack leaders were exiled to Siberia, its last chief, Petro Kalnyshevsky, becoming a prisoner of the Solovetsky Islands. The Cossacks established a new Sich in the Ottoman Empire without any involvement of the punished Cossack leaders.

With the destruction of the Zaporizhian Sich, many Zaporizhian Cossacks, especially the vast majority of Old Believers and other people from Greater Russia, defected to Turkey. There they settled in the area of the Danube river, and founded a new Sich. Some of these Cossacks settled on the Tisa river in the Austrian Empire, also forming a new Sich. A number of Ukrainian-speaking Eastern Orthodox Cossacks fled to territory under the control of the Ottoman Empire across the Danube, together with Cossacks of Greater Russian origin. There they formed a new host, before rejoining others in the Kuban. Many Ukrainian peasants and adventurers later joined the Danubian Sich. While Ukrainian folklore remembers the Danubian Sich, other new siches of Loyal Zaporozhians on the Bug and Dniester rivers did not achieve such fame.

The majority of Tisa and Danubian Sich Cossacks returned to Russia in 1828. They settled in the area north of the Azov Sea, becoming known as the Azov Cossacks. But the majority of Zaporizhian Cossacks, particularly the Ukrainian-speaking Eastern Orthodox, remained loyal to Russia despite Sich destruction. This group became known as the Black Sea Cossacks. Both Azov and Black Sea Cossacks were resettled to colonize the Kuban steppe, a crucial foothold for Russian expansion in the Caucasus.

During the Cossack sojourn in Turkey, a new host was founded that numbered around 12,000 people by the end of 1778. Their settlement on the Russian border was approved by the Ottoman Empire after the Cossacks officially vowed to serve the sultan. Yet internal conflict, and the political manoeuvring of the Russian Empire, led to splits among the Cossacks. Some of the runaway Cossacks returned to Russia, where the Russian army used them to form new military bodies that also incorporated Greeks, Albanians, Crimean Tatars, and Gypsies. After the Russo-Turkish war of 1787–1792, most of these Cossacks were absorbed into the Black Sea Cossack Host, together with Loyal Zaporozhians. The Black Sea Host moved to the Kuban steppe. Most of the remaining Cossacks who had stayed in the Danube Delta returned to Russia in 1828, creating the Azov Cossack Host between Berdyansk and Mariupol. In 1860, more Cossacks were resettled in the North Caucasus, and merged into the Kuban Cossack Host.

Cossack wedding, by Józef Brandt

Imperial Russian Cossacks (left) in Paris in 1814

The native land of the Cossacks is defined by a line of Russian town-fortresses located on the border with the steppe, and stretching from the middle Volga to Ryazan and Tula, then breaking abruptly to the south and extending to the Dnieper via Pereyaslavl. This area was settled by a population of free people practicing various trades and crafts.

These people, constantly facing the Tatar warriors on the steppe frontier, received the Turkic name Cossacks (Kazaks), which was then extended to other free people in Russia. Many Cumans, who had assimilated Khazars, retreated to the Principality of Ryazan (Grand Duchy of Ryazan) after the Mongol invasion. The oldest mention in the annals is of Cossacks of the Russian principality of Ryazan serving the principality in the battle against the Tatars in 1444. In the 16th century, the Cossacks (primarily of Ryazan) were grouped in military and trading communities on the open steppe, and began to migrate into the area of the Don.

Ural Cossacks, c. 1799

Cossacks served as border guards and protectors of towns, forts, settlements, and trading posts. They performed policing functions on the frontiers, and also came to represent an integral part of the Russian army. In the 16th century, to protect the borderland area from Tatar invasions, Cossacks carried out sentry and patrol duties, guarding against Crimean Tatars and nomads of the Nogai Horde in the steppe region.

The most popular weapons of the Cossack cavalrymen were the sabre, or shashka, and the long spear.

From the 16th to 19th centuries, Russian Cossacks played a key role in the expansion of the Russian Empire into Siberia (particularly by Yermak Timofeyevich), the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Cossacks also served as guides to most Russian expeditions of civil and military geographers and surveyors, traders, and explorers. In 1648, the Russian Cossack Semyon Dezhnyov discovered a passage between North America and Asia. Cossack units played a role in many wars in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, including the Russo-Turkish Wars, the Russo-Persian Wars, and the annexation of Central Asia.

Semirechye Cossack, Semirechye, 1911

Western Europeans had a lot of contact with Cossacks during the Seven Years' War, and had seen Cossack patrols in Berlin. During Napoleon's Invasion of Russia, Cossacks were the Russian soldiers most feared by the French troops. Napoleon himself stated, "Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them." Cossacks also took part in the partisan war deep inside French-occupied Russian territory, attacking communications and supply lines. These attacks, carried out by Cossacks along with Russian light cavalry and other units, were one of the first developments of guerrilla warfare tactics and, to some extent, special operations as we know them today.

A Cossack from the Don area, 1821, illustration from Fyodor Solntsev, 1869

The Don Cossack Host (Russian: Всевеликое Войско Донское, Vsevelikoye Voysko Donskoye) was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic, located in present-day Southern Russia. It existed from the end of the 16th century until the early 20th century. There are two main theories of the origin of the Don Cossacks. Most respected historians support the migration theory, according to which they were Slavic colonists. The various autochthonous theories popular among the Cossacks themselves do not find confirmation in genetic studies. The gene pool comprises mainly the East Slavic component, with a significant Ukrainian contribution. There is no influence of the peoples of the Caucasus; and the steppe populations, represented by the Nogais, have only limited impact.

The majority of Don Cossacks are either Eastern Orthodox or Christian Old Believers (старообрядцы).Prior to the Russian Civil War, there were numerous religious minorities, including Muslims, Subbotniks, and Jews.

Kuban Cossacks are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Although many Cossack groups came to inhabit the Western North Caucasus, most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of the Black Sea Cossack Host (originally the Zaporozhian Cossacks), and the Caucasus Line Cossack Host.

Kuban Cossacks in the late 19th century

A distinguishing feature is the Chupryna or Oseledets hairstyle, a roach haircut popular among some Kubanians. This tradition traces back to the Zaporizhian Sich.

The Terek Cossack Host was created in 1577 by free Cossacks resettling from the Volga to the Terek River. Local Terek Cossacks joined this host later. In 1792, the host was included in the Caucasus Line Cossack Host, from which it separated again in 1860, with Vladikavkaz as its capital. In 1916, the population of the host was 255,000, within an area of 1.9 million desyatinas.

Ural Cossacks skirmish with Kazakhs (the Russians originally called the Kazakhs 'Kirgiz')

The Ural Cossack Host was formed from the Ural Cossacks, who had settled along the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the river's former name, changed by the government after Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775. The Ural Cossacks spoke Russian, and identified as having primarily Russian ancestry, but also incorporated many Tatars into their ranks.[66] In 1577, twenty years after Moscow had conquered the Volga from Kazan to Astrakhan, the government sent troops to disperse pirates and raiders along the Volga. Among them was Yermak Timofeyevich. Some escaped to flee southeast to the Ural River, where they joined the Yaik Cossacks. In 1580, they captured Saraichik. By 1591, they were fighting on behalf of the government in Moscow. Over the next century, they were officially recognized by the imperial government.

Yaik (Orenburg) Cossacks from Sakmara settlement; Alexander Mertemianovich Pogadaev standing at left, 1912

As a largely independent nation, the Cossacks had to defend their liberties and democratic traditions against the ever-expanding Muscovy, succeeded by Russian Empire. Their tendency to act independently of the Tsardom of Muscovy increased friction. The Tsardom's power began to grow in 1613, with the ascension of Mikhail Romanov to the throne following the Time of Troubles. The government began attempting to integrate the Cossacks into the Muscovite Tsardom by granting elite status and enforcing military service, thus creating divisions among the Cossacks themselves as they fought to retain their own traditions. The government's efforts to alter their traditional nomadic lifestyle resulted in the Cossacks being involved in nearly all the major disturbances in Russia over a 200-year period, including the rebellions led by Stepan Razin and Yemelyan Pugachev.

Stenka Razin Sailing in the Caspian Sea, by Vasily Surikov, 1906

As Muscovy regained stability, discontent grew within the serf and peasant populations. Under Alexis Romanov, Mikhail's son, the Code of 1649 divided the Russian population into distinct and fixed hereditary categories.[68]: 52  The Code increased tax revenue for the central government, and put an end to nomadism, to stabilize the social order by fixing people on the same land and in the same occupation as their families. Peasants were tied to the land, and townsmen were forced to take on their fathers' occupations. The increased tax burden fell mainly on the peasants, further widening the gap between poor and wealthy. Human and material resources became limited as the government organized more military expeditions, putting even greater strain on the peasants. War with Poland and Sweden in 1662 led to a fiscal crisis, and rioting across the country.[68]: 58  Taxes, harsh conditions, and the gap between social classes drove peasants and serfs to flee. Many went to the Cossacks, knowing that the Cossacks would accept refugees and free them.

The Cossacks experienced difficulties under Tsar Alexis as more refugees arrived daily. The Tsar gave the Cossacks a subsidy of food, money, and military supplies in return for acting as border defense.[68]: 60  These subsidies fluctuated often; a source of conflict between the Cossacks and the government. The war with Poland diverted necessary food and military shipments to the Cossacks as fugitive peasants swelled the population of the Cossack host. The influx of refugees troubled the Cossacks, not only because of the increased demand for food, but also because their large number meant the Cossacks could not absorb them into their culture by way of the traditional apprenticeship. Instead of taking these steps for proper assimilation into Cossack society, the runaway peasants spontaneously declared themselves Cossacks and lived alongside the true Cossacks, laboring or working as barge-haulers to earn food.

Divisions among the Cossacks began to emerge as conditions worsened and Mikhail's son Alexis took the throne. Older Cossacks began to settle and become prosperous, enjoying privileges earned through obeying and assisting the Muscovite system.  The old Cossacks started giving up the traditions and liberties that had been worth dying for, to obtain the pleasures of an elite life. The lawless and restless runaway peasants who called themselves Cossacks looked for adventure and revenge against the nobility that had caused them suffering. These Cossacks did not receive the government subsidies that the old Cossacks enjoyed, and had to work harder and longer for food and money.

The divisions between the elite and the lawless led to the formation of a Cossack army, beginning in 1667 under Stenka Razin, and ultimately to the failure of Razin's rebellion.

Stenka Razin, by Ivan Bilibin

Stenka Razin was born into an elite Cossack family, and had made many diplomatic visits to Moscow before organizing his rebellion. The Cossacks were Razin's main supporters, and followed him during his first Persian campaign in 1667, plundering and pillaging Persian cities on the Caspian Sea. They returned in 1669, ill and hungry, tired from fighting, but rich with plundered goods. Muscovy tried to gain support from the old Cossacks, asking the ataman, or Cossack chieftain, to prevent Razin from following through with his plans. But the ataman was Razin's godfather, and was swayed by Razin's promise of a share of expedition wealth. His reply was that the elite Cossacks were powerless against the band of rebels. The elite did not see much threat from Razin and his followers either, although they realized he could cause them problems with the Muscovite system if his following developed into a rebellion against the central government.

Razin and his followers began to capture cities at the start of the rebellion, in 1669. They seized the towns of Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan, Saratov, and Samara, implementing democratic rule and releasing peasants from slavery as they went. Razin envisioned a united Cossack republic throughout the southern steppe, in which the towns and villages would operate under the democratic, Cossack style of government. Their sieges often took place in the runaway peasant Cossacks' old towns, leading them to wreak havoc there and take revenge on their old masters. The elder Cossacks began to see the rebels' advance as a problem, and in 1671 decided to comply with the government in order to receive more subsidies.  On April 14, ataman Yakovlev led elders to destroy the rebel camp. They captured Razin, taking him soon afterward to Moscow to be executed.

Razin's rebellion marked the beginning of the end of traditional Cossack practices. In August 1671, Muscovite envoys administered the oath of allegiance and the Cossacks swore loyalty to the tsar. While they still had internal autonomy, the Cossacks became Muscovite subjects, a transition that was a dividing point again in Pugachev's Rebellion.

Don Cossack in the early 1800s

For the Cossack elite, noble status within the empire came at the price of their old liberties in the 18th century. Advancing agricultural settlement began to force the Cossacks to give up their traditional nomadic ways and adopt new forms of government. The government steadily changed the entire culture of the Cossacks. Peter the Great increased Cossack service obligations, and mobilized their forces to fight in far-off wars. Peter began establishing non-Cossack troops in fortresses along the Yaik River. In 1734, construction of a government fortress at Orenburg gave Cossacks a subordinate role in border defense.   When the Yaik Cossacks sent a delegation to Peter with their grievances, Peter stripped the Cossacks of their autonomous status, and subordinated them to the War College rather than the College of Foreign Affairs. This consolidated the Cossacks' transition from border patrol to military servicemen. Over the next fifty years, the central government responded to Cossack grievances with arrests, floggings, and exiles.

Under Catherine the Great, beginning in 1762, the Russian peasants and Cossacks again faced increased taxation, heavy military conscription, and grain shortages, as before Razin's rebellion. Peter III had extended freedom to former church serfs, freeing them from obligations and payments to church authorities, and had freed other peasants from serfdom, but Catherine did not follow through on these reforms. In 1767, the Empress refused to accept grievances directly from the peasantry. Peasants fled once again to the lands of the Cossacks, in particular the Yaik Host, whose people were committed to the old Cossack traditions. The changing government also burdened the Cossacks, extending its reach to reform Cossack traditions. Among ordinary Cossacks, hatred of the elite and central government rose. In 1772, a six–month open rebellion ensued between the Yaik Cossacks and the central government.

Yemelyan Pugachev in prison

Conquest of Siberia by Yermak, painting by Vasily Surikov

Cossack relations with the Tsardom of Russia were varied from the outset. At times they supported Russian military operations; at other times they rebelled against the central power. After one such uprising at the end of the 18th century, Russian forces destroyed the Zaporozhian Host. Many of the Cossacks who had remained loyal to the Russian Monarch and continued their service later moved to the Kuban. Others, choosing to continue a mercenary role, escaped control in the large Danube Delta. The service of the Cossacks in the Napoleonic wars led them to be celebrated as Russian folk heroes, and throughout the 19th century a "powerful myth" was promoted by the government that portrayed the Cossacks as having a special and unique bond to the Emperor. This image as the Cossacks as the ultra-patriotic defenders of not only Russia, but also of the House of Romanov was embraced by many ordinary Cossacks, making them into a force for conservatism.

By the 19th century, the Russian Empire had annexed the territory of the Cossack Hosts, and controlled them by providing privileges for their service such as exemption from taxation and allowing them to own the land they farmed. At this time, the Cossacks served as military forces in many wars conducted by the Russian Empire. Cossacks were considered excellent for scouting and reconnaissance duties, and for ambushes. Their tactics in open battle were generally inferior to those of regular soldiers, such as the Dragoons. In 1840, the Cossack hosts included the Don, Black Sea, Astrakhan, Little Russia, Azov, Danube, Ural, Stavropol, Mesherya, Orenburg, Siberian, Tobolsk, Tomsk, Yeniseisk, Irkutsk, Sabaikal, Yakutsk, and Tartar voiskos. In the 1890s, the Ussuri, Semirechensk, and Amur Cossacks were added; the last had a regiment of elite mounted rifles.

