The Cossacks: a guarantor of peace or a land‐mine in Russia's federalism?

Russia's policy towards the Cossacks may prove detrimental to the development of federalism in Russia. Their rehabilitation is important for the rebirth of Russian culture. Yet, the Cossacks as a social‐military institution, may further harm the relations between ethnic Russians and non‐Russians in the Caucasus, which may revive the dispute over the preservation of the ethnic principle in Russia's federalism.