In Imperial Russia, infantry formations were designated as (), 'infantry'. But on 11 October 1918, all such formations in the new Red Army were re-designated as (, 'rifle'. This was deliberately chosen as a means of breaking with the Imperial past, while also giving these troops a sense of being an elite; in the Imperial Army, the riflemen had been the best of the foot soldiers outside the Guards. The new designation also hearkened back to the Streltsy of the 16th to early 18th Centuries, which were also elite troops.