Increasingly as the 19th century went on, the Cossacks served as a mounted para-military police force in all of the various provinces of the vast Russian Empire, covering a territory stretching across Eurasia from what is now modern Poland to the banks of the river Amur that formed the Russian-Chinese border. The police forces of the Russian Empire, especially in rural areas, were undermanned owing to the low wages while the officers of the Imperial Russian Army hated having their units deployed to put down domestic unrest, which was viewed as destructive towards morale and possibly a source of mutiny. For the government, deploying Cossacks as a para-military police force was the best solution as the Cossacks were viewed as one of the social groups most loyal to the House of Romanov while their isolation from local populations was felt to make them immune to revolutionary appeals. Traditionally, Cossacks were viewed in Russia as dashing, romantic horsemen with a rebellious and wild aura about them, but their deployment as a mounted police force gave them a "novel" image as a rather violent and thuggish police force fiercely committed to upholding the social order. This change from an irregular cavalry force that fought against the enemies of Russia such as the Ottoman Empire and France to a mounted police force deployed against the subjects of the empire caused much disquiet within the Cossack Hosts as it was contrary to the heroic ethos of frontier warfare that the Cossacks cherished.

In 1879, the Shah of Iran, Nasir al-Din, who had been impressed with the equestrian skills and distinctive uniforms of the Cossacks while on a visit to Russia the previous year, requested that the Emperor Alexander II sent some Cossacks to train a Cossack force for himself. Alexander granted his request and later in 1879 a group of 9 Cossacks led by Kuban Cossack Colonel Aleksey Domantovich arrived in Tehran to train the Persian Cossack Brigade. The shah very much liked the colorful uniforms of the Cossacks and Domantovich devised uniforms for one regiment of the brigade based on the uniforms of the Kuban Cossack Host and another regiment had its uniform based on the Terek Cossack Host. The uniforms of the Cossacks were based on the flamboyant costumes of the peoples of the Caucasus, and what in Russia were viewed as exotic and colorful uniforms were viewed in Iran as a symbol of Russianness. Nasir al-Din, who was widely regarded as a deeply superficial and shallow man, was not interested in having his Cossack Brigade be an effective military force, and for him merely seeing his brigade ride before him while dressed in their brightly colored uniforms was quite enough.[75] Over the shah's indifference, Domantovich and his Cossacks worked hard on training the Cossack Brigade, which became the only disciplined unit in the entire Persian Army, and thus of considerable importance in maintaining the shah's authority.

Cossack patrol near Baku oil fields, 1905

y the end of the 19th century, Cossack communities enjoyed a privileged tax-free status in the Russian Empire, although they had a 20-year military service commitment (reduced to 18 years from 1909). They were on active duty for five years, but could fulfill their remaining obligation with the reserves. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Cossacks numbered 4.5 million. They were organized as independent regional hosts, each comprising a number of regiments. The need for the government to call up Cossack men to serve either with the Army or a mounted police force caused many social and economic problems, which compounded by the growing impoverishment the communities of the Hosts.

Treated as a separate and elite community by the Tsar, the Cossacks rewarded his government with strong loyalty. His administration frequently used Cossack units to suppress domestic disorder, especially during the Russian Revolution of 1905. The Imperial Government depended heavily on the perceived reliability of the Cossacks. By the early 20th century, their decentralized communities and semi-feudal military service were coming to be seen as obsolete. The Russian Army Command, which had worked to professionalize its forces, considered the Cossacks less well disciplined, trained, and mounted than the hussars, dragoons, and lancers of the regular cavalry. The Cossack qualities of initiative and rough-riding skills were not always fully appreciated. As a result, Cossack units were frequently broken up into small detachments for use as scouts, messengers, or picturesque escorts.

In 1905, the Cossack hosts experienced deep mobilization of their menfolk amid the fighting of the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria and the outbreak of revolution within the Russian Empire. Like other peoples of the empire, some Cossack stanitsas voiced grievances against the regime by defying mobilization orders, or by making relatively liberal political demands. But these infractions were eclipsed by the prominent role of Cossack detachments in stampeding demonstrators and restoring order in the countryside. Subsequently, the wider population viewed the Cossacks as instruments of reaction. Tsar Nicholas II reinforced this concept by issuing new charters, medals, and bonuses to Cossack units in recognition for their performance during the Revolution of 1905

Wiosna roku 1905 (Spring of 1905) by Stanisław Masłowski, 1906 – Orenburg Cossacks patrol at Ujazdowskie Avenue in Warsaw (National Museum i

In September 1906, reflecting the success of the Cossacks in putting down the Revolution of 1905, Polkovnik (Captain) Vladimir Liakhov was sent to Iran to command the train and lead the Persian Cossack Brigade. Liakhov had led a Cossack squad in putting down the revolution in the Caucasus, and following the outbreak of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran he was sent to Tehran to recognize the Cossack Brigade as a force for power to the shah. The Persian Cossack Brigade had not been paid for months and proved to be dubious loyalty to the House of Qajar during the Constructional revolution while its Russian officers were uncertain what to do with Russia itself in revolution. Liakhov, a vigorous, able, and reactionary officer firmly committed to upholding absolute monarchies whatever in Russia or Iran, transformed the Persian Cossack Brigade into a mounted para-military police force rather than as a combat force. Liakhov was close to the new Shah, Mohammed Ali, who ascended to the Peacock Throne in January 1907, and it was due to the shah's patronage that Liakhov transformed the Persian Cossack Brigade into the main bulwark of the Iranian state.[80] In June 1908, Liakhov led the Cossack Brigade in bombarding the Majlis (Parliament) while being appointed military governor of Tehran as the shah attempted to do away with the constitution his father had been forced to grant in 1906 Reza Khan, who became the first Iranian to command the Cossack Brigade led the coup d'état in 1921 and in 1925 deposed the Qajars to found a new dynasty.

After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Cossacks became a key component in the cavalry of the Imperial Russian Army. The mounted Cossacks made up 38 regiments, plus some infantry battalions and 52 horse artillery batteries. Initially, each Russian cavalry division included a regiment of Cossacks in addition to regular units of hussars, lancers, and dragoons. By 1916, the Cossacks' wartime strength had expanded to 160 regiments, plus 176 independent sotnias (squadrons) employed as detached units.

The importance of cavalry in the frontlines faded after the opening phase of the war settled into a stalemate. During the remainder of the war, Cossack units were dismounted to fight in trenches, held in reserve to exploit a rare breakthrough, or assigned various duties in the rear. Those duties included rounding up deserters, providing escorts to war prisoners, and razing villages and farms in accordance with Russia's scorched earth policy.

Russian Cossack General Baratov meeting with British officers and leaders of Kurdish tribes in Kermanshah, 1917

At the outbreak of the disorder on 8 March 1917 that led to the overthrow of the tsarist regime, approximately 3,200 Cossacks from the Don, Kuban, and Terek Hosts were stationed in Petrograd. Although they comprised only a fraction of the 300,000 troops in the proximity of the Russian capital, their general defection on the second day of unrest (10 March) enthused raucous crowds and stunned the authorities and remaining loyal units.

In the aftermath of the February Revolution, the Cossacks hosts were authorized by the War Ministry of the Russian Provisional Government to overhaul their administrations. Cossack assemblies (known as krugs or, in the case of the Kuban Cossacks, a rada) were organized at regional level to elect atamans and pass resolutions. At national level, an all-Cossack congress was convened in Petrograd. This congress formed the Union of Cossack Hosts, ostensibly to represent the interests of Cossacks across Russia.

During the course of 1917, the nascent Cossack governments formed by the krugs and atamans increasingly challenged the Provisional Government's authority in the borderlands. The various Cossack governments themselves faced rivals, in the form of national councils organized by neighboring minorities, and of soviets and zemstvos formed by non-Cossack Russians, especially the so-called "outlanders" who had immigrated to Cossack lands.

Soon after the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd on 7–8 November 1917, most Cossack atamans and their government refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new regime. The Don Cossack ataman, Aleksey Kaledin, went as far as to invite opponents of the Bolsheviks to the Don Host. But the position of many Cossack governments was far from secure, even within the boundaries of their hosts. In some areas, soviets formed by outlanders and soldiers rivaled the Cossack government, and ethnic minorities also tried to acquire a measure of self-rule. Even the Cossack communities themselves were divided, as the atamans tended to represent the interests of prosperous landowners and the officer corps. Poorer Cossacks, and those serving in the army, were susceptible to Bolshevik propaganda promising to spare “toiling Cossacks” from land appropriation.

The unwillingness of rank-and-file Cossacks to vigorously defend the Cossack government enabled the Red Army to occupy the vast majority of Cossack lands by late spring of 1918. But the Bolsheviks’ policy of requisitioning grain and foodstuffs from the countryside to supply Russia's starving northern cities quickly fomented revolt among Cossack communities. These Cossack rebels elected new atamans and made common cause with other anticommunist forces, such as the Volunteer Army in South Russia. Subsequently, the Cossack homelands became bases for the White movement during the Russian Civil War.

Throughout the civil war, Cossacks sometimes fought as an independent ally, and other times as an auxiliary, of White armies. In South Russia, the Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR) under General Anton Denikin relied heavily on conscripts from the Don and Kuban Cossack Hosts to fill their ranks. Through the Cossacks, the White armies acquired experienced, skilled horsemen that the Red Army was unable to match until late in the conflict. But the relationship between Cossack governments and the White leaders was frequently acrimonious. Cossack units were often ill-disciplined, and prone to bouts of looting and violence that caused the peasantry to resent the Whites.  In Ukraine, Kuban and Terek Cossack squadrons carried out pogroms against Jews, despite orders from Denikin condemning such activity.  Kuban Cossack politicians, wanting a semi-independent state of their own, frequently agitated against the AFSR command.  In the Russian Far East, anticommunist Transbaikal and Ussuri Cossacks undermined the rear of Siberia's White armies by disrupting traffic on the Trans-Siberian Railway and engaging in acts of banditry that fueled a potent insurgency in that region.

As the Red Army gained the initiative in the civil war during late 1919 and early 1920, Cossack soldiers, their families, and sometimes entire stanitsas retreated with the Whites. Some continued to fight with the Whites in the conflict's waning stages in Crimea and the Russian Far East. As many as 80,000–100,000 Cossacks eventually joined the defeated Whites in exile.

Although the Cossacks were sometimes portrayed by Bolsheviks and, later, émigré historians, as a monolithic counterrevolutionary group during the civil war, there were many Cossacks who fought with the Red Army throughout the conflict. Many poorer Cossack communities also remained receptive to communist propaganda. In late 1918 and early 1919, widespread desertion and defection among Don, Ural, and Orenburg Cossacks fighting with the Whites produced a military crisis that was exploited by the Red Army in those sectors.  After the main White armies were defeated in early 1920, many Cossack soldiers switched their allegiance to the Bolsheviks, and fought with the Red Army against the Poles and in other operations.

On 22 December 1917, the Council of People's Commissars effectively abolished the Cossack estate by ending their military service requirements and privileges After the widespread anticommunist rebellions among Cossacks in 1918, the Soviet regime's approach hardened in early 1919, when the Red Army occupied Cossack districts in the Urals and northern Don. The Bolsheviks embarked on a genocidal policy of “de-Cossackization”, intended to end the Cossack threat to the Soviet regime. This was pursued through resettlement, widespread executions of Cossack veterans from the White armies, and favoring the outlanders within the Cossack hosts. Ultimately, the de-Cossackization campaign led to a renewed rebellion among Cossacks in Soviet-occupied districts, and produced a new round of setbacks for the Red Army in 1919. 

When the victorious Red Army again occupied Cossack districts in late 1919 and 1920, the Soviet regime did not officially reauthorize the implementation of de-Cossackization. There is, however, disagreement among historians as to the degree of Cossack persecution by the Soviet regime. For example, the Cossack hosts were broken up among new provinces or autonomous republics. Some Cossacks, especially in areas of the former Terek host, were resettled so their lands could be turned over to natives displaced from them during the initial Russian and Cossack colonization of the area. At the local level, the stereotype that Cossacks were inherent counterrevolutionaries likely persisted among some Communist officials, causing them to target, or discriminate against, Cossacks despite orders from Moscow to focus on class enemies among Cossacks rather than the Cossack people in general.

Rebellions in the former Cossack territories erupted occasionally during the interwar period. In 1920–1921, disgruntlement with continued Soviet grain-requisitioning activities provoked a series of revolts among Cossack and outlander communities in South Russia. The former Cossack territories of South Russia and the Urals also experienced a devastating famine in 1921–1922. In 1932–1933, another famine, known as the Holodomor, devastated Ukraine and some parts of South Russia, causing a population decline of about 20–30%. While urban areas were less affected, the decline was even higher in the rural areas, populated largely by ethnic Cossacks. Robert Conquest estimates the number of famine-related deaths in the Northern Caucasus at about one million. Government officials expropriated grain and other produce from rural Cossack families, leaving them to starve and die. Many families were forced from their homes in the severe winter and froze to death. Mikhail Sholokhov's letters to Joseph Stalin document the conditions and widespread deaths, as do eyewitness accounts. Besides starvation, the collectivization and dekulakization campaigns of the early 1930s threatened Cossacks with deportation to labor camps, or outright execution by Soviet security organs.

In April 1936, the Soviet regime began to relax its restrictions on Cossacks, allowing them to serve openly in the Red Army. Two existing cavalry divisions were renamed as Cossack divisions, and three new Cossack cavalry divisions were established. Under the new Soviet designation, anyone from the former Cossack territories of the North Caucasus, provided they were not Circassians or other ethnic minorities, could claim Cossack status.

Konstantin I. Nedorubov: Don Cossack, Hero of the Soviet Union, full Knight of the Order of St. George. Aged 52 when WWII began, he did not

In World War II, during the German invasion of the Soviet Union, many Cossacks continued to serve in the Red Army. Some fought as cavalry in the Cossack divisions, such as the 17th Kuban Cossack Cavalry Corps and the famous Lev Dovator Corps, later awarded the honorific designation “guard” in recognition of its performance. Other Cossacks fought as partisans, although the partisan movement did not acquire significant traction during the German occupation of the traditional Cossack homelands in the North Caucasus.

The 4th Guards Cossacks Cavalry Corps took part in the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 on Red Squar.

The Cossack emigration consisted largely of relatively young men who had served, and retreated with, the White armies. Although hostile to communism, the Cossack émigrés remained broadly divided over whether their people should pursue a separatist course to acquire independence or retain their close ties with a future post-Soviet Russia. Many quickly became disillusioned with life abroad. Throughout the 1920s, thousands of exiled Cossacks voluntarily returned to Russia through repatriation efforts sponsored by France, the League of Nations, and even the Soviet Union.

