Timeline Of Russian Inventions And Technology Records
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This timeline of Russian innovation encompasses key events in the
history of technology The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques by humans. Technology includes methods ranging from simple stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and information technology that has emerged since the 19 ...
in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. The entries in this timeline fall into the following categories: * indigenous invention, like
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
s, AC transformers,
radio receiver In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. ...
s,
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, artificial
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
s,
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
s * uniquely Russian products, objects and events, like
Saint Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (), known in English as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as ...
,
Matryoshka doll Matryoshka dolls (), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name ''Matryoshka'' is a diminutive form of ''Matryosha'' (), i ...
s, Russian vodka * products and objects with superlative characteristics, like the
Tsar Bomba The Tsar Bomba (code name: ''Ivan'' or ''Vanya''), also known by the alphanumerical designation "AN602", was a Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear aerial bomb, and by far the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested. The Soviet phy ...
, the
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
, and the Typhoon-class submarine * scientific and medical discoveries, like the
periodic law In chemistry, periodic trends are specific patterns present in the periodic table that illustrate different aspects of certain elements when grouped by period and/or group. They were discovered by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1863. ...
,
vitamins Vitamins are organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in suff ...
and
stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...
This timeline includes scientific and medical discoveries, products and technologies introduced by various peoples of Russia and its predecessor states, regardless of ethnicity, and also lists inventions by naturalized immigrant citizens. Certain innovations achieved internationally may also appear in this timeline in cases where the Russian side played a major role in such projects.


Kievan Rus'


10th century

;
Kokoshnik The kokoshnik ( rus, коко́шник, p=kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk) is a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls to accompany the sarafan. The kokoshnik tradition has existed since the 10th century in the city of Veliky Novgorod. It sprea ...
: The kokoshnik is a traditional Russian head-dress for women. It is patterned to match the style of the
sarafan A sarafan ( rus, сарафа́н, p=sərɐˈfan, from ''sarāpā'', literally "romhead to feet") is a long, trapezoidal Russian dress worn by girls and women and forming part of Russian traditional folk costume. Traditional Russian costume ...
and can be pointed or round. It is tied at the back of the head with long thick ribbons in a large bow. The forehead is sometimes decorated with pearls or other jewelry. The word ''kokoshnik'' appeared in the 16th century, however the earliest head-dress pieces of a similar type were found in the 10th to 12th century burials in
Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...
. It was worn by girls and women on special occasions until the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
, and was subsequently introduced into
Western fashion The following is a chronological list of articles covering the history of Western fashion—the story of the changing fashions in clothing in countries under influence of the Western world⁠—from the 5th century to the present. The series foc ...
by Russian
émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...
s. ;
Kvass Kvass is a fermented, cereal-based, low-alcoholic beverage of cloudy appearance and sweet-sour taste. Kvass originates from northeastern Europe, where grain production was considered insufficient for beer to become a daily drink. The first wr ...
/
Okroshka Okróshka ( ) is a cold soup of Russian origin, which probably originated in the Volga region. The classic soup is a mix of mostly raw vegetables (like cucumbers, radishes and spring onions), boiled potatoes, eggs, cooked meat such as beef, v ...
: ''Kvass'' or ''kvas'', sometimes called in English a "bread drink", is a
fermented beverage This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, Fermentation in food processing, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to ethanol, alcohol using yeas ...
made from black
rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
or rye bread, which contributes to its light or dark colour. By the content of
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
resulted from fermentation, it is classified as non-alcoholic: up to 1.2% of alcohol, which is so low that it is considered acceptable for consumption by children. While the early low-alcoholic prototypes of kvass were known in some ancient civilizations, its modern, almost non-alcoholic form originated in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. Kvass was first mentioned in the Russian
Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...
, which tells how Prince
Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...
gave kvass among other beverages to the people, while celebrating the
Christianization of Kievan Rus' The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his ...
. Kvass is also known as a main ingredient in
okroshka Okróshka ( ) is a cold soup of Russian origin, which probably originated in the Volga region. The classic soup is a mix of mostly raw vegetables (like cucumbers, radishes and spring onions), boiled potatoes, eggs, cooked meat such as beef, v ...
, a Russian cold soup. ; Multidomed church : The multidomed church is a typical form of Russian church architecture, which distinguishes Russia from other Eastern Orthodox nations and Christian denominations. Indeed, the earliest Russian churches built just after the
Christianization of Kievan Rus' The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his ...
, were multi-domed, which led some historians to speculate what Russian pre-Christian pagan temples might have looked like. Namely, these early churches were 13-domed wooden Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (989) and 25-domed stone Desyatinnaya Church in
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
(989–996). The number of domes typically has a symbolical meaning in
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...
, for example 13 domes symbolize
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
with 12 Apostles, while 25 domes mean the same with additional 12 Prophets from the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
. Multiple domes of Russian churches were often made of wood and were comparatively smaller than the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
domes. ; Kissel : ''Kissel'' or ''kisel'' is a dessert that consists of sweetened juice, typically that of berries, thickened with
oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...
s,
cornstarch Cornflour, cornstarch, maize starch, or corn starch (American English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken s ...
or
potato starch Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...
, with
red wine Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties - (red grapes.) The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice fro ...
or
dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...
s added sometimes. The dessert can be served either hot or cold, and if made using less thickening starch it can be consumed as a beverage, which is common in Russia. Kissel was mentioned for the first time in the
Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...
, where it forms part of the story of how a besieged Russian city was saved from nomadic
Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...
.


11th century

; Birch bark document : A birch bark document is a document written on pieces of
birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. For all practical purposes, birch bark's main layers are the outer dense layer, white on the outside, and the inner porous layer ( ...
. This form of writing material was developed independently by several ancient cultures. In Rus' the usage of the specially prepared birch bark as a cheap replacement for pergament or
paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
became widespread soon after the
Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
of the country. The earliest Russian birch bark documents (likely written in the first quarter of the 11th century) have been found in
Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...
. In total, more than 1000 such documents have been discovered, most of them in Novgorod and the rest in other ancient cities in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. Many birch bark documents were written by common people rather than by clergy or nobility. This fact led some historians to suggest that before the
Mongol invasion of Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan, Principality of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimi ...
the level of
literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
in the country might have been considerably higher than in contemporary
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
. ; Koch /
Icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
: The ''koch'' was an ancient form of
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
, being a special type of one or two small wooden
sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...
s with a mast, used for voyages in the icy conditions of the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
seas and
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
n rivers. The koch was developed by the
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n Pomors in the 11th century, when they started settling on the
White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...
shores. The koch's hull was protected by a belt of ice-floe resistant flush skin-planking (made of
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
or
larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...
) along the variable water-line, and had a false keel for on-ice
portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...
. If a koch was in danger of being trapped in the ice-fields, its rounded bodylines below the surface would allow for the ship to be pushed up out of the water and onto the ice with no damage. In the 19th century similar protective features were adopted to modern
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
s. ; Gudok : The gudok is an ancient East Slavic
string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
, played with a bow. It usually had three strings, two of them tuned in
unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
and played as a drone, the third tuned a fifth higher. All three strings were in the same plane at the bridge, so that a bow could make them all sound at the same time. Sometimes the gudok also had several sympathetic strings (up to eight) under the
sounding board A sounding board, also known as a tester and abat-voix is a structure placed above and sometimes also behind a pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platf ...
. These made the gudok's sound warm and rich. It was also possible to play while standing or dancing, which made it popular among skomorokhs. The name ''gudok'' comes from the 17th century, however the same type of instrument existed from 11th to 16th century, but was called ''smyk''. ;
Medovukha Medovukha ( ; , ; , , ) is a Slavic honey-based alcoholic beverage. It is very similar to mead; but medovukha is produced much faster (approx. less than 1 month of fermentation). The words mead and medovukha are closely related and go back to ...
: ''Medovukha'' is an old Slavic
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
-based alcoholic beverage very similar to
mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...
, but much cheaper and faster to make. Since the old times the Slavs exported the
fermented Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...
mead as a luxury product to Europe in huge quantities. Fermentation occurs naturally over 15 to 50 years, originally rendering the product very expensive and only accessible to the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
. However, in the 11th century East Slavs found that fermentation occurred much faster when the honey mixture was heated, enabling medovukha to become a commonly available drink in the territory of
Rus' Rus or RUS may refer to: People * East Slavic historical peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus, a legendary eponymous ancestor, see Lech, Czech and Rus * Rus (surname), a surname found in Ro ...
. In the 14th century, the invention of
distillation Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
made it possible to create a prototype of the modern medovukha, however
vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...
was invented at the same time and gradually surpassed medovukha in popularity. ;1048 Russian fist fighting : Russian fist fighting is an ancient
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...
, similar to modern
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
. However, it features some indigenous techniques and often fought in collective events called ''Stenka na Stenku'' ("Wall against Wall"). It has existed since the times of
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
, first mentioned in the
Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...
in the year 1048. The government and the
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
often tried to prohibit the fights; however, fist fighting remained popular until the 19th century, while in the 20th century some of the old techniques were adopted for the modern
Russian martial arts There are a number of martial arts styles and schools of Russian people, Russian origin. Traditional Russian fist fighting has existed since the 1st millennium AD. It was outlawed in the Russian Empire in 1832. However, it has seen a resurgence af ...
.


12th century

; Pernach : The ''pernach'' is a type of flanged mace developed since the 12th century in the region of
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
and later widely used throughout
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. The name comes from the Russian word ''перо'' (''pero'') meaning
feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...
, reflecting the form of pernach that resembled an
arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
with
fletching Fletching is the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilization device attached on arrows, crossbow bolts, Dart (missile), darts, and javelins, typically made from light semi-flexible materials such as feathers or Bark (botany), bark. Each piece of such a ...
. The most popular variety of pernach had six
flange A flange is a protruded ridge, lip or rim (wheel), rim, either external or internal, that serves to increase shear strength, strength (as the flange of a steel beam (structure), beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam); for easy attachment/transfer o ...
s and was called ''shestopyor'' (from Russian ''shest'' and ''pero'', that is ''six-feathered''). Pernach was the first form of the flanged mace to find wide usage. It was perfectly suited to defeat
plate armour Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...
and plate mail. In later times it was often used as a symbol of power by military leaders in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. ; Shashka : The shashka is a special kind of
sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...
, a very sharp, single-edged, single-handed, and guardless
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
. In appearance, the shashka is midway between a full sabre and a straight sword. It has a slightly curved blade, and could be effective for both slashing and thrusting. Originally the shashka was developed in the 12th century by
Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...
in the Northern Caucasus. These lands were integrated into the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
in the 18th century. By that time shashka was adopted as their main cold weapon by Russian
Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
. ; Treshchotka : The ''treshchotka'', sometimes referred in plural as ''treshchotki'', is a Russian folk music
idiophone An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings (chordophones), membranes (membranophones) or electricity ( electrophone ...
instrument which is used to imitate hand clapping. Basically it is a set of small boards on a string that get clapped together as a group. There are no known documents confirming the usage of the treshchotka in ancient Russia, however, the remnants of what might have been the earliest 12th-century treshchotka were recently found in
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
. ;1149 bear spear : The bear spear or ''rogatina'' was a medieval type of
spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...
used in bear hunting and also to hunt other large animals, like
wisent The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...
s and war horses. The sharpened head of a bear spear was enlarged and usually had the form of a
bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay lea ...
. Right under the head there was a short crosspiece that helped to fix the spear in the body of an animal. Often it was placed against the ground on its rear point, which made it easier to absorb the impact of the attacking beast. The Russian chronicles first mention rogatina as a military weapon in the year 1149, and as a hunting weapon in the year 1255.


13th century

; Sokha : The sokha is a light wooden
plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
which could be pulled by one horse. Its origin was in northern
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, most likely in the
Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...
, where it was used as early as in the 13th century. A characteristic feature of sokha construction is the bifurcated plowing tip (рассоха), so that a sokha has two plowshares, later made of metal, which cut the soil. The sokha is an evolution of a scratch-plough by an addition of a
spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the a ...
-like detail which turns the cut soil over (in regular ploughs the curved mouldboard both cuts and turns the soil). ;
Pelmeni Pelmeni (, '' pel’meni'', ; pelmen, , '' pel’men’'', ) are dumplings of Russian cuisine that consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough. They are considered to be a national dish. Pelmeni became a staple of Russian cuisine dur ...
: ''Pelmeni'' is a dish originating from
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, now considered part of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n national cuisine. It is a type of
dumpling Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled wi ...
consisting of a filling that is wrapped in thin unleavened
dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...
. The word ''pelmeni'' comes from the Finno-Ugric Komi, Udmurt, and
Mansi Mansi may refer to: * Mansi people, an Indigenous people of Russia ** Mansi language *Mansi (name), given name and surname *Mansi Junction railway station * Mansi Township, Myanmar ** Mansi, Myanmar, a town in the Kachin State of Myanmar (Burma) * ...
languages. It is unclear when pelmeni entered the cuisines of indigenous Siberian people and when it first appeared in
Russian cuisine Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russians, Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds ...
, but most likely it was during the
Mongol conquests The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
and Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' in the 13th century, when Mongol-Tatars took the basic idea from the Chinese
dumpling Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled wi ...
s and brought it to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. ;
Onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...
: The onion dome is a
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
whose shape resembles an
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...
. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
upon which they are set, and their height usually exceeds their width. The whole bulbous structure tapers smoothly to a point. The so-called onion dome is the dominant form for church domes in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and though the earliest preserved Russian domes of the type date from the 16th century, illustrations of the old chronicles indicate that they were used since the late 13th century.


