Historical Russian units of measurement

Historical Russian units of measurement were standardized and used in the Russian Empire but were abandoned in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) after 1918, and officially replaced on 21 July 1925, when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system.

History

Before the reign of Peter the Great (1682–1725), Russia had its own traditional systems of measurement. From the 12th to 15th centuries, during the period of political fragmentation, Russian systems of measurement were diverse until the emergence of an all-Russian system of measurement.

Although Peter is sometimes believed to have replaced Russian units with English units, in reality, he did not significantly change Russian units. Instead, the Russian units were redefined relative to the English system. He also did not apply Russian units in areas where the Russians had limited experience, such as in shipyards. The system also used Cyrillic numerals until the 18th century, when Peter the Great replaced it with the Hindu–Arabic numeral system.

The metric system was used from 1899 and remained legally optional from 1900 until it was made compulsory in the Russian SFSR in 1918.

Length

The basic unit was the Russian ell, called the arshin, which is known in sources from the 16th century. The lokot (elbow) was replaced around this time.