Timeline of Russian inventions and technology records

Timeline of Russian inventions and technology records encompasses the key events in the history of technology in Russia, starting from the Early East Slavs and up to the modern Russian Federation.

The entries in this timeline are mass products, technologies and single objects, mostly falling into the two categories:

• Indigenous inventions, either having worldwide importance (like arc welding, assault rifle, satellite) or more local significance (like onion dome, khokhloma, ushanka);
• Products and objects with unique superlative characteristics and records associated with them (like Tsar Cannon, AK-47, Arktika class icebreaker).

This timeline includes products and technologies introduced by any citizens and peoples of Russia and her predecessor states, regardless of ethnicity, and including inventions of naturalized immigrant citizens.

Certain innovations, achieved by a multinational cooperation, also may be included into this timeline, in case Russian side played a major role in such projects. The inventions made abroad by Russian émigrés are not reflected here, but may be found on the list of Russian inventors.

For the plain list of Russian inventions, see the Category:Russian inventions.

Contents 1 Early East Slavs 2 Kievan Rus' 2.1 10th century 2.2 11th century 2.3 12th century 2.4 13th century 3 Grand Duchy of Moscow 3.1 14th century 3.2 15th century 3.3 Early 16th century 4 Tsardom of Russia 4.1 Late 16th century 4.2 17th century 4.3 Early 18th century 5  Russian Empire 5.1 1720s 5.2 1730s 5.3 1740s 5.4 1750s 5.5 1760s 5.6 1770s 5.7 1780s 5.8 1790s 5.9 19th century 5.10 1810s 5.11 1820s 5.12 1830s 5.13 1840s 5.14 1850s 5.15 1860s 5.16 1870s 5.17 1880s 5.18 1890s 5.19 20th century 5.20 1910s 6  Soviet Union 6.1 Late 1910s 6.2 1920s 6.3 1930s 6.4 1940s 6.5 1950s 6.6 1960s 6.7 1970s 6.8 1980s 6.9 Early 1990s 7  Russian Federation 7.1 1990s 7.2 2000s 7.3 2010s 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Early East Slavs

Baked milk / Ryazhenka

• Baked milk is made by simmering milk on low heat for eight hours or longer. The product has a light brown color, a specific taste and the ability to be stored safely at room temperature for up to forty hours, much longer than most other milk beverages. It has been produced since the ancient times, typically using a Russian oven, and nowadays it is produced on an industrial scale. Of especial popularity in Russia is soured or fermented baked milk, traditionally known as ryazhenka.^[1]

Banya

• Banya is a traditional Russian wet steam bath, where the bathing is performed inside special rooms or standalone wooden houses, with steam being produced by splashing water upon heated rocks. Historically, banya developed simultaneously with its closest relative, the Finnish sauna, however modern saunas converted to dry steam, while banyas continue to use wet steam. Banya temperatures may exceed 110°C, and people often hit themselves or others with bunches of dried branches and leaves from white birch, oak or eucalyptus in order to improve the circulation. It is customary to cool off in the breeze outdoors or splash around in cold water or in a lake or river. In the winter, people may roll in the snow or jump into the ice holes. After two or three sessions of sweat and cooling off, the ritual ends with drinking beverages or tea, playing games or relaxing in good company in an antechamber to the steam room. Banya provides a strong positive effect on health, reliefs a number of diseases and strengthens the immune system.^[2][3]

Blini

• Blini are thin pancakes made with yeast. Blin comes from Old Slavic mlin, that means "to mill". Russian blini are made with yeasted batter, which is left to rise and then diluted with cold or boiling water or milk. Blini may have originated in the time of the Slavic unity, and they had a somewhat ritual significance for the early Slavs in pre-Christian times, since they were a symbol of the sun due to their round form. Blini were traditionally prepared at the end of the winter to honor the rebirth of the new sun (Butter Week, or Maslenitsa). This tradition was adopted by Orthodox church and is carried on to the present day.^[4]

Gusli

• Gusli is the oldest Slavic and Russian multi-string plucked instrument. Preserved instruments discovered by archaeologists have between 5 and 9 strings with one example having 12 strings. Gusli may have derived from a Byzantine form of the Greek kythare and have a number of relative instruments, like Finnish kantele. The first mention of gusli dates back to 591AD to a treatise by the Greek historian Theophylact Simocatta which describes the instrument being used by Slavs from the area of the later Kievan Rus'. The gusli are thought to have been the instrument used by the legendary Boyan (a singer of tales) and other heroes of Russian mythology. In the later times gusli were widely used by the wandering Skomorokh musicians and entertainers.^[5]

Izba

• An izba is a traditional Russian countryside dwelling, a type of log house, suited to the colder climate of North-Eastern Europe and Siberia. Traditional, old-style izba construction involved the use of simple tools, such as ropes, axes, knives, and spades. Nails were not generally used, as metal was relatively expensive, and neither were saws a common construction tool. Both interior and exterior were of split tree trunks, the gap between was usually filled with river clay. From the 15th century on, the central element of the interior of izba was Russian oven. Outside izbas were often embellished by various special architectural features, for example the rich wood carving decorations on windows. Such decorative elements and the use of the Russian oven are still commonly found in many modern Russian countryside houses.^[6]

Kosovorotka

• A kosovorotka is a Russian skewed-collared shirt, long sleeved and reaching down to the mid-thigh, a traditional top garment from the ancient times. The name derived from koso (askew), and vorot (collar), since the collar of this shirt appears skewed when it is left unbuttoned. The collar and sleeves of kosovorotka were often decorated with a traditional Slavic ornament. It was worn by peasants and townsmen of various social categories into the early 20th century, until being displaced by less elaborate clothing. The garment is also known as a tolstovka, or the Tolstoy-shirt, because the writer Count Leo Tolstoy customarily wore one in his later years. Now kosovorotkas appear mostly as souvenirs and as scenic garments of Russian folk art ensembles.^[7]

Lapti

• Lapti is an East Slavic variant of bast shoes. A kind of baskets fit to the shape of a foot, lapti were woven primarily from bast of the linden tree or from birch bark. They were easy to manufacture, but not very durable. In Russia, lapti were worn until 1920s, or 1930s, as a cheap replacement for leather shoes, just like clogs in the Western Europe.^[8]

