Archer, Ivan Bilibin
Streltsy, singular Strelets, (Russian: “musketeer”), Russian military corps established in the middle of the 16th century that formed the bulk of the Russian army for about 100 years, provided the tsar’s bodyguard, and, at the end of the 17th century, exercised considerable political influence. Originally composed of commoners, the streltsy had become a hereditary military caste by the mid-17th century. In 1698, having unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Peter I (the Great)
and restore Sophia to the regency , the
streltsy were forcibly disbanded by the tsar, with hundreds of them being executed or deported.