Military organization of Cossacks

thumb|Grand Crown Hetman Jan Amor Tarnowski by [[Marcello Bacciarelli, 1781]] Hetman is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, it was the title of the second-highest military commander after the king in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 16th to 18th centuries. Hetman was also the title of the head of the Cossack state in Ukraine after the Khmelnytsky Uprising of

right|thumb|262px|Ivan Matveevich Krasnoshchekov, Ataman of the Don Cossacks. Portrait is from 1761. The term Ataman is a theme of various Russian folk songs () Ataman (variants: otaman, wataman, vataman; ; , ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukrainian version of the same word is hetman. Otaman in Ukrainian Cossack forces was a position of a lower rank.

The papakha is a sheepskin hat worn by men throughout the Caucasus and also in uniformed regiments in the region and beyond. thumb|A Caucasus|Caucasian wearing a papakha

The shashka or shasqua (Abkhaz: Аҳәа, Асахәа; , – long-knife; Chechen: Гlорда, Гlурда/Терс-маймал; Dargin: ШушкIа; Georgian: ჭოლაური, ch'olauri; Ingush: Гурде/Г1ама; Lezgin: Шуьш; Ossetian: ахсан/ахсæн, Шашкæ; ) is a kind of Caucasian sabre: a single-edged, single-handed, and guardless sabre. The comparatively gentle curve of a shashka blade puts the weapon midway between a radically curved sabre and a straight sword, effective for both cutting and thrusting.

Yesaul, osaul or osavul (, ) (from Turkic yasaul - chief), was a post and a rank in the Russian and Ukrainian Cossack units.

'''''' ( or ) is a senior military rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavic states, and a historical military designation. Depending on a country, it had different meanings. In the 19th century with the expansion of the Imperial Russia into Turkestan and the Central Asia, the word was even used to identify some Turkic leaders as a basic Russian word for aqsaqal (white-beard).

thumb|Sotnyk of Ukrainian Cossacks Sotnik or sotnyk (; ; ) was a military rank among the Cossack starshyna (military officers), the Russian streltsy and Cossack host, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Ukrainian Galician Army, and the Ukrainian People's Army.

thumb|Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz|Chodkiewicz of [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, holding a buława]] right|thumb|Buława of Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły

military rank in Poland and Ukraine

A plastun or plastoon (Ukrainian, ) was a Cossack foot scouting and sentry military unit. Originally, they were part of the Black Sea Cossack Host and then later in the 19th and 20th centuries Kuban Cossack Host.