Do you think this would be of interest to a Western reader?
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I do.
But I think the trick, so to speak, at least here in the US when unfamiliar material is presented, is to find the adventure elements of the story and use those as a gateway to weightier stuff. On American cable television, this is the sort of thing the History Channel does all the time and there are very often quite successful book tie-ins.
Of course, you won't have that kind of marketing juggernaut at your disposal but I imagine the Don Cossacks have accumulated a wealth of astounding but true tales over the years (centuries?) that, framed in the right way, would be of great interest to many people.
While they enjoy those, you can also present some kick ass sociological analysis.
So I think you should go for it.
.d.
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