Russian Blue Cat

The most commonly held theory regarding this breed's origin is that Russian Blues were brought to Great Britain in 1860 by British sailors from the White Sea port town of Archangel (Arkhangelsk) in northern Russia. Whether this story is true, and if true, whether the cats really originated in that area, is anyone's guess. Their thick coats give credence to the theory that they developed in a cold climate, and, according to accounts, blue shorthairs still exist in Russia.

The Russian Blue is not known to be related to the other three short haired solid blue breeds: Thailand's Korat, France's Chartreux, and Britain's British Blue (now called the British Shorthair). The four breeds have distinct differences in coat, type, and personality, although the Korat, Chartreux, and Russian Blue share a similar silver-blue sheen. Since all four of these breeds have been around for so long that their ancestries are shrouded in legend and conjecture, a common origin is certainly possible.

In 1871 a Russian Blue was shown at the first cat show at the Crystal Palace in London, under the name Archangel Cat. At this point, Russian Blues were short haired, solid blue felines with foreign body types. From photos and published sources of the time the original coat was thick, dense, glossy, and colored a light silver-blue.

Russian Blues competed in the same class with all other short haired blues, despite obvious differences in type. Since the round-headed, cobby British Blues were favored in the show halls, the svelte Russian Blues rarely won. Finally, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy acknowledged the breed and in 1912 the Russian Blue was granted a class of its own. The breed then made progress until World War II when it almost became extinct, as did many other breeds.

During the 1940s and 1950s two independent groups of breeders worked to resurrect the Russian Blue by crossbreeding the few hardy survivors with other breeds. In Britain, breeders crossed the Russian Blue with bluepoint Siamese and British Blues. Because of the Siamese influence, the British Russian Blue's moderate foreign body style became more extreme.

At the same time, Scandinavian breeders attempted to 'recreate' the breed by crossing blue cats from Finland with Siamese cats that carried color factors that would enhance the solid blue coloration. These cats were larger and had larger heads and shorter, denser coats than British Russian Blues.

In 1965 a group of British breeders, not pleased with all the changes, began efforts to restore the Russian Blue to his original condition. In 1966 the show standard was again changed, now stating that the Siamese type was undesirable. By breeding the Scandinavian cats, with their good head type and vivid green eye color, with the British Russian Blues, with their silver-blue coat color and graceful body style, the breeders finally achieved consistency.

The Russian Blue arrived in America in the early 1900s, but it was not until 1947 that serious attempts at breeding and promoting in the United States began. Because of the inconsistency in the breeding stock, and because three other blue breeds existed upon which fanciers could focus their esteem, the Russian Blue didn't get as much attention as it might otherwise have received. However, imports from Britain gradually improved the bloodlines, and the Russian Blue gained much needed stability.

Hard work by dedicated breeders has improved the Russian Blue bloodline to the point that American Russian Blues have even been exported to Europe to improve their bloodlines.