The Cossacks who remained abroad settled primarily in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, France, Xinjiang, and Manchuria. Some managed to create farming communities in Yugoslavia and Manchuria, but most eventually took up employment as laborers in construction, agriculture, or industry. A few showcased their lost culture to foreigners by performing stunts in circuses or serenading audiences in choirs.

Cossacks who were determined to carry on the fight against communism frequently found employment with foreign powers hostile to Soviet Russia. In Manchuria, thousands of Cossacks and White émigrés enlisted in the army of that region's warlord, Zhang Zuolin. After Japan's Kwantung Army occupied Manchuria in 1932, the ataman of the Transbaikal Cossacks, Grigory Semyonov, led collaboration efforts between Cossack émigrés and the Japanese military.

Kuban Cossacks during the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945

In the initial phase of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Cossack émigrés were initially barred from political activity or travelling into the occupied Eastern territories. Hitler had no intention of entertaining the political aspirations of the Cossacks, or any minority group, in the USSR. As a result, collaboration between Cossacks and the Wehrmacht began in ad hoc manner through localized agreements between German field commanders and Cossack defectors from the Red Army. Hitler did not officially sanction the recruitment of Cossacks and lift the restrictions imposed on émigrés until the second year of the Nazi-Soviet conflict. During their brief occupation of the North Caucasus region, the Germans actively recruited Cossacks into detachments and local self-defense militias. The Germans even experimented with a self-governing district of Cossack communities in the Kuban region. When the Wehrmacht withdrew from the North Caucasus region in early 1943, tens of thousands of Cossacks retreated with them, either out of conviction or to avoid Soviet reprisals.

In 1943, the Germans formed the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division, under the command of General Helmuth von Pannwitz. While its ranks mostly comprised deserters from the Red Army, many of its officers and NCOs were Cossack émigrés who had received training at one of the cadet schools established by the White Army in Yugoslavia. The division was deployed to occupied Croatia to fight Tito's Partisans. There, its performance was generally effective, although at times brutal. In late 1944, the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division was admitted into the Waffen-SS, and enlarged into the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps.

In late 1943, the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories and Wehrmacht headquarters issued a joint proclamation promising the Cossacks independence once their homelands were “liberated” from the Red Army.  The Germans followed this up by establishing the Cossack Central Administration, under the leadership of the former Don Cossack ataman, Pyotr Krasnov. Although it had many attributes of a government-in-exile, the Cossack Central Administration lacked any control over foreign policy or the deployment of Cossack troops in the Wehrmacht. In early 1945, Krasnov and his staff joined a group of 20,000–25,000 Cossack refugees and irregulars known as “Cossachi Stan”. This group, then led by Timofey Domanov, had fled the North Caucasus alongside the Germans in 1943, and was moved between Kamianets-Podilskyi in Ukraine, Navahrudak in Belarus, and Tolmezzo, Italy.

In early May 1945, in the closing days of WWII, both Domanov's “Cossachi Stan” and Pannwitz's XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps retreated into Austria, where they surrendered to the British. Many Cossack accounts collected in the two volume work The Great Betrayal by Vyacheslav Naumenko allege that British officers had given them, or their leaders, a guarantee that they would not be forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union, but there is no hard evidence that such a promise was made. At the end of the month, and in early June 1945, the majority of Cossacks from both groups were transferred to Red Army and SMERSH custody at the Soviet demarcation line in Judenburg, Austria. This episode is known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks, and resulted in sentences of hard labor or execution for the majority of the repatriated Cossacks.

Following the war, Cossack units, and the cavalry in general, were rendered obsolete and released from the Soviet Army. In the post-war years, many Cossack descendants were thought of as simple peasants, and those who lived in one of the autonomous republics usually gave way to the local minority and migrated elsewhere, particularly to the Baltic region.

The principal Cossack émigré leader after 1945 was Nikolai Nazarenko, the self-proclaimed president of the World Federation of the Cossack National Liberation Movement of Cossackia, who enjoyed a prominence in New York as the organizer of the annual Captive Nations parade held every July. In 1978, Nazarenko dressed in his Don Cossack uniform led the Captive Days day parade in New York city, and told a journalist: "Cossackia is a nation of 10 million people. In 1923 the Russians officially abolished Cossackia as a nation. Officially, it no longer exists...America should not spend billions supporting the Soviets with trade. We don't have to be afraid of the Russian army because half of it is made up of Captive Nations. They can never trust the rank and file".[102] The journalist Hal McKenzie described Nazarenko as having "cut a striking figure with his white fur cap, calf-length coat with long silver-sheathed dagger and ornamental silver cartridge cases on his chest". Nazarenko was also the president of Cossack American Republican National Federation, which in turn was part of the National Republican Heritage Groups Council, and he attracted much controversy in the 1980s owing to his wartime career and certain statements he made about Jews. The American journalist Christoper Simpson in his 1988 book Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War called Nazarenko a leading Republican activist who made "explicit pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic" statements in his speeches.

Kuban Cossack Choir in 2016

During the Perestroika era of the Soviet Union of the late 1980s, many descendants of the Cossacks became enthusiastic about reviving their national traditions. In 1988, the Soviet Union passed a law allowing the reestablishment of former hosts and creation of new ones. The ataman of the largest, the Almighty Don Host, was granted Marshal rank and the right to form a new host. Simultaneously, many attempts were made to increase Cossack impact on Russian society, and throughout the 1990s many regional authorities agreed to hand over some local administration and policing duties to the Cossacks.

According to the 2002 Russian Census, 140,028 people self-identified as ethnic Cossacks Between 3.5 and 5 million people associate themselves with the Cossack identity in post-Soviet Russia and around the world.

Cossacks have taken an active part in many of the conflicts that have taken place since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. These include the War of Transnistria, Georgian–Abkhazian conflict, Georgian–Ossetian conflict, First Nagorno-Karabakh War, 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh war, First Chechen War, Second Chechen War, and the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine and subsequent War in Donbas.

In early times, an ataman (later called hetman) commanded a Cossack band. He was elected by the Host members at a Cossack rada, as were the other important officials: the judge, the scribe, the lesser officials, and the clergy. The ataman's symbol of power was a ceremonial mace, a bulava. Today, Russian Cossacks are led by atamans, and Ukrainian Cossacks by hetmans.

Cossack on duty (portrayal of 16th–17th century), painting by Józef Brandt

After the Polish–Russian Treaty of Andrusovo split Ukraine along the Dnieper River in 1667, Ukrainian Cossacks were known as Left-bank and Right-bank Cossacks. The ataman had executive powers, and in wartime was the supreme commander in the field. Legislative power was given to the Band Assembly (Rada). The senior officers were called starshyna. In the absence of written laws, the Cossacks were governed by the "Cossack Traditions" – the common, unwritten law.

Cossack society and government were heavily militarized. The nation was called a host (vois’ko, or viys’ko, translated as "army"). The people and territories were subdivided into regimental and company districts, and village posts (polky, sotni, and stanytsi). A unit of a Cossack troop could be called a kuren. Each Cossack settlement, alone or in conjunction with neighboring settlements, formed military units and regiments of light cavalry or, in the case of Siberian Cossacks, mounted infantry. They could respond to a threat on very short notice.

A high regard for education was a tradition among the Cossacks of Ukraine. In 1654, when Macarius III Ibn al-Za'im, the Patriarch of Antioch, traveled to Moscow through Ukraine, his son, Deacon Paul Allepscius, wrote the following report:

All over the land of Rus', i.e., among the Cossacks, we have noticed a remarkable feature which made us marvel; all of them, with the exception of only a few among them, even the majority of their wives and daughters, can read and know the order of the church-services as well as the church melodies. Besides that, their priests take care and educate the orphans, not allowing them to wander in the streets ignorant and unattended.

In 1828, Nicholas I sold for a pittance (8 kopecks per 1 ha) to the German Duke Ferdinand Friedrich of Anhalt-Ketgensky, the representative of the German currency Askani, to create a sheep-breeding colony of the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. The royal decree of March 1, 1828 stated:.

The purpose of this settlement is to serve as an example of a large, well-organized agriculture, combined with a factory industry.

• As a child, Askania-Nova was visited by the nephew of Friedrich Falz-Fein, Nikolai Nabokov, a future composer and cultural figure, a paternal cousin of the Russian and American writer Vladimir Nabokov. The Russian period of life Nikolai Nabokov described in his memoirs “Baggage. Memoirs of a Russian cosmopolitan"[8].

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In 1828, Nicholas I sold for a pittance (8 kopecks per 1 ha) to the German Duke Ferdinand Friedrich of Anhalt-Ketgensky, the representative of the German currency Askani, to create a sheep-breeding colony of the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. The royal decree of March 1, 1828 stated:

The purpose of this settlement is to serve as an example of a large, well-organized agriculture, combined with a factory industry.

In 1841, the landowner named the area "Askania-Nova" after his family name Askania.

After the death of the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Askania-Nova was sold to the Falz-Fein family in 1856. Friedrich Falz-Fein is found on its territory of the reserve. His deputy was Kliment Evdokimovich Siyanko, later the next title of Hero of Labor. In 1910, a zoo station was organized here, in 1916 a department of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy for sheep breeding was opened. A museum and a scientific library were also created there. On April 25, 1914, the name of Friedrich Falz-Fein became Nicholas II, who at that time lived in Livadia. The result of this trip for F. E. Falz-Fein was to raise him and all his musicians to the hereditary nobility, so much did the king like the zoo in Askania-Nova. Later, the king once again wanted to visit Askania, taking his son, but the war began. the invader Nicholas II enthusiastically wrote to his mother about Askania: “Different deer, goats, antelopes, wildebeest, kangaroos and ostriches live there all year round under a sunny sky on the equatorial coast and also together. An amazing impression, like a picture from a prediction, as if the beasts came out of Noah's ark.

The Ascanian Zoo was the first in the world to receive thoroughbred Przewalski's horses (12 young horses were brought here in 1889-1904) and was the first to start breeding them in captivity. The case was so successful that in the late 1970s, at the request of the Mongolian government, a small herd was sent from here to the ancestral home, in the Gobi Desert, to restore this rare species of ungulates in nature.

The reserve was devastated and burned to the ground during the Nazi occupation of the USSR. Animals were taken to Germany, the rest were shot from small arms, including the most valuable specimens. The remaining animals right in the enclosures were crushed by tanks, the survivors managed to escape into the steppe. The museum of the reserve, a collection of stuffed animals, a collection of insects were plundered, a scientific library with 25,000 volumes was burned, and a rare herbarium containing up to 1,000 plant species was destroyed. The botanical garden is completely destroyed and trampled down. On the territory of the reserve, mass executions of Soviet citizens and prisoners of war of the Red Army were carried out.

In 1952, markhors (a male and two females) were brought to Askania-Nova, which subsequently successfully acclimatized and multiplied (the first offspring was obtained in 1954).

The tomb of Falz-Fein

From 1964 to 1992, by chance, with the exception of 1976, every summer students of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Patrice Lumumba University of Friendship of Peoples (Moscow) came to Askania-Nova to practice at the Institute of Animal Husbandry. For 28 years, at least 250 people from at least 55 current countries of the world have been on summer practice in Askania. Many of them later became prominent people in their countries: ministers, ambassadors, professors, advisers to presidents, heads of agricultural enterprises, masses, journalists, translators, etc. And representatives of figures turned out to be just good in their industry. At the same time, a dozen Askanians in different years and at different faculties - especially in agriculture - studied at the UDN.

In 2008 Askania-Nova became the winner of the Seven Natural Wonders of Ukraine campaign.

In 2009, this biosphere reserve of Ukraine in the World Competition "Seven New Wonders of Nature".

The area of ​​the reserve is 33,307.6 hectares, of which 11,054 hectares are “absolutely reserved” steppe zone, that is, a virgin territory that has never been touched by a plow. The Askanian steppe belongs to the fescue-feather grass type, it is the only virgin territory of this type in Europe. Feather grass is the most common plant in Askania-Nova, accounting for 75% of all vegetation. At least 1155 species of arthropods, 7 species of amphibians and reptiles, 18 species of mammals live in dense grasses, more than 270 species of birds fly by at different times of the year, of which 107 species remain for nesting. In addition, 478 species of higher plants grow here. The Red Book of Ukraine lists 13 species of higher plants, 3 species of fungi and 4 lichens.

On the territory of Askania-Nova, there is the Bolshoy Chapelsky Under - a unique relief depression measuring 4 by 6 km, periodically filled with melt water. It is included in the international list of the Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands.

Hydrophytes grow in the deepest part of the bottom, including the rarest species in Ukraine - Damasonium alisma Mill. (1768) - Starfruit chastukhovy. In this area, the highest indicator of the diversity of flowering plants in the reserve is registered - 368 species, including 53 endemic ones. 8 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

On the territory of the Great Chapel Pod, in conditions close to natural, wild ungulates from different continents are kept. Bison, saigas, European fallow deer, Przhevalsky's horse, Turkmen kulans, donkeys, red deer, spotted deer, moufflons, two-humped camels live here all year round. In summer, watusi, eland, kaffir buffalo, wildebeest, nilgai, zebras and gayals are released here. In autumn, a large number of migratory birds gather in the center of the hearth: different types of ducks, flocks of cranes, gray geese, sandpipers

• Greben, Leonid Kondratievich - Deputy Director for the scientific part of the Askania-Nova Reserve, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR and VASKhNIL, Hero of Socialist Labor, Honored Scientist of the Ukrainian SSR, Cavalier of St. George's weapons.
• Zavadovsky, Boris Mikhailovich
• Ivanov, Ilya Ivanovich (biologist)
• Kovarsky, Anatoly Efimovich
• Kovrizhnykh, Iraida Dmitrievna (livestock specialist)
• Medvedev, Sergey Ivanovich (30s of the XX century), one of the leading Soviet coleopterologists, specialist in taxonomy of lamellar beetles, founder of the Kharkov school of entomology;
• Milovanov, Viktor Konstantinovich
• Berezhanov, Mikhail Timofeevich (30s of the XX century), researcher of practices, created a kind of mule with sheep's wool.
• Nechaeva, Nina Trofimovna (30s of the XX century), Soviet geobotanist, desert explorer, pasture ecologist, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR;
• Stanchinsky, Vladimir Vladimirovich (30s of the XX century), one of the founders of Soviet environmental science;
• Fortunatov, Boris Konstantinovich.
• Kozlov, Pyotr Kuzmich (during the war of 1917) student of Przhevalsky, researcher of Central Asia.

