Hi again Mr. Cornwell.
This message is actually for Robert Douglas. Robert, you are thinking of the Strelski, the palace guard of the early Russian Czars. They did use a long handled axe, the padiche, but weren’t really identified with it the way the Varangians were. They also carried a saber and a matchlock musket. The padiche, driven butt first into the ground also served as a stand to steady the musket on while firing. The Strelski lasted until 1698, when they were purged and disbanded by Peter the Great, who wanted a more modern army.
Alan Kempner