Introduction
If you are interested in the Borzoi, I don’t just want to give you dry facts, but to explain, through the eyes of an enthusiast, why this dog is the way it is, and how it became what we know today. The Borzoi is not simply “a beautiful sighthound.” It is the result of centuries of selective breeding, cultural importance and strict selection, shaped by landscape, hunting traditions, climate and human preference.
The Beginnings: Where Wind and Hunt Met
The roots of the Borzoi reach far back. According to the current standard of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), the breed’s history dates to the 15th century, during the Mongol invasions. At that time, Tatar rulers brought short-coated sighthounds of Arabian origin, called “Koutsi" into Russian territories. Russian hunters, on the other hand, used sturdy, rough-coated hunting dogs (such as the “Loshaya” type) strong enough to tackle large game. A cross between these lines, Koutsi × Loshaya (or similar types), is considered an early precursor of the Borzoi.
Later, especially in the 16th–17th centuries, further bloodlines were added, including from the western Polish Greyhound (Chart Polski), strengthening the noble, streamlined type.
This created a dog that combined:
• the speed of a sighthound
• the substance and weather-resistant coat of a Russian hunting dog
This early Russian sighthound was a true visual hunter, suitable for hare, deer, wolf and other game, whether in forest, steppe or open land.
Early Diversity: Different Types and Regional Lines
Over time, different types developed in Russia depending on region, climate and hunting purpose. Some dogs were robust, densely coated and heavier in build, ideal for colder, wooded areas. Others were lighter, more refined and faster, suited for wide steppes or very swift game.
In the 19th century, kennels and noble estates introduced additional sighthound breeds into their breeding programs: besides Greyhounds, various “mountain sighthounds,” Crimean, Caucasian or short-coated sighthounds. This diversity led to a wide range of appearances and abilities within the Russian hunting sighthound.
The Borzoi’s ancestors were therefore not a single uniform type, but a heterogeneous group of sighthounds bred for different environments and requirements.
Borzoi Cigarette card - Sinclair - Champion dogs, 1938
From Old Type to Modern Borzoi: Unification and Standardization
By the 19th century, these old, regionally adapted types were increasingly mixed. Many lines merged, and clear distinctions faded over time.
To counter this, efforts toward unification began.
At the first major exhibition of Russian sighthound enthusiasts (the first meeting of breeders and hunters) in 1874, it was already evident that the former “gusto-psovaya” type had nearly disappeared. Eventually, in 1888, Nikolai Petrovich Ermolov, a breeder whose family had over 200 years of experience in Borzoi breeding, wrote the first official modern breed standard for the “Imperial Hunting Society.”
This marked the beginning of the process of forming a single “Borzoi” from the previous diversity, with clearly defined proportions, coat, head, and body structure. These principles became the foundation for all later standards, even after the end of the Russian Empire.
Beckmann, L - Borzoi- r- standing, 1895
The Borzoi and the Nobility: Large Kennels, Hunting and Export
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Borzoi breeding was strongly shaped by large noble kennels, such as the famous Perchino kennel of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov, who gathered dogs from across the empire to create ideal hounds for the “great hunt.”
These breeding programs combined performance and elegance: powerful, energetic dogs with an aristocratic appearance. Many Borzois later exported to Europe and the USA (late 19th / early 20th century) came from such kennels.
Decline: Revolution and the Loss of Old Diversity
With the 1917 Revolution and the fall of the Tsarist regime, the Borzoi lost its social foundation. Many noble estates, kennels and breeding programs disappeared or were heavily diminished.
The Borzoi was considered a “symbol of the upper class,” which cost many dogs their lives.
However, exports to Europe and America had already created populations outside Russia, these played a crucial role in preserving the breed.
Rebuilding and Modern Times: Show Lines vs. Working/Performance Lines
Throughout the 20th century, different breeding directions emerged:
In many Western countries, a show-oriented type developed: elegance, long lines, striking coat and visual appearance became more important than the original hunting function.
In Russia and among traditional enthusiasts, interest remained in functional dogs: strong runners, agile and suitable for coursing, hunting or work, preserving performance and character.
According to the current FCI standard (published in 2019), the Borzoi is defined as a:
“Russian hunting sighthound, used for coursing and racing, hare and fox chase, less for wolf hunting,”
meaning it is still regarded as a hunting sighthound, even though working use has declined in many countries.
Today, therefore, two (not strictly separated) types exist:
Show lines: very elegant, sometimes with compromises in substance and performance
Working/performance lines: generally stronger, more functional in build, with an emphasis on agility and endurance
Show line VS Working line
Let’s look at these two females. One is a typical show-line Borzoi, the other a typical working-line Borzoi. Can you see the structural differences? I’m going to talk about this in the section "Body and Structure."
What We Know Today: What Is Certain, What Remains Unclear
It is certain that the Borzoi has a long history based on crosses between Oriental sighthounds (of Arabian origin) and native Russian dogs.
It is also certain that the modern standard traces back to the 1888 draft, and that unification began in the late 19th century.
Myths such as “the Borzoi comes purely from the Saluki” are strong oversimplifications. In reality, many influences shaped the breed: European, Caucasian, Polish and short-coated hunting dogs, depending on region and need.
Extensive documentation of early “regional types” is often questionable today. Old kennels disappeared, many lines merged, and certain old types can no longer be reconstructed with certainty.
The idea of two “original types” (robust-compact with dense coat vs. lighter, more refined for open terrain) and their later blending fits within what is considered a plausible historical development. Literature describes similar scenarios: crosses of Arabian sighthounds with local, sturdier dogs, regionally adapted lines, and gradual 19th-century unification into a single aristocratic sighthound.
However, clear, unequivocal proof of strictly defined historical “Gustopsovaya” and “Psovaya” types is rare in reliable literature.
Some sources explicitly state that due to extensive crossbreeding by the late 19th century, “no pure old Borzois” existed anymore.
One cannot claim with certainty that all described types (and their exact characteristics) existed precisely as written.
Nevertheless, as a hypothesis and guiding idea, especially for enthusiasts who value function, diversity and history alongside show ideals. It serves as a reminder that the Borzoi was originally not a show dog, but a functional, versatile hunting sighthound, and that diversity and robustness may be too valuable to sacrifice for purely aesthetic reasons.
So today, when we look at a Borzoi, we see the result of centuries of breeding, crossing, ideals and practical use, but not necessarily what existed 300–400 years ago.
