Streltsy (Стрельцы in Russian) were the units of Russian guardsmen (sl. strelets, стрелец. The Streltsy in Hungary (translated as shooter) was traditionally border guard in the country Őrség, in village Sztrelec (Strelets Druzhina, Družyna or Drużyna (дружина druzhyna) in the history of early East Slavs was a detachment of select troops in personal Events By Place Asia Rurik gains control of Novgorod. Fan Chuo finishes his Manchu ( Book Year 1721 ( MDCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Military history of Imperial Russia encompasses the period of warfare in which Russian Empire ground, naval and air forces participated from its creation Year 1721 ( MDCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The White movement (Beloie Dvijenie Белое движение whose military arm is known as the White Army (Belaia Armia Белая Армия or White Guard Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The Soviet Armed Forces refers to the armed forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from its establishment during the Russian Civil War in 1918 by the Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The Russian Ground Forces (Сухопутные войска Российской Федерации tr Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages A military organization is a way of structuring the armed forces of a State as a need to offer Military capability required by the National defence policy Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending In linguistics grammatical number is a Grammatical category of nouns pronouns and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions (such as "one" literally "shooter"; often translated as "musketeer," but more properly "harquebusier") in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms (riflemen). A firearm is a Tool that projects either single or multiple Projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion Rifleman is a private Soldier in a rifle unit of Infantry. Origins Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th They are also collectively known as Strelets Troops (Стрелецкое Войско).

Creation and structure

The first strel'tsy units were created by Ivan the Terrible sometime between 1545 and 1550 and armed with the arquebus. The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun" is They first saw combat at the Siege of Kazan' in 1552. Initially, the strel'tsy were recruited from among the free tradespeople and rural population. This article is about the skilled manual worker meaning of the term for other uses see Tradesperson (disambiguation A tradesman is a skilled manual worker Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time Subsequently, military service in this unit became lifelong and hereditary. Military service in its simplest sense is service by an individual or group in an Army or other military organization whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary Thus, while initially an elite force in the sixteenth century, their effectiveness was reduced by poor training and lack of volunteerism in recruiting. ^[1]

Streltsy in the 17th century.

Streltsy

Strel'tsy were subdivided into viborniye (выборные), or electives (later – of Moscow) and gorodskiye (городские), or municipal (in different Russian cities). Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of A township (or Municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government The Strel'tsy of Moscow guarded the Kremlin, performed general guard duty, and participated in military operations. The Moscow Kremlin ( Russian: Московский Кремль Moskovskiy Kreml) usually referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking They also carried out general police and fire-brigade functions in Moscow. Grigory Kotoshikhin, a Russian diplomat who had spied for and then defected to Sweden in the 1660s, reported that they used axes and buckets and copper pumps as well as hooks to pull down adjacent buildings so the fire would not spread, but Adam Olerius, a Westerner who traveled to Russia in the seventeenth century, noted that they never used water. Grigory Karpovich Kotoshikhin ( Григорий Карпович Котошихин in Russian) ( c ^[2] The Municipal Strel'tsy performed garrison and border duty and carried out orders of the local administration. Garrison (various spellings (from the French garnison, itself from the verb garnir, "to equip" is the collective term for a body of Troops Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions such as Governments States or subnational administrative Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a State. Strel'tsy subordinated to the Streltsy Department (Стрелецкий приказ, or Streletsky prikaz), however, in times of war they subordinated to their superiors. Streltsy Department or Streletsky Prikaz (Стрелецкий приказ in Russian) was one of the main Governmental bodies in Russia The Municipal Strel'tsy were also under the jurisdiction of the local voevodes. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority A voivode or waywode is a Slavic title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force Strel'tsy had identical uniforms (usually red, blue or green coats with yellow boots), training and weapons (arquebuses, muskets, poleaxes, bardiches (used to steady their gun while firing), sabers, and sometimes pikes). A uniform is a set of standard Clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun" is A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder Poleaxe may refer to Poleaxe A polearm weapon from medieval times Pole-Axe an event from the television series Gladiators This is a page about the "long poleaxe" For the regular poleaxe see pollaxe. The sabre or saber (see spelling differences) is a kind of Sword that usually but not always has A pike is a Pole weapon, a very long thrusting Spear used two-handed and used extensively by Infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as