Grand duchy of Moscow


14th century

Lapta * Lapta is a Russian
ball game This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Games that include balls Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, inclu ...
played with a
bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
, similar to modern
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
. The game is played outside on a field the size of 20 x 25 sazhens (about 140 x 175 feet). Points are earned by hitting the ball, served by a player of the opposite team, and sending it as far as possible, then running across the field to the ''kon'' line, and if possible running back to the ''gorod'' line. The running player should try to avoid being hit with the ball, which is thrown by opposing team members. The most ancient balls and bats for lapta were found in 14th-century layers during excavations in
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
. Zvonnitsa * A zvonnitsa is a large rectangular structure containing multiple
arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
es or beams that carry
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
s, where bell ringers stand on its basement level and perform the ringing using long ropes, like playing on a kind of giant
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
. It was an alternative to
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
in the medieval architecture of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and some
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
an countries. Zvonnitsa appeared in Russia in the 14th century and was widely used until the 17th century. Sometimes it was mounted right atop the
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
building, resulting in the special type of church called ''pod zvonom'' ("under ringing") or ''izhe pod kolokoly'' ("under bells"). The most famous example of this type of a church is the Church of St. Ivan of the Ladder adjacent to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the
Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
. Anbur script The alphabet was introduced by a Russian missionary, Stepan Khrap, also known as Saint Stephen of Perm (Степан Храп, св. Стефан Пермский) in 1372. The name Abur is derived from the names of the first two characters: An and Bur. The alphabet derived from Cyrillic and Greek, and Komi tribal signs, the latter being similar in the appearance to runes or siglas poveiras, because they were created by incisions, rather than by usual writing. The alphabet was in use until the 17th century, when it was superseded by the Cyrillic script. Abur was also used as cryptographic writing for the Russian language. 1376
Sarafan A sarafan ( rus, сарафа́н, p=sərɐˈfan, from ''sarāpā'', literally "romhead to feet") is a long, trapezoidal Russian dress worn by girls and women and forming part of Russian traditional folk costume. Traditional Russian costume ...
* The sarafan is a long, shapeless pinafore-type jumper dress, a part of the traditional
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n folk costume worn by women and girls. Sarafans could be of single piece construction with thin shoulder straps over which a
corset A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...
is sometimes worn, giving the shape of the body of a smaller
triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
over a larger one. It comes in different styles such as the simpler black, flower- or check-patterned versions formerly used for everyday wear, or elaborate brocade versions formerly reserved for special occasions. Chronicles first mention it in the year 1376, and since that time it was worn well until the 20th century. It is now worn as a
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
costume for performing Russian folk songs and
folk dancing A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...
. Plain sarafans are still designed and worn today as a summer-time light dress.


15th century

* Kholui miniature Bardiche * The bardiche was a long poleaxe, that is a type of weapon combining the features of an
axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...
and a
polearm A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee we ...
, known primarily in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
where it was used instead of
halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or ...
s. Occasionally such weapons were made in Antiquity and
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
, but the regular and widespread usage of bardiches started in early-15th-century Russia. It was probably developed from the
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n broad axe, but in Scandinavia it appeared only in the late 15th century. In the 16th century the bardiche became a weapon associated with the
streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...
, Russian guardsmen armed with
firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...
, who used bardiches to rest handguns upon when firing. Boyar hat * The boyar hat, also known as gorlatnaya hat, was a
fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
hat worn by Russian nobility between the 15th and 17th centuries, most notably by
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...
s, for whom it was a sign of their social status. The higher hat indicated higher status. In average, it was one ell in height, having the form of a
cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
with more broad upper part,
velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
or
brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...
on top and a main body made of fox,
marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
or
sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...
fur. Today the hat is sometimes used in the Russian
fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
. Gulyay-gorod * The gulyay-gorod (literally "wandering town") was a mobile fortification made from large wall-sized prefabricated shields set on
wagon A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by Working animal#Draft animals, draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are i ...
s or
sled A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...
s, a development of the wagon fort concept. The usage of installable shields instead of permanently armoured wagons was cheaper and allowed more possible configurations to be assembled. Such mobile structures were used mostly in the open
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...
, where few natural shelters could be found. The wide-scale usage of gulyay-gorod started during the Russo-Kazan Wars, and later it was often used by the Ukrainian Cossacks.
Ukha Ukha ( ) is a clear Russian soup, made from various types of fish such as bream, wels catfish, northern pike, or even ruffe. It usually contains root vegetables, parsley root, leek, potato, bay leaf, dill, tarragon, and green parsley, ...
* Ukha is a Russian soup, made with
broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups ...
and fish like
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
or
cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...
,
root vegetables Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and tuberous root, root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, ...
, parsley root,
leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...
,
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
, bay leaf, lime,
dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula; it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring ...
, green
parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...
and spiced with black pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Fish like
perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...
,
tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a freshwater, fresh- and brackish water, brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including Great Britain, Britain and Ireland east into Asia as far ...
es, sheatfish and
burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...
were used to add flavour to the soup. ''Ukha'' as a name in the
Russian cuisine Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russians, Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds ...
for fish broth was established only in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In earlier times this name was first given to thick meat broths, and then later chicken. Beginning from the 15th century, fish was used more and more often to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups. Russian oven * The Russian oven or Russian stove is a unique type of
oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool that is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been use ...
/ furnace that first appeared in the early 15th century. The Russian oven is usually placed in the centre of the
izba An izba ( rus, изба́, p=ɪzˈba, a=Ru-изба.ogg) is a traditional Russian countryside dwelling. Often a log house, it forms the living quarters of a conventional Russian farmstead. It is generally built close to the road and inside a Y ...
, a traditional Russian dwelling, and plays an immense role in the traditional
Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...
and way of life. It is used both for cooking and domestic heating and is designed to retain heat for long periods of time. This is achieved by channeling the smoke and hot air produced by combustion through a complex labyrinth of passages, warming the bricks from which the oven is constructed. In winter people may sleep on top of the oven to keep warm. As well as warming and cooking, the Russian oven can be used for washing. A grown man can easily fit inside, and during the
Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...
some people escaped the Nazis by hiding in ovens. Porridge or pancakes prepared in such an oven may differ in taste from the same meal prepared on a modern stove or range. The process of cooking in a traditional Russian oven can be called "languor" - holding dishes for a long period of time at a steady temperature. Foods that are believed to acquire a distinctive character from being prepared in a Russian oven include
baked milk Baked milk ( , , ) is a variety of boiled milk that has been particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. It is made by simmering milk on low heat for eight hours or longer. History Baked milk was relatively popular outside of Russia ...
,
pearl barley Pearl barley, or pearled barley, is barley that has been processed to remove its fibrous outer hull and polished to remove some or all of the bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting o ...
,
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...
s cooked in
sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...
, or even a simple potato. Rassolnik * Rassolnik is a Russian soup made from
pickled cucumber A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling, pickled in ...
s,
pearl barley Pearl barley, or pearled barley, is barley that has been processed to remove its fibrous outer hull and polished to remove some or all of the bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting o ...
and pork or beef
kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...
s, though a vegetarian version also exists. The dish is known from the 15th century, when it was initially called ''kalya''. The key part of rassolnik is '' rassol'', a liquid based on the juice of pickled cucumbers with some additions, famous for its usage in
hangover A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol (beverage), alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than ...
treatment. c. 1430 Russian vodka * Russian vodka is perhaps the world's most famous national brand of
vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...
, that is a
distilled Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...
, composed solely of
water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
and
ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
with possible traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is one of the world's most popular liquors. It is made by
fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...
of
rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
,
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es, grapes, or
sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...
molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...
. Alcoholic content usually ranges between 35 and 50 percent by
volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...
. The standard Russian vodka is 40 percent alcohol by volume (80 alcoholic proof). The exact origins of vodka cannot be traced definitively, but almost certainly vodka as a beverage comes from 14th–15th-century
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. Russia is often named the birthplace of vodka. The distillation apparatus was known in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
from the late 14th century and was used to produce spirit, the precursor of vodka. According to Russian food historian William Pokhlyobkin, the first original recipe of Russian vodka was produced around 1430 by a monk called
Isidore Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...
from Chudov Monastery inside the
Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
.


Early 16th century

Kokoshnik (architecture) The kokoshnik ( rus, коко́шник, p=kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk) is a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls to accompany the sarafan. The kokoshnik tradition has existed since the 10th century in the city of Veliky Novgorod. It sprea ...
* The kokoshnik is a semicircular or keel-like exterior decorative element in the traditional
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...
, a type of
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
blind arch. The name was inspired by the traditional Russian women's head-dress. Kokoshniks were used in Russian church architecture in the 16th century, while in the 17th century their popularity reached the highest point. Kokoshniks were placed on walls, at the basement of
tented roof A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hip roof, hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak.W. Dean EastmanHometown Handbook: Architecture./ref> Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious archite ...
s or tholobates, or over the window frames, or in rows above the vaults. 1510s Tented roof masonry * The tented roof masonry was a technique widely used in the
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...
in the 16th and 17th centuries. Before that time
tented roof A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hip roof, hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak.W. Dean EastmanHometown Handbook: Architecture./ref> Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious archite ...
s ( conical, or actually
polygonal In geometry, a polygon () is a plane (mathematics), plane Shape, figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its ''edge (geometry), edges'' or ''sides''. The p ...
roofs) were made of wood and used in the wooden churches. These hipped roofs are thought to have originated in the Russian North, as they prevented snow from piling up on wooden buildings during long winters. Wooden tents also were used to cover
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
s in
kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
s, or even applied in some common buildings, like it was in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, but the thin, pointed, nearly conical roofs of the similar shape made of
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
or
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
became a unique form in Russian church architecture. Some scholars, however, argue that hipped roofs have something in common with European Gothic
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
s, and even tend to call this style 'Russian Gothic'. The Ascension church of
Kolomenskoye Kolomenskoye () is a former royal estate situated several kilometers to the southeast of the city center of Moscow, Russia, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). The 390 hectare scenic area overlooks the steep ...
, built in 1532 to commemorate the birth of the first Russian
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Ivan IV, is often considered the first tented roof church, but recent studies show that the earliest use of the stone tented roof was in the Trinity Church in Alexandrov, built in the 1510s. 1530 Middle Muscovite


Tsardom of Russia


Late 16th century

Russian abacus * The Russian abacus or schoty (literally "counts") is a
decimal The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers (''decimal fractions'') of th ...
type of
abacus An abacus ( abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a hand-operated calculating tool which was used from ancient times in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, until the adoption of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. A ...
that has a single slanted deck in a unique vertical layout, with ten beads on each wire (except one wire which has four beads, for quarter-ruble fractions, that is usually near the user). It was developed in Russia from the late 16th century, at the time when abacus already was falling out of use in the
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
. However, the decimality of the Russian abacus (explained by
Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...
's being the world's first decimal currency) and its simplicity (compared to the previous European and Asian versions) led to the wide use of this device in Russia well until the advent of
electronic calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable Electronics, electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. ...
s in the late 20th century, though it remains in quite common use today. 1550
Streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...
* First known standard
military uniform A military uniform is a standardised clothing, dress worn by members of the armed forces and Paramilitary, paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful ...
worn by Russian
regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...
, elite armed forces known as
Streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...
. 1552
Battery-tower A battery tower was a defensive tower built into the outermost defences of many castles, usually in the 16th century or later, after the advent of firearms. Its name is derived from the word battery (military), battery, a group of several cannon. ...
* The battery-tower is a late type of
siege tower A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...
, carrying
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
inside it, a development of the gulyay-gorod concept. The first such tower was built by the Russian
military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
Ivan Vyrodkov during the
siege of Kazan The siege of Kazan or Fall of Kazan in 1552 was the final battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars and led to the fall of the Khanate of Kazan. Conflict continued after the fall of Kazan, however, as rebel governments formed in Çalım and Mişätamaq ...
in 1552 (a part of the Russo-Kazan Wars), and could hold ten large-calibre cannons and 50 lighter cannons. Later battery-towers were often used by the Ukrainian
Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
. 1561 ''
Saint Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (), known in English as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as ...
'' * Saint Basil's Cathedral is perhaps the most famous
Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
cathedral, a symbol of
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It was designed by Postnik Yakovlev on the order of
Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...
and built on the Moscow's
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
in 1555–1561, to commemorate the capture of Kazan and
Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
. The unique feature of the Saint Basil's Cathedral is the fact that it is a complex of multiple temples put together. The original building, known as "Trinity Cathedral", contained eight side churches covered with
onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...
s and arranged around the ninth, central
tented roof A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hip roof, hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak.W. Dean EastmanHometown Handbook: Architecture./ref> Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious archite ...
church of
Intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of prayer, praying on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy speci ...
; the tenth church was erected in 1588 over the grave of venerated local Fool Vasily (Basil). In the 16th and the 17th centuries the cathedral, perceived as the earthly symbol of the Heavenly City, was popularly known as "
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
" and served as an
allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
of the
Jerusalem Temple The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accor ...
in the annual
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...
parade attended by the Patriarch of Moscow and the
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
. Its striking design, shaped as a flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, has no analogues elsewhere in the world, and it was seldom reproduced in
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...
, most notably in the St. Peter's and Paul Cathedral in
Petergof Petergof (), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, located ...
and in the
Church of the Savior on Blood The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (, ''Tserkovʹ Spasa na Krovi'') is a Russian Orthodox church in Saint Petersburg, Russia which currently functions as a secular museum and church at the same time. The structure was constructed between ...
in St. Petersburg. 1566 '' Great Abatis Line'' * The Great Abatis Line, or Bolshaya Zasechnaya Cherta in Russian, was the largest fortification line of the
abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...
type, built by the
Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...
and later the
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...
. Its purpose was to protect Russia from the raids of
nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
s of the
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
an steppes, such as the
Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...
. As a fortification construction stretching for hundreds kilometers, the Great Abatis Line is analogous to the
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...
and the Roman limes. Most of its length consisted of
abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...
, which is a barrier built from felled trees arranged as a barricade. It was also fortified by ditches and earth mounds, palisades, watch towers and natural features like lakes and swamps. Stone and wooden
kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
s of the towns were also included in the Great Abatis Line, as well as the smaller forts called ostrogs. The Great Abatis Line was built south of
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
between the
Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...
woods and Meschera swamps starting from the 12th century, and was officially completed in 1566, exceeding 1000 km in length. 1586 '' Tsar Cannon'' * The Tsar Cannon is an enormous
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
, commissioned in 1586 by Russian Tsar Feodor and cast by
Andrey Chokhov Andrey Chokhov, also spelled Chekhov (''Андрей Чохов (Чехов)'' in Russian) (c. 1545 – 1629, allegedly 8 December, Moscow) was a highly prominent Russian cannon and bell caster. He worked in Moscow at the Cannon Yard for more t ...
. It is the largest bombard by caliber. The cannon weighs 39.312 metric
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s and has a length of . Its bronze-cast barrel has a calibre of , and an external diameter of . Along with a new carriage, the 2 ton cannonballs surrounding the cannon were added in 1835 and are larger than the diameter of its barrel; in fact, it was originally designed to fire 800 kg stone
grapeshot In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of a collection of smaller-caliber round shots packed tightly in a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal wadding, rather than being a single solid projectile ...
. The cannon is decorated with
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s, including one depicting
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Feodor on a horse, hence the name of the cannon, though now the word ''Tsar'' is associated more with the supreme size of the weapon. Several copies of the cannon were made in the 21st century and installed in Donetsk, Ukraine and several Russian cities, while the original Tsar Cannon is in the
Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
.М.Е. Портнов. Царь-Пушка и Царь-Колокол. Московский Рабочий, Москва, 1990 / M.E.Portnov. ''Tsar Cannon and Tsar Bell'', Moskovsky Rabochiy, Moscow 1990,


