Blue Russians
The Blue Russian
The Russian Blue differs from other breeds by its very gracious appearance,
the special color and structure of the coat, and the emerald green eyes.
Russians need a calm and peaceful life and they form strong bonds with the people in their environment.
The History of the Russian Blue
As the name suggests, it is speculated that the Blue Russian originated in Russia, but this can't be said with certainty.
Cats with a blue coat were noticed in the Russian town of Archangelsk, already over 200 years ago.
Half way through the 19th Century, british sailors brought these cats back with them to England where they were shown as "Archangelsk Cat".
Back then there was no distinction between breeds in the shows and the Blue Russian was shown with other blue coated cats.
Since the British Shorthair, had become a popular standard, the Russian blue with it's foreign body type, stood almost no chance.
Later, in 1912 the breeders association decided to show foreign cats seperately, and this probably saved the Blue Russian.
Due to the Russian Revolution, Brittain wanted nothing to do with anything even remotely Russian. During this time, until 1939,
the Russian Blue was known as "Blue Foreign". After World War II, there were very few Blue specimens left, and the breed
bordered on extinction. In order to keep the breed alife, breeders had to rely on foreign blood, and began crossing the Blue Russian with the blue-point Siamese.
After a while, the Russian Blue began to look more and more like an eastern shorthair, and in the 60's a group of breeders worked hard
to bring back the original breed. With the fall of the iron curtain, original specimens of the Russian Blue became available, and the Blue Russian
of today is again a unique breed.
The Character of the Russian Blue
The character of the Russian Blue is uncomparable to that of any other breed. Even though they can be very playful at times,
and stay so until an old age, they are mostly very calm creatures. They like comfort and can lay in one place for hours, preferably
the lap of a family member. Almost all Blue Russians absolutely hate loud noise and a lot of commotion, and therefore may not
feel too well in a house with growing children. The Blue Russians are not very outgoing toward strangers, and don't like to be
pettet or picked up by them. They will however mostlikely not use their claws in such a situation; they are much too soft natured for that, but
they will certainly let it be known that they don't like it.
They usally find a quiet spot where they stay until visitors have gone.
The voice of the Russian Blue is very nice and soft. They don't use their voice too often, but they will talk to you if you
start a conversation.
The Body of the Russian Blue
The body of the Russian Blue may not look too rough or too soft, it has to make an elegant impression.
The long legs show a relatively fine bonestructure and the small feet are oval. The tale is long; it may not be too wide at the
base and it must get smaller toward the end.
The head is wide, somewhat wedge shaped, but can't be too long. The ears are wide on the base, end in a tip
, and are relatively large. They have hardly any hair on the inside of the ears. The nose has a straight profile and flows
without stop into the forehead. The Almond-shaped eyes are placed far apart, and can't be too small. The chin is strong and the
whisker coushins must be full. The neck is long and strong.
The double coat of the Blue Russian is short, silky, and fine in structure. It feels extremely silky to the touch.
The coat may never lay too close to the body, but must stand off of the skin so that the soft texture is enforced.
The coat structure of the Russian Blue can't be compared with that of any other breed.
The color of the coat is important as well. Even though there are 3 different colors noted for this breed, Blue, White, and Black,
only Blue (the oldest known color) is accepted by most organizations. In any case, the Blue coat has to be bluegrey and so even
and clean as possible. Ghoststripes or white hairs in the coat are counted as faults.
The nose and the paws are also bluegrey and the eyes have to be emerald green. If the eyes show yellow spots, it is also
counted as a fault, but it can take a few years for the eyes to become fully green.
Nebelung
In the 80's a program was set up to breed a long-haired version of the Russian Blue. This long-haired version received
the name NEBELUNG.
