BREED HISTORY

 

<sub>Russian Toy Breed History in Russia


The origin of Russian Toy has been very difficult to identify and its breed history is largely based on hearsay.</sub>

<sub>If we take a look at Russian history, it is easier to understand why there are so many different versions of the breed's history.

With our breed as a starting point, we can divide the history into three parts;</sub>

<sub>1 - • Before the Russian Revolution of 1905 (Czars).
2 - • Time between the Revolution and fall of Berlin Wall in 1989.
3 - • The time after the wall came down.

In 1533, the Tsarist Era began, when Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) inherited the throne at the age of 3.</sub>

_{In 1547, at age 16, he took the title Tsar (autocrat), which no previous ruler had done.}

_{Until the early 1900s, the economic difference between the aristocracy and the rest of the population was immense. The people, mostly farmers, were so poor that they often went without food.}

<sub>The nobility, however, was wealthy and lived in luxury on large estates. The bored aristocracy needed something to amuse themselves with. English clubs became popular for discussion of politics, and to socialize. Furs coats became popular and ladies had to have a small dog, to bring to theatre premieres and opera performances, as a living accessory. An elegant, small dog to carry in their arms.

During the early 1900’s dissatisfaction with the government began to grow. Major strikes by workers in cities, and peasants in the countryside, led to the Russian Revolution in 1905.</sub>

_{Tsar Nicholas II fired on demonstrators and several died. This was the beginning of the largest general strike and rebellion the world had seen to date. People shot the aristocrats and their dogs, "Spoiled, capitalist, worthless animals, that consume food while the working class is starving," said one.}

<sub>The time after the revolution was characterized by continuing poverty and lack of food, which culminated in the February 1917 Revolution against the Tsarist empire. In the end, Czar soldiers joined with the demonstrators and the Tsar had no alternative but to abdicate.

Wars, such as the Russian Civil War, WWI, WWII and the Cold War, and continued poverty characterized the period, up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

In late 1980’s, the communist party's leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, started to reform the country’s economy.
The slogans for his campaign became glasnost (Russian for openness) and perestroika (Russian for rebuilding). The experiment, however, created disastrous socioeconomic consequences, which led to the Soviet Union's collapse, after a failed military coup in 1991.</sub>

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_{With this brief summary of Russian history, it may be easier to understand that the population of dogs in the country was very regional and numerically small. The economic conditions were not good for regular contacts between breeders across the country.}

_{Russian Toy was originally dogs for the nobility. They were kept as companion dogs for noble ladies, and as rat/mousers as well as live bells on their large estates.
The Nobility kept Russian Toys to warn when foreigners approached the estate. The RTs then ran inside, and the guard force was moved to larger dogs such as different variations of Ovtjarka.}

<sub>The RTs should also be social when they had to follow the noble women to different social events.
They were originally just called “toy terrier”, or “black and tan terrier” and the few animals that survived the revolution, was forming the base of the breed we now call Russkiy/Russian Toy.

Some people mention several breeds who share the breed’s origin, such as Chihuahua, Yorkshire terrier, Miniature Pinscher, English toy terrier and other small domestic dogs. Others insist, that at the time, there were no foreign breeds in the country, and that is why they cannot be part of the development of the breed.

Returning soldiers could possibly have had small dogs with them from wars in other countries, and these could have been used in the development of today's dogs.

Maybe everyone is correct, because the country’s various regions were so isolated, the different versions of the breed's origin can simply have come from different regions of the country.
In some regions, the breed might have been formed with the help of foreign breeds, in other parts it was formed of indigenous breeds.

* In May 1907 there was an exhibition with 11 toy terriers.</sub>

_{* In 1923, in Moscow, 2 toy terriers were exhibited.}

<sub>* At the Leningrad exhibition in 1947 only 1 was shown.

Until 1958 the breed had only been available in the smooth variety. The Russian toy terrier was indeed a real terrier, with his endurance, energy and stable character. Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Irkutsk became centers for the development of the breed.

