Russian "streltsy" oxymoron

[Slaists]

I just fired up a Russian campaign (I had not tried them before). The first thing that jumps at me: what did CA have in mind when they named a Russian melee unit "Streltsy"?

"Streltsy" in Russian means "shooters" (or riflemen) if translated literally... So, why the heck a unit called "shooters" can only use a halberd!? Beats me...

This one falls into the same category as camels displaying message "horses afraid (of camels)" when attacked by camels, while the attacking camels display the very same message...

[Marquis of Roland]

Their ability to consume 6 shots of vodka a minute clearly outclasses the 3 shots a minute of the other European powers.

[Slaists]

Their ability to consume 6 shots of vodka a minute clearly outclasses the 3 shots a minute of the other European powers.

I guess, when the call of duty comes, 'streltsy' consistently forget their muskets at the pub...

[Sheogorath]

I think I mentioned this waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when the game first came out :P

It should be pointed out that not ALL streltsy were equipped with muskets, or, indeed, ranged weapons. Some were equivalent to policemen or a local fire squad (as mentioned in the flavor text).

Still, it is somewhat strange that they're equipped with bardiches, which were traditionally used by old style musketeers as a brace for firing the musket from, back when they had to be made with inch thick barrels and weighed a hundred pounds. Purely melee streltsy would probably use swords or something.

[FactionHeir]

In AoE III they have shorter range muskets and use their berdiche in melee. CA seems to have gotten this one wrong.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Weren't the Streltsy the palace guard units that did the dirty work for the Tzars? I seem to remember that Peter the Great executed most of them when he came of age and wrested power as payback for the murders of his mother & uncles when he was a young boy.

[Sheogorath]

Weren't the Streltsy the palace guard units that did the dirty work for the Tzars? I seem to remember that Peter the Great executed most of them when he came of age and wrested power as payback for the murders of his mother & uncles when he was a young boy.

The Steltsy were the Russian equivalent of the Janissary Corps. They were basically a warrior caste and professional army. They were damn fine soldiers in their day (lets say, 1500 or so). Various units also acted as, as I said, police and firefighting units. I believe they also had a bodyguard unit, although Peter did away with that pretty quickly, much preferring his western trained soldiers.

As time wore on positions became hereditary, pay got higher and corruption went rampant. By Peter the Great's time they were attempting to position themselves as a sort of 'Praetorian Guard', able to decide, like the Janissary Corps, who would rule and who got locked in a tower for their entire reign.

Peter executed MOST of them because they sided with Sophia, the appointed regent who had no intention of giving up her post. The steltsy units that were loyal to him generally escaped his wrath, although they were virtually all disbanded by the end of the Great Northern War.

The Steltsy shown in ETW are fairly accurate in appearance, if you ignore the lack of muskets, which I'm sure most battlefield Streltsy would carry by this period.

[Slaists]

I think I mentioned this waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when the game first came out :P

It should be pointed out that not ALL streltsy were equipped with muskets, or, indeed, ranged weapons. Some were equivalent to policemen or a local fire squad (as mentioned in the flavor text).

Still, it is somewhat strange that they're equipped with bardiches, which were traditionally used by old style musketeers as a brace for firing the musket from, back when they had to be made with inch thick barrels and weighed a hundred pounds. Purely melee streltsy would probably use swords or something.

By the XVIII century the remaining (Peter the Great curbed them down a bit...) streltsy were musket troops some of whom did carry bardiches, pikes, etc; similar to western european musket units of the time (eg. exclusively pike units were not common at the time; more common were mixed musket - pike units).


But never mind that, could you imagine a unit NAMED "longbowmen" in English (for example) carrying only bills? "Streltsy" means "shooters" in Russian. It's as simple as that.

[Sheogorath]

By the XVIII century the remaining (Peter the Great curbed them down a bit...) streltsy were musket troops some of whom did carry bardiches, pikes, etc; similar to western european musket units of the time (eg. exclusively pike units were not common at the time; more common were mixed musket - pike units).


But never mind that, could you imagine a unit NAMED "longbowmen" in English (for example) carrying only bills? "Streltsy" means "shooters" in Russian. It's as simple as that.

To be fair, not all military units are accurately named. Grenadiers are an example from the games era. Paratroopers/airborne units from our own. Did you know that there are countries with no air force that, nonetheless, have paratroopers?
They're sort of the modern equivalent of grenadiers for many armies.

Either way, the municipal streltsy still existed as well. I THINK that's what theyre modeling the ETW units on, but, of course, it could just be typical CA fantasyuniteering. I can't say either way.