Mike, you might try checking out a two disc set on Arte Nove called
"Russian Baroque." Unfortunately, I don't have the serial number. As much
as I can remember, the music was created by composers who came to Russia
from the west. I think some of the composers were Russian. I guess
because Russia was a little out of the cultural picture back then, most of
the music was composed later than the traditional end-date of the Baroque
period. Even if most of the composers on this set are from western Europe,
their biographies could be a starting point for researching your paper.
Good luck,
Ron Chaplin