User blog comment:Thornclaw Braveheart/Knights of Saint John vs. Oprichniks/@comment-1017446-20110801010807/@comment-2006360-20110801014810

The Knights of Saint John didn't have much gunpowder, so they probably used old crossbows too, and in cold snowy Russia, gunpowder got wet, so the Oprichnik would use something like a recurve bow during those times.