"Even more curious, The Russians seem to be into this hobby in great numbers with cavalry regiments on horses and the whole nine yards."
That's curious indeed. Who would have expected the Russians to be into enactments? Hope they reenact the Battle of Kursk......that'll be fun for any cavalry/artillery fan.
The Battle of Boridino is one such. There are several very good english language web sites describing the battle and photos of tne reinactors.
One odd fact is that the countryside photos appear today to be as rural and backward as in 1812.