• As a child, Askania-Nova was visited by the nephew of Friedrich Falz-Fein, Nikolai Nabokov, a future composer and cultural figure, a paternal cousin of the Russian and American writer Vladimir Nabokov. The Russian period of life Nikolai Nabokov described in his memoirs “Baggage. Memoirs of a Russian cosmopolitan"[8].
• The film "An amazing story, similar to a fairy tale" was filmed in the Askania-Nova reserve.
• In the film Hobbies by Kira Muratova, a population of centaurs and elves has been preserved in Askania-Nova.
• The action of Oles Gonchar's novel "Tavria" takes place, among other things, in the Askania-Nova reserve.
• In the last years of her life, the well-known Soviet poetess of Latvian origin Mara Griezane (1950-1985) lived and worked in the reserve.
• A feature film Academician from Askania was shot about the work of the zootechnical station of the reserve. The Askania-Nova Museum has a memorial hall to them. M. F. Ivanova.
• In 1985, the reserve hosted the shooting of the Last of the Virgin Steppe series for the British documentary television series Darrell in Russia, which tells about the visit of the famous English writer and naturalist Gerald Durrell to the Soviet Union.

The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940, famously deployed with the Red Army during World War II against Operation Barbarossa.

Its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than its contemporaries while its 60 degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The Christie suspension was inherited from the design of American J. Walter Christie's M1928 tank, versions of which were sold turret-less to the Red Army and documented as "farm tractors", after being rejected by the U.S. Army. The T-34 had a profound effect on the conflict on the Eastern Front in the Second World War, and had a lasting impact on tank design. After the Germans encountered the tank in 1941, German general Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist called it "the finest tank in the world"[8] and Heinz Guderian affirmed the T-34's "vast superiority" over German tanks. Alfred Jodl, chief of operations staff of the German armed forces noted in his war diary "the surprise at this new and thus unknown wunder-armament being unleashed against the German assault divisions," although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war.

The T-34 was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout the war. Its general specifications remained nearly unchanged until early 1944, when it received a firepower upgrade with the introduction of the greatly improved T-34-85 variant. Its production method was continuously refined and rationalized to meet the needs of the Eastern Front, making the T-34 quicker and cheaper to produce. The Soviets ultimately built over 80,000 T-34s of all variants, allowing steadily greater numbers to be fielded despite the loss of tens of thousands in combat against the German Wehrmacht.[13] Replacing many light and medium tanks in Red Army service, it was the most-produced tank of the war, as well as the second most-produced tank of all time (after its successor, the T-54/T-55 series). With 44,900 lost during the war, it also suffered the most tank losses ever.[15] Its development led directly to the T-44, then the T-54 and T-55 series of tanks, which in turn evolved into the later T-62, that form the armoured core of many modern armies. T-34 variants were widely exported after World War II, and as recently as 2010 more than 130 were still in service.

A tank is an armored fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armor, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; usually their main armament is mounted in a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat.

Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large-caliber tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret, supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers. They have heavy vehicle armor which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheeled vehicles, and thus be more flexibly positioned at advantageous locations on the battlefield. These features enable the tank to perform well in a variety of intense combat situations, simultaneously both offensively (with direct fire from their powerful main gun) and defensively (as fire support and defilade for friendly troops due to the near invulnerability to common infantry small arms and good resistance against most heavier weapons), all while maintaining the mobility needed to exploit changing tactical situations. Fully integrating tanks into modern military forces spawned a new era of combat: armored warfare.

Until the arrival of the main battle tank, tanks were typically categorized either by weight class (light, medium, heavy or superheavy tanks) or doctrinal purpose (breakthrough-, cavalry-, infantry-, cruiser-, or reconnaissance tanks). Some being larger and very heavily armored and with large guns, while others are smaller, lightly armored, and equipped with a smaller caliber and lighter gun. These smaller tanks move over terrain with speed and agility and can perform a reconnaissance role in addition to engaging enemy targets. The smaller, faster tank would not normally engage in battle with a larger, heavily armored tank, except during a surprise flanking manoeuvre.

The modern tank is the result of a century of development from the first primitive armored vehicles, due to improvements in technology such as the internal combustion engine, which allowed the rapid movement of heavy armored vehicles. As a result of these advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front. The first British prototype, nicknamed Little Willie, was constructed at William Foster & Co. in Lincoln, England in 1915, with leading roles played by Major Walter Gordon Wilson who designed the gearbox and hull, and by William Tritton of William Foster and Co., who designed the track plates. This was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Army's Mark I tank, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name "tank" was adopted by the British during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose (see etymology). While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tank's potential, and did not have enough resources, thus it built only twenty.

Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II. Important new concepts of armored warfare were developed; the Soviet Union launched the first mass tank/air attack at Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan) in August 1939, and later developed the T-34, one of the predecessors of the main battle tank. Less than two weeks later, Germany began their large-scale armored campaigns that would become known as blitzkrieg ("lightning war") – massed concentrations of tanks combined with motorized and mechanized infantry, artillery and air power designed to break through the enemy front and collapse enemy resistance.

The widespread introduction of high-explosive anti-tank warheads during the second half of World War II led to lightweight infantry-carried anti-tank weapons such as the Panzerfaust, which could destroy some types of tanks. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, and led to greatly improved armor types during the 1960s, especially composite armor. Improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design and aiming technology.

During the Cold War, the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. In the 21st century, with the increasing role of asymmetrical warfare and the end of the Cold War, that also contributed to the increase of cost-effective anti-tank rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) worldwide and its successors, the ability of tanks to operate independently has declined. Modern tanks are more frequently organized into combined arms units which involve the support of infantry, who may accompany the tanks in infantry fighting vehicles, and supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft.

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction, with a cabin that is independent of the payload portion of the vehicle. Smaller varieties may be mechanically similar to some automobiles. Commercial trucks can be very large and powerful and may be configured to be mounted with specialized equipment, such as in the case of refuse trucks, fire trucks, concrete mixers, and suction excavators. In American English, a commercial vehicle without a trailer or other articulation is formally a "straight truck" while one designed specifically to pull a trailer is not a truck but a "tractor".

The majority of trucks currently in use are still powered by diesel engines, although small- to medium-size trucks with gasoline engines exist in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The market-share of electrically-powered trucks is growing rapidly, expected to reach 7% globally by 2027, and electric motive force already predominates among both the largest and smallest trucks.[2] In the European Union, vehicles with a gross combination mass of up to 3.5 t (3.4 long tons; 3.9 short tons) are known as light commercial vehicles, and those over as large goods vehicles.

Trucks and cars have a common ancestor: the steam-powered fardier Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built in 1769. However, steam wagons were not common until the mid-19th century. The roads of the time, built for horse and carriages, limited these vehicles to very short hauls, usually from a factory to the nearest railway station. The first semi-trailer appeared in 1881, towed by a steam tractor manufactured by De Dion-Bouton. Steam-powered wagons were sold in France and the United States until the eve of World War I, and 1935 in the United Kingdom, when a change in road tax rules made them uneconomic against the new diesel lorries.

In 1895 Karl Benz designed and built the first internal combustion truck. Later that year some of Benz's trucks were modified to become busses by Netphener. A year later, in 1896, another internal combustion engine truck was built by Gottlieb Daimler, the Daimler Motor Lastwagen. Other companies, such as Peugeot, Renault and Büssing, also built their own versions. The first truck in the United States was built by Autocar in 1899 and was available with 5 or 8 horsepower (4 or 6 kW) engines. Trucks of the era mostly used two-cylinder engines and had a carrying capacity of 1.5 to 2 t (3,300 to 4,400 lb). After World War I, several advances were made: electric starters, and 4, 6, and 8 cylinder engines.

Although it had been invented in 1897, the diesel engine did not appear in production trucks until Benz introduced it in 1923. The diesel engine was not common in trucks in Europe until the 1930s. In the United States, Autocar introduced diesel engines for heavy applications in the mid-1930s. Demand was high enough that Autocar launched the "DC" model (diesel conventional) in 1939. However, it took much longer for diesel engines to be broadly accepted in the US: gasoline engines were still in use on heavy trucks in the 1970s.

Electrically-powered trucks predate internal combustion ones and have been continuously available since the mid-19th-century. In the 1920s Autocar Trucks was the first of the major truck manufacturers to offer a range of electric trucks for sale. Electric trucks were successful for urban delivery roles and as specialized work vehicles like forklifts and pushback tugs. The higher energy density of liquid fuels soon led to the decline of electric-powered trucks in favor of, first, gasoline, and then diesel and CNG-fueled engines until battery technology advanced in the 2000s when new chemistries and higher-volume production broadened the range of applicability of electric propulsion to trucks in many more roles. Today, manufacturers are electrifying all trucks ahead of national regulatory requirements, with long-range over-the-road trucks being the most challenging.

Truck is used in American English, and is common in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa, while lorry is the equivalent in British English, and is the usual term in countries like Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore and India.

The first known usage of "truck" was in 1611 when it referred to the small strong wheels on ships' cannon carriages, and comes from "Trokhos" (Greek) = "wheel". In its extended usage, it came to refer to carts for carrying heavy loads, a meaning known since 1771. Its expanded application to "motor-powered load carrier" has been in usage since 1930, shortened from "motor truck", which dates back to 1901.

"Lorry" has a more uncertain origin, but probably has its roots in the rail transport industry, where the word is known to have been used in 1838 to refer to a type of truck (a goods wagon as in British usage, not a bogie as in the American), specifically a large flat wagon. It might derive from the verb lurry (to carry or drag along, or to lug) which was in use as early as 1664, but that association is not definitive. The expanded meaning of lorry, "self-propelled vehicle for carrying goods", has been in usage since 1911.

In the United States, Canada, and the Philippines, "truck" is usually reserved for commercial vehicles larger than regular passenger cars, but includes large SUVs, pickups, and other vehicles with an open load bed. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the word "truck" is mostly reserved for larger vehicles. In Australia and New Zealand, a pickup truck is frequently called a ute (short for "utility" vehicle), while in South Africa it is called a bakkie (Afrikaans: "small open container"). In the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, and Hong Kong lorry is used instead of truck, but only for the medium and heavy types, while truck is used almost exclusively to refer to pickups.

Often produced as variations of golf cars, with internal combustion or battery electric drive, these are used typically for off-highway use on estates, golf courses, and parks. While not suitable for highway use some variations may be licensed as slow speed vehicles for operation on streets, generally as a body variation of a neighborhood electric vehicle. A few manufactures produce specialized chassis for this type of vehicle, while Zap Motors markets a version of their Xebra electric tricycle (licensable in the U.S. as a motorcycle).

Popular in Europe and Asia, many mini-trucks are factory redesigns of light automobiles, usually with monocoque bodies. Specialized designs with substantial frames such as the Italian Piaggio shown here are based upon Japanese designs (in this case by Daihatsu) and are popular for use in "old town" sections of European cities that often have very narrow alleyways.

Regardless of name, these small trucks serve a wide range of uses. In Japan, they are regulated under the Kei car laws, which allow vehicle owners a break in taxes for buying a smaller and less-powerful vehicle (currently, the engine is limited to 660 cc displacement). These vehicles are used as on-road utility vehicles in Japan. These Japanese-made mini trucks that were manufactured for on-road use are competing with off-road ATVs in the United States, and import regulations require that these mini trucks have a 25 mph (40 km/h) speed governor as they are classified as low-speed vehicles. These vehicles have found uses in construction, large campuses (government, university, and industrial), agriculture, cattle ranches, amusement parks, and replacements for golf carts.

• Daihatsu Hijet
• Honda Acty
• Tata Ace
• Mazda Scrum
• Mitsubishi Minicab
• Subaru Sambar
• Suzuki Carry

Light trucks are car-sized (in the US, no more than 13,900 lb (6.3 t)) and are used by individuals and businesses alike. In the EU they may not weigh more than 3.5 t (7,700 lb) and are allowed to be driven with a driving licence for cars. Pickup trucks, called utes in Australia and New Zealand, are common in North America and some regions of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, but not so in Europe, where this size of commercial vehicle is most often made as vans.

Medium trucks are larger than light but smaller than heavy trucks. In the US, they are defined as weighing between 13,000 and 33,000 lb (5.9 and 15.0 t). For the UK and the EU the weight is between 3.5 to 7.5 t (7,700 to 16,500 lb). Local delivery and public service (dump trucks, garbage trucks and fire-fighting trucks) are normally around this size.

Heavy trucks are the largest on-road trucks, Class 8. These include vocational applications such as heavy dump trucks, concrete pump trucks, and refuse hauling, as well as ubiquitous long-haul 4x2 and 6×4 tractor units.

Road damage and wear increase very rapidly with the axle weight. The number of steering axles and the suspension type also influence the amount of the road wear. In many countries with good roads a six-axle truck may have a maximum weight of 44 t (97,000 lb) or more.

Off-road trucks include standard, extra heavy-duty highway-legal trucks, typically outfitted with off-road features such as a front driving axle and special tires for applications such as logging and construction, and purpose-built off-road vehicles unconstrained by weight limits, such as the Liebherr T 282B mining truck.

Australia has complex regulations over weight and length, including axle spacing, type of axle/axle group, rear overhang, kingpin to rear of trailer, drawbar length, ground clearance, as well as height and width laws. These limits are some of the highest in the world, a B-double can weigh 62.5 t (61.5 long tons; 68.9 short tons) and be 25 m (82 ft) long, and road trains used in the outback can weigh 172 t (169.3 long tons; 189.6 short tons) and be 53.5 m (176 ft) long.

The European Union also has complex regulations. The number and spacing of axles, steering, single or dual tires, and suspension type all affect maximum weights. Length of a truck, of a trailer, from axle to hitch point, kingpin to rear of trailer, and turning radius are all regulated. In additions, there are special rules for carrying containers, and countries can set their own rules for local traffic.

The United States Federal Bridge Law deals with the relation between the gross weight of the truck, the number of axles, the weight on and the spacing between the axles that the truck can have on the Interstate highway system. Each State determines the maximum permissible vehicle, combination, and axle weight on state and local roads.

Almost all trucks share a common construction: they are made of a chassis, a cab, an area for placing cargo or equipment, axles, suspension and roadwheels, an engine and a drivetrain. Pneumatic, hydraulic, water, and electrical systems may also be present. Many also tow one or more trailers or semi-trailers.

The "cab" is an enclosed space where the driver is seated. A "sleeper" is a compartment attached to or integral with the cab where the driver can rest while not driving, sometimes seen in semi-trailer trucks.

There are several cab configurations:

• "Cab over engine" (COE) or "flat nose"; where the driver is seated above the front axle and the engine. This design is almost ubiquitous in Europe, where overall truck lengths are strictly regulated, and is widely used in the rest of the world. They were common in North American heavy-duty trucks but lost prominence when permitted length was extended in the early 1980s. Nevertheless, this design is still popular in North America among medium- and light-duty trucks. To reach the engine, the whole cab tilts forward, earning this design the name of "tilt-cab". This type of cab is especially suited to the delivery conditions in Europe where many roads require the short turning radius afforded by the shorter wheelbase of the cab over engine layout. The COE design was invented by Viktor Schreckengost.
• "Conventional" cabs seated the driver behind the engine, as in most passenger cars or pickup trucks. Many new cabs are very streamlined, with a sloped hood (bonnet) and other features to lower drag. Conventional cabs are the most common in North America, Australia, and China, and are known in the UK as "American cabs" and in the Netherlands as "torpedo cabs".
• "Cab beside engine" designs are used for terminal tractors at shipping yards and for other specialist vehicles carrying long loads such as pipes. This type is often made by replacing the passenger side of a cab-over truck with an extended section of the load bed.
• A further step from this is the side loading forklift that can be described as a specially fabricated vehicle with the same properties as a truck of this type, in addition to the ability to pick up its own load.