Shchi

• Shchi is a Russian soup with cabbage as the primary ingredient, which makes it possible for the prepared dish to be stored safely for rather a long time without losing its taste qualities. Generally it is made with either fresh cabbage or sauerkraut and other winter vegetables, although meat can be added. Shchi made with sauerkraut has a sour taste and is called sour shchi. A summer sorrel soup, also popular in pre-Revolutionary and today's Russia, is known as green shchi. Usually smetana cream is added into shchi before serving.^[9]

Smetana

• Smetana is thick, yellowish-white and slightly sour-tasting cream which contains about 40 % milk fat. It is made by curdling pasteurized cream. In Russian cooking, it is used virtually in everything from appetizers and main courses to desserts. It is somewhat close to a crème fraîche (28%), but much heavier and thicker with usually 36% to 42 % milkfat or even higher, and more sour in taste. Smetana is ideal to be used in dishes requiring a long cooking time in the oven, since it will not curdle when cooked or added to hot dishes.^[10]

Kievan Rus'

10th century

Kokoshnik

• The kokoshnik is a traditional Russian women's head-dress. It is patterned to match the style of the sarafan 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 the similar type were found in the 10th-12th cc. burials in Veliky Novgorod. It was worn by girls and women on special occasions until the Russian Revolution, and subsequently was introduced into the Western fashion by Russian émigrés.^[11]

989 Kvass / Okroshka

• Kvass or kvas, sometimes called in English a bread drink, is a fermented beverage made from black rye or rye bread (which contributes to its light or dark colour). By the content of alcohol 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 the Eastern Europe. Kvass was first mentioned in the Russian Primary Chronicle, which tells how Prince Vladimir the Great gave kvass to the people among other beverages, while celebrating the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. Kvass is also known as a main ingredient in okroshka, a Russian cold soup.^[12][13]

989 Multidomed church

• The multidomed church is a typical form of Russian church architecture, which distinguishes Russia from other Orthodox nations and Christian denominations. Indeed, the earliest Russian churches, built just after the Christianization of Kievan Rus', were multi-domed, which led some historians to speculate how 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 (989-996). The number of domes typically has a symbolical meaning in the Russian architecture, for example 13 domes symbolize Christ with 12 Apostles, while 25 domes mean the same with additional 12 Prophets of Old Testament. Multiple domes of Russian churches were often made of wood and were comparatively smaller than the Byzantine domes.^[14][15]

997 Kissel

• Kissel or kisel is a dessert that consists of sweetened juice, typically that of berries, thickened with arrowroot, cornstarch or potato starch, with red wine or dried fruits added sometimes. The dessert can be served either hot or cold, and if made using less thickening starch it can be drunk, which is common in Russia. Kissel was mentioned for the first time in the Primary Chronicle, where it forms part of the story of how a bisieged Russian city was saved from nomadic Pechenegs.^[13][16]

11th century

Birch bark document

• A birch bark document is a document written on pieces of birch bark. 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 became widespread soon after the Christianization 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. In the total, more than 1000 such documents have been discovered, most of them in Novgorod and the rest in other ancient cities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Many birch bark documents were written by quite common people, not only by clergy or nobility. This fact led some historians to suggest that before the Mongol invasion of Rus' the level of literacy in the country might have been considerably higher than in Western Europe of the time.^[17]

Koch / Icebreaker

• The koch was an ancient form of icebreaker, being a special type of small one or two mast wooden sailing ships, used for voyages in the ice conditions of the Arctic seas and Siberian rivers. Koch was developed by the Russian Pomors since the 11th century, when they started settling on the White Sea shores. Koch's hull was protected by a belt of ice-floe resistant flush skin-planking (made of oak or larch) along the variable water-line, and had a false keel for on-ice portage. If a koch became squeezed by the ice-fields, its rounded bodylines below the water-line 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 icebreakers.^[18]

Gudok

• The gudok is an ancient East Slavic string musical instrument, played with a bow. It usually had three strings, two of them tuned in unison 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 simultaneously. Sometimes the gudok also had several sympathetic strings (up to eight) under the sounding board. These made the gudok's sound warm and rich. It was also possible to play the gudok 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.^[19]

Medovukha

• Medovukha is an Old Slavic honey-based alcoholic beverage very similar to mead, but much cheaper and faster in making. Since the old times Slavs exported the fermented 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. However, in the 11th century East Slavs found that fermentation occurred much faster when the honey mixture was heated, enabling medovukha to become a folk drink in the territory of Rus'. In the 14th century, the invention of distillation made it possible to create a prototype of the modern medovukha, however vodka was invented at the same time and gradually surpassed medovukha in popularity.^[20]

1048 Russian fist fighting

• Russian fist fighting is an ancient Russian combat sport, basically similar to modern boxing, but featuring 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', first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle under year 1048. The government and the Russian Orthodox Church often tried to prohibit the fights, however the 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.^[13][21]

12th century

Pernach

• The pernach was a type flanged mace developed since the 12th century in the region of Kievan Rus' and later widely used throughout Europe. The name comes from the Russian word перо (pero) meaning feather, reflecting the form of pernach that resembled an arrow with feathering. The most popular variety of pernach had six flanges and was called shestopyor (from Russian shest' and pero, that is six-feathered). Pernach was the first form of the flanged mace to found wide usage. It was perfectly suited to destroy the plate armour and plate mail. In the later times it was often used as a symbol of power by the military leaders in Eastern Europe.^[22]

Shashka

• The shashka is a special kind of sabre, a very sharp, single-edged, single-handed, and guardless sword. 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 shashka was developed in the 12th century by Circassians in the Northern Caucasus, whose lands were integrated into the Russian Empire in the 18th century. By that time shashka was adopted as their main cold weapon by Russian Cossacks.^[23]

Treshchotka

• The treshchotka, sometimes referred in plural as treshchotki, is a Russian folk music idiophone 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 usage of treshchotka in the ancient Russia, however the remnants of what might have been the earliest 12th century treshchotka were recently found in Novgorod.^[24]

