Sure, but the problem with steppe nomads is their awesome tactical power on the battlefield rather than their ability to forge powerful states and economies. States with great economies and wealth were basically prey for the kleptocratic steppe nomads, so had to be defeated in battle. That's how you defend against them, by winning battles against armies of horse archers.
The problem with steppe nomads was their ability to raid your territory and escape without facing you in a battle. As far as the Eastern Europe was involved, victories in the battles (quite a few of them) were not producing the desirable results (elimination of the nomadic raids) until the mid-XVIII which is a time of the firearms and regular armies.