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Compared with the Musketeer, the Rekrut has 20% less hit points and attack, but costs 25% less resources, and can be trained in batches of 5 at the Blockhouse. It is effective against cavalry in melee due to a damage multiplier, but vulnerable to artillery and light infantry.
Rekruts have a good hand resistance, a relatively strong ranged attack, and are easy to mass due to their low cost, but have a short range and are slow. However, since the Russians have some Home City Cards that benefit them, Rekruts can become more versatile with the right choices. If the player sends the "Dueling School" and "Fencing School" Home City Cards, in addition with Standing Army, Rekruts can be trained instantly. With the "Pjotr's Toy Soldiers" Home City Card, Rekruts can increase their hit point and attack, and they are able to build Forts, which also helps the player if the enemy constantly destroys this building.
If the player picks The King's Musketeer for aging up into the Industrial Age with the Russians, the player will receive 13 Rekruts. Shipping the Suvorov Reforms card converts all of the player's Streltsy into Rekruts.
Turns all Rekruts into Northern Musketeers and upgrades them to Veteran and Royal Guard (if not already); removes Northern Musketeers training limit, but now they take 1 population
New Order Regiments
Poruchiks, Rekruts, and Streltsy get +10% hit points and attack
At the end of the 17th century Russian emperor Peter the Great made big efforts to reform the Russian army and adopt the more modern model of European armies. This reorganization affected everything from equipment, recruitment, regiment sizes, tactics to chain of command and ranks. By that time the archaic Streltsy regiments had already fallen out of favor with the emperor due to corruption and numerous uprisings - and were soon disbanded.
Contrary to tradition the new standing army of the Russian empire no longer primarily relied on recruits from higher social strata but introduced conscription for peasantry and townsfolk, too. As was customary for this period in history recruits were pressed into service rather than being given an actual choice. Until the end of the 18th century service in the Russian army was for life and only reduced to 25 years in 1793. A "rekrut" (recruit) of the infantry in the new regular army was trained in linear tactics and issued a musket with a bayonet. Previously simply called "soldat" (soldier) in the Streltsy army the lowest rank in the Imperial army was "ryadovoy" and equivalent to the rank "private". Uniforms of the Russian imperial army were predominantly green, a color that was usually reserved for the light infantry in other European armies. The new conscription model as well as the great population size and increases starting in the 18th century allowed the Russian army to heavily outnumber its opponents on the battlefield. Despite difficulties in supplies and training the numerical superiority frequently worked in the imperial army's favor consistently culminating in the enemy's military defeat.