Meet the Russian Blue

We Russian Blues have an air of mystery about us, which is fitting because humans aren’t sure exactly how we came about. Most people believe that my earliest ancestors were native cats from the Archangel Isles (aka Arkhangelsk) in Northern Russia. This is a very cold region and our furbulous double coats would have protected us in the freezing temperatures. We are a stunning, elegant, and regal breed, so it’s no surprise that the humans believe that we are descended from cats kept by the Russian Czars. Humans think that we first left Russia around 1860 when Russian sailors took us with them to England and Northern Europe.

We made a splash when we were first exhibited at a cat show at London’s Crystal Palace in 1875. Then called the Archangel Cat, we were shown alongside the other blue cat breeds: Korat, Chartreux, and British Shorthair (aka British Blue). We may be the same color as those cats, but we have always been in a class of our own. The humans realized this in 1912 when they recognized us as our own separate breed. English and Scandinavian breeders worked to create the bloodline for today’s Russian Blues, but World War II interrupted the breeding program and we almost became extinct! The few of us that remained were outcrossed with blue-point Siamese and British Shorthairs.

My ancestors first came to America in the early 1900s but we didn’t really blow up until after World War II, when Americans started a breeding program. They used the European bloodlines to further develop our breed standard, especially our large ears, plush blue coat, and striking green eyes. We were officially recognized by the Cat Fanciers’ Association in 1949, and our popularity soared in America in the 1960s. Today, we are one of the CFA’s most popular (and beautiful) cat breeds!