russian leader vladimir putin. as soon as they started to sing, some nearby patrolmen, part of a contingent of cossacks, swooped in. he just hit me with a guitar neck on the head. i was bleeding, blood all over my face. reporter: the cossacks have lived in russia and ukraine for centuries. in imperial times, they were known as the czar s henge men, fierce men making enemies of the state pay with blood. now the orthodox christian blood line is making a comeback. translator: a cossack without faith is not a cossack. in this particular case, pussy roid offended our feelings. apparently the cossacks took this decision and god will judge them, not us. reporter: alexander corbin lives in southern russia. he makes his living as a cossack patrolmen. translator: we are at the command of the policemen.