Strelet

The Strelet is a ranged infantry unit in Age of Empires III. They are only available to the Russians.

General Info
Strelets are the Russian meat-shield and anti-infantry unit. The Strelet is weak and cheap making a powerful unit in the Colonial Age. In the Industrial Age the Strelet is very weak and hits 200 population very easy. The costs in brackets are for referring to the blockhouse's ability to train Strelets in groups of 10. You can get the original cost if you train from another Strelet-producing building such as the Fort or the Galleon. Strelets are very cost-effective, and even more after the cards that upgrade them, but in Industrial Age, the hard core of your army should become Cossacks, Musketeers and Heavy Cannons.

Game Info
The term "Strelets" or ('streltsy', original Russian)" refers to light infantry in the employ of the Tsar. They were the first standing infantry of the Russian army, but only received meager pay for their mostly meager services. There was elite group of mounted stresty in employ of the Tsar who formed his bodyguards (the only way to be a member was to be a son of a member). This elite Strelsty regiment was disbanded by Peter the Great after an attempted revolt in which they were involved. Some strelsty were professional soldiers (conscription duties tended to last a while) that acted as personal bodyguards and messengers for the Tsar. Originally armed with bows (which is where their name came from), Strelets were later armed with long, heavy muskets and used their traditional axe as a makeshift stand for the musket.