Most small trucks such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs), vans or pickups, and even light medium-duty trucks in North America, China, and Russia use gasoline engines (petrol engines), but many diesel engined models are now being produced. Most of the heavier trucks use four-stroke diesel engines with a turbocharger and intercooler. Huge off-highway trucks use locomotive-type engines such as a V12 Detroit Diesel two stroke engine. A large proportion of refuse trucks in the United States employ CNG (compressed natural gas) engines for their low fuel cost and reduced carbon emissions.

A significant proportion of North American manufactured trucks use an engine built by the last remaining major independent engine manufacturer (Cummins) but most global OEMs such as Volvo Trucks and Daimler AG promote their own "captive" engines.

In the European Union, all new truck engines must comply with Euro VI emission regulations.

As of 2019 several alternative technologies are competing to displace the use of diesel engines in heavy trucks. CNG engines are widely used in the US refuse industry and in concrete mixers, among other short-range vocations, but range limitations have prevented their broader uptake in freight hauling applications. Heavy electric trucks and hydrogen-powered trucks are new to the market in 2021, but major freight haulers are interested. Although cars will be first the phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles includes trucks. According to The Economist magazine "Electric lorries will probably run on hydrogen, not batteries, which are too expensive."[49] Other researchers say that once faster chargers are available batteries will become competitive against diesel for all, except perhaps the heaviest, trucks.

Small trucks use the same type of transmissions as almost all cars, having either an automatic transmission or a manual transmission with synchromesh (synchronizers). Bigger trucks often use manual transmissions without synchronizers, saving bulk and weight, although synchromesh transmissions are used in larger trucks as well. Transmissions without synchronizers, known as "crash boxes", require double-clutching for each shift, (which can lead to repetitive motion injuries), or a technique known colloquially as "floating", a method of changing gears which doesn't use the clutch, except for starts and stops, due to the physical effort of double-clutching, especially with non-power-assisted clutches, faster shifts, and less clutch wear.

Double-clutching allows the driver to control the engine and transmission revolutions to synchronize so that a smooth shift can be made; for example, when upshifting, the accelerator pedal is released and the clutch pedal is depressed while the gear lever is moved into neutral, the clutch pedal is then released and quickly pushed down again while the gear lever is moved to the next higher gear. Finally, the clutch pedal is released and the accelerator pedal pushed down to obtain the required engine speed. Although this is a relatively fast movement, perhaps a second or so while the transmission is in neutral, it allows the engine speed to drop and synchronize engine and transmission revolutions relative to the road speed. Downshifting is performed in a similar fashion, except the engine speed is now required to increase (while the transmission is in neutral) just the right amount in order to achieve the synchronization for a smooth, non-collision gear change. "Skip changing" is also widely used; in principle, the operation is the same as double-clutching, but it requires neutral be held slightly longer than a single-gear change.

Common North American setups include 9, 10, 13, 15, and 18 speeds. Automatic and automated manual transmissions for heavy trucks are becoming more and more common, due to advances both in transmission and engine power. In Europe, 8, 10, 12, and 16 gears are common on larger trucks with a manual transmission, while conventional automatic or automated manual transmissions would have anything from 5 to 12 gears. Almost all heavy truck transmissions are of the "range and split" (double H shift pattern) type, where range change and so‑called half gears or splits are air operated and always preselected before the main gear selection.

A truck frame consists of two parallel boxed (tubular) or C‑shaped rails, or beams, held together by crossmembers. These frames are referred to as ladder frames due to their resemblance to a ladder if tipped on end. The rails consist of a tall vertical section (two if boxed) and two shorter horizontal flanges. The height of the vertical section provides opposition to vertical flex when weight is applied to the top of the frame (beam resistance). Though typically flat the whole length on heavy-duty trucks, the rails may sometimes be tapered or arched for clearance around the engine or over the axles. The holes in rails are used either for mounting vehicle components and running wires and hoses or measuring and adjusting the orientation of the rails at the factory or repair shop.

The frame is usually made of steel, but can be made (whole or in part) of aluminum for a lighter weight. A tow bar may be found attached at one or both ends, but heavy tractors almost always make use of a fifth wheel hitch.[citation needed

Box trucks ("tilts" in the UK) have walls and a roof, making an enclosed load space. The rear has doors for unloading; a side door is sometimes fitted.

Chassis cab trucks have a fully-enclosed cab at the front, with bare chassis frame-rails behind, suitable for subsequent permanent attachment of a specialized payload, like a fire-truck or ambulance body.

Concrete mixers have a rotating drum on an inclined axis, rotating in one direction to mix, and in the other to discharge the concrete down chutes. Because of the weight and power requirements of the drum body and rough construction sites, mixers have to be very heavy duty.

Dump trucks ("tippers" in the UK) transport loose material such as sand, gravel, or dirt for construction. A typical dump truck has an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and lifts at the front, allowing the material in the bed to be unloaded ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck.

Flatbed trucks have an entirely flat, level platform body. This allows for quick and easy loading but has no protection for the load. Hanging or removable sides are sometimes fitted.

Refrigerator trucks have insulated panels as walls and a roof and floor, used for transporting fresh and frozen cargo such as ice cream, food, vegetables, and prescription drugs. They are mostly equipped with double-wing rear doors, but a side door is sometimes fitted.

Refuse trucks have a specialized body for collecting and, often, compacting trash collected from municipal, commercial, and industrial sites. This application has the widest use of the cab-over configuration in North America, to provide better maneuverability in tight situations. They are also among the most severe-duty and highest GVWR trucks on public roads.

Semi-tractors ("artics" in the UK) have a fifth wheel for towing a semi-trailer instead of a body.

Tank trucks ("tankers" in the UK) are designed to carry liquids or gases. They usually have a cylindrical tank lying horizontally on the chassis. Many variants exist due to the wide variety of liquids and gases that can be transported.

Wreckers ("recovery lorries" in the UK) are used to recover and/or tow disabled vehicles. They are normally equipped with a boom with a cable; wheel/chassis lifts are becoming common on newer trucks.

In many countries, driving a truck requires a special driving license. The requirements and limitations vary with each different jurisdiction.

n Australia, a truck driver's license is required for any motor vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) exceeding 4.5 t (4.4 long tons; 5.0 short tons). The motor vehicles classes are further expanded as:

• HC: Heavy Combination, a typical prime mover plus semi-trailer combination.
• MC: Multi Combination, e.g., B Doubles/road trains

• LR: Light rigid: a rigid vehicle with a GVM of more than 4.5 t (4.4 long tons; 5.0 short tons) but not more than 8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons). Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 t (8.9 long tons; 9.9 short tons) GVM.
• MR: Medium rigid: a rigid vehicle with 2 axles and a GVM of more than 8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons). Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 t (8.9 long tons; 9.9 short tons) GVM. Also includes vehicles in class LR.
• HR: Heavy Rigid: a rigid vehicle with three or more axles and a GVM of more than 8 t (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons). Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 t (8.9 long tons; 9.9 short tons) GVM. Also includes articulated buses and vehicles in class MR.

There is also a heavy vehicle transmission condition for a license class HC, HR, or MC test passed in a vehicle fitted with an automatic or synchromesh transmission; a driver's license will be restricted to vehicles of that class fitted with a synchromesh or automatic transmission. To have the condition removed, a person needs to pass a practical driving test in a vehicle with non-synchromesh transmission (constant mesh or crash box).[70]

Driving licensing has been harmonized throughout the European Union and the EEA (and practically all European non-member states), so that common rules apply within Europe (see European driving licence). As an overview, to drive a vehicle weighing more than 7.5 t (7.4 long tons; 8.3 short tons) for commercial purposes requires a specialist license (the type varies depending on the use of the vehicle and number of seats). For licenses first acquired after 1997, that weight was reduced to 3.5 t (3.4 long tons; 3.9 short tons), not including trailers.

Since 2013, the C1 license category allows driving vehicles over 3.5 and up to 7.5 tonnes. The C license category allows driving vehicles over 3.5 tonnes with a trailer up to 750 kg, and the CE category allows driving category C vehicles with a trailer over 750 kg.

To drive any vehicle with a GVM exceeding 3.5 t (3.4 long tons; 3.9 short tons), a code C1 drivers license is required. Furthermore, if the vehicle exceeds 16 t (15.7 long tons; 17.6 short tons) a code C license becomes necessary.

To drive any vehicle in South Africa towing a trailer with a GVM more than 7.5 t (7.4 long tons; 8.3 short tons), further restrictions apply and the driver must possess a license suitable for the GVM of the total combination as well as an articulated endorsement. This is indicated with the letter "E" prefixing the license code.

In addition, any vehicle designed to carry goods or passengers may only be driven by a driver possessing a Public Driver's Permit, (or PrDP) of the applicable type. This is an additional license that is added to the DL card of the operator and subject to annual renewal unlike the five-year renewal period of a normal license.

The requirements for obtaining the different classes are below.

• "G": Required for the transport of general goods, requires a criminal record check and a fee on issuing and renewal.
• "P": Required for the transport of paying passengers, requires a more stringent criminal record check, additionally the driver must be over the age of 21 at time of issue. A G class PrDP will be issued at the same time.
• "D": Required for the transport of dangerous materials, requires all of the same checks as class P., and in addition the driver must be over 25 at time of issue.

In the United States, a commercial driver's license is required to drive any type of commercial vehicle weighing 26,001 lb (11,794 kg) or more. The federal government regulates how many hours a driver may be on the clock, how much rest and sleep time is required (e.g., 11 hours driving/14 hours on-duty followed by 10 hours off, with a maximum of 70 hours/8 days or 60 hours/7 days, 34 hours restart ) Violations are often subject to significant penalties. Instruments to track each driver's hours must sometimes be fitted. In 2006, the US trucking industry employed 1.8 million drivers of heavy trucks.

There is a shortage of willing trained long distance truck drivers. Part of the reason for this is the economic fallout from deregulation of the trucking industry. Michael H. Belzer, associate professor, in the economics department at Wayne State University and co-author of Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation, argues that low pay, bad working conditions and unsafe conditions have been a direct result of deregulation. The book cites poor working conditions and an unfair pay system as responsible for high annual employee turnover in the industry.

In 2018, in the US, 5,096 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes:

• The number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes is 4,862,
• The number of large trucks involved in injury crashes is 112,000,
• The number of large trucks involved in property damage only crashes is 414,000.

Trucks contribute to air, noise, and water pollution similarly to automobiles. Trucks may[vague] emit lower air pollution emissions than cars per equivalent vehicle mass, although the absolute level per vehicle distance traveled is higher, and diesel exhaust is especially dangerous for health. EPA measures pollution from trucks.] With respect to noise pollution, trucks emit considerably higher sound levels at all speeds compared to typical cars; this contrast is particularly strong with heavy-duty trucks. There are several aspects of truck operations that contribute to the overall sound that is emitted. Continuous sounds are those from tires rolling on the roadway and the constant hum of their diesel engines at highway speeds. Less frequent noises, but perhaps more noticeable, are things like the repeated sharp-pitched whistle of a turbocharger on acceleration, or the abrupt blare of an exhaust brake retarder when traversing a downgrade. There has been noise regulation put in place to help control where and when the use of engine braking retarders are allowed.

Over a quarter of global transport CO2 emissions are from road freight, so many countries are further restricting truck CO2 emissions to help limit climate change.

According to a 1995 U.S. government estimate, the energy cost of carrying one ton of freight a distance of one kilometer averages 337 kJ for water, 221 kJ for rail, 2,000 kJ for trucks, and nearly 13,000 kJ for air transport. Many environmental organizations favor laws and incentives to encourage the switch from road to rail, especially in Europe.

The European Parliament is moving to ensure that charges on heavy-goods vehicles should be based in part on the air and noise pollution they produce and the congestion they cause, according to legislation approved by the Transport Committee. The Eurovignette scheme has been proposed, whereby new charges would be potentially levied against things such as noise and air pollution and also weight related damages from the lorries themselves.

A 60-tonne tractor & trailer at 80 km/h needs 168 kW : 41% (68 kW) to overcome the rolling resistance, 38% (64 kW) for the aerodynamic drag, 9% (15 kW) for the auxiliaries, 7% (12 kW) for the driveline & tire and 6% (10 kW) is lost in uphill/downhill hysteresis.

A truck cab is a hazard control that protects the truck operator from hazardous airborne pollutants. As an enclosure, it is an example of an engineering control. Enclosed operator cabs have been used on agriculture, mining, and construction vehicles for several decades. Most modern-day enclosed cabs have heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for primarily maintaining a comfortable temperature and providing breathable air for their occupants. Various levels of filtration can be incorporated into the HVAC system to remove airborne pollutants such as dusts, diesel particulate matter (DPM), and other aerosols.

Two key elements of an effective environmental enclosure are a good filtration system and an enclosure with good integrity (sealed isolation from the outside environment). It is recommended that a filtration system filter out at least 95% or greater of airborne respirable aerosols from the intake airflow, with an additional recirculation filtering component for the inside air. Good enclosure integrity is also needed to achieve positive pressure to prevent wind-driven aerosol penetration into the enclosure, as well as to minimize air leakage around the filtration system. Test methods and mathematical modeling of environmental enclosures are also beneficial for quantifying and optimizing filtration system designs, as well as maintaining optimum protection factor performance for enclosure occupants.

Commercial trucks in the US pay higher road use taxes on a state level than other road vehicles and are subject to extensive regulation. A few reasons commercial trucks pay higher road use taxes: they are bigger and heavier than most other vehicles, and cause more wear and tear per hour on roadways; and trucks and their drivers are on the road for more hours per day. Rules on use taxes differ among jurisdictions.

The life of a pavement is measured by the number of passes of a vehicle axle. It may be evaluated using the Load Equivalency Factor, which states that the damage by the pass of a vehicle axle is proportional to the 4th power of the weight, so a ten-ton axle consumes 10,000 times the life of the pavement as a one-ton axle. For that reason, loaded trucks cost the same as thousands of cars in pavement costs, and are subject to higher taxes and highway tolls

Primary liability insurance coverage protects the truck from damage or injuries to other people as a result of a truck accident. This truck insurance coverage is mandated by U.S. state and federal agencies, and proof of coverage is required to be sent to them. Interstate trucks in the U.S. are required to have a minimum of $75,000 in liability insurance. This includes motor carriers operating vehicles with a gross weight rating in excess of 10,000 lb (4.5 t) (which transport non-hazardous materials). All motor carriers operating vehicles transporting materials classified as hazardous, and which have a gross weight rating in excess of 10,000 lb (4.5 t) must have a minimum of $1,000,000 in liability insurance. All motor carriers operating vehicles such as hopper-type cargo vehicles or tankers with a capacity in excess of 3,500 US gal (13,000 l) must have a minimum of $5,000,000 in liability insurance. Pricing is dependent on region, driving records, and history of the trucking operation.

