Breed history
The Borzoi finds its origin in Russia, which has been present for more than 900 years. It is said to be descended from wildlife, such as the Saluki and the Pharaoh Hound. This Russian Greyhound was a bit of a nobility dog, intended to catch game for Russian aristocrats and culture. Thus, the Borzois were notably present at the wedding of Anna, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kyiv, in the 11th century. The latter would have been escorted by 3 Borzois when she married King Henry 1st: a black, a gray, a fawn.
In the 17th century, Christian von Lessing wrote a book in which we find for the first time a physical description of the Borzoi. Naturally, then, the popularity of this dog was undeniable while in the 18th century, hunting with hounds was in full swing in Russia.
However, Tsar Alexander II decided in 1861 to abolish serfdom. This causes a very significant regression of the breed. The maintenance becomes particularly expensive, and the Borzoi is more discreet and rarer. However, it is exported to England, France, and the United States, which has allowed its conservation. Especially since in 1917, the Russian revolution ended the breed in its country of origin. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale recognized the breed in 1956.
Many Russian celebrities have owned Borzois, including Tsars Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Nicholas II, and writers and poets Pushkin and Turgenev. It then gradually spread to Western Europe and America from the end of the 19th century. Finally, the breed was definitively recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale on January 13, 1956.
