Pavel Golovkin / AP

Two Cossacks, right, watch pedestrians passing by as they patrol Belorussky railway station in downtown Moscow on Nov. 27, 2012.

The Associated Press reports

Pustem Adagamov / AP

Patrol leader Igor Gurevich speaks to the media at Belorussky railway station on Nov. 27, 2012.

— Renowned for their sword-fighting prowess and anti-Semitism in czarist Russia, the Cossacks are taking on new foes: beggars, drunks, unlicensed traders and improperly parked cars.

With the approval of city authorities, eight Cossacks clad in traditional fur hats and uniforms patrolled a Moscow train station on Tuesday looking for signs of minor public disturbances.

Patrol leader Igor Gulichev compared his forces to the Texas Rangers, the elite law-enforcement body in the U.S. state.

"They are just like Cossacks, and they work for the government, but they're welcomed with open arms. How come this should be allowed in America, but not in Russia, with our rich Cossack traditions? We're like Chuck Norris!" Gulichev said. Read the full story.

Pavel Golovkin / AP

Two Cossacks watch pedestrians passing by as they patrol Belorussky railway station on Nov. 27, 2012.

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