They were pouches carrying decorative representations of paper cartridges for muskets. These are sometimes called gaziri and they hearkened back to the frontier wars of the early nineteenth century when the cossacks used paper cartridges or needed black powder for their guns. But by the advent of modern bullets rendered these paper cartridges non-functional, and they became an ornamental part of cossack dress. Some were inlaid with precious metals and richer high-ranking cossacks could afford a large belt of these cartridges. Gaziri or their metal tips sometimes show up for sale on militaria websites or ebay, which can give a good idea of their variety.

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