Cossack Council (Cossack Rada Or Козацька Рада)

A souvienier deck from Ukraine, consisting of 36 cards, with art from renowned artist Vladislav Erko. This deck features the Ukranian Cossack Council/Rada (Ukrainian: Козацька рада, Kozats'ka Rada) or General Military Council was a general Cossack assembly (council) often military in nature. Originally established at the Zaporizhian Sich, the rada (council) was an institution of Cossack administration in Ukraine founded in 1492 and ran from the 16th to the 18th century. With the establishment of the Hetman state in 1648, it was officially known as the General Military Council until 1750. In addition to military policy, the council discussed and solved the problems of domestic and foreign policy, administrative, judicial, and elected both council and military captians/officers. The deck contains just 36 cards (4 suits of 6-10, B, A, K, T) and was likely intended for use in playing the Russian card game Durak (fool) that is popular in post-Soviet states like Ukraine.