In the eighteenth century the power of Russia grew; its territory increased in aggressive wars against Poland, Sweden, Turkey and the Cossacks. In one of many wars, Empress Catherine II (the Great) decided to wipe out the zaporozhiye and in 1776, she succeeded. About 5,000 Cossacks fled to Turkey, and the rest found refuge in the villages of Malorussia. In 1783, thanks to the efforts of the zaporozhiye commander, Anton Golovatov, the displaced cossacks were re-formed as a regiment, and became part of the Russian forces as the Army of Faithful Cossacks.

In the Russo-Turkish War (1787-91) the Turkish army crossed the Kuban river in the Caucasus area, but were beaten by weaker Russian forces. The warriors from the zaporozhiye shone in these battles, and were given the name Black Sea Cossack Regiment. After the end of the war, Catherine decided to settle these men in the area around the Kuban river; they were given high decorations and good land, with the obligation of defending the border against the Turks and the Cherkez peoples of the mountains. The first detachment of Black Sea Cossacks – about 4,000 men, headed by Colonel Sava Biyeli – arrived in 51 boats and one large ship, and the next year (1793) the rest came, 17,000 men, women and children.

The Black Sea Cossacks existed as an independent army until 1860, when Kuban province was formed. A series of edicts (ukazy) established a new administrative order, with civil and military power in the hands of one man, the administrator of Kuban province and head ataman of one of the Cossack regiments. The province was divided into seven regions, each of which raised several hundred Cossacks for peacetime service. The main occupation of the male population, besides horse-breeding, was life-long service in the army. From the moment a Cossack took the oath, at the age of 20, he was considered to be in the employ of the state. For a year he was in training; for four years in the first category of active service, for another four years in the second, for a further four in the third, and his remaining years until the age of 48 were spent in the reserve. A Cossack had to provide his own horse and weapons.

When the Black Sea settlers arrived in the Caucasus, they found a local mountain breed of horses – kabardin, known since the sixteenth century. Breeding kabardin mares with Karabakh, Turcoman and Arab studs resulted in an excellent breed of horses, with a medium height of 152 cm/60 in, which was equally well suited to mountains and steppes. This new breed kept the name kabardin, and was characterized by resiliency and surefootedness on the steepest paths. In a test conducted in 1935-6, a group of riders on kabardins covered 3,000 km/1,850 miles in 37 days, under very difficult conditions.

Regular Black Sea units, like all other Muslim cossack regiments, had black uniforms, and near their breast pockets they wore metal or silver bullet cases, richly adorned. The trumpeters wore red so that they could be distinguished from the fighting troops. It was considered a disgrace to fire upon non-fighting soldiers like trumpeters.