Few dogs exemplify elegance the way a Borzoi does, and few breeds can claim as dramatic a history. At one time before the Russian Revolution, there were seven large Borzoi kennels in Russia: Perchino, Ozeroff, Boldaroff, Tscebischoff, Sumarokoff, Gejeroff and Bibikoff. Six of the kennels, and all the dogs, were destroyed during the first years of USSR because of their association with nobility and the Czars.

In the old days, Russian estates were miles and miles apart, and every estate’s kennel was like an island in an ocean. Consequently, the vastness of Russia contributed to what we would call “varieties of type” in the breed. One source we found reported that before the revolution, old Russian kennels bred their dogs, in part, for a specific color because hunting parties often included over 100 dogs that generally worked in teams. The teams could attack a wolf from two different sides, and pin it to the ground until the hunter arrived to either finish the kill, or set the animal free. From a distance, and usually on horseback, owners were able to determine whose dogs had cornered the wolf by the dogs’ color. Today, the AKC’s Borzoi standard recognizes eighteen colors and nine markings.