Quote Originally Posted by lars573 View Post
Well some of those "shooters" were armed with pikes.
Certainly, but by this time the majority of them were using old fashioned muskets, at least. The purpose of those bardiches they carry was (originally) to act as a brace for the heavy, old-fashioned arqubuses as well as to use as a weapon.

Either way, they're rather misrepresented in the game. They were basically the Russian version of the Janissary Corps, and by their end were just as corrupt and about as useless. Peter the Great's western-style regiments thrashed them. Their involvement in the game, however, is accurate. Peter recalled the Streltsy that remained loyal to him for use in the Great Northern War, since he was having trouble raising all the troops he needed for the conflict.

But I believe the Streltsy were disbanded about the same time the Russian Empire was declared.