Board Thread:Timeline Discussions/@comment-4656717-20130106102552/@comment-4656717-20130108004611

Yes 2303, my point exactly. They were allies until the Crimean War, and it makes sense that if the Austrians helped the Russians in the Crimean War, they would continue for be allies. Russia knew that a powerful united Germany under Prussian domination would greatly upset the balance of power and threaten their position. Therefore, it would have been in Russia's interest to support the Austrians.

It is true Pita, that the Russians had a lot of conscripts of quite varying quality, but, as 2303 said, there were also at least some volunteers.