There's a different battle. This time to save Cossack traditions and status.
Back in the saddle again. It's a Cossack image.
As warriors for the Tsars, battle was what these men did best.
But those were the glory days. Today the action is only for show.
The role of a warrior in the 21st century is far less clear cut.
The Cossacks have revived their traditions. Now they're searching for status.
That was the hot topic at the first ever World Congress of Cossacks in Novichukas.
They came from all over Russia, but the Cossacks consider themselves one nation.
Now they want legal recognition after years of repression.
Cossack leaders say their only fight these days is political.
Our relations with Moscow are improving. President Putin now has his own Cossack advisor.
I think the President is a wise man who understands that he needs us to guarantee law and order in Russia.
Politically the Cossacks are a nationalist force in the troubled Russian South.
They see themselves as defenders of Russia's borders and her orthodox faith.
The Cossack's past is checkered, but they believe their revival and the revival of Russia now go hand in hand.
This is the first time since the Tsars ruled Russia that so many Cossacks have been gathered in one place at one time.
Here in the historic capital on the River Don.
And in modern Russia the Cossacks are an increasingly political force that's becoming much harder to ignore.
For the men from the River Don, the land question is top priority.
They believe all this is theirs, soaked in the blood of their ancestors.
Today they say anyone can live here as long as it's by their rules.
The Cossacks can't turn back the clock, so they're looking for legal concessions.
They're looking to the future too, reviving Cossack cadet schools closed after the revolution.
The boys receive a military-style patriotic education.
They're taught discipline and pride in their ancestry side by side.
Being a Cossack is my life.
I'm studying here because it's prestigious to be a Cossack.