I'd have to give my vote to Russia.
Infantry- Dismounted Boyar Sons and Bedirche Axemen. Dismounted Boyar Sons can whip a unit of feudal foot knights in melee, and also make a nice flanking unit because of their AP ability. The real king of AP and flanking is Bedirche axemen, who are better than Norse Axemen because of their cheap as dirt cost (380 florins).
Archers- You have to hold out until fortress, but then you get probably one of the best ranged infantry units, the dismounted Dvor. These guys have long range, good armor, and a decent melee attack. I'd pit Dismounted Dvor against any unit of infantry, and I consider them a must for mid to late game russian armies.
Cavalry- The real strength of the Russian cavalry isn't in catholic style heavy hitters, but in horse archers like Cossacks. You get a fast cavalry that fires arrows, can sweep up routers, and also chase down enemy light infantry (archers, crossbowmen, etc). If you're looking for something a bit heavier, then Dvor make their dismounted counterparts look a little pale. Since these bad boys are on horses, you have the mobility of a cavalry archer without sacrificing the armor. Tsar's guard are about the equivolent of Gothic knights, only cheaper.
Gunpowder- You aren't shafted here either. With the advent of gunpowder, you can produce Cossack musketeers, the second best gunpowder unit in the game. You also have something those Turks who stole first place don't have, and that's generally western style artillery (basilisk anyone?).
Just about the only thing that isn't great about Russia is that they're orthadox, which means that your priests are about as useful as waterwheels in the sahara.
So my vote goes to russia.
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