COSSACK GUARDS GENERALS AS MILITARY-POLITICAL ELITE SEGMENT OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE OF 1881-1914: SOCIAL-CULTURAL ASPECT
The author considers one of the most exotic and little-known segment of the Russian Empire military elite of the end of the XIX<sup>th</sup> - the beginning of the XX<sup>th</sup> century - Guards Cossack generals, concludes that Cossack generals (except for individual cases) were not incorporated into the military-political elite of the Empire, and shows that their career and social status were determined by the general character of an average Guards Cossack General's advancement taking into account Cossack specificity.