Austria : historical reason ?

[Kobal2fr]

It is slightly off, considering that the Austrian army was one of if not the best organised and developed by the middle of the century, it annoys me.
As does Russia's awful line infantry, in y opinion it kills the appeal of that nation.

Yes, I noticed that too, but it is balanced by the fact that their recruiting costs is a bit cheaper. They are also a smidge better in offensive melee than most (high melee, highest charge bonus). So playing with them is more "medieval" : let loose once or twice, then wait for the enemy's volley to end and charge home yelling "Hurraaaah !". Also, they have grenade launchers, and early access to mounted missile units to counterbalance it somewhat.
On the whole, I don't think the Russian army is any worse off than the rest, and the different tactics needed make it interesting.

Didn't the Russians make the switch to "modern" technologies and tactics rather late compared to the rest of the European powers though ? I assumed that was the reason for their poor Line - but then again my knowledge of 17th century history onwards wouldn't fill a lot of pages :/

@All : Thanks for the answers !

[Jazzy]

Didn't the Russians make the switch to "modern" technologies and tactics rather late compared to the rest of the European powers though ? I assumed that was the reason for their poor Line - but then again my knowledge of 17th century history onwards wouldn't fill a lot of pages :/

The Russians introduced western tactics and forms of organization under Tsar Aleksei Mihkailovich around 1650. The mobilizable forces were around 60'000 infantry and 45'000 cavalry. These reforms were influenced by the dutch reform work of Maurice of Nassau. The creation of a standing russian army goes back to Tsar Peter the Great in the years 1699-1700. The new regiments of cavalry and infantry had a size of around 32'000 men on paper. The infantry regiments were thought to have a size of around 1100 men.

-> Christorpher Duffy, Russia's Military Way to the West. Origins and Naure of Russian Military Power 1700-1800, 1981