Until the twentieth century it was found only on the small island of Gotland on the south-eastern coast of Sweden.

[7] The presence of feral horses on the Baltic island of Gotland is documented from the thirteenth century.

[5]: 469  From the mid-nineteenth century settlers moved to the island, much land was cleared for farming, and numbers of the Russ fell sharply.

[8]: 388 [9] In 1880 a breeding centre was established, where two stallions of Oriental type were used; other stud farms were opened in the early twentieth century.

[9] In the 1950s fresh blood was introduced by the use of two imported Welsh stallions, Reber General 106 and Criban Daniel 142; their influence is widespread in the population, but at a low percentage.