1149 Bear spear

• The bear spear or rogatina was a medieval type of spear used in bear hunting and also against other large animals, like wisents and war horses. The sharpened head of a bear spear was enlarged and usually had a form of a bay leaf. Right under the head there was a short crosspiece that helped fixing the spear in the body of an animal. Often it was placed against the ground on its rear point, which makes it easier to hold the weight of attacking beast. The Russian chronicles first mention rogatina as a military weapon under the year 1149, and as a hunting weapon under the year 1255.^[25]

13th century

Sokha

• The sokha is a light wooden plough which could be pulled by one horse. Its origin was in the north Russia, most likely in the Novgorod Republic, where it was used at least since 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. Sokha is an evolution of a scratch-plough by an addition of a spade-like detail which turns the cut soil over (in regular ploughs the curved mouldboard both cuts and turns the soil).^[26]

Pelmeni

• Pelmeni is a dish originating from Siberia, now considered part of Russian national cuisine. It is a type of dumpling consisting of a filling that is wrapped in thin unleavened dough. The word pelmeni comes from the Finno-Ugric Komi, Udmurt, and Mansi languages. It is unclear when pelmeni entered the cuisines of indigenous Siberian people and when they first appeared in Russian cuisine, but likely it was during the Mongol conquests and Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' in the 13th century, when Mongol-Tatars took the basic idea from the Chinese dumplings and transferred it into Siberia and Eastern Europe.^[27]

Onion dome

• The onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion, after which they are named. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the drum upon which they are set, and their height usually exceeds their width. The whole bulbous structure taper smoothly to a point. Onion dome is the predominant form for church domes in Russia, and though the earliest preserved Russian domes of such type date from the 16th century, the illustrations of the old chronicles indicate that they were used since the late 13th century.^[28]

Grand Duchy of Moscow

14th century

Lapta

• Lapta is a Russian ball game with bat, similar to modern baseball. The game is played outside on a field the size of 20 x 25 sazhens (about 140 x 175 feet). The points are earned by hitting the ball, served by a player of the opposite team, and sending it as far as possible, then runnig 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 the opposing team members. The most ancient balls and bats for lapta were found in the 14th-century layers during excavations in Novgorod.^[29]

Zvonnitsa

• A zvonnitsa is a large rectangular structure containing multiple archs or beams that carry bells, where bell ringers stand on its basement level and perform the ringing using long ropes, like playing on a kind of giant musical instrument. It was an alternative to bell tower in the medieval architecture of Russia and some Eastern European 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 building, resulting in the special type of church called pod zvonom ("under ringing") or izhe pod kolokoly ("under bells"). The most famous example of such kind of a church is the Church of St. Ivan of the Ladder adjacent to Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Moscow Kremlin.^[30][31]

1376 Sarafan

• The sarafan is a long, shapeless jumper dress of pinafore type, a part of the traditional Russian folk costume by women and girls. Sarafans could be of single piece construction with thin shoulder straps over which a corset is sometimes worn, giving the shape of the body of a smaller triangle 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 the elaborate brocade versions formerly reserved for special occasions. Chronicles first mention it under the year 1376, and since that time it was worn well until the 20th century. It is now worn as folk costume for performing Russian folk songs and folk dancing. Plain sarafans are still designed and worn today as a summer-time light dress.^[32][33]

15th century

Bardiche

• The bardiche was a long poleaxe, that is a type of weapon combining the features of axe and polearm, known primarily in the Eastern Europe where it was used instead of halberd. Occasionally the weapons of such form were made in Antiquity and Early Middle Ages, but the regular and massive usage of bardiches started in the early 15th century Russia. Likely, it was developed from the Scandinavian broad axe, but in Scandinavia it appeared only in the late 15th century. In the 16th century bardiche became a weapon associated with streltsy, Russian guardsmen armed with firearms, who used bardiches to rest handguns upon when firing.^[34]

Boyar hat

• The boyar hat, also known as gorlatnaya hat, was a fur hat worn by Russian nobility between the 15th and 17th centuries, most notably by boyars, for whom it was a sign of their social status. The higher hat indicated the higher status. In average, it was one ell in height, having the form of a cylinder with more broad upper part, velvet or brocade top and the main body made of fox, marten or sable fur. Today the hat is sometimes used in the Russian fashion.^[35]

Gulyay-gorod

• The gulyay-gorod (literally "wandering town") was a mobile fortification made from large wall-sized prefabricated shields set on wagons or sleds, 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, 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.^[36]

Ukha

• Ukha is a Russian soup, made with broth and fish like salmon or cod, root vegetables, parsley root, leek, potato, bay leaf, lime, dill, green parsley and spiced with black pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Fishes like perch, tenches, sheatfish and burbots were used to add flavour to the soup. Ukha as a name in the Russian cuisine 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 more and more often used to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups.^[37]

Russian oven

• The Russian oven or Russian stove is a unique type of oven/furnace that first appeared in the early 15th century. The Russian oven is usually placed in the centre of the izba, a traditional Russian dwelling, and plays an immense role in the traditional Russian culture 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 some people escaped the Nazis by hiding in ovens. The porridge or the 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 the 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, pearl barley, mushrooms cooked in sour cream, or even a simple potato.^[38][39]

Rassolnik

• Rassolnik is a Russian soup made from pickled cucumbers, pearl barley and pork or beef kidneys, though a vegetarian variant 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 anti-hangover treatment.^[40]

c. 1430 Russian vodka

• Russian vodka is perhaps the world's most famous national brand of vodka, that is a distilled liquor, composed solely of water and ethanol with possible traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is one of the world's most popular liquors. It is made by fermentation of rye, wheat, potatoes, grapes, or sugar beet molasses. Alcoholic content usually ranges between 35 to 50 percent by volume. The standard Russian vodka is 40 percent alcohol by volume (80 proof). Exact origins of vodka cannot be traced definitively, but almost certainly vodka as a beverage comes from 14th-15th century Eastern Europe. Russia often is named the birthplace of vodka. The distillation apparatus was known in Moscow 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 from Chudov Monastery inside the Moscow Kremlin.^[41]

Early 16th century

Kokoshnik (architecture)