17th century

Bochka roof * The bochka roof or simply bochka (, barrel) is the type of roof in the traditional
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...
that has a form of half-
cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
with an elevated and sharpened upper part, resembling the sharpened
kokoshnik The kokoshnik ( rus, коко́шник, p=kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk) is a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls to accompany the sarafan. The kokoshnik tradition has existed since the 10th century in the city of Veliky Novgorod. It sprea ...
. Typically made of wood, the bochka roof was extensively used both in the church and civilian architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries. Later it was sometimes used in
Russian Revival The Russian Revival style comprises a number of different movements within Russian architecture that arose in the second quarter of the 19th century and was an eclectic melding of Byzantine elements ( Neo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian E ...
style buildings.
Gorodki ''Gorodki'' (; ; ) is a Russian folk sport. Similar in concept to bowling and also somewhat to Horseshoes (game), horseshoes, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles (sport), skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat a ...
* Gorodki or ''townlets'' is an old Russian
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
sport whose popularity has spread also to
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and the
Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
. Similar to
bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...
, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in some pattern by throwing a
bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
at them. The skittles, or pins, are called ''gorodki'' (literally ''little cities'' or ''townlets''), and the square zone in which they are arranged is called the ''gorod'' (''city''). The game is mentioned in the old Russian chronicles and was known in the form close to the modern one at least from the 17th century, since one of the famous players in gorodki was the young
Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...
.
Roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
* Russian Mountains, as they were called by the Westerners, were winter sled rides held on specially constructed hills of ice, sometimes up to 200 feet tall, being the first type of
roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
. Known from the 17th century, the slides were built to a height of between 70 and 80 feet, consisted of a 50 degree drop, and were reinforced by wooden supports. In the 18th century they were especially popular in St. Petersburg and surrounding areas, from where by the late 18th century their usage and popularity spread to Europe. Sometimes wheeled carts were used instead of tracks, like in the '' Katalnaya Gorka'' built in
Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...
's residences in Tsarskoe Selo and Oranienbaum. The first such wheeled ride was brought to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1804 under the name ''Les Montagnes Russes'' (French for "Russian Mountains"), and the term ''Russian Mountains'' continues to be a synonym for ''roller coaster'' in many countries today. Bird of Happiness * The Bird of Happiness is the traditional North Russian wooden
toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...
, carved in the shape of a bird. It was invented by Pomors, the inhabitants of the
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
and
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
coastline. The Bird of Happiness is made without glue or other fasteners, by elaborate carving of thin petals for the bird's wings and tail and then using a special method of spreading and curving them. Similar methods are also used in other products of the North Russian handicraft. The amulet is usually made of pine, fir, spruce, or
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
n cedar. It is suspended inside a house, guarding the family hearth and well-being. Dymkovo toy * Dymkovo toys, also known as the Vyatka toys or Kirov toys are moulded painted
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
figures of people and animals (sometimes in the form of a pennywhistle). It is an old
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n folk
handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...
which still exists in a village of Dymkovo near Kirov (former Vyatka). Traditionally, the Dymkovo toys are made by women. Up until the 20th century, this toy production had been timed to the spring fair called ''свистунья'' (svistunya), or whistler. The first recorded mention of this event took place in 1811, however it is believed to have existed for some 400 years, thus dating the history of Dymkovo toy at least from the 17th century. Troika * The troika (тройка, "triplet" or "trio") is a traditional Russian harness driving combination, using three
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s abreast, usually pulling a sleigh. It differs from most other three-horse combinations in that the horses are harnessed abreast. In addition to that, the troika is the world's only multiple harness with different
horse gait Horses can use various gaits (patterns of leg movement) during Terrestrial locomotion, locomotion across solid ground, either naturally or as a result of specialized horse training, training by humans.Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship'' ...
s – the middle horse
trot The trot is a two-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is som ...
s and the side horses
canter The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait pos ...
. At full speed a troika could reach , which was a very high speed on land for vehicles in the 17th-19th centuries, making the troika closely associated with the fast ride. The troika was developed from the late 17th century, first being used for speedy delivering of
mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
, and having become common by the late 18th century. It was often used for travelling in stages where teams of tired horses could be exchanged for fresh animals to transport loads and people over long distances. 1630 Late Muscovite Russian architecture characterized by many large cathedral-type churches with five onion-like cupolas, surrounding them with tents of bell towers and aisles. 1659
Khokhloma Khokhloma (also Hohloma, Russian: хохлома; Russian pronunciation: əxɫɐˈma or Khokhloma painting (хохломская роспись, ''hohlomskaya rospis'') is a style of Russian art traditionally painted on wooden household items. ...
* Khokhloma is a Russian wood painting
handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...
, known for its vivid flower patterns,
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
and
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
colors over the black background, and the distinctive effect on the cheap and light wooden tableware or furniture, making it look heavier,
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
-like and glamorous. It first appeared in the second half of the 17th century, at least from 1659, in today's
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,119,115 as of the 2021 Ru ...
and was named after the large trade settlement Khokhloma. The handicraft owes its origin to the
Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...
, who, fleeing from persecutions of officials, took refuge in local woods and taught some of the
icon painting An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...
techniques to the local craftsmen, such as the usage of a goldish color without applying real
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. Nowadays khokhloma is one of the symbols of Russia, and apart from its usage in making tableware, furniture and
souvenir A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...
s, it can be found in the wider context, for example in paintings on Russian
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
s. 1679
Circle of fifths In music theory, the circle of fifths (sometimes also cycle of fifths) is a way of organizing pitches as a sequence of perfect fifths. Starting on a C, and using the standard system of tuning for Western music (12-tone equal temperament), the se ...
*In the late 1670s a
treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...
called ''Grammatika'' was written by the composer and theorist Nikolai Diletskii. Diletskii's ''Grammatika'' is a treatise on composition, the first of its kind, which targeted Western-style polyphonic compositions. It taught how to write kontserty,
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
, which were normally based on
liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
texts and were created by putting together musical sections that have contrasting
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
, meters,
melodic A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...
material and
vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...
groupings. Diletskii intended his treatise to be a guide to composition but pertaining to the rules of
music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...
. Within the Grammatika treatise is where the first circle of fifths appeared and was used for students as a composer's tool. 1685 Tula pryanik * The Tula pryanik is a type of printed
gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...
from the city of Tula, the most known kind of Russian gingerbreads. Usually the Tula pryanik looks like a rectangular tile or a flat figure. Modern Tula pryanik usually contain jam or
condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...
, while in the old times they were made with
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
. The first mention of the Tula pryanik is in Tula census book of 1685. 1688
Balalaika The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...
* The balalaika is a
stringed instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play so ...
with a characteristic triangular body and 3 strings (or sometimes 6, in 3 courses), perhaps the best-known national Russian musical instrument. The balalaika family of instruments includes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, sekunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass balalaika and contrabass balalaika. The earliest mention of balalaika is found in a 1688 document, and initially it was an instrument of skomorokhs (sort of Russian free-lance musical jesters). In the 1880s the modern standard balalaika was developed by Vasily Andreev, who also started a tradition of balalaika orchestras, which finally led to the popularity of the instrument in many countries outside Russia. Glass-holder *The podstakannik (Russian: подстаканник, literally "thing under the glass"), or tea glass holder, is a holder with a handle, most commonly made of metal, that holds a drinking glass. The primary purpose of podstakanniki (pl.) is to hold a very hot glass of tea, which is usually consumed right after it is brewed. It is a traditional way of serving and drinking tea in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other post-Soviet states. 1693 * Naryshkin Baroque. Also called Moscow Baroque, or Muscovite Baroque, is the name given to a particular style of Baroque architecture and decoration which was fashionable in Moscow from the turn of the 17th into the early 18th centuries.


Early 18th century

Table-glass * The table-glass or granyonyi stakan (literally ''faceted glass'') is a type of
drinkware upTypical drinkware. This list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware), tableware used to set a table for eating a meal and generally glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory g ...
made from especially hard and thick
glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
, having a faceted form. Granyonyi stakan has certain advantages over the other drinkware, since due to its form and hardness it is more difficult to break. It is arguably handier in usage on moving trains or rolling ships, where it is less prone to tip and fall, or slip from hands, and less likely to break upon hitting the floor. A legend says that the first known Russian faceted glass was given as a present to
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
from a glass-maker called Yefim Smolin, living in
Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, the oblast's population was 1,443,693. The UNESCO World Heritage L ...
. He boasted to Tsar that his glass couldn't be broken. Tsar Peter liked the present, however, after drinking some alcoholic beverage from it, he threw the glass on the ground and managed to break it. Still Peter didn't punish the glass-maker, and the production of such glasses continued, while the Russian tradition of breaking
drinkware upTypical drinkware. This list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware), tableware used to set a table for eating a meal and generally glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory g ...
on certain occasions originated from that episode. 1704 Decimal currency * The decimal currency is a type of
currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
that is based on one basic unit and a sub-unit which is a power of 10, typically 100. Most modern currencies adhere to this pattern. Russia was the first country to introduce such a currency after
decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by Power of 10, powers of 10. Most countries have ...
of its financial system in 1704, during the reign of
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
, when
Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...
was made equal to 100 kopecks. 1717 Metal lathe compound slide * by Andrey Nartov. A compound slide on a metal lathe adds the ability to turn tapers more easily, and may be used to turn more precise diameters. They are a standard feature of modern manually operated lathes. 1718
Yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...
* The yacht club is a sports club specifically related to
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
and
yachting Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on ma ...
. The oldest yacht club in the world, by date of establishment, is the
Neva Yacht Club The Neva Yacht Club (Yacht-club Neva or simply Club Neva) is a yacht club, sailing club located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, close to the Neva River. It was founded in 1718 and was re-established as a club in 1958. It claims to be the first and o ...
, founded by the Russian
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
in 1718 in St. Petersburg (likely, the idea had been devised as early as 1716, when the First Neva Shipyard started building civilian vessels). Though, since it was not a purely voluntary association of members, but an organisation founded by Tsar's decree, the Neva Yacht Club's being the world's oldest is challenged by the
Royal Cork Yacht Club The Royal Cork Yacht Club is a yacht club located in Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland. Founded in 1720, it is a claimant to the title of the world's oldest yacht club, although this is challenged by the Neva Yacht Club in Russia. Formation T ...
in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, founded in 1720. Both clubs have gone through periods of dormancy and undergone various name changes.


Russian Empire


1720s

1725
Rebar Rebar (short for reinforcement bar or reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or steel reinforcement, is a tension device added to concrete to form ''reinforced concrete'' and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid ...
* Rebar or reinforcing bar is a common metal bar (typically made of
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
), used in
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
and reinforced
masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
structures. Rebar was known in construction well before the era of the modern
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
, since some 150 years before its invention rebar were used in the
Leaning Tower of Nevyansk The Leaning Tower of Nevyansk () is a tower built in the 18th century located within the town of Nevyansk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. The construction was funded by the blacksmith and industrialist Nikita Demidov and later his son Akinfiy Demid ...
in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, which was built on the orders of the
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
Akinfiy Demidov Akinfiy Nikitich Demidov () (1678 Tula - 5 August 1745 Yatskoye Ustye, Menzelinsky Uyezd, Orenburg Governorate) was a Russian industrialist of the Demidov family. Life He was the eldest son of Nikita Demidov and increased the family fortune ...
between 1725 and 1732. The purpose of such construction is one of the many mysteries of the tower. The
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
used was of very high quality, and there is no
corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...
on them up to this day.


1730s

1732
Cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
/
Lightning rod A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it is most likely to strike the rod and be conducted ...
* The cast iron cupola was a type of
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
made of
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
rather than made from
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
or
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
as it was in ancient or medieval domes. The first application of this technology is found in the mysterious
Leaning Tower of Nevyansk The Leaning Tower of Nevyansk () is a tower built in the 18th century located within the town of Nevyansk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. The construction was funded by the blacksmith and industrialist Nikita Demidov and later his son Akinfiy Demid ...
, completed in 1732. The tower's
tented roof A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hip roof, hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak.W. Dean EastmanHometown Handbook: Architecture./ref> Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious archite ...
had a
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
carcass and outer shell. The second time, this technique was applied only some 100 years later, during the reconstruction of the
Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral ( or, officially, ') is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of th ...
in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in 1826, while the third time it was used in the
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
of
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral () is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Gre ...
in St. Petersburg, built in the 1840s. The very top of the tower was crowned with a gilded metallic
sphere A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
with spikes. Since it was grounded through the
rebar Rebar (short for reinforcement bar or reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or steel reinforcement, is a tension device added to concrete to form ''reinforced concrete'' and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid ...
of the tower carcass, it acted like a lightning rod. Thus, the Russian builders de facto created the first lightning rod in the Western world some 25 years before
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, however it is not known whether that was intentional. 1733 '' Peter and Paul Cathedral'' * The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a
Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
cathedral located in St. Petersburg,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 inside the
Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...
. Both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
and designed by
Domenico Trezzini Domenico Trezzini (; – 1734) was an Italian Swiss architect who elaborated the Petrine Baroque style of Russian architecture. Biography Domenico was born in Astano, Landvogtei of Lugano (at that time a condominium of the Old Swiss C ...
. The cathedral is the burial place of all
Russian Emperor The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's victory in the Great Nor ...
s from Peter I to Nicholas II, with the exception of Peter II. The cathedral's bell tower is the world's tallest Eastern Orthodox bell tower. Since the belfry is not standalone, but an integral part of the main building, the cathedral is sometimes considered the highest Eastern Orthodox Church in the world. 1735 '' Tsar Bell'' * The Tsar Bell, also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol or Royal Bell, is a huge
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
on display on the grounds of the
Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna, niece of
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
. Currently it is the largest and heaviest bell in the world, weighing 216
ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...
s, with a height of 6.14  m (20.1 ft) and diameter of 6.6 m (21.6 ft). It was founded from
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
by masters Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail in 1733–1735. The bell, however, was never rung because of a fire in 1737, when a huge slab (11.5 tons) cracked off while it was still in the casting pit. In 1836, the bell was placed on a stone
pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
next to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. For a time, the bell served as a
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
, with the broken area forming the door. According to the legend, on
Judgement Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus, Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God in Abrahamic religions, God of a ...
the Tsar Bell will be miraculously repaired and lifted up to heaven, where it will ring the blagovest (call to prayer). 1739 Ice palace


1740s

1741
Quick-firing gun A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, that has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and ...
* by Andrey Nartov


1750s

1754
Coaxial rotor A coaxial-rotor aircraft is an aircraft whose rotors are mounted one above the other on concentric shafts, with the same axis of rotation, but turning in opposite directions ( contra-rotating). This rotor configuration is a feature of helicopt ...
/ Model helicopter * by
Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...
1756 Law of Mass Conservation * by
Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...
1757 Licorne (Russian field gun) * by M.W. Danilov and S.A. Martynov


1760s

1761
Atmosphere of Venus The atmosphere of Venus is the very dense layer of gases surrounding the planet Venus. Venus's atmosphere is composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide and 3.5% nitrogen, with other chemical compounds present only in trace amounts. It is much denser and ho ...
*
Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...
was the first person to hypothesize the existence of an atmosphere on Venus based on his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 in a small observatory near his house in Petersburg. 1762 Off-axis reflecting telescope * by
Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...


