The article deals with the history of the Persian Cossack Brigade in 1882-1885, when it was commanded by P. V. Charkovsky. During this time, the brigade acquired a classic look, which was not formally changed until the end of the XIX century. Outwardly, it was a well-organized, well-equipped and well-trained military unit, but it had certain internal problems. The Russian Foreign Ministry's view of the brigade as a political project prevailed. His main goals were to prevent British instructors from joining the Iranian army and to strengthen Russian influence on the Shah. The result was an emphasis on external training in the training of the team. Combat capability and internal integrity were sacrificed to ostentatious effect. Key words: Iran, Persian Cossack Brigade, V. P. Charkovsky, Head of Persian Cavalry training. The Persian Cossack Brigade (hereinafter referred to as PKB; officially known as His Majesty the Shah's Cossack Brigade) is a unique military unit of the Persian Army that existed under the leadership of Russian instructors from the moment the first regiment was formed in 1879 until 1920 (in 1916 it was reorganized into a division). Its creation was initiated by the Russian envoy to Tehran I. A. Zinoviev. It was closely connected with the Russian conquest of Akhal-teke and the struggle with Great Britain in this regard, as well as for influence at the Shah's court [Khidoyatov, 1969, pp. 348-423]. Despite the available publications [Gokov, 2003; Gokov, 2008; Krasnyak, 2007; Ter-Oganov, 2010; Ter-Oganov, 2012; Rabi and Ter-Oganov, 2009], some fragments of its history require more detailed study. One of them is the period from 1882 to 1885, when Pyotr Vladimirovich Charkovsky was the commander of the PKB, or the Head of training of the Persian Cavalry (hereinafter referred to as the Head), as his position was officially called. So far, its activities in Iran1 have been described in the most comprehensive way in a study by N. A. Abramovich.K. Ter-Oganova [ ... Read more