• The kokoshnik is a semicircular or keel-like exterior decorative element in the traditional Russian architecture, a type of corbel blind arch. The name was inspired by the traditional Russian women's head-dress. Kokoshniks were used in the Russian church architecture from the 16th century, while in the 17th century their popularity reached its highest point. Kokoshniks were placed on walls, at the basement of tented roofs or tholobates, or over the window frames, or in rows above the vaults.^[42]

1510s Tented roof masonry

• The tented roof masonry was a technique widely used in the Russian architecture in the 16th-17th centuries. Before that time tented roofs (conical, or actually polygonal 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 towers in kremlins, or even applied in some common buildings, like it was in the Western Europe, but the thin, pointed, nearly conical roofs of the similar shape made of brick or stone became a unique form in the Russian church architecture. Some scholars, however, argue that hipped roofs have something in common with European Gothic spires, and even tend to call this style 'Russian Gothic'. The Ascension church of Kolomenskoye, built in 1532 to commemorate the birth of the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV, often is considered the first tented roof church, but the recent studies show that the earliest use of the stone tented roof was in the Trinity Church in Alexandrov, built in 1510s.^[43]

Tsardom of Russia

Late 16th century

Russian abacus

• The Russian abacus or schety (literally "counts") is a decimal type of abacus 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 since the late 16th century, at the time when abacus already was falling out of use in the Western Europe. However, the decimality of the Russian abacus (explained by Russian ruble's being the world's first decimal currency) and its simplicity (compared to the previous European and Asian versions) led to the wide usage of this device in Russia well until the advent of electronic calculators in the late 20th century.^[44]

1552 Battery-tower

• The battery-tower is a late type of siege tower, carrying artillery inside it, a development of the gulyay-gorod concept. The first such tower was built by the Russian military engineer Ivan Vyrodkov during the siege of Kazan 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.^[45]

1561 Saint Basil's Cathedral

• Saint Basil's Cathedral is perhaps the most famous Russian Orthodox cathedral, a symbol of Moscow and Russia. It was designed by Postnik Yakovlev on the order of Ivan IV of Russia and built on the Moscow's Red Square in 1555–1561, to commemorate the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. 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 domes and arranged around the ninth, central tented roof church of Intercession; 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 the "Jerusalem" and served as an allegory of the Jerusalem Temple in the annual Palm Sunday parade attended by the Patriarch of Moscow and the Tsar. Its striking design, shaped as a flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, has no analogues in the world architecture, and only few times it was attempted to be reproduced in the Russian architecture, most notably in the St. Peter's and Paul Cathedral in Petergof and in the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg.^[46][47]

1566 Great Abatis Line

• The Great Abatis Line, or Bolshaya Zasechnaya Cherta in Russian, was the largest fortification line of abatis type, built by the Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia. Its purpose was to protect Russia from the raids of nomads of the Eastern European steppes, such as the Crimean Tatars. As a fortification construction stretching for hundreds kilometers, the Great Abatis Line is analogous to the Great Wall of China and the Roman Limes. Most of its length consisted of abatis, which is the barrier built from the 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 kremlins 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 between the Bryansk woods and Meschera swamps starting from the 12th century, and was officially completed in 1566, exceeding 1000 km in length.^[48]

1586 Tsar Cannon

• The Tsar Cannon is an enormous cannon, commissioned in 1586 by Russian Tsar Feodor and cast by Andrey Chokhov. It is the largest bombard by caliber. The cannon weighs 39.312 metric tonnes and has a length of 5.34 m (17.5 ft). Its bronze-cast barrel has a calibre of 890 mm (35.0 in), and an external diameter of 1,200 mm (47.2 in). 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. The cannon is decorated with reliefs, including one depicting Tsar Tsar 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 and several Russian cities, while the original Tsar Cannon is in the Moscow Kremlin.^[49][50]

17th century

Bochka roof

• The bochka roof or simply bochka (Russian: бочка, barrel) is the type of roof in the traditional Russian architecture that has a form of half-cylinder with elevated and sharpened upper part, resembling the sharpened kokoshnik. Typically made of wood, bochka roof was extensively used both in the church and civilian architecture in the 17th-18th centuries. Later it was sometimes used in the Russian Revival style buildings.^[51]

Gorodki

• Gorodki or townlets is an old Russian folk sport whose popularity has spread also to Scandinavia and the Baltic States. Similar to bowling, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in some pattern by throwing a bat 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 modern one at least from the 17th century, since one of the famous players in gorodki was young Peter I of Russia.^[52]

Russian Mountains

• Russian Mountains were winter sled rides held on specially constructed hills of ice, sometimes up to 200 feet tall, being the predecessor to the modern roller coaster. 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 surroundings, 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's residence in Oranienbaum. The first such wheeled ride was brought to Paris 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.^[53]

Bird of Happiness

• The Bird of Happiness is the traditional North Russian wooden toy, carved in the shape of a bird. It was invented by Pomors, the inhabitants of the White and Barents Sea 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 Siberian cedar. It is suspended inside a house, guarding the family hearth and well-being.^[54]

Dymkovo toy

• Dymkovo toys, also known as the Vyatka toys or Kirov toys are moulded painted clay figures of people and animals (sometimes in the form of a pennywhistle). It is an old Russian folk handicraft 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 mentioning 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.^[55][56]

Troika

• The troika (тройка, "triplet" or "trio") is a traditional Russian harness driving combination, using three horses 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 gaits – the middle horse trots and the side horses canter. At full speed a troika could reach 45–50 kilometres per hour (28–31 mph), 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, 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.^[57][58]

1659 Khokhloma

• Khokhloma is the name of a Russian wood painting handicraft, known for its vivid flower patterns, red and gold colors over the black background, and the distinctive effect on the cheap and light wooden tableware or furniture, making it look heavier, metal-like and glamorous. It first appeared in the second half of the 17th century, at least from 1659, in today's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and was named after the large trade settlement Khokhloma. The handicraft owes its origin to the Old Believers, who, fleeing from persecutions of officials, took refuge in local woods and taught some of the icon painting techniques to the local craftsmen, such as the usage of a goldish color without applying real gold. Nowadays khokhloma is one of the symbols of Russia, and apart from its usage in making tableware, furniture and souvenirs, it can be found in the wider context, for example in paintings on Russian airliners.^[59]