Motor truck cargo insurance protects the transporter for his responsibility in the event of damaged or lost freight. The policy is purchased with a maximum load limit per vehicle. Cargo insurance coverage limits can range from $10,000 to $100,000 or more. Pricing for this insurance is mainly dependent on the type of cargo being hauled.

In 2002 and 2004, there were over 5,000 fatalities related to trucking accidents in the United States. The trucking industry has since made significant efforts in increasing safety regulations. In 2008, the industry had successfully lowered the fatality rate to just over 4,000 deaths, but trucking accidents are still an issue that causes thousands of deaths and injuries each year. Approximately 6,000 trucking accident fatalities occur annually in the United States. Fatalities are not the only issue caused by trucking accidents. Here are some of the environmental issues that arise with trucking accidents:

• 14.4% of trucking accidents cause cargo to spill
• 6.5% cause open flames

Following increased pressure from The Times "Cities Fit For Cycling" campaign and from other media in Spring 2012, warning signs are now displayed on the backs of many HGVs. These signs are directed against a common type of accident that occurs when the large vehicle turns left at a junction: a cyclist trying to pass on the nearside can be crushed against the HGV's wheels, especially if the driver cannot see the cyclist. The signs, such as the winning design of the InTANDEM road safety competition launched in March 2012, advocate extra care when passing a large vehicle on the nearside.

In-vehicle speed limitation is required applying a 90 km/h limit to commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.

Front, side, and rear underrun protection is required on commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.

Trucks must be fitted with blind-spot mirrors that give drivers a wider field of vision than conventional mirrors.

In rail transport, a train is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. The word train comes from the Old French trahiner, derived from the Latin trahere meaning "to pull, to draw".[1] Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often known simply as "engines"), though some are self-propelled, such as multiple units. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction of which makes them more efficient than other forms of transport.

In rail transport, a train is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. The word train comes from the Old French trahiner, derived from the Latin trahere meaning "to pull, to draw".[1] Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often known simply as "engines"), though some are self-propelled, such as multiple units. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction of which makes them more efficient than other forms of transport.

Trains have their roots in wagonways, which used railway tracks and were powered by horses or pulled by cables. Following the invention of the steam locomotive in the United Kingdom in 1804, trains rapidly spread around the world, allowing freight and passengers to move over land faster and cheaper than ever possible before. Rapid transit and trams were first built in the late 1800s to transport large numbers of people in and around cities. Beginning in the 1920s, and accelerating following World War II, diesel and electric locomotives replaced steam as the means of motive power. Following the development of cars, trucks, and extensive networks of highways which offered greater mobility, as well as faster airplanes, trains declined in importance and market share, and many rail lines were abandoned. The spread of buses led to the closure of many rapid transit and tram systems during this time as well.

Since the 1970s, governments, environmentalists, and train advocates have promoted increased use of trains due to their greater fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to other modes of land transport. High-speed rail, first built in the 1960s, has proven competitive with cars and planes over short to medium distances. Commuter rail has grown in importance since the 1970s as an alternative to congested highways and a means to promote development, as has light rail in the 21st century. Freight trains remain important for the transport of bulk commodities such as coal and grain, as well as being a means of reducing road traffic congestion by freight trucks.

While conventional trains operate on relatively flat tracks with two rails, a number of specialized trains exist which are significantly different in their mode of operation. Monorails operate on a single rail, while funiculars and rack railways are uniquely designed to traverse steep slopes. Experimental trains such as high speed maglevs, which use magnetic levitation to float above a guideway, are under development in the 2020s and offer higher speeds than even the fastest conventional trains. Development of trains which use alternative fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen is another 21st century development.

Trains are an evolution of wheeled wagons running on stone wagonways, the earliest of which were built by Babylon circa 2,200 BCE Starting in the 1500s, wagonways were introduced to haul material from mines; from the 1790s, stronger iron rails were introduced. Following early developments in the second half of the 1700s, in 1804 a steam locomotive built by British inventor Richard Trevithick powered the first ever steam train.Outside of coal mines, where fuel was readily available, steam locomotives remained untried until the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. British engineer George Stephenson ran a steam locomotive named Locomotion No. 1 on this 40-kilometer (25-mile) long line, hauling over 400 passengers at up to 13 kilometers per hour (8 mph). The success of this locomotive, and Stephenson's Rocket in 1829, convinced many of the value in steam locomotives, and within a decade the stock market bubble known as "Railway Mania" started across the United Kingdom.

News of the success of steam locomotives quickly reached the United States, where the first steam railroad opened in 1829.[5] American railroad pioneers soon started manufacturing their own locomotives, designed to handle the sharper curves and rougher track typical of the country's railroads.

The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power

The other nations of Europe also took note of British railroad developments, and most countries on the continent constructed and opened their first railroads in the 1830s and 1840s, following the first run of a steam train in France in late 1829. In the 1850s, trains continued to expand across Europe, with many influenced by or purchases of American locomotive designs. Other European countries pursued their own distinct designs. Around the world, steam locomotives grew larger and more powerful throughout the rest of the century as technology advanced.

Trains first entered service in South America, Africa, and Asia through construction by imperial powers, which starting in the 1840s built railroads to solidify control of their colonies and transport cargo for export. In Japan, which was never colonized, railroads first arrived in the early 1870s. By 1900, railroads were operating on every continent besides uninhabited Antarctica.

Even as steam locomotive technology continued to improve, inventors in Germany started work on alternative methods for powering trains. Werner von Siemens built the first train powered by electricity in 1879, and went on to pioneer electric trams. Another German inventor, Rudolf Diesel, constructed the first diesel engine in the 1890s, though the potential of his invention to power trains was not realized until decades later. Between 1897 and 1903, tests of experimental electric locomotives on the Royal Prussian Military Railway in Germany demonstrated they were viable, setting speed records in excess of 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph).

Early gas powered "doodlebug" self-propelled railcars entered service on railroads in the first decade of the 1900s. Experimentation with diesel and gas power continued, culminating in the German "Flying Hamburger" in 1933, and the influential American EMD FT in 1939. These successful diesel locomotives showed that diesel power was superior to steam, due to lower costs, ease of maintenance, and better reliability. Meanwhile, Italy developed an extensive network of electric trains during the first decades of the 20th century, driven by that country's lack of significant coal reserves.

World War II brought great destruction to existing railroads across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Following the war's conclusion in 1945, nations which had suffered extensive damage to their railroad networks took the opportunity provided by Marshall Plan funds (or economic assistance from the USSR and Comecon, for nations behind the Iron Curtain) and advances in technology to convert their trains to diesel or electric power. France, Russia, Switzerland, and Japan were leaders in adopting widespread electrified railroads, while other nations focused primarily on dieselization. By 1980, the majority of the world's steam locomotives had been retired, though they continued to be used in parts of Africa and Asia, along with a few holdouts in Europe and South America. China was the last country to fully dieselize, due to its abundant coal reserves; steam locomotives were used to haul mainline trains as late as 2005 in Inner Mongolia.

Trains began to face strong competition from automobiles and freight trucks in the 1930s, which greatly intensified following World War II. After the war, air transport also became a significant competitor for passenger trains. Large amounts of traffic shifted to these new forms of transportation, resulting in a widespread decline in train service, both freight and passenger. A new development in the 1960s was high-speed rail, which runs on dedicated rights of way and travels at speeds of 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph) or greater. The first high-speed rail service was the Japanese Shinkansen, which entered service in 1964. In the following decades, high speed rail networks were developed across much of Europe and Eastern Asia, providing fast and reliable service competitive with automobiles and airplanes. The first high-speed train in the Americas was Amtrak's Acela in the United States, which entered service in 2000.

Towards the end of the 20th century, increased awareness of the benefits of trains for transport led to a revival in their use and importance. Freight trains are significantly more efficient than trucks, while also emitting far fewer greenhouse gas emissions per ton-mile; passenger trains are also far more energy efficient than other modes of transport. According to the International Energy Agency, "On average, rail requires 12 times less energy and emits 7-11 times less GHGs per passenger-km travelled than private vehicles and airplanes, making it the most efficient mode of motorised passenger transport. Aside from shipping, freight rail is the most energy-efficient and least carbon-intensive way to transport goods." As such, rail transport is considered an important part of achieving sustainable energy. Intermodal freight trains, carrying double-stack shipping containers, have since the 1970s generated significant business for railroads and gained market share from trucks. Increased use of commuter rail has also been promoted as a means of fighting traffic congestion on highways in urban areas.

Trains can be sorted into types based on whether they haul passengers or freight (though mixed trains which haul both exist), by their weight (heavy rail for regular trains, light rail for lighter rapid transit systems), by their speed, and by what form of track they use. Conventional trains operate on two rails, but several other types of track systems are also in use around the world.

The railway terminology that is used to describe a train varies between countries. The two primary systems of terminology are International Union of Railways terms in much of the world, and Association of American Railroads terms in North America.

Trains are typically defined as one or more locomotives coupled together, with or without cars. A collection of rail vehicles may also be called a consist. A set of vehicles that are permanently or semi-permanently coupled together (such as the Pioneer Zephyr) is called a trainset. The term rolling stock is used to describe any kind of train vehicle.

Bogies, also known in North America as trucks, support the wheels and axles of trains. Trucks range from just one axle to as many as four or more. Two axle trucks are in the widest use worldwide, as they are better able to handle curves and support heavy loads than single axle trucks.

Train vehicles are linked to one another by various systems of coupling. In much of Europe, India, and South America, trains primarily use buffers and chain couplers, while in the rest of the world knuckle couplers are used.

Because trains are heavy, powerful brakes are needed to slow or stop trains, and because steel wheels on steel rails have relatively low friction, brakes must be distributed among as many wheels as possible. Early trains could only be stopped by manually applied hand brakes, requiring workers to ride on top of the cars and apply the brakes when the train went downhill. Hand brakes are still used to park cars and locomotives, but the predominant braking system for trains globally is air brakes, invented in 1869 by George Westinghouse. Air brakes are applied at once to the entire train using air hoses.

For safety and communication, trains are equipped with bells, horns, and lights. Steam locomotives typically use steam whistles rather than horns. Other types of lights may be installed on locomotives and cars, such as classification lights, Mars Lights, and ditch lights.

Locomotives are in most cases equipped with cabs, also known as driving compartments, where a train driver controls the train's operation. They may also be installed on unpowered train cars known as cab or control cars, to allow for a train to operate with the locomotive at the rear.

To prevent collisions or other accidents, trains are often scheduled, and almost always are under the control of train dispatchers. Historically, trains operated based on timetables; most passenger trains continue to operate based on fixed schedules, though freight trains may instead run on an as-needed basis, or when enough freight cars are available to justify running a train.

Simple repairs may be done while a train is parked on the tracks, but more extensive repairs will be done at a motive power depot. Similar facilities exist for repairing damaged or defective train cars.[40] Maintenance of way trains are used to build and repair railroad tracks and other equipment.

Train drivers, also known as engineers, are responsible for operating trains. Conductors are in charge of trains and their cargo, and help passengers on passenger trains. Brakeman, also known as trainmen, were historically responsible for manually applying brakes, though the term is used today to refer to crew members who perform tasks such as operating switches, coupling and uncoupling train cars, and setting handbrakes on equipment. Steam locomotives require a fireman who is responsible for fueling and regulating the locomotive's fire and boiler. On passenger trains, other crew members assist passengers, such as chefs to prepare food, and service attendants to provide food and drinks to passengers. Other passenger train specific duties include passenger car attendants, who assist passengers with boarding and alighting from trains, answer questions, and keep train cars clean, and sleeping car attendants, who perform similar duties in sleeping cars.

Around the world, various track gauges are in use for trains. In most cases, trains can only operate on tracks that are of the same gauge; where different gauge trains meet, it is known as a break of gauge. Standard gauge, defined as 1,435 mm (4 ft 8.5 in) between the rails, is the most common gauge worldwide, though both broad-gauge and narrow-gauge trains are also in use. Trains also need to fit within the loading gauge profile to avoid fouling bridges and lineside infrastructure with this being a potential limiting factor on loads such as intermodal container types that may be carried.

Train accidents sometimes occur, including derailments (when a train leaves the tracks) and train wrecks (collisions between trains). Accidents were more common in the early days of trains, when railway signal systems, centralized traffic control, and failsafe systems to prevent collisions were primitive or did not yet exist. To prevent accidents, systems such as automatic train stop are used; these are failsafe systems that apply the brakes on a train if it passes a red signal and enters an occupied block, or if any of the train's equipment malfunctions. More advanced safety systems, such as positive train control, can also automatically regulate train speed, preventing derailments from entering curves or switches too fast.

Modern trains have a very good safety record overall, comparable with air travel. In the United States between 2000 and 2009, train travel averaged 0.43 deaths per billion passenger miles traveled. While this was higher than that of air travel at 0.07 deaths per billion passenger miles, it was also far below the 7.28 deaths per billion passenger miles of car travel. In the 21st century, several derailments of oil trains caused fatalities, most notably the Canadian Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in 2013 which killed 47 people and leveled much of the town of Lac-Mégantic.

The vast majority of train-related fatalities, over 90 percent, are due to trespassing on railroad tracks, or collisions with road vehicles at level crossings. Organizations such as Operation Lifesaver have been formed to improve safety awareness at railroad crossings, and governments have also launched ad campaigns. Trains cannot stop quickly when at speed; even an emergency brake application may still require more than a mile of stopping distance. As such, emphasis is on educating motorists to yield to trains at crossings and avoid trespassing.

The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses.

Steam locomotives work by using a boiler to heat water into steam, which powers the locomotive's pistons which are in turn connected to the wheels. In the mid 20th century, most steam locomotives were replaced by diesel or electric locomotives, which were cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable. Steam locomotives are still used in heritage railways operated in many countries for the leisure and enthusiast market.

Diesel locomotives are powered with a diesel engine, which generates electricity to drive traction motors. This is known as a diesel–electric transmission, and is used on almost all diesels. Diesel power replaced steam for a variety of reasons: diesel locomotives were less complex, far more reliable, cheaper, cleaner, easier to maintain, and more fuel efficient.

Electric trains receive their current via overhead lines or through a third rail electric system, which is then used to power traction motors that drive the wheels. Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but at a higher initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic lines. Even though the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric traction is cheaper to operate thanks to lower maintenance and purchase costs for locomotives and equipment. Compared to diesel locomotives, electric locomotives produce no direct emissions and accelerate much faster, making them better suited to passenger service, especially underground.

Various other types of train propulsion have been tried, some more successful than others.

In the mid 1900s, gas turbine locomotives were developed and successfully used, though most were retired due to high fuel costs and poor reliability.

In the 21st century, alternative fuels for locomotives are under development, due to increasing costs for diesel and a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from trains. Examples include hydrail (trains powered by hydrogen fuel cells) and the use of compressed or liquefied natural gas.