1770s

1770 '' Amber Room'' * The Amber Room in the
Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo ( Pushkin), located south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Re ...
of
Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...
near
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
is a complete chamber decoration of
amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...
panels backed with
gold leaf upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...
and
mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...
s. It was dubbed the '' Eighth Wonder of the World'' due to its singular beauty and the large quantity of a rare material (amber is rather hard to carve). Due to its unique history it was also called the ''World's Greatest Lost Treasure''. Several generations of German and Russian craftsmen worked on this masterpiece, prompted by several generations of monarchs. Construction began in 1701 to 1709 in
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. In 1716 the ''Amber Cabinet'' was given by Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I to his then ally,
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...
. Then it was expanded by Russian craftsmen, and by 1770, when the work was finished, the Room covered more than 55 square meters and contained over six tons of amber. It was looted during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, brought to
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
and lost in the chaos at the end of the war. In 1979-2003 Russian craftsmen again reconstructed the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace, while the location of the original one is still a mystery. 1770 '' Thunder Stone'' * The largest stone ever moved by man, used a base for a statue. 1776 Orenburg shawl 1778 Russian samovar * In 1778 the Lisitsyn brothers introduced their first samovar design, and the same year they registered the first samovar-making factory in Russia. File:Thunder Stone.jpg, ''The Transportation of the Thunder-stone in the Presence of
Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...
''. Engraving by I.F.Schley of the drawing by
Yury Felten Georg Friedrich Veldten, russified as Yury Matveyevich Felten (; 1730–1801) was a Russian Imperial architect who served at the Empress Catherine the Great's court. Yury Felten was born Georg Veldten, into a family of German immigrants to Rus ...
. 1770. File:Samovar.silver.jpg, A typical
samovar A samovar (, , ) is a metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water. Although originating in Russia, the samovar is well known outside of Russia and has spread through Russian culture to other parts of Eastern Europe, as well as We ...


1780s

1784 Orlov Trotter * by
Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov Count Alexei (Alexey) Grigoryevich Orlov-Chesmensky (;  – ) was a Russian soldier, general-in-chief, general admiral and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great. His joint victory with Grigory Spiridov ...
File:Орловский рысак.jpg, Orlov Trotter, considered the fastest for most of the 19th century.


1790s

Russian guitar * by Andrei Sychra
Valenki Valenki ( rus, ва́ленки, p=ˈvalʲɪnkʲɪ; sg valenok ( rus, ва́ленок, p=ˈvalʲɪnək)) are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name ''valenok'' literally means "made by felting". They are not wa ...
1793 Screw drive elevator * The screw drive elevator is an elevator that uses a screw drive system instead of a hoist, like it was in the earlier elevators. The invention of the screw drive was the most important step in elevator technology since ancient times, which finally led to the creation of modern passenger elevators. The first such elevator was invented by Ivan Kulibin and installed in the
Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...
in 1793, while several years later another of Kulibin's elevators was installed in Arkhangelskoye near
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. In 1823, an "ascending room" made its debut in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. 1795 Fedoskino miniature / Russian lacquer art 1796
Peaked cap A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It d ...
* The peaked cap has been worn by Russian Army officers as a type of forage cap since 1796 by some regiments, and from 1811 by most of the army. File:Seven-string-guitar.jpg, A seven-string Russian guitar File:315 Changes in uniforms and armament of troops of the Russian Imperial army.jpg, Russian soldiers wearing
peaked cap A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It d ...
s.


19th century

* Kargopol toys * Filimonovo toys * Gorodets painting * Rushnik is a ritual cloth embroidered with symbols and cryptograms of the ancient world. 1802 Modern powdered milk 1802 Continuous electric arc * by Vasily Petrov 1805 Droshky any of various 2 or 4 wheeled, horse-drawn, public carriages (early taxicabs). File:Lichtbogen 3000 Volt.jpg,
Electric arc An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma ( ...
. File:Dorozka_Aleksander_Orłowski_1.png, Early 19th century depiction by Aleksander Orłowski


1810s

1811
Sailor cap A sailor cap is a round, flat visorless hat worn by sailors in many of the world's navies. A tally, an inscribed black silk ribbon, is tied around the base which usually bears the name of a ship or a navy. Many navies (e.g. Germany) tie the ta ...
1812
Electric telegraph Electrical telegraphy is Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point distance communicating via sending electric signals over wire, a system primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecom ...
* by
Pavel Schilling Baron Pavel Lvovitch Schilling (1786–1837), also known as Paul Schilling, was a Russian inventor, military officer and diplomat of Baltic German origin. The majority of his career was spent working for the imperial Russian Ministry of Fore ...
1812
Naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...
* by
Pavel Schilling Baron Pavel Lvovitch Schilling (1786–1837), also known as Paul Schilling, was a Russian inventor, military officer and diplomat of Baltic German origin. The majority of his career was spent working for the imperial Russian Ministry of Fore ...
1814 Beehive frame * by
Petro Prokopovych Petro Prokopovych (1775–1850, ) was a Ukrainian beekeeper who made revolutionary contributions to the practice. They include the founding of commercial beekeeping and the invention of the first movable frame hive. He introduced novelties in tra ...
File:Russian sailor cap.jpg,
Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...
's
sailor cap A sailor cap is a round, flat visorless hat worn by sailors in many of the world's navies. A tally, an inscribed black silk ribbon, is tied around the base which usually bears the name of a ship or a navy. Many navies (e.g. Germany) tie the ta ...
. File:Voll Honig.JPG, Beehive frame filled with
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
.


1820s

1820
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
* By Mikhail Lazarev &
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Faddey Faddeyevich Bellingshausen or Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin von Bellingshausen ( – ) was a Russian cartographer, explorer, and naval officer of Baltic German descent, who attained the rank of admiral. He participated in the first Russi ...
1820s Russian Revival architecture is the generic term for a number of different movements within Russian architecture that arose in second quarter of the 19th century and was an eclectic melding of pre-Peterine Russian architecture and elements of Byzantine architecture. 1820
Monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...
* The so-called "Road on Pillars" near
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, with horse-drawn carriages, built by Ivan Elmanov. 1825 Zhostovo painting 1828
Electromagnetic telegraph Electrical telegraphy is point-to-point distance communicating via sending electric signals over wire, a system primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most wide ...
* by
Pavel Schilling Baron Pavel Lvovitch Schilling (1786–1837), also known as Paul Schilling, was a Russian inventor, military officer and diplomat of Baltic German origin. The majority of his career was spent working for the imperial Russian Ministry of Fore ...
1829 Industrial production process of sunflower oil 1829 Three bolt diving equipment * by E. K. Gauzen 1829
Hyperbolic geometry In mathematics, hyperbolic geometry (also called Lobachevskian geometry or János Bolyai, Bolyai–Nikolai Lobachevsky, Lobachevskian geometry) is a non-Euclidean geometry. The parallel postulate of Euclidean geometry is replaced with: :For a ...
* by Nikolay Lobachevsky


1830s

1832 Data recording equipment * Semen Korsakov was reputedly the first to use the
punched card A punched card (also punch card or punched-card) is a stiff paper-based medium used to store digital information via the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Developed over the 18th to 20th centuries, punched cards were widel ...
s in informatics for information storage and search. Korsakov announced his new method and machines in September 1832, and rather than seeking patents offered the machines for public use. 1833
Lenz's law Lenz's law states that the direction of the electric current Electromagnetic induction, induced in a Electrical conductor, conductor by a changing magnetic field is such that the magnetic field created by the induced current opposes changes in t ...
* by
Heinrich Lenz Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz (; also Emil Khristianovich Lenz; ; 12 February 1804 – 10 February 1865), usually cited as Emil Lenz or Heinrich Lenz in some countries, was an Estonian physicist who is most noted for formulating Lenz's law in el ...
1835
Centrifugal fan A centrifugal fan is a mechanical device for moving air or other gases in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan. Centrifugal fans often contain a ducted fan, ducted housing to direct outgoing air in a specific direction or ...
* by Alexander Sablukov 1838
Electrotyping Electrotyping (also galvanoplasty) is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by a Prussian engineer Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in ...
* by Boris Jacobi 1839
Electric boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...
* by Boris Jacobi 1839 Galvanoplastic sculpture * by Boris Jacobi and
Heinrich Lenz Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz (; also Emil Khristianovich Lenz; ; 12 February 1804 – 10 February 1865), usually cited as Emil Lenz or Heinrich Lenz in some countries, was an Estonian physicist who is most noted for formulating Lenz's law in el ...
File:Homeoscope03.gif, The search of data on Semen Korsakov's
punched card A punched card (also punch card or punched-card) is a stiff paper-based medium used to store digital information via the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Developed over the 18th to 20th centuries, punched cards were widel ...
, a part of the machine called ''linear homeoscope''. File:CentrifugalFan.png, Components of a
centrifugal fan A centrifugal fan is a mechanical device for moving air or other gases in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan. Centrifugal fans often contain a ducted fan, ducted housing to direct outgoing air in a specific direction or ...
.


1840s

1847 Field anesthesia * by
Nikolay Pirogov Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (Russian: Николай Иванович Пирогов; – ) was a Russian scientist, medical doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847), one of the most wi ...
1848 Modern oil well * by Vasily Semyonov File:102 329 nobel oilwells.jpg, 19th-century
oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas m ...
s near
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
.


1850s

1850s
Neo-Byzantine architecture Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...
in the Russian Empire emerged in the 1850s and became an officially endorsed preferred architectural style for church construction during the reign of Alexander II of Russia (1855–1881), replacing the Russo-Byzantine style of Konstantin Thon. 1851 ''
Struve Geodetic Arc The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over , which yielded the first accurate measurement of a meridian arc. The chain was established ...
'' * by
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – ) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist. He is best known for studying double stars and initiating a triangulation survey later named Struve ...
1851
Russian Railway Troops Railway Troops of the Russian Armed Forces ()См. сведения о постоянных корреспондентах газеты «Красная звезда» в выходных данных на С. 2. каждого еженедель ...
1854 Modern field surgery * By
Nikolay Pirogov Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (Russian: Николай Иванович Пирогов; – ) was a Russian scientist, medical doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847), one of the most wi ...
1854
Stereo camera A stereo camera is a type of camera with two or more lenses with a separate image sensor or film frame for each lens. This allows the camera to simulate human binocular vision, and therefore gives it the ability to capture three-dimensional ...
1857-1861 Theory of chemical structure * By Alexander Butlerov, one of the principal creators of the theory of chemical structure, the first to incorporate double bonds into structural formulas, the discoverer of Hexamine and the discoverer of the Formose reaction. 1857
Radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...
* A radiator is a
heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...
used to transfer
thermal energy The term "thermal energy" is often used ambiguously in physics and engineering. It can denote several different physical concepts, including: * Internal energy: The energy contained within a body of matter or radiation, excluding the potential en ...
from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling or heating. The first historical application of radiator was in
central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. A central heating system has a Furnace (central heating), furnace that converts fuel or electricity to heat through processes. The he ...
systems. The heating radiator was invented by Franz San Galli, a Polish-born
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n businessman living in St. Petersburg, between 1855 and 1857. 1858 ''
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral () is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Gre ...
'' * Saint Isaac's Cathedral is the largest
Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
in St. Petersburg. It was the tallest Eastern Orthodox church upon its completion (subsequently surpassed only by the
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the ...
). It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
who had been born on the
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
of that saint. Designed by Auguste de Montferrand, the cathedral is a masterpiece of the late
classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...
, built between 1818 and 1858. Multiple innovations were used during construction, such as the giant
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
, special frameworks to erect columns, and the first usage of galvanoplastic sculpture in architecture. 1859 Aluminothermy * By Nikolay Beketov File:Household radiator.jpg, An old-style household radiator. File:Saint Isaac's Cathedral.jpg,
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral () is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Gre ...
in St. Petersburg.