1685 Tula gingerbread

• The Tula gingerbread is a type of printed gingerbread from the city of Tula, the most known kind of Russian gingerbreads. Usually the Tula gingerbread looks like a rectangular tile or a flat figure. Modern Tula gingerbreads usually contain jam or condensed milk, while in the old times they were made with honey. The first mention of the Tula gingerbread is in Tula сensus book of 1685.^[60]

1688 Balalaika

• The balalaika is a stringed instrument with a characteristic triangular body and 3 strings (or sometimes 6, in 3 courses), perhaps the most 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 1880s the modern standard balalika 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.^[61]

Early 18th century

Table-glass

• The table-glass or granyonyi stakan (literally faceted glass) is a type of drinkware made from especially hard and thick glass and 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 decline and fall, or slip from hands, and less likely to be broken when hitting the floor. A legend says that the first known Russian faceted glass was given as a present to Tsar Peter the Great from a glass-maker called Yefim Smolin, living in Vladimir Oblast. 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 on certain occasions originated from that episode.^[62]

c. 1700 Water-based central heating

• ...

1704 Decimal currency

• The decimal currency is a type of currency 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 if its financial system in 1704, during the reign of Peter the Great, when Russian ruble was made equal to 100 kopecks.^[63]

1717 Mechanic slide rest

• by Andrey Nartov

1718 Yacht club

• The yacht club is a sports club specifically related to sailing and yachting. The oldest yacht club in the world, according to the date of establishment, is Neva Yacht Club, founded by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great in 1718 in St. Petersburg (likely, the idea had been deviced 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 in Ireland, founded in 1720. Both clubs have gone through periods of dormancy and undergone various name changes.^[64][65]

 Russian Empire

1720s

1725 Rebar

• A rebar or reinforcing bar is a common metal bar (typically made of steel), used in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures. Rebars were known in construction well before the era of the modern reinforced concrete, since some 150 years before its invention rebars were used to form the carcass of the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk in Russia, which was built on the orders of the industrialist Akinfiy Demidov between 1725-1732. The purpose of such construction is one of the many mysteries of the tower. The cast iron used for rebars was of very high quality, and there is no corrosion on them up to this day.^[66]

1730s

1732 Cast iron cupola / Lightning rod

• The cast iron cupola was a type of cupola based on the cast iron rather than made from stone or brick, like it was in the ancient or medieval domes. The first application of this technology is found in the mysterious Leaning Tower of Nevyansk, completed in 1732. The tower's tented roof had a cast iron carcass and outer shell. The second time, this technique was applied only some 100 years later, during the reconstruction of the Mainz Cathedral in Germany in 1826, while the third time it was used in the dome of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, built in 1840s. The very top of the tower was crowned with a gilded metallic sphere with spikes. Since it was grounded through the rebars 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, however it is not known whether that was made intentionally.^[66]

1733 Peter and Paul Cathedral

• The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 inside the Peter and Paul Fortress. Both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini. The cathedral is the burial place of all Russian Emperors from Peter I to Nicholas II, with the exception of Peter II. The cathedral's bell tower is the world's tallest Orthodox bell tower. Since the belfry is not standalone, but an integral part of the main building, the cathedral is sometimes considered the highest Orthodox Church in the world.^[67]

1735 Tsar Bell

• The Tsar Bell , also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol or Royal Bell, is a huge bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna, niece of Peter the Great. Currently it is the largest and heaviest bell in the world, weighing 216 tons, with a height of 6.14 m (20.1 ft) and diameter of 6.6 m (21.6 ft). It was founded from bronze 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 next to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. For a time, the bell served as a chapel, with the broken area forming the door. According to the legend, on Judgement Day the Tsar Bell will be miraculously repaired and lifted up to heaven, where it will ring the blagovest (call to prayer).^[50]

1739 Ice palace

• ...

1740s

1740 Nail violin

• by Johann Wilde

1741 Quick-firing battery

• by Andrey Nartov

1750s

1753 Electrometer

• by Georg Wilhelm Richmann

1754 Coaxial rotor / Model helicopter

• by Mikhail Lomonosov^[68]

1757 Licorne

• by M.W. Danilov and S.A. Martynov

1760s

1762 Off-axis reflecting telescope

• by Mikhail Lomonosov

1766 Two-cylinder engine

• by Ivan Polzunov^[69]

1770s

1770 Amber Room

• The Amber Room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg is a complete chamber decoration of amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. 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 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. In 1716 the Amber Cabinet was given by Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I to his then ally, Tsar Peter I of Russia. 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 by Nazi Germany, brought to Königsberg 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.^[70][71]

1770 Thunder Stone

• The largest stone ever moved by man.

1776 Orenburg shawl

• ...

1778 Russian samovar

• In 1778 Lisitsyn brothers introduced their first samovar design, and the same year they registered the first samovar-making factory in Russia.^[72]

1779 Searchlight

• by Ivan Kulibin

1780s

1784 Orlov Trotter

• by Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov

1790s

Russian guitar

• by Andrei Sychra

Valenki

• ...

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 Winter Palace in 1793, while several years later another Kulibin's elevator was installed in Arkhangelskoye near Moscow. In 1823, an "ascending room" made its debut in London.^[73]

1794 Searchlight optical telegraph

• by Ivan Kulibin

1795 Fedoskino miniature / Russian lacquer art

• ...

1796 Peaked cap

• The peaked cap has been worn by Russian Army officers (other ranks had the same cap without a peak) as a new type of forage cap since 1796 by some regiments, and from 1811 by the most of the army.

19th century

1802 Modern powdered milk

• ...

1802 Electric arc

• by Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov

1803 Arc welding

• by Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov

1810s

1811 Sailor cap

• ...

1812 Electric mine

• by Pavel Schilling

1814 Beehive frame

• by Petro Prokopovych

1820s

1820 Monorail

• The so-called "Road on Pillars" near Moscow, with horse-drawn carriages, built by Ivan Elmanov.^[74]

1825 Zhostovo painting

• ...

