The traditional narrative on nineteenth century cossacks in the Russian Empire portrays this period as a time of “unification” and “regularization”. Still, the preconditions that led to the 1820s-1840s homogenizing reforms of irregulars’ military service are often omitted or oversimplified. Thus, as a step towards better understanding of the later period, in this article I will overview the problems
encountered by Russian imperial officials regarding the organization and administration of cossack units that, presumably, largely influenced the course of later reforms.