1860s

1860s Russian salad * by Lucien Olivier 1861
Beef Stroganoff Beef Stroganoff, also spelled beef Stroganov, is a Russian dish of sautéed pieces of beef in a sauce of mustard and smetana. It is named after one of the members of the Stroganov family. Since its appearance in the 19th century, it has becom ...
1864 Modern icebreaker * An icebreaker is a special-purpose
ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...
or
boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...
designed to move and navigate through
ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
-covered waters. The first steam-powered
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
- hulled icebreaker of the modern type was the Russian ''
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
'', built in 1864 on orders of the merchant and shipbuilder
Mikhail Britnev Mikhail Osipovich Britnev (; 1822–1889) was a Russian shipowner and shipbuilder, who created the first metal- hull icebreaker named ''Pilot'' in 1864.Pomor The Pomors (, ) are an ethnographic group traditionally thought to be descended from Russians, Russian settlers (primarily from Veliky Novgorod) living on the White Sea coasts and nearby regions, with their southern boundary marked by a waters ...
kochs, which had been navigating icy waters of the
White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...
and
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
for centuries. 1868
Grow light A grow light is an electric light that can help plants grow. Grow lights either attempt to provide a light spectrum similar to that of the sun, or to provide a spectrum that is more tailored to the needs of the plants being cultivated (typically a ...
* Andrei Famintsyn was the first to use artificial light for plant growing and research. 1869
Hectograph The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame. While the original use of the technol ...
1869 Periodic table of the elements * by
Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev ( ; ) was a Russian chemist known for formulating the periodic law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements. He used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known ele ...
File:Russian Olivier salad.jpg, Russian salad. File:Beef Stroganoff-01.jpg,
Beef Stroganoff Beef Stroganoff, also spelled beef Stroganov, is a Russian dish of sautéed pieces of beef in a sauce of mustard and smetana. It is named after one of the members of the Stroganov family. Since its appearance in the 19th century, it has becom ...
.


1870s

Gymnasterka * The gymnasterka was originally introduced into the Tsarist army about 1870 for wear by regiments stationed in
Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...
during the hot summers. It took the form of a loose fitting white linen "shirt-tunic" and included the coloured shoulder-boards of the green tunic worn during the remainder of the year. The gymnasterka was taken into use by all branches of the Imperial Army at the time of the
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
of 1877–78. Originally intended for working dress during peace-time and patterned on the traditional Russian peasant smock, the gymnasterka was subsequently adopted for ordinary duties and active service wear. It was worn as such by non-commissioned ranks in summer during the 1890s and early 1900s. The officers' equivalent was a white double breasted tunic or ''kitel''. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, the white gymnasterka with its red or blue shoulder-boards proved too conspicuous against modern weaponry and the garments were often dyed various shades of khaki. The smartness and comfort of the white gymnasterka enabled it to survive for a few more years of peacetime wear until a light khaki version was adopted in 1907-09 and worn during World War I. 1872 Electric lamp * By Alexander Lodygin. In 1872, he applied for a Russian patent for his filament lamp. He also patented this invention in Austria, Britain, France, and Belgium. For a filament, Lodygin used a very thin carbon rod, placed under a bell-glass. 1872
Aldol reaction The aldol reaction (aldol addition) is a Chemical reaction, reaction in organic chemistry that combines two Carbonyl group, carbonyl compounds (e.g. aldehydes or ketones) to form a new β-hydroxy carbonyl compound. Its simplest form might invol ...
* by
Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...
, independently from Charles-Adolphe Wurtz 1873
Odhner Arithmometer The Odhner Arithmometer was a very successful pinwheel calculator invented in Russia in 1873 by Willgodt Theophil Odhner, W. T. Odhner, a Swedish people, Swedish immigrant. Its industrial production officiallyTrogemann G., Nitussov A.: ''Computi ...
* by Willgodt Theophil Odhner 1873
Armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
* '' General-Admiral'' by Andrei Alexandrovich Popov 1874
Headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...
* by Pavel Yablochkov 1875
Railway electrification system Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), electric multiple units ( passenger cars with their own ...
* by
Fyodor Pirotsky Fyodor Apollonovich Pirotsky (; – ), or Fedir Apollonovych Pirotskyy () was a Russian engineer of Ukrainian ancestry, inventor of the world's first railway electrification system and electric tram While the commercialization of his inventions ...
1876 AC transformer * by Pavel Yablochkov 1876
Yablochkov candle A Yablochkov candle (sometimes electric candle or Jablochkoff candle) is a type of electric carbon arc lamp, invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Pavel Yablochkov. Design A Yablochkov candle consists of a sandwich of two electrode ...
* Invented in 1876 by Pavel Yablochkov, the
Yablochkov candle A Yablochkov candle (sometimes electric candle or Jablochkoff candle) is a type of electric carbon arc lamp, invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Pavel Yablochkov. Design A Yablochkov candle consists of a sandwich of two electrode ...
was the first commercially viable electric carbon arc lamp and was used for the world's first electric street lightning at the
Exposition Universelle (1878) The 1878 Universal Exposition (, ), also known as the 1878 Paris Exposition, 1878 World Fair, or 1878 World Expo, was a world's fair held in Paris, French Third Republic, France, from 1 May to 10 November 1878, to celebrate the recovery of Franc ...
in Paris. 1877 Torpedo boat tender * by
Stepan Makarov Stepan Osipovich Makarov (, ; – ) was a Russian vice-admiral, commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, oceanographer, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He was a pioneer of insubmersibility theory (the ...
1877 Tracked wagon * by Fyodor Blinov 1878 Cylindrical oil tank * by Vladimir Shukhov 1879 Modern oil tanker * by
Ludvig Nobel Ludvig Immanuel Nobel ( ; ; ; 27 July 1831 – 12 April 1888) was a Swedish-Russian engineer, a noted businessman and a humanitarian. One of the most prominent members of the Nobel family, he was the son of Immanuel Nobel (also an engineering pi ...
File:Гимнастёрка и карабин.jpg, Gymnasterka of sergeant of Red Army (1935) File:Odner-arithmometer.jpg, W. T. Odhner's arithmometer File:Yablochkov candles illuminating Music hall on la Place du Chateau d'eau ca 1880.jpg,
Yablochkov candle A Yablochkov candle (sometimes electric candle or Jablochkoff candle) is a type of electric carbon arc lamp, invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Pavel Yablochkov. Design A Yablochkov candle consists of a sandwich of two electrode ...
s illuminating a music hall in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. File:Steel Oil depot by Vladimir Shukhov.jpg, An old cylindrical oil storage tank.


1880s

1880s
Winogradsky column {{Short description, Device for culturing microorganisms The Winogradsky column is a simple device for culturing a large diversity of microorganisms. Invented in the 1880s by Sergei Winogradsky, the device is a column of pond mud and water mixed ...
* The Winogradsky column is a simple device for culturing a large diversity of microorganisms. Invented in the 1880s by Sergei Winogradsky, the device is a column of pond mud and water mixed with a carbon source such as newspaper (containing cellulose), blackened marshmallows or egg-shells (containing calcium carbonate), and a sulfur source such as gypsum (calcium sulfate) or egg yolk. Incubating the column in sunlight for months results in an aerobic/anaerobic gradient as well as a sulfide gradient. These two gradients promote the growth of different microorganisms such as Clostridium, Desulfovibrio, Chlorobium, Chromatium, Rhodomicrobium, and Beggiatoa, as well as many other species of bacteria, cyanobacteria, and algae. 1888s
Three-phase electric power Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires (or four including an optional n ...
* The three-phase system was developed independently from others by
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (; or ''Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski''; – ) was a Russian-born engineer, electrician, and inventor of Polish-Russian origins, active in the German Empire and also in Switzerland. After study ...
. 1880
Vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
s * By Nikolai Ivanovich Lunin ( Russian Wikipedia article) 1880 Electric tram * by
Fyodor Pirotsky Fyodor Apollonovich Pirotsky (; – ), or Fedir Apollonovych Pirotskyy () was a Russian engineer of Ukrainian ancestry, inventor of the world's first railway electrification system and electric tram While the commercialization of his inventions ...
1881
Carbon arc welding Carbon arc welding (CAW) is an arc welding process which produces coalescence of metals by heating them with an arc between a non-consumable carbon (graphite) electrode and the work-piece. It was the first arc-welding process developed but is not ...
* The first arc welding method was introduced by
Nikolay Benardos Nikolay Nikolayevich Benardos (; 1842–1905) was a Russian inventor of Greek descent who in 1881 introduced carbon arc welding, which was the first practical arc welding method. Biography Nikolay Benardos was born on July 8, 1842, in Benardo ...
and later patented in 1887. 1883 ''
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the ...
'' * The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the main and largest cathedral of the
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
, located in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
on the bank of the
Moskva River The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the cit ...
. It is the tallest Eastern Orthodox church in the world. Designed by
Konstantin Thon Konstantin Andreyevich Thon or Ton (; October 26, 1794 – January 25, 1881) was a Russian architect who was one of the most notable architects during the reign Nicholas I. His major works include the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Grand ...
, it is an outstanding example of the
Byzantine Revival architecture Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...
. The domes of the cathedral for the first time in history were gilded using the technique of
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
electroplating Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the redox, reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct current, direct electric cur ...
. The original building was demolished during the Soviet era, but was rebuilt in 1995–2000, having become a symbol of Russia's religious renaissance. 1884 '' Mozhaysky's airplane'' * By
Alexander Mozhaysky file:Mozhajskij marka SSSR 1963.jpg, Mozhaysky, identified as the "Creator of world's first airplane", on a 1963 Soviet postal stamp. Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaysky (also transliterated as Mozhayski, Mozhayskii and Mozhayskiy; ) ( – ) was ...
. Known as one of the earliest heavier-than-air machines to leave the ground under its own power, however still underpowered for a sustained controlled flight. 1884 '' Electric submarine'' * By Stefan Drzewiecki 1888 Caterpillar farm tractor * The first steam-powered
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
on
continuous track Continuous track or tracked treads are a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the w ...
s was completed by Fyodor Blinov 1888
Shielded metal arc welding Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), also known as manual metal arc welding (MMA or MMAW), flux shielded arc welding or informally as stick welding, is a manual arc welding process that uses a consumable electrode covered with a flux to lay the we ...
* By
Nikolay Slavyanov Nikolay Gavrilovich Slavyanov (; – ) was an inventor from the Russian Empire who in 1888 introduced arc welding with consumable metal electrodes, or shielded metal arc welding, the second historical arc welding method after carbon arc welding ...
1888
Solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.
(based on the outer photoelectric effect) * By Aleksandr Stoletov 1889 Three-phase induction motor * By
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (; or ''Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski''; – ) was a Russian-born engineer, electrician, and inventor of Polish-Russian origins, active in the German Empire and also in Switzerland. After study ...
1889 Three-phase transformer * By
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (; or ''Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski''; – ) was a Russian-born engineer, electrician, and inventor of Polish-Russian origins, active in the German Empire and also in Switzerland. After study ...
1889 '' Mosin–Nagant rifle'' * By
Sergei Ivanovich Mosin Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (, - February 8, 1902) was a Russian Major General, engineer, and the main contributor to the design of the 3-line rifle, Model 1891 (Russian: "трёхлинейная винтовка образца 1891 года"), coll ...
, the most produced rifle of the era File:Tramway-LVS-2005.JPG, Electric tram in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. File:Wrau-cathedral-of-christ-the-savior.jpg,
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the ...
in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, the world's tallest
Eastern Orthodox church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
. File:SMAW.welding.navy.ncs.jpg,
Shielded metal arc welding Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), also known as manual metal arc welding (MMA or MMAW), flux shielded arc welding or informally as stick welding, is a manual arc welding process that uses a consumable electrode covered with a flux to lay the we ...
.


1890s

1890
Matryoshka doll Matryoshka dolls (), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name ''Matryoshka'' is a diminutive form of ''Matryosha'' (), i ...
* By
Sergey Malyutin Sergey Vasilyevich Malyutin (; 4 October 1859 – 6 December 1937) was a Russian painter of fine crafts, (scenic) designer, illustrator and architect; initially associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement.
and
Vasily Zvyozdochkin Vasily Petrovich Zvyozdochkin (; 1876–1956) was a Russian woodturner, wood carver and doll maker. He is credited with making the first Russian matryoshka doll Matryoshka dolls (), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian te ...
1890
Powered exoskeleton An exoskeleton is a wearable device that augments, enables, assists, or enhances motion, posture, or physical activity through mechanical interaction with and force applied to the user’s body. Other common names for a wearable exoskeleton in ...
1890
Chemosynthesis In biochemistry, chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of one or more carbon-containing molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas, hydrog ...
* By
Sergei Winogradsky Sergei Nikolaevich Winogradsky (; ; , Kyiv – 24 February 1953, Brie-Comte-Robert), also published under the name Sergius Winogradsky, was a Ukrainian and Russian microbiologist, ecologist and soil science, soil scientist who pioneered the Biog ...
1891 Thermal chemical cracking * Shukhov cracking process by Vladimir Shukhov and Sergei Gavrilov, the first cracking method 1891 Long-distance transmission of three-phase electric power * By
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (; or ''Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski''; – ) was a Russian-born engineer, electrician, and inventor of Polish-Russian origins, active in the German Empire and also in Switzerland. After study ...
at the
International Electrotechnical Exhibition The 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition was held between 16 May and 19 October on the disused site of the three former ( Western Railway Stations) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The exhibition featured the first long-distance tra ...
in Frankfurt am Main. This demonstration initiated the today's
power grid ''Power Grid'' is the English-language version of the second edition of the multiplayer German-style board game ''Funkenschlag'', designed by Friedemann Friese and first released in 2004. ''Power Grid'' was released by Rio Grande Games. I ...
s. 1891 Three-phase hydroelectric power plant * By
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (; or ''Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski''; – ) was a Russian-born engineer, electrician, and inventor of Polish-Russian origins, active in the German Empire and also in Switzerland. After study ...
1892
Viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almo ...
* By Dmitri Ivanovsky 1894 Nephoscope * By Mikhail Pomortsev 1895 Lightning detector / Radio receiver * By Alexander Stepanovich Popov 1896 Thin-shell structure * By Vladimir Shukhov 1896 Tensile structure * By Vladimir Shukhov 1896 Hyperboloid structure * By Vladimir Shukhov, see also Shukhov Tower 1897 Gridshell * By Vladimir Shukhov 1898 Polar icebreaker * A polar icebreaker is an
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
capable of operating in the polar waters with their vast and thick multi-year sea ice. The Russian icebreaker ''Icebreaker Yermak, Yermak'' (named after Yermak Timofeyevich, Yermak the Russian conquest of Siberia, conqueror of Siberia) was the first icebreaker able to ride over and crush pack ice. It was built in England between 1897 and 1898 after Admiral
Stepan Makarov Stepan Osipovich Makarov (, ; – ) was a Russian vice-admiral, commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, oceanographer, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He was a pioneer of insubmersibility theory (the ...
's design and under his supervision. Between 1899 and 1911 ''Yermak'' sailed in heavy ice conditions for more than 1000 days. Starting from this vessel, Russia created the largest fleet of oceangoing icebreakers in the 20th and 21st centuries. 1899 Radiation pressure * By Pyotr Lebedev File:First matryoshka museum doll open.jpg, The original matryoshka carved by
Vasily Zvyozdochkin Vasily Petrovich Zvyozdochkin (; 1876–1956) was a Russian woodturner, wood carver and doll maker. He is credited with making the first Russian matryoshka doll Matryoshka dolls (), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian te ...
and painted by
Sergey Malyutin Sergey Vasilyevich Malyutin (; 4 October 1859 – 6 December 1937) was a Russian painter of fine crafts, (scenic) designer, illustrator and architect; initially associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement.
. File:Tensile Steel Lattice Shell of Oval Pavilion by Vladimir Shukhov 1895.jpg, The world's first tensile steel Thin-shell structure, Shell by Vladimir Shukhov (during construction), Nizhny Novgorod, 1895. File:First Shukhov Tower Nizhny Novgorod 1896.jpg, The world's first hyperboloid lattice 37-meter water tower by Vladimir Shukhov, All-Russia exhibition 1896, All-Russian Exposition, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 1896