The strel'tsy were used in static formations, often against set formations or fortifications. They often fired from a platform and employed a mobile wooden "fortification" known in Russian at a "gulai gorod" (literally a "walking fort"). They reportedly fired in volley or caracole fashion; the first line firing and then stepping back to reload while the second line stepped forward to fire. ^[3]

The biggest military administrative unit of the strel'tsy forces was pribor (прибор), that would later be renamed into prikaz and in 1681 – into regiment (полк, or polk). A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. Commanders of the Strel'tsy unit (стрелецкие головы, or streletskiye golovy) and colonels in charge of regiments were chiefs of prikazi. Commander is a Military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country They had to be nobles and appointed by the government. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.

The regiments (polki) were subdivided into sotni (сотни, or hundreds) and desyatki (десятки, or tens). They could be mounted (стремянные, or stremyanniye; стремя (stremya) in Russian means “stirrup”) and unmounted (пешие, or peshiye; пеший (peshiy) means "foot soldier"). For the bone see Stapes. For other uses of the word stirrup see Stirrup (disambiguation.

The Muscovite government was chronically short of cash so that the strel'tsy were often not paid well. While "entitled" to something like four rubles a year in the 1550s, they were often allowed to farm or trade in order to supplement their incomes. This reduced their combat effectiveness and often their desire to go on campaigns (since a season on campaign meant loss of income). Streltsy lived in their own neighborhoods or districts settlements and received money and bread from the State Treasury. A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan For the US government securities see Treasury security. Also see Treasury management. In certain locations, Strel'tsy were granted strips of land instead of money. The Strel'tsy settlement in Moscow was located near where the main campus of Moscow State University now stands. ^[4]

The Strel'tsy in Politics

"The Morning of the Strel'tsy Execution" after their failed uprising in 1698 by Vasily Ivanovich Surikov(1848-1916). The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 (Стрелецкое восстание was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy Regiments Some Russian Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (Василий Иванович Суриков ( January 24[[ 848]] ( Julian calendar: January 12) &ndash March 19

At the end of the 16th century, there were 20,000-25,000 strel'tsy; in 1681, 55,000, including 22,500 in Moscow alone. Strel'tsy’s engagement in handicrafts and trade led to a significant proprietary inequality among them and their blending with tradepeople. Handicraft, also known as craftwork or simply Craft, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or using only simple tools In Mathematics, an inequality is a statement about the relative size or order of two objects or about whether they are the same or not (See also equality Even though Streltsy demonstrated their fighting efficiency on several occasions, such as the siege of Kazan in 1552, the war with Livonia, the Polish-Swedish invasion in the early 17th century and military operations in Poland and Crimea, in the second half of the 17th century Streltsy started to display their backwardness compared to the regular soldier or reiter regiments (see Regiments of the new type). Kazan (Каза́нь Казан tt Qazan) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities Livonia (Līvõmō Latvian and Livonija Estonian: Liivimaa; Finnish: Liivinmaa; German and Swedish: Livland Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all or large parts of the Armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Crimea (kraɪˈmiːə or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Крим Автономна Республіка Крим Avtonomna Respublika Krym; Крым Reiters ( German: Reiter, or horserider shortened from the original “Schwarze Reiter”--literally "black riders" for the colour of their armour were Regiments of the new order, or Regiments of the Foreign order ( "Полки нового строя" or "Полки иноземного Military service hardships, frequent salary delays, abuse on the part of local administration and commanders made for regular Strel'tsy's (especially the poorest ones) participation in anti-serfdom uprisings in the 17th and early 18th centuries, such as the peasant wars in the beginning of the 17th century and in 1670-1671 (leader – Stepan Razin), urban uprisings (Moscow Uprising of 1682, Streltsy Uprising of 1698, Astrakhan Uprising of 1705-1706). A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground For the place in Azerbaijan see Stepan Razin Azerbaijan. Stepan (Sten'ka Timofeyevich Razin ( Russian: Степан (Стенька Moscow Uprising of 1682, also known as Streltsy Uprising of 1682 (Стрелецкий бунт was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 (Стрелецкое восстание was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy Regiments Some Russian The Bulavin Rebellion is the name given to a violent civil uprising in Imperial Russia between the years 1707 and 1708 Year 1705 ( MDCCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1706 ( MDCCVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