1828 Electromagnetic telegraph

• by Pavel Schilling^[75]

1829 Three bolt equipment

• by E. K. Gauzen^[76][77]

1830s

1832 Unit record equipment

• Semen Korsakov was reputedly the first to use the punched cards in informatics for information store and search. Korsakov announced his new method and machines in September 1832, and rather than seeking patents offered the machines for public use.

1835 Centrifugal fan

• by Alexander Sablukov

1837 Electroplating

• by Boris Jacobi^[78]

1838 Electrotyping

• by Boris Jacobi^[78]

1839 Electric boat

• by Boris Jacobi

1839 Galvanoplastic sculpture

• by Boris Jacobi and Heinrich Lenz^[78]

1840s

1843 Dry galvanic cell

• by Peter Bagrationi

1847 Field anesthesia

• by Nikolay Pirogov

1848 Modern oil well

• by Vasily Semyonov^[79]

1850s

1850 Modern bascule bridge

• Blagoveshchensky Bridge

1851 Struve Geodetic Arc

• by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve

1854 Modern field surgery

• by Nikolay Pirogov

1857 Radiator

• The radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling or heating. The first historical application of radiator was in central heating systems. The heating radiator was invented by Franz San Galli, a Polish-born Russian businessman living in St. Petersburg, between 1855-1857.^[80][81]

1858 Saint Isaac's Cathedral

• Saint Isaac's Cathedral is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in St. Petersburg. It was the tallest Eastern Orthodox church upon its completion (subsequently surpassed only by the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour). It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great who had been born on the feast day of that saint. Designed by Auguste de Montferrand, the Cathedral is a masterpiece of the late classicism, built between 1818-1858. Multiple innovations were used during construction, such as the giant cast iron dome, special frameworks to erect columns, and the first usage of galvanoplastic sculpture in architecture.^[82]

1859 Aluminothermy

• by Nikolay Beketov

1860s

1860s Russian salad

• by Lucien Olivier

1861 Beef Stroganoff

• ...

1864 Modern icebreaker

• An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. The first steam-powered metal-hull icebreaker of the modern type was the Russian Pilot, built in 1864 on orders of the merchant and shipbuilder Mikhail Britnev. It had the bow altered to achieve an ice-clearing capability (20° raise from keel line). This allowed the Pilot to push itself on the top of the ice and consequently break it. Britnev fashioned the bow of his ship after the shape of the old wooden Pomor kochs, which had been navigating icy waters of the White Sea and Barents Sea for centuries.^[83]

1869 Periodic table

• by Dmitri Mendeleev

1870s

1873 Odhner Arithmometer

• by Willgodt Theophil Odhner

1873 Armored cruiser

• General-Admiral by Andrei Alexandrovich Popov

1875 Railway electrification system

• by Fyodor Pirotsky

1876 Yablochkov candle

• Invented in 1876 by Pavel Yablochkov, the Yablochkov candle was the first commercially viable electric carbon arc lamp.

1877 Torpedo boat tender

• by Stepan Makarov

1877 Tracked wagon

• by Fyodor Blinov^[84]

1878 Cylindric oil depot

• by Vladimir Shukhov

1879 Modern oil tanker

• by Ludvig Nobel

1880s

1880 Electric tram

• by Fyodor Pirotsky

1881 Carbon arc welding

• the first arc welding method was introduced by Nikolay Benardos and later patented in 1887.^[85]

1883 Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

• The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the main and largest cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church, located in Moscow on the bank of the Moskva River. It is the tallest Eastern Orthodox church in the world. Designed by Konstantin Thon, it is an outstanding example of the Byzantine Revival architecture. The domes of the cathedral for the first time in history was gilded using the technique of gold electroplating. The original building was demolished during the Soviet time, but was rebuilt once again in 1995-2000, having become a symbol of Russia's religious renaissance.^[78][86]

1888 Caterpillar farm tractor

• The first steam-powered tractor on continuous tracks was completed by Fyodor Blinov^[84]

1888 Shielded metal arc welding

• by Nikolay Slavyanov^[87]

1888 Photoelectric cell

• by Aleksandr Stoletov

1889 Three-Line Rifle

• by Sergei Ivanovich Mosin, the most produced rifle of the era

1890s

1890 Matryoshka doll

• by Sergey Malyutin and Vasily Zvyozdochkin

1891 Thermal cracking

• Shukhov cracking process by Vladimir Shukhov and Sergei Gavrilov, the first cracking method

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 capable of operating in the polar waters with their vast and thick multi-year sea ice. Russian icebreaker Yermak (named after Yermak the conqueror of Siberia) was the first icebreaker able to ride over and crush pack ice. It was built in England between 1897-1898 after Admiral Stepan Makarov's design and under his supervision. Between 1899-1911 Yermak sailed in heavy ice conditions for more than 1000 days. Starting from this vessel, Russia created the largest fleet of ocean going icebreakers in the 20th and 21st centuries.^[88]

20th century

1901 Chromatography

• by Mikhail Tsvet

1902 Fire fighting foam

• Fire fighting foam is a 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 the 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, 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 fighting foam foam.^[89]

1903 Motor ship

• Russian tanker Vandal

1904 Foam extinguisher

• The foam extinguisher is a type of fire extinguisher based on fire fighting foam. It works and looks similar to the soda-acid type, but the inner parts are different. The main tank contains a solution of water, foam compound (usually made from licorice root) and sodium bicarbonate. The first such extinguisher was produced in 1904 by Aleksandr Loran, who invented fire fighting foam two years before.^[90]

1904 Modern mortar

• by Leonid Gobyato

1905 Auscultatory blood pressure measurement

• by Nikolai Korotkov

1905 Insubmersibility

• by Alexey Krylov and Stepan Makarov

1906 Electric seismometer

• by Boris Borisovich Galitzine

1907 Aerosan / Snowmobile

• Also the first successful snowmobile

1907 Bayan

• ...

1907 Church of the Savior on Blood

• The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics — according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world.

1910s

c. 1910 Classical conditioning

• by Ivan Pavlov

1911 CRT television

• by Boris Rosing

1911 Knapsack parachute

• by Gleb Kotelnikov

1912 Drogue parachute

• by Gleb Kotelnikov

1913 Aerobatics

• by Pyotr Nesterov

1913 Airliner

• Russky Vityaz and Sikorsky Ilya Muromets by Igor Sikorsky

1913 Assault rifle

• Fedorov Avtomat, the first self-loading battle rifle

1913 Half-track

• Also known as Kégresse track, invented by Adolphe Kégresse.

