One by one, the priest anointed the rebel recruits with holy water. In the dilapidated grounds of the front-line church, each fighter knelt to kiss a Bible, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, the billowing flag of the Great Don Army, and an antique saber, touching their lips to its curved blade.
Vice News: We witnessed an initiation ceremony that turned ragtag rebels into Cossacks
Cossacks sit at their headquarters in the village of Mihailivka near eastern Ukrainian town of Stakhanov on April 4, 2015.
