Russia is increasingly utilizing Cossack associations in Europe and beyond as instruments for espionage and the conduct of hybrid influence operations. Their primary threat lies in their capacity to operate autonomously as legalized paramilitary cells under the direction of Russian special services.
These structures are capable of rapid mobilization and, if necessary, can be transformed into militarized or agent-based assets.
The Kremlin is expanding its international Cossack networks through the organization of cultural events, youth outreach activities, and initiatives coordinated via Russian diplomatic missions.On 16 June, the 7th “International Cossack Bivouac” was held in Hanover, attended by participants from across Germany and a delegation from the Spanish Association of Volga Cossacks. In his video address to the attendees, Ataman of the Grand Don Army Sergei Bodryakov stated that “in the current tense political situation, Cossacks living outside their homeland help preserve the spirit of Russian Cossackdom and the memory of the victories of the Russian army.”
According to analysts, such cultural activities serve as a convenient cover for groups involved in Russian psychological and propaganda operations.Across Europe, there is a noticeable increase in Cossack activity, as openly acknowledged by the Ataman of the Finnish Cossack yurt and authorized representative of the Council of European Atamans, Andrei Shestakov. According to him, Cossack structures are now actively developing in nearly all European countries.
They utilize museums as cultural centers and conduct youth work, providing patriotic education in a spirit of loyalty to Russia.Cossack formations abroad are not the spontaneous initiative of Russian émigrés. They are strictly subordinated to Moscow through militarized structures of the Russian Federation.
A key role is played by the “Union of Cossacks-Warriors of Russia and Abroad” under the leadership of Nikolai Dyakonov, as well as the command of the “Grand Don Army.” Coordination of their activities is carried out directly through Russian embassies, consulates, and representations of Rossotrudnichestvo, on the premises of which they hold semi-closed congresses.
Historically, the so-called Russian Cossacks emerged in the 15th–16th centuries as free self-governing communities in the Don and Kuban steppes. However, they were subsequently fully subjugated by the Russian Empire and transformed into a military instrument for border expansion and the suppression of internal revolts.
The defining feature of contemporary Russian Cossackdom is that it constitutes an artificial, fully Kremlin-controlled paramilitary entity in which ethnic identity has been replaced by state militarism and loyalty to imperial ideology and Russian chauvinism.
Cossack formations are used to legitimize Russian aggression and militarism in the eyes of Europeans. They promote the “victories of Russian arms,” collect funds and humanitarian aid for Russian “volunteer” battalions fighting against Ukraine, and engage in so-called “patriotic education” of children among European citizens and migrants, instilling unconditional loyalty to Kremlin policies.
Within Russia itself, there is intensive mass militarization of society and expansion of Cossack structures. This experience and personnel are exported to Europe through family and cultural ties, where efforts are subsequently made to organize and place these foreign cells under centralized control.
Materials from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany (BfV), as well as annual reports of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (SUPO) and counter-intelligence agencies of other EU countries, have for several years documented the activities of Russian “cultural societies” that conduct paramilitary training and maintain contacts with radical European groups.
For Europe, the danger posed by these Cossack units lies in their ability to function as legalized paramilitary cells of Russian special services, capable of rapid mobilization and potential use in sabotage and internal destabilization operations. Through the intensified militarization of their members and the recruitment of new youth, these structures are effectively creating a network of “sleeper agents” and centers of potential social tension within the EU.
Russian Cossack formations abroad represent a threat to European security comparable to that of conventional saboteurs or classical agents of influence. At the appropriate moment, upon instructions from the Kremlin, they may be activated for hybrid operations aimed at destabilizing a NATO member state.
Operating under the guise of cultural organizations and centers, these de facto militarized structures serve as instruments of influence equivalent to elements of a regular army. The development of their combat-capable cells must not escape the attention of national law enforcement agencies and counter-intelligence services.