1914 Gyrocar

• by Pyotr Shilovsky

1914 Tachanka

• by Nestor Makhno

1914 Strategic bomber

• Sikorsky Ilya Muromets by Igor Sikorsky

1914 Aerial ramming

• by Pyotr Nesterov

1915 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 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

• The largest armoured vehicle ever built.

1916 Trans-Siberian Railway

• The longest railway in the world.

 Soviet Union

Late 1910s

1918 Air ionizer

• by Alexander Chizhevsky (Chizhevsky's chandelier)

1918 Budenovka

• by Viktor Vasnetsov

1918 Ushanka

• ...

1919 Theremin

• by Léon Theremin

1920s

1920s Chapayev (game)

• ...

1922 Crystadine

• ...by Oleg Losev

1923 Palekh miniature

• also Russian lacquer art, Kholuy miniature, Mstyora miniature

1924 Optophonic Piano

• by Vladimir Baranov-Rossine

1926 Interlace

• by Léon Theremin

1927 Light-emitting diode

• by Oleg Losev

1927 Po-2

• The most produced biplane in the world.

1928 Rabbage

• Rabbage or Raphanobrassica, was the first ever non-sterile hybrid obtained through the crossbreeding, which was an important step in biotechnology. It was produced by Georgii Karpechenko in 1928.

1929 Cadaveric blood transfusion

• by Sergei Yudin

1929 Pobedit

• ...

1929 Teletank / Military robot

• ...

1930s

Spring-loaded camming device

• by Vitaly Abalakov^[91]

Abalakov thread

• by Vitaly Abalakov^[92]

Electric propulsion

• by Valentin Glushko

1930 Paratrooping

• Russian Airborne Troops - the first and largest in the world

1930 Radiosonde

• by Pavel Molchanov, independently from Robert Bureau

1931 Pressure suit

• by Yevgeny Chertovsky^[93]

1931 Hypergolic propellant

• by Valentyn Glushko

1931 Rhythmicon / Drum machine

• by Léon Theremin, the first drum machine

1932 Children's railway

• ...

1932 Terpsitone

• by Léon Theremin

1932 Underwater welding

• by Konstantin Khrenov^[94]

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^[95]

1935 Kirza

• Kirza is a type of artificial leather based on the multi-layer textile fabric, modified by membrana-like substances, produced mainly in the Soviet Union and Russia as a cheap an effective replacement for natural leather. The surface of kirza imitates the 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), a fabric producing artificial leather, 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 and Russian Army.^[96]

1935 Moscow Metro

• The Moscow Metro, which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's second most heavily used metro system after the Tokyo's twin subway, and the most heavily used single operator metro system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its stations, which contain numerous examples of socialist realist art.^[97]

1935 Kremlin stars

• ...

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 that were providing support for the famous polar expeditions of the era. The drag chute allowed to land safely on the ice-floes of smaller size.^[98]

1937 Manned drifting ice station

• Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations are important contributors to exploration of the Arctic. 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 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, 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.^[99]

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 1937 World's Fair in Paris. The choice of welding method was explained by a giant size of the sculpture, and also was intended to demonstrate the innovative Soviet technologies.^[100]

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 high floor of 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.^[101]

1938 Deep column station

• The deep column station is a type of 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, designed by Alexey Dushkin and opened in 1938 in Moscow Metro.^[102]

1938 Sambo

• Sambo (being an acronim, Самбо stands for САМ-Без-Оружия, meaning "Being on your own without armors") 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.^[103]

1939 Kirlian photography

• by Semyon Kirlian

1939 Ilyushin Il-2

• The world's most produced combat aircraft.

1939 Self-propelled multiple rocket launcher

• Katyusha rocket launcher

1940s

1940 T-34

• by Mikhail Koshkin, the best and most produced tank of World War II^[104]

1941 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

1942 Gramicidin S

• by Georgy Gause

1942 Rocket-powered fighter

• Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1, first rocket-powered fighter

1944 EPR spectroscopy

• by Yevgeny Zavoisky^[105]

1945 T-54/55

• World's most produced tank.

1945 Passive resonant cavity bug

• by Léon Theremin

1947 MiG-15

• World's most produced jet aircraft.

1947 AK-47

• The AK-47 (other names include Avtomat Kalashnikova, Kalashnikov, or AK) is a selective fire, gas operated 7.62mm 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.^[106]

1950s

1950s Magnetotellurics

• by Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov

1950 Berkovich tip

• ...

1951 Explosively pumped flux compression generator

• ...

1952 Vysotka

• ...

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.^[107][108]

1952 Ilizarov apparatus

• by Gavril Ilizarov

1954 Nuclear power plant

• Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant by Igor Kurchatov

1955 MiG-21

• World's 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

• Currently the deepest subway in the world.

1955 Tokamak

• 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.

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 1953-1957.

1957 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 1953-1957.

1957 Satellite

• Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. 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

• by Rostislav Alexeyev

1957 Portable mobile phone

• by Leonid Kupriyanovich, see History of mobile phones

1958 Pocket phone

• by Leonid Kupriyanovich, see History of mobile phones

1958 Modern ternary computer

• Setun, by Nikolay Brusentsov

1959 Nuclear icebreaker

• A nuclear powered icebreaker is a purpose-built ship with nuclear propulsion for use in waters continuously covered with ice. Nuclear powered icebreakers are far more powerful than their diesel powered counterparts, and have been constructed by Russia primarily to aid shipping in the frozen Arctic waterways in the north of Siberia, along the Northern Sea Route. NS Lenin was the world's first nuclear icebreaker, launched in 1957 at the Admiralty Shipyard and completed in 1959.^[109]

1959 Space probe

• Luna 1, also the first escape velocity spacecraft and the first Sun satellite.

1959 Missile boat

• Komar class missile boat

1959 Staged combustion cycle

• ...

1960s

1960s Rocket boots

• ...

1960 Reentry capsule

• Sputnik 5

1961 RPG-7

• ...