Train cars, also known as wagons, are unpowered rail vehicles which are typically pulled by locomotives. Many different types exist, specialized to handle various types of cargo. Some common types include boxcars (also known as covered goods wagons) that carry a wide variety of cargo, flatcars (also known as flat wagons) which have flat tops to hold cargo, hopper cars which carry bulk commodities, and tank cars which carry liquids and gases. Examples of more specialized types of train cars include bottle cars which hold molten steel, Schnabel cars which handle very heavy loads, and refrigerator cars which carry perishable goods.

Early train cars were small and light, much like early locomotives, but over time they have become larger as locomotives have become more powerful.

A passenger train is used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars. Passenger trains travel between stations or depots, where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains.

Passenger trains can be divided into short and long distance services.

Long distance passenger trains travel over hundreds or even thousands of miles between cities. The longest passenger train service in the world is Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway between Moscow and Vladivostok, a distance of 9,289 kilometers (5,772 mi).[66] In general, long distance trains may take days to complete their journeys, and stop at dozens of stations along their routes. For many rural communities, they are the only form of public transportation available.

Short distance or regional passenger trains have travel times measured in hours or even minutes, as opposed to days. They run more frequently than long distance trains, and are often used by commuters. Short distance passenger trains specifically designed for commuters are known as commuter rail.

High speed trains are designed to be much faster than conventional trains, and typically run on their own separate tracks than other, slower trains. The first high speed train was the Japanese Shinkansen, which opened in 1964.[69] In the 21st century, services such as the French TGV and German Intercity Express are competitive with airplanes in travel time over short to medium distances.

A subset of high speed trains are higher speed trains, which bridge the gap between conventional and high speed trains, and travel at speeds between the two. Examples include the Northeast Regional in the United States, the Gatimaan Express in India, and the KTM ETS in Malaysia.

A number of types of trains are used to provide rapid transit to urban areas. These are distinct from traditional passenger trains in that they operate more frequently, typically do not share tracks with freight trains, and cover relatively short distances. Many different kinds of systems are in use globally.

Rapid transit trains that operate in tunnels below ground are known as subways, undergrounds, or metros. Elevated railways operate on viaducts or bridges above the ground, often on top of city streets. "Metro" may also refer to rapid transit that operates at ground level. In many systems, two or even all three of these types may exist on different portions of a network.

Trams, also known in North America as streetcars, typically operate on or parallel to streets in cities, with frequent stops and a high frequency of service.

Light rail is a catchall term for a variety of systems, which may include characteristics of trams, passenger trains, and rapid transit systems.

There are a number of specialized trains which differ from the traditional definition of a train as a set of vehicles which travels on two rails.

Monorails were developed to meet medium-demand traffic in urban transit, and consist of a train running on a single rail, typically elevated. Monorails represent a small proportion of the train systems in use worldwide. Almost all monorail trains use linear induction motors.

To achieve much faster operation over 500 kilometers per hour (310 mph), maglev technology has been researched since the early 20th century. The technology uses magnets to levitate the train above the track, reducing friction and allowing higher speeds. The first commercial maglev train was an airport shuttle introduced in 1984 at Birmingham Airport in England.

The Shanghai Maglev Train, opened in 2003, is the fastest commercial train service of any kind, operating at speeds of up to 430 km/h (270 mph). Japan's L0 Series maglev holds the record for the world's fastest train ever, with a top speed of 603.0 kilometers per hour (374.7 mph). Maglev has not yet been used for inter-city mass transit routes, with only a few examples in use worldwide as of 2021.

Mine trains are operated in large mines and carry both workers and goods. They are usually powered by electricity, to prevent emissions which would pose a health risk to workers underground.

A preserved armored train

While they have long been important in transporting troops and military equipment, trains have occasionally been used for direct combat. Armored trains have been used in a number of conflicts, as have railroad based artillery systems. Railcar-launched ICBM systems have also been used by nuclear weapon states.

For climbing steep slopes, specialized rack railroads are used. In order to avoid slipping, a rack and pinion system is used, with a toothed rail placed between the two regular rails, which meshes with a drive gear under the locomotive.

Funiculars are also used to climb steep slopes, but instead of a rack use a rope, which is attached to two cars and a pulley. The two funicular cars travel up and down the slope on parallel sets of rails when the pulley is rotated. This design makes funiculars an efficient means of moving people and cargo up and down slopes.The earliest funicular railroad, the Reisszug, opened around 1500.

Freight trains are dedicated to the transport of cargo (also known as goods), rather than people, and are made up of freight cars or wagons. Longer freight trains typically operate between classification yards, while local trains provide freight service between yards and individual loading and unloading points along railroad lines. Major origin or destination points for freight may instead be served by unit trains, which exclusively carry one type of cargo and move directly from the origin to the destination and back without any intermediate stops.

Under the right circumstances, transporting freight by train is less expensive than other modes of transport, and also more energy efficient than transporting freight by road. In the United States, railroads on average moved a ton of freight 702 kilometers (436 mi) per gallon of fuel, as of 2008, an efficiency four times greater than that of trucks. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute estimates that train transportation of freight is between 1.9 and 5.5 times more efficient than by truck, and also generates significantly less pollution. Rail freight is most economic when goods are being carried in bulk and over large distances, but it is less suited to short distances and small loads. With the advent of containerization, freight rail has become part of an intermodal freight network linked with trucking and container ships.

The main disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility and for this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to road competition. Many governments are trying to encourage more freight back on to trains because of the community benefits that it would bring.

From the dawn of railroading, trains have had a significant cultural impact worldwide. Fast train travel made possible in days or hours journeys which previously took months. Transport of both freight and passengers became far cheaper, allowing for networked economies over large areas. Towns and cities along railroad lines grew in importance, while those bypassed declined or even became ghost towns. Major cities such as Chicago became prominent because they were places where multiple train lines met. In the United States, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad played a major role in the settling of the western part of the nation by non-indigenous migrants and its incorporation into the rest of the country. The Russian Trans-Siberian Railway had a similar impact by connecting the vast country from east to west, and making travel across the frozen Siberia possible.

Trains have long had a major influence on music, art, and literature. Many films heavily involve or are set on trains. Toy train sets are commonly used by children, traditionally boys. Railfans are found around the world, along with hobbyists who create model train layouts. Train enthusiasts generally have a positive relationship with the railroad industry, though sometimes cause issues by trespassing.

Company headquarters, Gdansk

In 1991 in Gdańsk, Marek Piechocki and Jerzy Lubianiec started their activity in the clothing industry. After four years, the company initially operating under the name of PH Mistral s.c. was transformed into LPP (abbreviation of the surnames of its founders - Lubianiec, Piechocki and Partners). In 1997 the office in Shanghai was officially open. In the late 1990s, the owners of LPP decided to create their first brand - Reserved - and build their own retail network. The first store of the brand, which to this day remains the pillar of LPP group, was opened in 1998[14][15] in Gdynia.

In 2001, LPP made its début on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.[2][16] The next two years saw the expansion of Reserved brand to the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. In 2002, the company stores were opened in Russia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Hungary, and in 2003 in Lithuania, Ukraine and Slovakia. Thanks to the success of the brand, the company expanded its portfolio and opened a Cropp store in Poland in 2004. In the following years the brand was launched in Estonia, Slovakia, and Latvia (2005) as well as in Lithuania, Russia, and the Czech Republic (2006). The years 2007 - 2008 were the period of development of activity on the Romanian and Bulgarian markets. In 2008, LPP opened its Distribution Centre in Pruszcz Gdański. In the same year, LPP took over a Cracow-based company - Artman - owner of House and Mohito brands. Owing to this transaction, LPP became the largest clothing company in Poland and the owner of four brands. In 2013, the company's portfolio was expanded by Sinsay brand.

In 2014, the company was included in the WIG20 index, and the flagship brand - Reserved - appeared on the German market. In the same year, all LPP products made their début in the Balkans, in Croatia. In the following year, the company expanded into the Middle East. At the end of 2017, the LPP sales network comprised more than 1,700 stores with a total area of 1 million square metres.In 2017, the LPP product office was opened in Warsaw, and Reserved, Cropp and House brands made their débuts in Belarus and Serbia. In 2017 LPP opened a Reserved store on Oxford Street in London. 2018 saw further débuts of LPP stores on new markets, this time in Israel, Kazakhstan, and Slovenia. In 2019 the Company opened first stores in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Finland.

A Reserved store in Germany

LPP has a network of stores comprising the total of over 2,000 stores of five clothing brands. Their products are offered in 27 countries.

LPP is the owner of the largest and most cutting edge distribution centre in Central and Eastern Europe, located in Pruszcz Gdański. In 2017, LPP launched a new Fulfillment Center in SEGRO Logistics Park Stryków near Łódź, responsible for e-commerce services for the LPP brands. The facility is operated by Arvato. At the same time, LPP launched a similar warehouse near Moscow.

A Reserved store in Germany

As a result of further dynamic development of the brick-and-mortar and e-commerce network, in 2019, the company launched a warehouse for handling internet orders in Romania. A year later, the company also signed a lease contract for warehouse space in Slovakia to serve customers of online stores of the company from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2021, the company started the construction of the Distribution Center in Brześć Kujawski and Fulfillment Centers in Moscow and Pruszcz Gdański.

Modern warehouse infrastructure allows the company to sell and distribute over 259 million pieces of clothing and accessories per year.

LPP does not operate its own factories. The clothing of the Group's brands is produced mainly in Asia, but also in Poland and other European countries, including Italy, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Since 1997, the company has had an office in Shanghai, and since 2015 also in the capital of Bangladesh - Dhaka. The employees of the facility are responsible, among others, for the acquisition of suppliers, support for particular stages of production, as well as quality control.

LPP SA has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2001. At the time of its début, the price per share was PLN 48. In 2014, LPP was included in the WIG20 index of the 20 largest companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In the same year, LPP was included in the MSCI index.

According to the company's own data, the number of votes at the General Meeting of Shareholders is as follows:

• Semper Simul Foundation – 60,8%
• Sky Foundation – 7%
• Others – 32,2%

In 2018 the founders of the company, in order to ensure its long-term continuity and avoid the fragmentation of LPP capital in the future, decided to establish a foundation and contribute their shares there. In 2020, the Semper Simul Foundation, which is the majority shareholder of the company, took over the controlling stake of LPP, guaranteeing lasting and stable management of the family business and the implementation of its strategy.

• 2001: Puls Biznesu award — Gazele Biznesu for LPP as one of the most dynamically developing companies
• 2002: Gazeta Giełdy Parkiet award — Najlepiej Zarządzana Spółka Giełdowa
• 2003: Economic Award of the President of the Republic of Poland — Najlepsze Polskie Przedsiębiorstwo
• 2004: Dziennik Rzeczpospolita award — Orzeł Rzeczpospolitej
• 2004: Central & Eastern European Retailer of the Year
• 2008: Dziennik Rzeczpospolita award — Orzeł Rzeczpospolitej
• 2008: Puls Biznesu award — Filary Polskiej Gospodarki
• 2008: Dziennik Rzeczpospolita award — Ranking Najcenniejszych Polskich Marek
• 2009: Puls Biznesu Award — Giełdowa Spółka Roku — Relacje Inwestorskie
• 2011: Puls Biznesu Award — Giełdowa Spółka Roku 1st place in the main ranking, “Kompetencje Zarządu” category, “Sukces w 2011 roku”
• 2012: Gazeta Giełdy Parkiet award — Spółka Roku mWig40
• 2013: Forbes magazine award – Diamenty
• 2013: Dziennik Rzeczpospolita award — Dobra Firma
• 2014: The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development PARP award — Pracodawca Jutra
• 2015: Gazeta Giełda Parkiet award — ranking of companies with the best investor relations — 1st place
• 2015: American Forbes magazine award — “Most Innovative Growth Companies”
• 2016: Budowa Roku 2015 — the competition is organized by the Ministry of Construction, the Polish Association of Construction Engineers and Technicians and the Main Office for Construction Supervision
• 2016: Award of the decade — “Rzeczpospolita” and Deloitte's ranking
• 2017: Wprost magazine Ranking 200 Największych Polskich Firm 2017
• 2017: Forbes magazine award
• 2017: Polska Firma — Międzynarodowy Czempion, distinction in the category: Eksporter: Polska Firma Prywatna — duże przedsiębiorstwo.
• 2018: Dziennik Rzeczpospolita award — Ranking Najcenniejszych Polskich Marek: 1st place Reserved, 3rd place House, 4th place Cropp.
• 2018: 3rd place in Research on investor relations in WIG30 companies according to institutional investors.
• 2019: Narodowy Sukces — During the Congress 590, one of the largest cyclical economic events in Poland, at the gala of Economic Awards of the President of the Republic of Poland, the company received an award in the National Success category.
• 2020: Digital Excellence competition, recognizing companies making digital transformations, LPP was awarded the Digital Excellence award in the Digital Capabilities category.
• 2020: Eagle of Innovation - award of the Rzeczpospolita daily.
• 2020: Green Eagle - the award of the Rzeczpospolita daily.

Since 2013, LPP has been systematically working on the implementation of standards for improving safety and working conditions in the clothing industry in Asia. Since 2014, a Code of Conduct has been in force for all suppliers working with LPP. The document takes into account the key provisions of the International Labour Organization conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and sets out the requirements for suppliers, including, among others, wage policy, prohibition of child labour, voluntary nature of work, freedom of association, occupational health and safety principles. In order to increase supervision over the factories producing for LPP in Bangladesh, in addition to controlling its own inspectors, the company decided to commission an international auditor, SGS, to verify the actual compliance of suppliers in Bangladesh with the Code of Conduct.

In addition, in October 2013, LPP, as the only Polish clothing company, joined the ACCORD agreement aimed at improving safety in clothing factories in Bangladesh (Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh).[59] Thanks to the cooperation and financial support of the signatories of the agreement, a total of more than 1600 Asian production plants and sewing plants were subject to inspection. ACCORD also contributed to the implementation of recovery programmes in more than 90% of the factories (as at the end of 2017). As part of the “Safety Committee Training” programme, one of the key projects of the agreement, by the end of 2017, 882 training courses were conducted in which nearly 1.2 million employees participated.

At the beginning of 2018, LPP signed another 3-year extension of the agreement, the so-called “Transition ACCORD”.[60] Its main objective is to prepare the Bengali government to carry out independent inspections and audits in the factories and to ensure further implementation of measures aimed at sustainable improvement of working conditions. As of 1 September 2021, a new initiative - called the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry (International Accord for short) - was established to replace the existing ACCORD initiative. Its aim is to continue and expand the joint efforts of the signatories of the agreement together with trade unions to ensure safety in garment factories.

The aim of its activities is to support people threatened by social exclusion, help people in difficult life situations and ensure health protection.

LPP conducts activities aimed at respecting natural resources at various stages of the company's activity — from the selection of raw materials for clothing, through sales, to the operation of the company's offices and logistics facilities.