A high point of the work with the breed was October 12, 1957 when a long-haired puppy was born. His name was Chikki. When the unusual puppy grew up (he weighed 2.5 kg), he had long hair on ears, body and outside of the legs. His color was black and tan.
His striking, different appearance interested breeders and it was decided that the dog characteristics should be preserved for posterity. The work was supervised by Moscow cynologists Eugenia Fominichna Zharova. Click here for article. Chikki was paired with a black spotted bitch with woolly fur, and looking similar to his mother, and three longhaired pups were born.
The long-haired variety was for a long time heavily concentrated in the area around Moscow, so the breed was called Moscow Toy Terrier.</sub>

<sub>In 1963 the Khrushchev family received two Chihuahua puppies as a gift and the popularity of small, long-haired dogs increased dramatically.

In 1966 the first standard for Russian Toy was written by the great Eugenia Fominichna Zharova. Having this Standard as guide, breeders in other regions of the country, started breeding the Russian Toy. Eugenia Fominichna Zharova also campaigned for the breed to be registered in Stud Books.

*At the1967 Soviet dog show about 100 toy terriers were shown.</sub>

<sub>During the 1980’s the toy terrier, particularly the long-haired variety, entered a dramatic period in its history. As the Iron Curtain collapsed and contact between East and West increased, the importation of unknown and exotic breeds grew..
As the importation of other breeds grew, the interest in native breeds fell.

In the early 1990's, the number of Russian Toy fell to a critical level, but this gave the opportunity for new young interested breeders to continue the development of the breed.

In 1988 the Russian Kynological Federation published a new, official breed standard for the Russkiy Toy, where the smooth-haired and the long-haired toy terrier was entered as two variations of the same breed.

In 2001 a new breed standard was written.</sub>

_{In 2006 the breed standard was confirmed by RKF. In February 2006 the breed was approved by the FCI, and is applicable today.}

_{On January 1, 2010, the American Kennel Club (AKC) approved the Russian Toy into its Foundation Stock Service.}

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_{Russian Toy Breed History in the United States}

_{The longhaired variety of Russian Toy was the first to be imported, bred and sold in America. Its initial name was Moscow Toy Terrier, since the longhaired variety was developed in Moscow by the now famous cynologist Eugenia Zharova. [link to article].}

_{The next name for this longhaired variety was the Russian Longhaired Toy Terrier.}

_{In 2006 the breed was acknowledged by FCI and named Russkiy Toy. The "terrier" was dropped, since it was felt the breed to be solely a companion dog. This is the name now widely accepted by Kennel Clubs around the world. Several Clubs in the US are using this name, such as UKC, NAKC, ARBA & IABCA. The American Kennel Club (AKC) is suggesting to call the breed Russian Toy.}

_{Year 1996 ?}

_{The very first known importers to the US, of the longhaired Russian Toy (then called Moscow Toy Terrier) were Anna Frumina and her then partner Arkady Rotenburg.}

_{On April 27, 1997 we have a photo of two RTs at an ARBA Dog Show at Cherry Blossom Classic., with a Group Placing.}

_{In January 2000, Anna Frumina was stripped of her kennel license and barred from AKC & UKC for 11 years, due to very unhealthy kennel conditions and other charges.}

_{Frumina and her new partner Eugene Zelenyk continued to sell dogs over the internet for a, to us unknown, number of months or years.}

_{[Click here]  for  a 13 page document of great interest.}

_{Year 2000}

_{Sheryl Allred, a breeder from Utah, was the second (known to us) person to import a few Russian Toys to US, for breeding and selling. She sold her dogs on a web site called Mozaika. Ms. Allred never showed her dogs at any venues available at the time. She often spayed/neutered them, it is said, in an effort to stay the only breeder available in the US at the time. She started breeding Russian Toys around 2000. Around 2003-04 there was a Russian breeder whose website was translated in English.  Allred ordered several dogs from this breeder, sent her the money, but never received her shipment of dogs. When she found several more US customers, who had encountered the same problem, they joined forces and alerted the Russkiy Toy Club in Moscow, and Russian Kynological Federation (RKF), also in Moscow. These Clubs barred this particular Russian breeder from their Clubs, until she had made restitution. Naturally, Allred and others did not receive the perfect dogs they had ordered and paid for, but instead they were sent sick and frail RTs. This must have been the ultimate blow, and Mozaika closed down the Russian Toy part of the kennel in 2004.}