1961 Anti-ballistic missile

• by Pyotr Grushin

1961 Space food

• ...

1961 Space suit

• ...

1961 Human spaceflight

• Vostok 1 (Russian: Восток-1, Orient 1 or East 1) was the first human spaceflight. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961, taking into space Yuri Gagarin, a 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. The Vostok 1 was launched by the Soviet space program and supervised by the Soviet rocket scientist Sergey Korolyov.

1961 Platform screen doors

• Park Pobedy (Saint Petersburg Metro)

1961 Ekranoplan

• by Rostislav Alexeyev

1961 Mil Mi-8

• The world's most-produced helicopter

1961 Tsar Bomb

• The most powerful weapon ever tested.

1962 3D holography

• by Yuri Denisyuk

1964 Druzhba pipeline

• The longest oil pipeline system in the world.

1964 Plasma propulsion engine

• Pulsed plasma thruster

1965 Extra-vehicular activity

• ...

1965 Molniya orbit satellite

• ...

1965 Proton rocket

• the most used heavy lift launch system

1965 Air-augmented rocket

• by Boris Shavyrin

1966 Lander spacecraft

• Luna 9 by Georgy Babakin

1966 Orbiter

• Luna 10

1966 Caspian Sea Monster

• by Rostislav Alexeyev, the largest ekranoplan and the second largest fixed-wing aircraft

1966 Regional jet

• Yakovlev Yak-40

1966 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.^[110]

1966 Orbital module

• Soyuz spacecraft

1967 Space toilet

• Soyuz spacecraft

1967 Ostankino Tower

• ...

1967 The Motherland Calls

• ...

1967 Automated space docking

• Kosmos 186 and Kosmos 188

1967 Venus lander

• Venera 4

1968 Fractional Orbital Bombardment System

• R-36 (missile)

1968 Mil Mi-12

• The largest helicopter ever built.

1968 Trijet

• Tupolev Tu-154

1968 Supersonic transport

• Tupolev Tu-144

1969 Intercontinental submarine-launched ballistic missile

• R-29 Vysota

1970s

1970s Radial keratotomy

• by Svyatoslav Fyodorov

1970 Turbojet train

• ...

1970 Robotic sample return

• Luna 16

1970 Space rover

• Lunokhod 1, the first space exploration rover, reached the Moon surface on November 17, 1970.

1971 Space station

• Salyut 1 (DOS-1) (Russian: Салют-1; English: Salute 1) was launched April 19, 1971. It was the first space station to orbit Earth. Developed under supervision of Vladimir Chelomey.

1972 Hall effect thruster

• ...

1972 Nuclear desalination

• ...BN-350 reactor

1973 Reflectron

• by Boris Aleksandrovich Mamyrin

1974 Electron cooling

• Electron cooling was invented by Gersh Budker (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

1975 Arktika class icebreaker

• The Arktika class is a Russian and former Soviet class of the world's most powerful nuclear icebreakers. Its pilot ship, NS Arktika, was the second Soviet nuclear icebreaker, completed in 1975. She became the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, on August 17, 1977.^[111]

1975 Androgynous Peripheral Attach System

• by Vladimir Syromyatnikov

1976 Mobile ICBM

• RT-21 Temp 2S by Alexander Nadiradze

1976 Gas turbine tank

• T-80 by Nikolay Popov

1977 Vertical launching system

• first installed on Azov, a Kara class cruiser

1977 Kirov class battlecruiser

• The Kirov class battlecruisers of the Russian Navy 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 Unmanned resupply spacecraft

• ...

1978 Active protection system

• Drozd system

1980s

1980s EHF therapy

• by Nikolay Devyatkov and Mikhail Golant

1980 Typhoon class submarine

• The largest submarine ever built.

1981 Tupolev Tu-160

• The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, 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.^[112]

1982 Helicopter ejection seat

• Kamov Ka-50

1984 Tetris

• by Alexey Pazhitnov

1986 Modular space station

• Mir space station

1986 Beriev A-40

• the largest amphibious flying boat ever built

1987 Railcar-launched ICBM

• RT-23 Molodets

1987 MIR submersible

• The first to reach the seabed under the North Pole. Developed in cooperation with Finland.

1987 RD-170 rocket engine

• The world's most powerful liquid-fuel rocket engine.

1988 Buran

• ...

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.

Early 1990s

1991 Thermoplan

• The thermoplan is a disc-shaped airship of hybrid type, cyrrently under development in Russia. 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 with the 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 1990s. In the late 2000s (decade), the project was revived under the name Locomoskyner by the Russian company Locomosky in Ulyanovsk.^[113]

 Russian Federation

1990s

1990s Amphibious assault rifle

• ASM-DT Underwater Assault Rifle

1992 Nuclotron

• Nuclotron is the world's first superconductive syncrotron, 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.^[114]

1993 RAR

• by Eugene Roshal

1996 3D thrust vectoring

• Sukhoi Su-37

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 Sea Launch

• by Igor Spassky, multinational cooperation

2000s

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 metro escalators

• Longest metro escalators

2005 Orbitrap

• by Aleksandr Makarov

2007 NS 50 Let Pobedy

• NS 50 Let Pobedy is the world's largest nuclear powered icebreaker, and the largest icebreaker 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. The vessel was put into service by Murmansk Shipping Company, which manages all eight Russian state-owned nuclear icebreakers.^[115]

2007 Father of all bombs

• Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, nicknamed "Father of All Bombs", is a Russian-made air-delivered/land activated thermobaric weapon, the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon in the world. The bomb was successfully field-tested in the late evening of September 11, 2007. According to the Russian military, the new weapon will replace several smaller types of nuclear bombs in its arsenal.^[116][117]

2010s

2010 Chatroulette

• The first randomized webcam chatroom

2011 Nuclear power station barge

• The first mass-produced portable nuclear power station

2011 Nord Stream

• The longest offshore pipeline

2012 Russky Island Bridge

• The longest cable-stayed bridge

See also

• List of Russian inventions
• List of Russian inventors
• Category:Russian inventions
• List of Russian scientists
• Timeline of largest projects in the Russian economy
• Russian culture

References

External links

• Russian inventions / Русские изобретения и открытия on YouTube

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