20th century

Mstyora miniature 1901 Classical conditioning * by Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in 1904. (Also referred to as "Pavlov's dog") 1901 Chromatography * by Mikhail Tsvet 1902 Fire fighting foam * Fire fighting foam is foam used for fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, resulting in suppression of combustion. Fire fighting foam was invented by the Russian engineer and chemist Aleksandr Loran in 1902. He was a teacher in a school in
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, which was the main center of the Russian oil industry at that time. Impressed by the terrible and hardly extinguishable oil fires that he had seen there, Loran tried to find such a liquid substance that could deal effectively with the problem, and so he invented his fire fighting foam.Loran and the fire extinguisher
at p-lab.org
1903 Spaceflight, Theoretical foundations of spaceflight * By Konstantin Tsiolkovsky 1903 Cytoskeleton 1903 Motor ship * The Russian tanker ''Vandal (tanker), Vandal'' was the world's first diesel-powered ship. 1904 Radio jamming 1904 Fire extinguisher#Foams, Foam extinguisher * The first such extinguisher was produced in 1904 by Aleksandr Loran, who invented fire fighting foam two years before. 1905 Auscultatory blood pressure measurement * By Nikolai Korotkov 1905 Korotkoff sounds, Korotkov sounds 1905 Insubmersibility * By Alexey Krylov and
Stepan Makarov Stepan Osipovich Makarov (, ; – ) was a Russian vice-admiral, commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, oceanographer, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He was a pioneer of insubmersibility theory (the ...
1906 Seismometer, Electric seismometer * By Boris Borisovich Galitzine 1907 Aerosledge 1907 Pulsejet 1907 Bayan (accordion), Bayan 1907 ''
Church of the Savior on Blood The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (, ''Tserkovʹ Spasa na Krovi'') is a Russian Orthodox church in Saint Petersburg, Russia which currently functions as a secular museum and church at the same time. The structure was constructed between ...
'' * The church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics — according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world. File:USCG AFFF.JPG, A modern Fire extinguisher#Foams, foam fire extinguisher. File:Sphygmomanometer.jpg, Aneroid sphygmomanometer with stethoscope, used for auscultatory blood pressure measurement. File:Jupiter bayan accordion.JPG, Bayan (accordion), Bayan accordion.


1910s

1910 Polybutadiene * The first commercially viable synthetic rubber by Sergei Vasilyevich Lebedev, Sergei Lebedev. 1910 Montage (filmmaking) or Kuleshov Effect (by Lev Kuleshov) 1910 Non-Aristotelian logic By Nicolai A. Vasiliev, Nikolai Vasilyev 1911 Knapsack parachute * By Gleb Kotelnikov 1910 Color television * By Hovannes Adamian 1911 Television * By Boris Rosing and Vladimir Zworykin 1911 Stanislavski's system * A progression of techniques used to train actors to draw believable emotions to their performances. The method that was originally created and used by Constantin Stanislavski from 1911 to 1916 was based on the concept of emotional memory for which an actor focuses internally to portray a character's emotions onstage. 1913 Zaum * Zaum (Russian: зáумь) is a word used to describe the linguistic experiments in sound symbolism and language creation of Russian Futurist poets such as Velimir Khlebnikov and Aleksei Kruchenykh. 1913 Airliner * Russky Vityaz by Igor Sikorsky 1913 Half-track * Also known as Kégresse track, invented by Adolphe Kégresse. 1914 Aerobatics * By Pyotr Nesterov, independently from Adolphe Pégoud 1914 Gyrocar * By Pyotr Shilovsky 1914 Tachanka * By Nestor Makhno (according to some sources) 1914 Strategic bomber * Sikorsky Ilya Muromets by Igor Sikorsky 1914 Aerial ramming * By Pyotr Nesterov 1915 Gas mask, Activated charcoal gas mask * By Nikolay Zelinsky, independently from James Bert Garner 1915 Vezdekhod * Vezdekhod was the first prototype caterpillar tank, or tankette, and the first
continuous track Continuous track or tracked treads are a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the w ...
amphibious ATV. It was invented by Aleksandr Porokhovschikov in 1915. The word Vezdekhod means "He who goes anywhere" or "all-terrain vehicle". 1915 ''Tsar Tank'' * This eccentric design differed from modern tanks in that it did not use caterpillar tracks, rather it used a wheeled tricycle design. The two front spoked wheels were nearly 9 metres (27 feet) in diameter; the back wheel was smaller, only 1.5 metres (5 feet) high. 1916 ''Trans-Siberian Railway'' * The longest railway in the world. 1916 Optophonic piano File:Gleb Kotelnikov.jpg, Gleb Kotelnikov with his invention, the knapsack parachute. File:The Russian two-wheel car in London. 1914.jpg, Shilovsky's gyrocar in 1914, presented in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. File:Selinski-Kummandt-kaasunamaari Kokonaisturvallisuus 2015 01.jpg, The Zelinsky—Kummant gas mask in the Military Museum of Finland. File:Tsar tank.jpg, The Tsar Tank.
1916 Fedorov Avtomat, Avtomat rifle. Unlike 1890's Cei-Rigotti, Cei gas rifle, the Avtomat was designed for 25-round detachable magazines. Contemporary Occidental writers have struggled to classify the Fedorov Avtomat. Some consider it to be an "early predecessor" or "ancestor" to the modern assault rifle, while others believe that the Fedorov Avtomat was the world's first assault rifle.


Soviet Russia and Soviet Union


Late 1910s

1917 Socialist realism * A style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other socialist countries. 1918 Air ioniser * By Alexander Chizhevsky 1918 Budenovka * By Viktor Vasnetsov 1918 Ushanka 1918 Jet pack (not built) 1919 Film school *The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Moscow Film School 1919 Constructivism (art) * An artistic and architectural philosophy which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. File:Ushanka of Soldier of Soviet Army-6.jpg, The later version of the Soviet Army ushanka. File:Lydia kavina.jpg, Lydia Kavina playing theremin.


1920s

1920s Constructivist architecture * A form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. 1920 Theremin * By Leon Theremin 1921 Aerial refueling * By Russian-American aviation pioneer, inventor, and influential advocate of Strategic bombing, strategic air power, Alexander P. de Seversky 1923 Iconoscope * By Vladimir Zworykin 1923 Palekh miniature * Also Russian lacquer art, Kholuy miniature, Mstyora miniature 1924 Flying wing * By Boris Cheranovsky 1924 Optophonic Piano * By Ukraine, Ukrainian painter and sculptor, Vladimir Baranov-Rossine 1924 Stem cells * By Russian-American scientist, Alexander Maximow 1924 Abiogenesis#Oparin: Primordial soup hypothesis, Primordial soup hypothesis (Abiogenesis) * By Aleksandr Oparin 1924 Diesel electric locomotive * Russian locomotive class E el-2 1925 Interlaced video * Interlaced video is a technique of doubling the perceived frame rate introduced with the composite video signal used with analog television without consuming extra bandwidth. It was first demonstrated by Léon Theremin in 1925. 1926 Graphical sound * By Pavel Tager and Aleksandr Shorin 1927 Light-emitting diode * by Oleg Losev 1927 ''Polikarpov Po-2, Polikarpov Po-2 biplane'' * The List of most produced aircraft, most produced biplane in the world. 1928 Gene pool * by Alexander Sergeevich Serebrovsky, Alexander Serebrovsky 1928 Rabbage * Rabbage or Raphanobrassica, was the first ever non-sterile hybrid obtained through crossbreeding, which was an important step in biotechnology. It was produced by Georgii Karpechenko in 1928. 1929 Cadaveric blood, Cadaveric blood transfusion * by Sergei Yudin (surgeon), Sergei Yudin 1929 Kinescope * By Vladimir Zworykin 1929 Pobedit * Pobedit is a specialized alloy that is close in hardness to diamond (85–90 on the Rockwell scale). It was created in the USSR in 1929 and was used in mining, metal-cutting and as a material for special mechanical parts. Later a number of similar alloys have been developed. 1929 Teletank / Military robot File:PalekhTroikaWolves.jpg, Troika with wolves, an example of Palekh miniature. File:Bundeswehrmuseum Dresden 49.jpg, Polikarpov Po-2 ''Polikarpov Po-2, Kukuruznik''. File:tt-26.jpg, Soviet TT-26 teletank, the first military robot.


1930s

Spring-loaded camming device * by Vitaly Abalakov Abalakov thread, Abalakov thread climbing device * by Vitaly Abalakov Electric propulsion, Electric rocket motor * by Valentin Glushko 1930s Hull (watercraft), Modern ship hull design * Vladimir Yourkevitch invented the modern ship hull design when he designed the SS Normandie. 1930 Blood bank 1930 Single lift-rotor Helicopter#Early development, helicopter * Designed by Boris N. Yuriev and Alexei M. Cheremukhin of TsAGI, the TsAGI 1-EA was flown by Cheremukhin to an unofficial altitude record of 605 meters (1,985 ft) in August 1932. 1930 Paratrooping * Russian Airborne Troops - the first and largest in the world 1931 Pressure suit * by Yevgeny Chertovsky 1931 Hypergolic propellant, Hypergolic rocket propellants * by Valentyn Glushko 1931 Rhythmicon / Drum machine * by Léon Theremin, the first drum machine 1931 Flame tank * T-26 variants, KhT-26 1932 Postconstructivism * A transitional architectural style that existed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, typical of early Stalinist architecture before World War II. 1932 Postal code *Modern postal codes were first introduced in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in December 1932, but the system was abandoned in 1939. 1932 Children's railway 1932 Terpsitone * by Léon Theremin 1932 Underwater welding * by Konstantin Khrenov 1933 Kidney transplant, Human kidney transplant *In 1933 surgeon Yuriy Vorony from Kherson in Ukraine attempted the first human kidney transplant, using a kidney removed six hours earlier from a deceased donor to be reimplanted into the thigh. He measured kidney function using a connection between the kidney and the skin. His first patient died two days later, as the graft was incompatible with the recipient's blood group and was rejected. It was not until 17 June 1950, when a successful transplant was performed on Ruth Tucker, a 44-year-old woman with polycystic kidney disease, by Richard H. Lawler, Dr. Richard Lawler at Little Company of Mary Hospital (Evergreen Park), Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois. 1933 Sampling theorem * By Vladimir Kotelnikov 1933 Tandem rotors, Tandem rotor helicopter * By Nicolas Florine, Nikolay Florin 1933 Stalinist architecture * Also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. 1934 ''Tupolev ANT-20'' * Purpose-designed propaganda aircraft, the largest aircraft in 1930s 1934 Cherenkov detector * Cherenkov radiation was discovered in 1934 by Pavel Cherenkov 1935 Kirza * Kirza is a type of artificial leather based on the multi-layer textile fabric, modified by membrane-like substances, produced mainly in the Soviet Union and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
as a cheap and effective replacement for natural leather. The surface of kirza imitates pig leather. The material is mainly used in production of military boots and belts for machinery and automobiles. The name ''kirza'' is an acronym from ''Kirovskiy Zavod'' (''Kirov plant'') located in the city of Kirov, which was the first place of the mass production of kirza. The technology was invented in 1935 by Ivan Plotnikov and improved in 1941. Since that time kirza boots became a typical element of the uniform in the Soviet Army, Soviet and Russian Ground Forces, Russian Army. 1935 ''Moscow Metro'' * The Moscow Metro, which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is Europe's List of metro systems#List, busiest rapid-transit, metro system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its metro station, stations, which contain numerous examples of socialist realism, socialist realist art. 1935 Kremlin stars 1936 Acoustic microscopy 1936 Smokejumping, Airborne firefighting 1937 Artificial heart * By Vladimir Demikhov. It was transplanted to a dog. 1937 Modern synthesis (20th century), Modern evolutionary synthesis * By Russian-American geneticist and evolutionary biologist, Theodosius Dobzhansky 1937 Superfluidity * By Pyotr Kapitsa, with John F. Allen (physicist), John F. Allen and Don Misener 1937 Drag chute * The drag chute or braking parachute is an application of the drogue parachute for decreasing the landing distance of an aircraft below that available solely from the aircraft's brakes. For the first time drag chutes were used in 1937 by the Soviet airplanes in the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
that provided support for the famous polar expeditions of the era. The drag chute allowed safe landings on small drift ice, ice-floes. 1937 Drifting ice station * Soviet and Russian drifting ice stations are important contributors to Arctic exploration, exploration of the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
. An idea to use the drift ice for the exploration of nature in the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean belongs to Fridtjof Nansen, who fulfilled it on ''Fram (ship), Fram'' between 1893 and 1896. However, the first stations to be placed right upon the drifting ice originated in the Soviet Union in 1937, when the first such station in the world, North Pole-1, started operating. More drifting ice stations were organised after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and many special equipment was developed for them, such as the elevated tents to be placed on the melting ice and indicators monitoring the ice cracks. 1937 Welded sculpture * Welded sculpture is an artform in which sculpture is made using welding techniques. The first such sculpture was the famous ''Worker and Kolkhoz Woman'' by Vera Mukhina. Initially it was placed atop the Soviet pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937), 1937 World's Fair in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The choice of welding method was explained by a giant size of the sculpture, and also was intended to demonstrate the innovative Soviet technologies. 1937 Fire-fighting sport * Fire-fighting sport is a sport discipline that includes a competition between various fire fighting teams in fire fighting-related exercises, such as climbing special stairs in a mock-up house, unfolding a water hose, and extinguishing a fire using hoses or extinguishers. It was developed in the Soviet Union in 1937, while international competitions have taken place since 1968. 1937-1957 ANS synthesizer 1938 Deep column station * The deep column station is a type of Subway (rail), subway station, consisting of a central hall with two side halls, connected by ring-like passages between a row of columns. Depending on the type of station, the rings transmit load to the columns either by "wedged arches" or through purlins, forming a "column-purlin complex." The fundamental advantage of the column station is the significantly greater connection between the halls, compared with a pylon station. The first deep column station in the world is Mayakovskaya (Moscow Metro), Mayakovskaya, designed by Alexey Dushkin and opened in 1938 in Moscow Metro. 1938 Sambo (martial art), Sambo * Sambo (an acronym, Самбо stands for САМооборона-Без-Оружия, meaning "self-defence without weapons") is modern martial art, combat sport and self-defense system developed in the Soviet Union and recognized as an official sport by the USSR All-Union Sports Committee in 1938, presented by Anatoly Kharlampiev. 1939 Kirlian photography * By Semyon Kirlian 1939 Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 * The world's first tail rotor helicopter and first amphibious helicopter by Igor Sikorsky. 1939 ''Ilyushin Il-2'' * The world's List of most produced aircraft, most produced combat aircraft. 1939 Multiple rocket launcher, Self-propelled multiple rocket launcher * ''Katyusha rocket launcher'' File:Camalot number 6.JPG, Spring-loaded camming device in a parallel crack. File:MC-3 pressure suit front.JPG, Pressure suit. File:Underwater welding.jpg, A modern underwater welding. File:ANT-20.jpg, ''Tupolev ANT-20'' propaganda aircraft. File:Кирзовые_сапоги_российского_солдата.jpg, Kirza boots. File:Kirl66 g.png, Kirlian photography, Kirlian photo of two coins.


