In summer 1926, Dorothy Farnum was hired to write the script, based on the Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy, Kazadi (which translates to The Cossacks in English). The 29 December 1926 Variety stated that General Theodore Lodi (referred to as Gen. Lodigensky by Chicago Daily Tribune) was brought on to assist Farnum with the screenplay; Lodi was later credited as technical advisor on the film. Farnum was eventually replaced by Frances Marion, as indicated by a 29 October 1927 Moving Picture World item, which announced that Marion had just been signed to a long-term contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp (M-G-M).
       The 20 March 1926 Exhibitors Herald claimed that M-G-M planned to import 250 real-life Cossacks to appear in the film, at a cost of $250,000. An article in the 20 November 1927 Chicago Daily Tribune later stated that the Cossacks had been brought to the U.S., but while production was delayed, they had sought employment as performers at New York’s Winter Garden Theatre. Filming began on 28 October 1927, according to a production chart in the 7 January 1928 Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World. By that time, the Cossack troupe had been moved to a camp in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Hollywood, CA, alongside a Russian village set built under the direction of Russian settings designer Alexander Toluboff. The set included a “silver domed church, a thatched tavern, and many homes.” According to Toluboff’s obituary in the 2 July 1940 Los Angeles Times, the Laurel Canyon village set was still standing at that time.
       Five-year-old Yurka Kuls, one of the Cossack troupe’s children, may have appeared in the film, as indicated by a 14 January 1928 Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World brief.
       Theatrical release took place on 23 June 1928. A review in that day’s Motion Picture News claimed that while George Hill had directed the majority of the film, another M-G-M director, Clarence Brown, had completed it. A review in the 7 July 1928 Harrison’s Reports stated that M-G-M had intended to release The Cossacks as a special picture with a high ticket cost of $2, but the film was ultimately released at a regular admission price.
       The Var review credited Neil Neely with the role of “Prince Olenin.”
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.