At the same time, those strel'tsy, who had been on top of the hierarchy, enjoyed their social status and, therefore, tried to hold back the regular Streltsy forces and keep them on the government’s side. @@@ main@@@ - title Hierarchy@@@ keywords structure; sociology; information@@@ review@@@ - In Sociology or Anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in Society (one's Social position) In the late 17th century, Streltsy of Moscow began to actively participate in a struggle for power between different government groups, supporting the dissidents and showing hostility towards any foreign innovations. A dissident, broadly defined is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine policy or institution The term innovation means a new way of doing something It may refer to incremental radical and revolutionary changes in thinking products processes or organisations

The strel'tsy became something of a "pretorian element" in Muscovite politics in the late seventeenth century. ^[5] In 1682 they attempted to prevent Peter the Great from coming to the throne in favor of his half-brother, Ivan. ^[6]

Disbandment

After the fall of Sophia Alekseyevna in 1689, the government of Peter the Great engaged in a process of gradual limitation of Streltsy’s military and political influence. Sophia Alekseyevna ( Anglicization of Russian Царевна Софья Алексеевна Sofia Alekseyevna) ( September 17 (27 1657 &ndash Eight Moscow regiments were removed from the city and transferred to Belgorod, Sevsk, and Kiev. Belgorod (Бе́лгород is a city in western Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border at. Sevsk (Севск is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Sev River ( Dnieper 's basin) 142 km away from Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the

In spite of these measures, the strel'tsy revolted yet again while Peter was on his Great Embassy in Europe. While the revolt was put down by the Scottish general Patrick Gordon (he had entered Russian service under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1661) even before the Tsar's return to Russia, Peter nonetheless cut short his embassy and returned to finally crush the strel'tsy with savage reprisals, including public executions and torture. Patrick Leopold Gordon ( March 31, 1635 – November 29, 1699) was General of the Imperial Russian Army, of ^[7]

The corps was technically abolished in 1689; however, after having suffered a defeat at Narva in 1700, the government stopped their disbandment. Narva is the third largest City in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border on the Narva The most efficient strel'tsy regiments took part in the most important military operations of the Great Northern War and in Peter’s Prut Campaign of 1711. The Great Northern War (1700-21 was fought between Russia and Sweden for supremacy in the Baltic Sea. The Russo-Turkish War of 1710–1711 was the southernmost theatre of the Great Northern War between Sweden and many of its neighbors Year 1711 ( MDCCXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Gradually, Streltsy were incorporated into the regular army. At the same time, they started to disband the Municipal Streltsy.

Liquidation of the streltsy units was finally finished only in the 1720s, however, the Municipal Strel'tsy were kept in some cities until the late 18th century. Events and trends Manufacture of the earliest surviving Pianos World leaders Louis XV King of France

The Preobrazhensky and Izmailovsky regiments of Imperial Guards replaced the strel'tsy as the tsar's bodyguards. Leib Guard (Ле́йб-гва́рдия from German Leib, meaning body; cf Life Guards) were military units serving as personal guards

References

Literature

• Moutchnik, Alexander (2006). Der Strelitzen-Aufstand von 1698, in: Volksaufstände in Russland, ed. by Heinz-Dietrich Löwe (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 163-196. ISBN 3-447-05292-9.  

See also

• History of Russian military ranks