Lithuania has +1 for woodsmen,and what russians do have is lots of religious buildings that add morale,in Novgorod in my current campaign i have +5 morale due to Monastery,Cathedral and Sanctuary or Capel(i dont know haow its called) so the Halberdiers are a healthy option...they still dont stand for a long while against swords,but you have plenty of cavalry to destroy the swordsmen....

Use the boyards,theyre impressive,and heavy steppe cavalry against swordsmen,and another tip:

Use the woodsmen extensively against armoured pikemen and any kind of armoured spear.

hope this helps