_{Year 2004}

_{Anki Larsson bought her first "Moscow Toy Terrier" from Mozaika. She fell in love with the breed and decided to import this elegant and wonderful little dog to the US..The www.aReLeTTe.com kennel was formed in late 2004. Kennel owner Anki Larsson corresponded with Russian, Swedish and Finnish breeders in her effort to find a trustworthy and reputable breeder in the Moscow region. She found the wonderful kennel at Hrustalnaya Mechta, with owner Elena B. Morozova.}

_{Ms. Morozova was put in charge by Ms. Larsson to find the best bitches and stud dogs available, to start the aReLeTTe kennel. Elena found them in her own kennel, as well as 3-4 other reputable, long time RT breeders in the Moscow area.}

This is the front page of a catalog of Russkiy Toy winners in the yearly Russkiy Toy National Dog Show 2009. It is the largest Russkiy Toy show in Russia, with about 250 RTs entered from all over Russia. Our breeder, Elena Borisovna (Morosova) was awarded as the Number 1 Kennel in Russia for smooth dogs. She also won high awards for several of her dogs at this show. That is a great honor for her and for us! She was our principal supplier of Russkiy Toys. We Congratulate Elena on her awards and accomplishments with this wonderful breed!

_{In June of 2005, Ms. Larsson flew to Moscow to meet Ms. Morozova and meet the longhaired Russian Toys chosen for her. Ms. Larsson formed a partnership with Ms. Morozova, and for two years imported about 30 Champion pedigreed Russian Toys. Some stayed in her own kennel and others went to breeders and show fanciers on the mainland US & Hawaii, Canada and Norway.}

_{aReLeTTe brought to US such wonderful Russian Toy dogs as: 1. JrCH RUS, Int'l & Nat'l CH of America, Hrustalnaya Mechta I-Zet.   2. The very first Russkiy Toy CH with UKC & first blue/tan smooth coated RT in US -  Povelitel Vseya Rusi Yaromir (Mr. BLUE).   3. UKC Champion Hrustalnaya Mechta Cenitel Prekrasnogo(Pooh). Phyllis Blaha bought Pooh and had him shown by her groomer/friend for many years, in the venues available in US at the time.}

_{aReLeTTe also brought these fine dams to the US: 1. Int'l & Nat'l CH of America Bulochka S Izuymom.   2. Int'l & Nat'l CH of America Cecilia   3. UKC CH H.M. Klassika Zhanra and  4. Raiskaya Ptichka Malenkaya Vera. They facilitated the purchase of H.M. Nadezhda Rossii (Nadii), UKC GRCH in 2009, 2010.}

CHIKKI - the first long haired Russian Toy		Nellie, one of Chikkis mates

_{Six of the Russian/Russkiy Toys that aReLeTTe imported are direct descendants of the first longhaired RT, named CHIKKI. Chikki is the 11th Great Grandparent to these six dogs. In 2010 there are around 34 dogs in the US from aReLeTTe dogs who are direct descendants in 11-13th generation.}

_{In May of 2011, there were 115 Russian Toys registered with the AKC-FSS.  Over 90 of these dogs have at one time or another belonged to aReLeTTe.}

_{At this time, we estimate that there are about 250 Russian/Russkiy Toys in United States. Russian Toys are allowed to participate in AKC sponsored Agility, Obedience and Rally events.}

 

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Copyright Russian Toy Dog Club of America, Inc. - RTDCA,Inc. April, 2009