• introduction of the Eco Aware line consisting of more environmentally friendly materials (organic cotton, Tencel Lyocel, EcoVero, certified linen) in collections of the flagship brand Reserved,
• declaration of the introduction of ecological lines to the collection of all brands belonging to LPP from 2019,
• resignation from natural fur and angora in the production of clothes,
• declaration that the use of mohair should be phased out by 2020 or obtained in a humane manner,
• introduction of recycled cardboard boxes in the online sale of the Reserved and Mohito collections,
• reduction of electricity consumption in the new LPP stores thanks to the use of modern HVAC and progressive LED lighting,
• performance of an energy audit in LPP offices and stores,
• launching a used garments collection programme and donating the clothing to the homeless as part of activities combining aid with care for the environment and giving second life to textiles,
• joining the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and committing to eliminate plastic packaging that is no longer usable, recyclable or compostable by 2025,
• announcement of the new Sustainable Development Strategy "For People for Our Planet" for 2020–2025.
• accession to the Polish Plastic Pact.
• joining the Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals global initiative for chemical safety in the clothing industry.

BelAZ (Belarusian: Беларускі аўтамабільны завод, romanized: Belaruski autamabilny zavod, lit. 'Belarusian Automobile Plant', Russian: Белорусский автомобильный завод or БелАЗ) is a Belarusian automobile plant and one of the world's largest manufacturers of large and especially large dump trucks, as well as other heavy transport equipment for the mining and construction industries.

BelAZ is a site for one of the largest Commonwealth of Independent States investment projects. The factory finalized two of the three scheduled phases of the technical re-equipment and upgrades. The Quality Management System applied in research and development, fabrication, erection and after-sale service of the equipment complies with international ISO 9000 standards.

• In 1948, a peat extraction machinery plant was constructed by the railroad station Žodzina.
• In 1951 the plant was expanded into the plant of road construction and land improvement machinery and renamed into "Dormash" (Дормаш), an abbreviation for "дорожное машиностроение", "road construction machinery building".
• In 1958 it was renamed into BelAZ. Initially it produced MAZ trucks.
• In 1961 the first 27-tonne BelAZ pit and quarry dump truck was manufactured.
• In 1990 a 280-tonne truck was manufactured.
• In 2001 the director of BelAZ plant, Pavel Maryev, was awarded the order Hero of Belarus.
• In 2005 plans were revealed for production of BelAZ 75600 with 320 tonne (352,600 kg, or 352.6 tons) capacity, ordered by Kuzbass mining.
• In 2006 the independent Mogilev Automobile Plant (MoAZ) was merged into BelAZ.
• In fall of 2006 the first delivery of BelAZ-75600.
• In April 2012, BelAZ announced it would hold an IPO – the first in Belarus.
• In September 2013, BelAZ presented the first sample of mining dump truck BelAZ-75710, the world largest dump truck with 450 tons load capacity.

Mining dump truck BelAZ-7547

On 21 June 2021, BelAZ was added to the sanctions list of the European Union for repressions against workers who participated in mass protests against the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenka following the controversial presidential election of 2020. According to the official decision of the EU,

[BelAZ] is a source of significant revenue for the Lukashenka regime. Lukashenka stated that the government will always support the company, and described it as “Belarusian brand” and “part of the national legacy”. OJSC BelAZ has offered its premises and equipment to stage a political rally in support of the regime. Therefore OJSC “Belaz” benefits from and supports the Lukashenka regime.

Moreover,

the employees of OJSC “Belaz” who took part in strikes and peaceful protests in the aftermath of the fraudulent August 2020 elections in Belarus were threatened with layoffs and intimidated by the company management. A group of employees was locked indoors by OJSC Belaz to prevent them from joining the other protesters. The company management presented a strike to the media as a staff meeting. Therefore OJSC “Belaz” is responsible for the repression of civil society and supports the Lukashenka regime.

On the same day, BelAZ was also sanctioned by Canada. Later, Switzerland also sanctioned the company.

On 30 June 2021, Rolls-Royce Holdings ended its cooperation with BelAZ as a result of EU sanctions, in September 2021 Cummins joined the ban.

BelAZ-548A (1967)

BelAZ-75214

BelAZ-7513

BelAZ-75450

• MAZ-525, 25 t (1958–1965)
• BelAZ-540, 27 t (1965)
• BelAZ-540A
• BelAZ-540B, 45 t
• BelAZ-548A, 40 t (1967)
• BelAZ-548B, 65 t
• BelAZ-549, 75–80 t (1969)
• BelAZ-7519, 110–120 t (1977)
• BelAZ-7521, 180 t (1979)
• BelAZ-75211, 170–220 t (1983)
• BelAZ-75214
• BelAZ-7522
• BelAZ-75303
• BelAZ-75483

• BelAZ-7540, 30 t
• BelAZ-7545, 45 t
• BelAZ-7547, 42–45 t
• BelAZ-7555, 55–60 t (since 1994)
• BelAZ-7557, 90 t
• BelAZ-7513, 110–130 t (since 1996)
• BelAZ-7517, 154–160 t
• BelAZ-7530, 180–220 t
• BelAZ-7531, 240 t
• BelAZ-7560, 320–360 t
• BelAZ-7558, 90 t
• BelAZ-7571, 450 t (since 2013)

Note: New models are highlighted in bold.

• MoAZ-4048, front-end loader, 7.5 t
• BelAZ-7822, front-end loader, 7 t
• BelAZ-7823, Wheel dozer
• Belaz 78221 Wheel loader
• MoAZ-60148, scraper
• MoAZ-60007, scraper
• Concrete mixer trucks

• MoAZ-75296, low-profile mining and tunneling concrete mixer truck
• BelAZ-74212, aircraft tug

• Articulated haulers
• Underground vehicles
• Vehicles for mine-servicing works
• Vehicles for metallurgical works
• Goods wagons: covered hoppers, open wagons, flat wagons

Kyivstar (Ukrainian: Київстар) is a Ukrainian telecommunications company, provides communication services and data transmission based on a broad range of fixed and mobile technologies, including 3G and 4G (LTE). "Kyivstar" mobile network covers all cities and towns of Ukraine, as well as more than 28 thousand rural settlements, all main national and regional highways, majority of sea and river coasts. As of the year 2018, Kyivstar is the largest mobile operator, as well as one of the largest internet providers of broadband access, in Ukraine.

JSC Kyivstar, founded and registered in Ukraine in 1994, has provided mobile communications services from 1997. The company's head office is located in Kyiv (Kiev). Kyivstar is a member of the International Telecom Group VEON (Netherlands). VEON shares are in free float on the stock exchanges of NASDAQ, New York and Euronext, Amsterdam. VEON includes operating companies of LetterOne — 47.9% of shares, Telenor — 14.6%, The Stichting — 8.3%. The remaining 29.2% of shares are in free float.

Since 2006 Kyivstar has been implementing Social responsibility projects.

In 2017, the total revenue of Kyivstar amounted to 16.5 billion, 10.6% more than the year before.[5] By the end of 2016, Kyivstar became one of 29 Ukrainian companies that, according to the American consulting group of Deloitte, got a rating of 500 largest companies of Central and Eastern Europe.

The company was founded in 1994; the first call within the Kyivstar network was made on 9 December 1997. The company is a subsidiary of the VimpelCom Ltd.

From its very beginning, the company has always been believed to be tied with relatives of the former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, thus getting preferential attitude from various government agencies in the past.

Old Kyivstar logo

Kyivstar's network codes are +38068 (former Beeline customers), +38067 (postpay and prepaid customers), +38096, +38097 and +38098 (DJuice and prepaid).

The company has enabled its existing network with Push-to-Talk capabilities in January 2007.

Kyivstar's main local competitors are Vodafone Ukraine and Lifecell.

In 2004, Kyivstar became the official mobile operator of the Ukrainian Olympic team.

In 2007, Alain Robert climbed the 63-meter high Kyivstar building in Kyiv as part of company's promotion campaign.

In 2010, Global success of such projects as "DMD" (Djuice Music Drive), "Kyivstar Subrscribers handbook", and "Mobile email".

On 5 February 2015 Kyivstar officially gave up its base stations in territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists during the War in Donbass. The following months the company accused the separatists Donetsk People's Republic of setting up its own mobile network operator using these base stations. On 18 April 2015 pro-Russian separatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko issued a decree stating that all equipment that Kyivstar gave up falls under the control of the separatists in order to “meet the needs of the population in the communication services”.Kyivstar's president Petro Chernyshov labelled the Donetsk People's Republic operator "It's just robbery".

Kyivstar has been involved in the implementation of the social responsibility projects since 2006 focusing on 5 areas: digital inclusion, entrepreneurship development, internet safety, corporate volunteering[4] and partnerships for sustainable development.[20] Kyivstar supports the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN General Assembly. The company follows Goal 4: Quality Education, Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals.[4]

Since 2017, Kyivstar has been supporting the GoCamp educational project in cooperation with the largest international volunteer initiative in Eastern Europe GoGlobal. It is aimed to allow Ukrainian schoolchildren to master foreign languages and communicate in a multicultural environment. Under the project, Kyivstar initiated the development of an interactive training course Entrepreneurship & Innovation Development. The company's specialists in the capacity of volunteers and mentors organize training webinars for country's students and teachers.

In September 2019, the operator launched the first online mobile literacy school Smartphone for Parents in Ukraine. It is an interactive video course for seniors with step-by-step instructions from turning on a new smartphone for the first time and setting it up for their needs to use instant messengers and various applications. Besides, as part of a social initiative, the telecom operator launched an information campaign. The campaign's goal is to bridge the digital gap between generations and overcome ageism related to technologies.[22] In December 2020, the project became a winner in the “Telecommunications” nomination of the European Excellence Awards, and received bronze in the Effie Awards Ukraine national competition in the category “PR, Corporate Reputation”.

On February 11, 2010 (Safer Internet Day), the telecom operator Kyivstar launched an educational portal #stop_sexting (Ukrainian:: #stop_sexтинг) and an information campaign #do_not_believe_it (Ukrainian:: #не_ведись) in association with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children's Rights Office.

At the end of 2018, Kyivstar and International Charitable Foundation Ukrainian Philanthropic Market founded the initiative Children's Hope (Ukrainian: «Дитяча надія»). The goal of the project is to help children fighting cardiac anomaly and oncological diseases. Kyivstar has created a transparent and convenient system allowing its subscribers to make charitable contributions quickly and conveniently via SMS. Charitable contribution for the project exceeded 6 million hryvnias in 2020. The funds were used to purchase equipment for more than 15 hospitals throughout Ukraine.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic quarantine measures have been introduced in Ukraine in March 2020 the operator's assistance's in supporting the society amounted to 80 million hryvnias. (30 million hryvnias out of UAH 80 million h is a direct charitable aid for the purchase of 10 ALV, 20 patient monitors, and almost 7,000 protective suits for doctors. The charitable project was implemented in cooperation with the Charitable Foundation YOUR SUPPORT (Ukrainian: «Твоя Опора»). In the first months of the pandemic, Kyivstar, as a telecom operator, focused on helping society adapt to the realities of communication at a distance. The company gave roaming bonuses for the ones forced to stay abroad, provided free consultations from doctors in the Doctor Online application for subscribers of all operators, created opportunities for online training free of network traffic charges, and developed complex solutions for remote offices. All subscribers could make free phone calls to the Ministry of Health's hotline and, upon its request, received an SMS-mailing with instructions on safety rules in the pandemic. Also, Kyivstar supported medical workers. During the quarantine, about 70,000 doctors received 150 hryvnias of bonuses for mobile communications (some of them – twice), and they also had unlimited access to the mobile Internet for three summer months.

As of April 2018, the company has tariffs for two groups of users - with prepayment and contract.

For prepaid users rates are in the range of 75 UAH/month ("Unlim Social Nets")[8] to 225 UAH/month ("Maximum Unlim").

For postpaid users, the rates range from 100 UAH/month ("Kyivstar 4G")[10] up to 1000 UAH/month ("Kyivstar 4G Business VIP").

As of December 2017, Kyivstar serves more than 26 million subscribers. The Kyivstar network covers most Ukrainian cities and towns, more than 28 thousand rural settlements, all main highways and the majority of coasts and rivers, providing coverage of 99% of Ukraine's population. 3G Kyivstar network is available in over 10,000 settlements, where over 80% of the population of Ukraine lives.

As of December 2017, the share of Kyivstar in the mobile market was 47.9% in subscribers, and 47.8% in income. Kyivstar GSM provides communication services throughout their coverage, as well as roaming in 195 countries on 5 continents. The company also provides services to more than 800 thousand users with access to broadband Internet on the basis of FTTB. A broadband Internet access service ("Home Internet" service) operates in 138 cities of Ukraine.

• 5 network codes — 67, 68, 96, 97, 98;
• numbering capacity in fixed telephone networks in many cities of Ukraine (for example, 2000 numbers with indexes 695ххх, 696ххх in Poltava, 20000 numbers with indexes 781хххх, 782хххх in Odessa, until July 2014 — 5,000 rooms index 905ххх — 909ххх in Sevastopol.

The company is managed by a Board of Directors, which includes:

• Oleksandr Komarov, President
• Valentin Neacsu, a citizen of Romania. Technical Director.
• Henrich Daubner, a citizen of Slovakia. Financial Director.

ATB-Market was founded in 1993 in Dnipro as a group of six groceries. In 1998 the company received its current name ATB — a short name of AgroTechBusiness.

The exterior of the ATB store in Kryvyi Rih.

At the moment there are 1224 discounters operate in 117 cities and towns in 15 regions of Ukraine. The company was set up in 1993 year in the city of Dnipro. For the last four years the company has been showing the highest rate of expansion in Ukraine. In 2006 year 50 ATB discounter shops were launched in Ukraine, in 2007 – 52 shops, in 2008 – 75 and in 2009 – 83 shops, respectively. In 2009 the Company was officially recognized as a retail trade leader due to its drastic expansion.

Inside a typical ATB store

Development of own logistics service is of particular interest to ATB Market. The company is the owner of the largest national logistics complex comprising four B-category distribution centers, three of them are located in Dnipro city, and one in Donetsk. The monthly volume of the goods turnover processed by the distribution centers of ATB Market is 70,000 tons. The warehouse complex ensures supplies to all the shops of ATB trade network by planning, organizing and recording the commodity flows in the territory of Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern Ukraine. Further development of the company's logistics base is planned to be carried out in 2010. Two large regional distribution centers are planned to be built.[5] One of them shall be servicing the shops located in the Southern regions of Ukraine, the other - those operating in the Northern regions of the country.

In its management the company uses the experience gained by the “classical” European discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. Goods turnover of ATB retail network in 2009 amounted UAH 8.9 billion Ukrainian hryvnyas (VAT inclusive).

More than 1 million Ukrainians do their shopping in ATB every day, and over 350 million shoppers are serviced yearly by the retail network.

ATB stores in the territory occupied by Donetsk People's Republic were seized to form a new supermarket chain called "The First Republican Supermarket"[6] while stores in the territory occupied by Luhansk People's Republic were seized to form a new supermarket chain called "Народный" (People's supermarket).[7] ATBs in Crimea were seized by Russians to create "PUD", a supermarket with a similar logo and inside of the market to ATB.