Organization of the Russian Streltsy Corps

Type Object Region Eastern Europe Time c. 1540–1698

Streltsy (meaning 'shooters') were standing firearm infantry and guards of the Muscovite/Tsardom of Russia in the 16th–17th centuries, organized by d…

Timeline

c. 1541–1550Moscow Kremlin and its surroundings · Grand Duchy of MoscowIn the 1540s the Grand Duchy grouped scattered town shooters, hunters, and servicemen into districts (sotnia, a company of a hundred), garrisoning the Kremlin and the gates of the White City, receiving salaries and land, gradually shifting from temporary levies to a semi-standing force, laying the foundation for the formal establishment of the corps in 1550.
c. 1545–1550Volga–Kazan direction · Volga River basinIn the late 1540s Streltsy units were committed to the border war and siege preparations against the Khanate of Kazan on the east bank of the Volga, using matchlock infantry in conjunction with engineers and cavalry, testing the new organization's combat capability in field battles and sieges.

Sources

Armies of Ivan the Terrible: Russian Troops 1505–1700 — Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2006)