We often can condemn people (not innocent, sinful) who simply fought for their own lifes, for their families and better life for all humanity. Just as other can condemn our forefathers (for example szlachta of Rzecz Pospolita) for the same. If we judge somebody - we can be and often will be judged with the same measure. In NKVD, in Red Army and Red Cossack Corps served different people with quite different biographies. Even if we condemn Josef Stalin, Stepan Bandera, Bogdan Chmelnicki we must remember that in many situations they behaved themselves as ordinary people - defended their own people, their own friends and soldiers, nothing more, using all possible means in that situation (from their point of view). As for me i think condemnation is bad way for the humanity. More righteous is to say about the truth and sins of both sides of conflict of that situation at the same time. And as i know condemnation often prevents from this, from real and exact appreciation of situation. To make lessons from situation and life of people and to condemn them - it's for me quite different ways. Also i remember the words of Holy Scripture - we don't fight against people (in our situation - condemn), but fight against (condemn) spirits of malice at the Earth under the Sun, in other words - we adviced by God to condemn not people, but their sins. Stepan Bandera for me is not bad man - but he made a lot of sins. And if we see the street bearing his name - we always can remember them. His name helps us to remember our past (that cruel epoch) and our relatives, who suffered at that time. The same with other odious names of different times and countries. The same with Ukrainians or Germans, who come to Poland and see names, odious to their own history. We must not forget - but we need to preserve everything helping future generations to understand situation in maximum possible complexity and make appreciation and condemnation for themselves. We in Ukraine have good example of Soviet Union - who were condemned in that epoch, today become heroes. Simply because young people negate the point of view and appreciation of their forefathers, trying to make their own. This is one of main explanations for me why Stepan Bandera became so popular and people agreed to give his name to one of the central streets in Kyiv. But time goes and people don't want somebody to impose on them their point of view. They want appreciate (and maybe condemn or heroize) situation by themselves and not to get prepared answer.
Yes, this is article written by me. But many people (among them administrators of Wikies) don't want to hear about cossackdom, especially red or cossacks as free people by the will of God. Many people all over the world (with Russian and Ukrainian origin) say that red cossacks, people who named themselves in such a way or fought under red banners for freedom are not real cossacks, and that real cossacks are only those, whose forefathers names were written down in cossack registries in Russian empire or Rzecz Pospolita or who fought in Civil War on the side of White Guard. Another say that real cossacks were long long ago and today there is no real cossacks. People with such point of view don't like articles, describing another point of view on such projects as Wikipedia. So there is a big problem now with preserving true lifestories of such people in the countries of former Soviet Union. Red Cossacks became a myth, which can in future be used by different political forces of Eastern Europe for their own purposes.
For me people who named themselves Cossacks through ages are closely connected with history of Russians and Ukrainians. The ideas of cossackdom as warriors of Christ, truthful Christians, free people by the will of God, the ideas of saint Rus and free Ukraine are closely interconnected and reflect the bright culture of Slavic-speaking Orthodox Christians on the lands of historical region known to us as Great Scythia-Tartaria-Russia or simply region of east Europe, Great Steppe and Central Eurasia.
Ukrainians became Ukrainians after Chmelnicki uprising, when people of all Ukraine named themselves Cossacks (among them many people of Polish or mixed origin) and then, when their descendants were banned from using the saint selfname of their forefathers, selfname Cossack (free man by the will of God) - many of them begin to name themselves Ukrainians giving to it the same meaning - people of free Ukraine (Eternal Kingdom of Heaven in the eyes of simple people) and free people by the will of God and not of some or other lord.
Historically registry cossacks of the Don had different history and in some part different worldview. They knew no Chmelnicki uprising, had no problem with slavery under the Polish rule. For many of them people of free Ukraine were not Cossacks but slaves, who took part in uprising and assigned the name of other people. Later it became one of the problems of understanding between Ukrainians and Russians and between reds and whites during Civil War of 1917-1947 yy. But on the banks of the Don river we also can find the same idea of warriors of Christ and free people by the will of God, simply in other context.
Just for me, i'm relative of all sides of conflict in Rzecz Pospolita in XVII century and Civil War in Russian Empire in XX. I'm the descendant of Polish nobles of Roman Catholic faith and at the same time - of registry and of free but enslaved Orthodox Christians of Dnipro basin, who named themselves Christians, Cossacks, Rusins (Russians), Ukrainians etc., My relatives fought in the ranks of Red Army, White Guard, different partisan detachments, struggled from mistreatment of communist and Soviet authorities etc., etc. That's why i appeal to the idea of free men the will of God - it can globally explain everything from one point of view. Every man can choose his own way in life, every man can fight for his life, his faith, his worldview, his freedom etc. etc., every man can be fought by the other men for the same case. Or as the ancient people of the Steppe said - all people are created free (cossacks) by the will of God Almighty (by the will of Holy Trinity) but not all understand this fact in whole measure. The understanding of meaning of Cossack selfname, faith, worldview etc. for me is the key to the history of Eastern Europe, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, countries of Great Steppe, Empire of Golden Horde, Russian Empire etc. etc.