1940s

1940s Ballast cleaner 1940s TRIZ 1940s Sikorsky R-4 * The R-4 was the world's first mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces, Navy, Coast Guard, and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. 1940 ''T-34, T-34 tank'' * by Mikhail Koshkin, the most produced tank of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
1941 Rhythmic gymnastics, Competitive rhythmic gymnastics 1941 Maksutov telescope * by Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov 1941 Degaussing * by Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov, independently from Charles F. Goodeve 1942 Winged tank * Antonov A-40 by Oleg Antonov (aircraft designer), Oleg Antonov 1942 Gramicidin S * by Georgy Gause 1944 Microtron 1944 EPR spectroscopy * by Yevgeny Zavoisky 1945 ''T-54/55 tank'' * World's most produced tank. 1945 Passive resonant cavity bug * by Léon Theremin 1946 Heart-lung transplant * by Vladimir Demikhov 1947 Multistage rocket, Modern multistage rocket * by Mikhail Tikhonravov and Dmitry Okhotsimsky 1947 ''MiG-15'' * World's List of most produced aircraft, most produced jet aircraft. 1947 ''
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
'' * The AK-47 (other names include Avtomat Kalashnikova, Kalashnikov, or AK) is a selective fire, gas operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. The AK-47 was one of the first true assault rifles. It has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with regular armed forces as well as irregular, revolutionary and terrorist organizations worldwide. Even after six decades, due to its durability, low production cost and ease of use, the original AK-47 and its numerous variants are the most widely used and popular assault rifles in the world; more AK-type rifles have been produced than all other assault rifles combined.Poyer, Joe. ''The AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations''. North Cape Publications. 2004. 1947 Lung transplant (Non-human) * by Vladimir Demikhov 1947 Laser microphone, Light beam microphone * The technique of using a light beam to remotely record sound probably originated with Léon Theremin in the Soviet Union at or before 1947, when he developed and used the Buran eavesdropping system. This worked by using a low power infrared beam (not a laser) from a distance to detect the sound vibrations in the glass windows. Lavrentiy Beria, head of the KGB, used this Buran device to spy on the U.S., British, and French embassies in Moscow 1949 ''Staged combustion cycle (rocket), Staged combustion cycle'' * Aleksei Mihailovich Isaev, Aleksei Isaev proposed the staged combustion cycle (rocket), Staged combustion cycle widely used in rocket engines. 1949 ''Reactive armour'' File:Char T-34.jpg, T-34, the most successful tank design of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. File:Maksutov 150mm.jpg, A 150mm aperture Maksutov telescope, Maksutov-Cassegrain reflector, Cassegrain telescope. File:AntonovA40.jpg, Antonov A-40 winged tank. File:MiG-15 RB2.jpg, Front view of a MiG-15. File:AK-47 type II noBG.png, A Type 2 AK-47, the first machined receiver variation


1950s

1950s Head transplant * The first head transplant with full cerebral function (by Vladimir Demikhov) 1950s Magnetotellurics * The magnetotelluric technique was introduced independently by Japanese scientists in 1948 (Hirayama, Rikitake),
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n geophysicist Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov in 1950 and the French geophysicist Louis Cagniard in 1953. 1950 MESM * The first universally programmable electronic computer in continental Europe, developed by Sergey Alexeyevich Lebedev, Sergey Lebedev. 1950 Berkovich tip 1951 Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction 1951 Explosively pumped flux compression generator 1952 Masers * Invention of the first masers by Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov who later shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for invention and development of laser technologies with Charles Townes. 1952 Seven Sisters (Moscow) 1952 Carbon nanotubes * A 2006 editorial written by Marc Monthioux and Vladimir Kuznetsov in the journal ''Carbon'' described the interesting and often misstated origin of the carbon nanotube. A large percentage of academic and popular literature attributes the discovery of hollow, nanometer-size tubes composed of graphitic carbon to Sumio Iijima of NEC in 1991. In 1952 L. V. Radushkevich and V. M. Lukyanovich published clear images of 50 nanometer diameter tubes made of carbon in the Soviet ''Journal of Physical Chemistry''. This discovery was largely unnoticed, as the article was published in the Russian language, and Western scientists' access to Soviet press was limited during the Cold War. It is likely that carbon nanotubes were produced before this date, but the invention of the transmission electron microscope (TEM) allowed direct visualization of these structures. 1952 Anthropometric cosmetology or Ilizarov apparatus * by Gavril Ilizarov 1954 Nuclear power plant * Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant by Igor Kurchatov 1955 ''MiG-21'' * World's List of most produced aircraft, most produced supersonic aircraft. 1955 Ballistic missile submarine * R-11 Zemlya submarine-launched ballistic missile by Victor Makeev, Project 611 ballistic missile submarine 1955 Fast-neutron reactor * BN350 nuclear fast reactor. 1955 ''Leningrad Metro'' 1955 Tokamak * The Tokamak T-4 was tested in 1968 in Novosibirsk, conducting the first ever quasistationary thermonuclear fusion reaction. The first actual experimental tokamak was built in 1955. The Tokamak design plays the basic role in modern projects for power generation based on thermonuclear fusion like ITER. 1957 ANS synthesizer 1957 Synchrophasotron 1957 Spaceport * Baikonur Cosmodrome launch complex by Vladimir Barmin 1957 Intercontinental ballistic missile * The world's first successful intercontinental ballistic missile, ''R-7 Semyorka'', was developed under supervision of Sergey Korolev between 1953 and 1957. 1957 Orbital spaceflight, Orbital space rocket * The world's first successful intercontinental ballistic missile, as well as a first space rocket and expendable launch system, ''R-7 Semyorka'', was developed under supervision of Sergey Korolev between 1953 and 1957. 1957 Satellite, Artificial satellite * Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting artificial
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, and was the first in a series of satellites collectively known as the Sputnik program. 1957 Space capsule * Sputnik 2 1957 ''Raketa (hydrofoil), Raketa hydrofoil'' * by Rostislav Alexeyev 1958 Ternary computer, Modern ternary computer * Setun, by Nikolay Brusentsov 1959 Nuclear icebreaker * A nuclear-powered icebreaker is a purpose-built
ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...
with nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear propulsion for use in waters continuously covered with
ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are far more powerful than their Diesel engine, diesel powered counterparts, and have been constructed by
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
primarily to aid shipping in the frozen
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
waterways in the north of
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, along the Northern Sea Route. NS ''Lenin (nuclear icebreaker), Lenin'' was the world's first nuclear icebreaker, launched in 1957 at the Admiralty Shipyard and completed in 1959. 1959 Space probe * Luna 1, also the first Escape velocity, escape velocity spacecraft and the first Sun satellite. 1959 Missile boat * Komar-class missile boat 1959 Kleemenko cycle 1959 Staged combustion cycle (rocket), Staged combustion cycle File:Berkovich.jpg, A Berkovich tip. File:FlyingThroughNanotube.png, Inside a carbon nanotube. File:Ilizarov2.jpg, An Ilizarov apparatus treating a fractured tibia and fibula. File:Shevchenko BN350.gif, BN350 nuclear fast reactor. File:Tokamak fields lg.png, Tokamak magnetic field and plasma (physics), plasma current. File:Baikonur Cosmodrome Soyuz launch pad.jpg, Baikonur Cosmodrome's "Gagarin's Start" Soyuz (rocket family), Soyuz launch pad prior to the rollout of Soyuz TMA-13, October 10, 2008. File:Semyorka Rocket R7 by Sergei Korolyov in VDNH Ostankino RAF0540.jpg, The large-size model of R-7 Semyorka, the first
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
and the first Orbital spaceflight, orbital rocket. File:Sputnik asm.jpg, Sputnik 1 replica. File:Raketa 234.jpg, ''Raketa (hydrofoil), Raketa-234'' on the Volga River. File:183R.JPG, A Komar-class missile boat launching a missile. File:Lenin icebreaker.JPG, ''Lenin (1957 icebreaker), Lenin'', the first nuclear icebreaker File:Staged combustion rocket cycle.png, Staged combustion cycle (rocket), Staged combustion rocket cycle.


1960s

1960s Rocket boots 1960 Reentry capsule * Sputnik 5 1961 Human spaceflight * Vostok 1 (, ''Orient 1'' or ''East 1'') was the first human spaceflight. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on 12 April 1961, taking into space Yuri Gagarin, a astronaut, cosmonaut from the Soviet Union. The Vostok 1 mission was the first time anyone had journeyed into outer space and the first time anyone had entered into Orbit (celestial mechanics), orbit. The Vostok 1 was launched by the Soviet space program and supervised by the Soviet rocket scientist Sergey Korolyov. 1961 ''RPG-7'' 1961 Lawrencium * Co-discovered at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna Nuclear Research Institute and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory 1961 Anti-ballistic missile * by Pyotr Grushin 1961 Space food 1961 Space suit 1961 ''Tsar Bomb'' * The most powerful weapon ever tested. The Tsar Bomba was a three-stage Teller–Ulam design hydrogen bomb with a yield of 50 to 58 megatons of TNT (210 to 240 PJ). This is equivalent to about 1,350–1,570 times the combined power of the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 10 times the combined power of all the conventional explosives used in World War II, or one quarter of the estimated yield of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, and 10% of the combined yield of all nuclear tests to date. 1961 Platform screen doors * Park Pobedy (Saint Petersburg Metro) 1961 Ekranoplan * by Rostislav Alexeyev 1961 ''Mil Mi-8'' * The world's List of most produced aircraft, most-produced helicopter 1962 Detonation nanodiamond 1962 AVL tree, AVL tree datastructure 1962 Holography, 3D holography * by Yuri Denisyuk 1962 Stealth technology, Modern stealth technology * by Petr Ufimtsev 1963 KTM-5 *The most produced tram in the world. 1963 Oxygen cocktail 1964 Rutherfordium 1964 ''Druzhba pipeline'' * The longest oil pipeline system in the world. 1964 Plasma propulsion engine * Pulsed plasma thruster 1964 Kardashev scale, Kardashyov scale 1965 Extra-vehicular activity 1965 Molniya orbit, Molniya orbit satellite 1965 Voitenko compressor 1965 ''Proton (rocket), Proton rocket'' * Comparison of heavy lift launch systems, The most used Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle, heavy lift launch system 1965 Air-augmented rocket * by Boris Shavyrin 1966 Nobelium 1966 Lander (spacecraft), Lander spacecraft * Luna 9 by Georgy Babakin 1966 Orbiter * Luna 10 1966 Regional jet * The Yakovlev Yak-40 was the world's first regional jet. 1966 Caspian Sea Monster * The largest ekranoplan and the second largest fixed-wing aircraft by Rostislav Alexeyev 1966 ''Soyuz (rocket family), Soyuz rocket'' * According to the European Space Agency, the Soyuz launch vehicle is the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world. 1966 Orbital module * Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz spacecraft 1967 Space toilet * Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz spacecraft 1967 ''Ostankino Tower'' 1967 ''The Motherland Calls'' 1967 Computer for operations with functions 1967 Space docking, Automated space docking * Kosmos 186 and Kosmos 188 1967 Venera, Venus lander * ''Venera 4'' 1968 Dubnium 1968 ''Mil V-12'' * The largest helicopter ever built. 1968 Supersonic transport * Tupolev Tu-144 1969 Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko * By Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko 1969 Intercontinental Submarine-launched ballistic missile * R-29 Vysota File:RPG-7 detached.jpg, An RPG-7 with warhead, world's most used anti-tank weapon. File:Vostok spacecraft.jpg, The model of Vostok program, Vostok spacecraft, the first human spaceflight module. File:Russian space food.jpg, Russian space food. File:Tsar Bomba Revised.jpg, A
Tsar Bomba The Tsar Bomba (code name: ''Ivan'' or ''Vanya''), also known by the alphanumerical designation "AN602", was a Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear aerial bomb, and by far the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested. The Soviet phy ...
-type casing on display at Sarov. File:Mi-8 Hip Roving Sands 99.jpg, Mil Mi-8, the world's most produced helicopter. File:Molniya-1 satellite.jpg, Molniya (satellite), Molniya 1 satellite. File:Proton Zvezda crop.jpg, Launch of a Proton (rocket), Proton rocket. File:Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft2edit1.jpg, Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz spacecraft (TMA version). File:MI-12.JPG, Mil V-12, the world's largest helicopter.


