Economic Views of A.N. Kuropatkin and the Policy of the Ministry of War in the Cossack Hosts in 1898-1900

The figure of the Minister of War of the Russian Empire A.N. Kuropatkin is still causing controversy among scientists. Some consider him incompetent military, not consistent with his position, and others consider him victim of circumstances and propaganda of political opponents. On the other hand, the relationship between Russian Ministers of War and Cossack Hosts is still poorly understood, and the number of works on this topic in contemporary historiography is extremely small. Therefore, this article attempts to analyze the figure of A.N. Kuropatkin from an unexpected point of view, having considered his activity as the actual leader of the Cossack Hosts of the Russian Empire. The author shows that A.N. Kuropatkin was primarily interested in the economic problems of the Cossack Hosts. Shortly after taking office as Minister of War, in 1898, he recognized the development of the economic crisis in the Don Host and its approach in other Cossack Hosts. However, the extremely peculiar and intricate economic views of the Minister of War did not allow him to develop feasible program for solving the economic problems of the Cossack Hosts. The program developed by the commission of General N.A. Maslakovets, also did not satisfy A.N. Kuropatkin. Having failed to provide adequate financial support for the proposed reforms, the Minister of War actually abandoned most of the originally planned measures, limiting himself to introducing a subsidy to serving Cossacks. The article concluded that this development of events was largely due to the peculiarities of the personality of A.N. Kuropatkin. Having correctly set the initial goals, the Minister of War did not have the determination or the abilities necessary to achieve them. However, even a partial realization of the ideas of A.N. Kuropatkin markedly improved the economic situation of the Cossacks.