1970s

1970s Heterojunction, Semiconductor Heterostructures * Creation by Zhores Alferov of Heterojunction, Semiconductor Heterostructures which play important role in modern electronics (Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000). 1970s Radial keratotomy * by Svyatoslav Fyodorov 1970 Excimer laser 1970 Sample return mission, Robotic sample return * Luna 16 1970 Rover (space exploration), Space rover * Lunokhod 1, the first space exploration rover, reached the Moon surface on 17 November 1970. 1971 Space station * Salyut 1 (DOS-1) (; ) was launched 19 April 1971. It was the first space station to orbit Earth. Developed under supervision of Vladimir Chelomey. 1971 Kaissa (chess program) * Kaissa became the first World Computer Chess Championship, computer chess world champion in 1974. 1972 Hall effect thruster 1972 Mil Mi-24 1972 Desalination, Nuclear desalination * BN-350 reactor 1973 Reflectron * By Boris Aleksandrovich Mamyrin 1973 Skull crucible * The first commercially viable process to manufacture cubic zirconia. 1974 Electron cooling * Electron cooling was invented by Gersh Budker (Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, INP, Novosibirsk) in 1966 as a way to increase luminosity of hadron colliders. It was first tested in 1974 with 68 MeV protons at NAP-M storage ring at INP. 1975 Underwater assault rifle * APS underwater assault rifle by Vladimir Simonov (engineer), Vladimir Simonov 1975 ''Arktika-class icebreaker'' * The ''Arktika'' class is a Russian and former Soviet Union, Soviet class of the world's most powerful nuclear icebreakers. Its pilot ship, NS ''Arktika (1972 nuclear icebreaker), Arktika'', was the second Soviet nuclear icebreaker, completed in 1975. She became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, on 17 August 1977. 1975 Androgynous Peripheral Attach System * by Vladimir Syromyatnikov 1976 Intercontinental ballistic missile#Modern ICBMs, Mobile ICBM * RT-21 Temp 2S by Alexander Nadiradze 1977 Vertical launching system * First installed on ''Russian cruiser Azov, Azov'', a Kara-class cruiser 1977 ''Kirov-class battlecruiser'' * The ''Kirov''-class battlecruisers of the
Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...
are the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships (''i.e.'', not an aircraft carrier, assault ship or submarine) currently in active operation in the world. 1978 Cargo spacecraft 1978 Active protection system * Drozd system 1979 Radio telescope, Space-based radio telescope * the KRT-10 radio observatory (:ru:КРТ-10) File:Russian stationary plasma thrusters.jpg, Hall effect thrusters. File:Shevchenko BN350 desalinati.jpg, BN-350 reactor, BN350 desalination unit, the first nuclear-heated desalination unit in the world. File:APS underwater rifle REMOV.jpg, APS underwater assault rifle. File:Russian Nuclear Icebreaker Arktika.jpg, Arktika (1972 nuclear icebreaker), NS ''Arktika'', the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. File:Moscow Parad 2008 Ballist.jpg, RT-2PM Topol, the first reliable mobile
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
. File:Kirov-class battlecruiser.jpg, .


1980s

Kalina cycle * Invented and patented in the 1980s by Russian engineer Alexander Kalina. His invention included the first time development of a contiguous set of ammonia-water mixture thermodynamic properties, which provide the basis for unique power plant designs for different forms of power generation from different heat sources. 1980s EHF therapy * by Nikolay Devyatkov and Mikhail Golant 1980 '' Typhoon-class submarine'' * The largest submarine ever built. 1981 ''Quantum dot'' * by Alexey Ekimov and Alexander Efros 1981 ''Tupolev Tu-160'' * The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, swing-wing, variable-geometry heavy bomber designed by the Soviet Union. Although several civil and military transport aircraft are bigger, the Tu-160 has the greatest total thrust, and the heaviest takeoff weight of any combat aircraft, and the highest top speed as well as one of the largest payloads of any current heavy bomber. Pilots of the Tu-160 call it the “White Swan”, due to its maneuverability and anti-flash white finish. 1982 Ejection seat, Helicopter ejection seat * Kamov Ka-50 1984 Tetris * by Alexey Pazhitnov 1986 Space station#Modular, Modular space station * ''Mir space station'' 1987 ''MIR (submersible), MIR submersible'' * The first to reach the seabed under the North Pole. Developed in cooperation with Finland. 1987 ''RD-170 (rocket engine), RD-170 rocket engine'' * The world's most powerful Liquid-fuel rocket, liquid-fuel rocket engine. 1988 ''An-225'' * The largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built. 1989 ''Kola Superdeep Borehole'' * The deepest borehole in the world. 1989 Supermaneuverability * Sukhoi Su-27, Pugachev's Cobra maneuver. 1989 ''Tupolev Tu-155'' * The world's first aircraft to use liquid hydrogen as fuel. File:Typhoon iced.jpg, Typhoon-class submarine, covered with ice. File:Tetrominoes IJLO STZ Worlds.svg, Tetris figures. File:Mir on 12 June 1998edit1.jpg, Mir space station. File:Su-27 Cobra 2b.png, A Su-27 performing the Cobra maneuver.


Early 1990s

1989-1991 BARS apparatus 1991 Thermoplan * The thermoplan is a Disk (mathematics), disc-shaped airship of Hybrid airship, hybrid type, currently under development in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. The key feature of thermoplan is its two section structure. The main section of the airship is filled with helium, while the other section is filled with air that can be heated or cooled by the engines. This design greatly improves the maneuverability, alongside the Disk (mathematics), disc shape which helps resist the powerful winds up to 20 metre per second. The projet was started in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, with the first working prototype tested in 1991. That was rather small airship, and the giant thermoplan wasn't built at that time due to the problems caused by the economy crisis of the 1990s. In the late 2000s (decade), the project was revived under the name ''Locomoskyner'' by the Russian company ''Locomosky'' in Ulyanovsk. 1991 Scramjet * The Central Institute of Aviation Motors, Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) KHOLOD Hypersonic Flying Laboratory, through a joint effort with NASA. First successful supersonic combustion ramjet flight demonstration.


Russian Federation


1990s

RD-180 Engine * Dual-combustion chamber, dual-nozzle rocket engine, derived from the RD-170 (rocket engine), RD-170 used in Soviet Union, Soviet Zenit rockets, and currently provides first-stage power for the United States, American Atlas V, Atlas V launch vehicle. 1992 Znamya (space mirror) 1992 Nuclotron * Nuclotron is the world's first superconductive synchrotron, exploited by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Moscow Oblast. This particle accelerator is based on a miniature iron-shaped field superconductive magnets, and has a particle energy up to 7 GeV. It was built in 1987–1992 as a part of Dubna synchrophasotron modernisation program (the Nuclotron ring follows the outer perimeter of the synchrophasotron ring). 5 runs of about 1400 hours total duration have been provided by the present time. The most important experiments tested the cryomagnetic system of a novel type, and obtained data on nuclear collisions using internal target. 1993 Novichok agent, "Novichok" * "Novichok" is a series of chemical weapons developed between 1971 (USSR) and 1993 (Russia), significantly more potent than VX (nerve agent), VX and Soman. 1993 RAR (file format), RAR * by Eugene Roshal 1996 Lake Vostok 1997 Two-level single-vault transfer station * Sportivnaya (Saint Petersburg Metro) 1998 ''Beriev Be-200'' * Four retractable water scoops, two forward and two aft of the fuselage step can be used to scoop a total of 12 tonnes of water in 14 seconds. 1998 Submarine-launched spacecraft * Russian submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk, Shtil' 1999 7z * By Igor Pavlov (programmer), Igor Pavlov 1999 Sea Launch * by Igor Spassky, multinational cooperation 1999 Flerovium File:Beriew Be-200 at MAKS-2009.jpg, Beriev Be-200 dropping the water painted into the colors of the flag of Russia. File:Sea Launch 01.jpg, A launch of Zenit 3SL rocket from the Sea Launch platform ''Ocean Odyssey'', originally built in Japan as oil platform, and then modified by Norway and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
for space launches.


2000s

2000s Heterotransistor * By Zhores Alfyorov with Herbert Kroemer 2000 Livermorium *Collaboration between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia 2000 Abstract state machine 2001 Space tourism 2001 ''Mirny Mine'' * The largest diamond mine in the world and the second largest human-made excavation. 2001 Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector 2003 ''Park Pobedy (Moscow Metro), Park Pobedy metro escalators'' * Longest metro escalators 2003 Nihonium *Russian–American collaboration 2003 Moscovium *Russian–American collaboration 2003 Poincaré conjecture, Proof of the Poincaré conjecture * By Grigori Perelman 2004 Nginx * One of the most widely used web servers in the world, created by Igor Sysoev. 2004 Graphene * Creation of Graphene by Russian-born, British physicists Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim at the University of Manchester. They were awarded with Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery in 2010. 2005 Orbitrap * by Alexander Alexeyevich Makarov, Aleksandr Makarov 2006 PEARL (PEtawatt pARametric Laser) * First petawatt power level laser complex 2006 ''VK (service), VKontakte'' * Launch of the widely used Russian social networking service. 2006 Oganesson * First synthesized in 2002 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, near Moscow, Russia, by a joint team of Russian and American scientists. 2007 ''Elbrus 2000'' * Russian microprocessor. 2007 ''NS 50 Let Pobedy'' * NS 50 Let Pobedy is the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker, and the largest
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
in general. The keel was originally laid in 1989 by Baltic Works of Leningrad (now St Petersburg), and the ship was launched in 1993 as the NS ''Ural'', while completed in 2007 under a new name. This icebreaker is the sixth and last of the Arktika class icebreaker, Arktika class. The vessel was put into service by Murmansk Shipping Company, which manages all eight Russian state-owned nuclear icebreakers. 2007 ''Father of all bombs'' * Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, nicknamed "Father of All Bombs", is a
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n-made bomber, air-delivered/land activated thermobaric weapon, the most powerful Conventional weapon, conventional (non-Nuclear weapon, nuclear) weapon in the world. The bomb was successfully Live fire exercise, field-tested in the late evening of 11 September 2007. According to the Russian military, the new weapon will replace several smaller types of nuclear bombs in its arsenal. 2008 Denisovans * The third discovered kind of human. File:50 Let Pobedy.jpg, NS 50 Let Pobedy, the world's largest
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
. File:Orbitrappe.png, Ion trajectories in an Orbitrap mass spectrometer.


2010s

2010 ''Chatroulette'' * The first randomized webcam chatroom 2010 ''Tennessine'' *Russian–American collaboration 2011 ''w:ru:71-409, 71-409'' * The first Russian produced low-floor tram 2011 ''Nuclear power station barge'' * The first mass-produced portable nuclear power station 2011 ''Nord Stream 1'' * The longest offshore pipeline transport, pipeline 2011 ''Spektr-R'' * Space based radiotelescope with the highest angular resolution (RadioAstron project). 2012 ''Russky Island Bridge'' * The world's longest cable-stayed bridge 2015 ''OCSiAl Graphetron'' * industrial-scale production of carbon nanotubes 2016 ''T-14 Armata'' 2016 ''Soyuz MS'' 2017 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, ''Kh-47M2 Kinzhal'' * Nuclear-capable Hypersonic weapon, hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile. 2018 ''Crimean Bridge'' * List of longest bridges, Longest bridge in Europe. 2019 ''Lakhta Centre'' * Tallest building in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. List of tallest buildings, Sixteenth tallest building in the world. 2019 ''Sukhoi Su-57'' File:Буксировка ПАТЭС Академик Ломоносов 2019-08-23.jpg, Russian floating nuclear power station File:Russky Bridge (October 2024)-0 2.jpg, Russky Island Bridge, Russky Bridge File:Soyuz MS-20 docking (flipped).jpg, Soyuz MS File:2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade 66.jpg, Kh-47M2 Kinzhal File:Kerch. Crimean Bridge P5030811 2350.jpg, Crimean Bridge File:Das Lachta Zentr- Лахта Центр 2H1A6038WI (4to3).jpg, Lakhta Centre


2020s

2020 ''ZALA Lancet'' 2020 ''COVID-19 vaccine'' * First vaccine of its kind (Gam-COVID-Vac) approved by governmental authorities. 2021 Test flight of the ''Nebo-25 rocket'' * Launched by Success Rockets, making the company the first private Russian space operator to achieve more than one launch per year. 2022 Russian submarine Belgorod, ''K-329 Belgorod'' and ''Status-6 Oceanic Multipurpose System, 2M39 Poseidon''. * Commissioning of a unique modified Oscar-class submarine, Oscar II class submarine capable of equipping an autonomous, nuclear powered and armed unmanned underwater vehicle. 2023 ''UMPK (bomb kit), Unified Planning and Correction Module (UMPK)'' * Guidance and gliding kit to convert Unguided bomb, unguided bombs into precision-guided Glide bomb, glide-bombs. 2023 Completion of the ''Bolshaya Koltsevaya line'' * The third circle line of the Moscow Metro, running outside the existing Koltsevaya line and interlocking with the Moscow Central Circle. The longest metro circle line in the world at the time of completion, surpassing Line 10 (Beijing Subway), Line 10 of the Beijing Subway. 2023 Electric Water Tram * First year-round Electric boat, electric river transport service. 2024 ''Knyaz Vandal of Novgorod'' * Loitering munition which uses a long distance Optical fiber, fiber optic cable to allow for higher quality signal transmission, as well as making it immune to Radio jamming, signal jamming. 2025 Yakovlev SJ-100, ''Yakovlev SJ-100'' * First flight of a fully Russified Superjet aircraft equipped with domestic Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines. File:Army-2020-315.JPG, ZALA Lancet File:Вакцина Спутник V (cropped).jpg, Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine File:Rocket NEBO.png, Success Rockets File:Belgorod.jpg, Russian submarine Belgorod, K-329 Belgorod and Status-6 Oceanic Multipurpose System, 2M39 Poseidon File:Fab-1500-umpk.jpg, UMPK (bomb kit), UMPK File:Bolshaya Koltsevaya line map.png, Bolshaya Koltsevaya line File:Moscow, ZIL floating terminal April 2025 13.jpg, Electric Water Trams


See also

* List of Russian inventors * :Russian inventions * List of Russian scientists * List of Soviet calculators *
Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of Russian Inventions And Technology Records Russian history timelines, Inventions Russian inventions, * Science and technology in Russia History of science and technology in Russia Lists of inventions or discoveries, Russia Technology timelines, Russian innovation Technology-related lists, Russian inventions Innovation by country, Russia