It originated from cross-breeding of native Orlov Trotter horses with imported American Standardbred stock from about 1890; by about 1950 the Russian Trotter breed was considered established, although some cross-breeding with American stallions continued.

[2]: 314  A stud-book was established in 1927;[1] in 1989 it ran to 23 volumes.

[2]: 315 The Russian Trotter is widely distributed, from the Baltic to Siberia.

In 1989 there were approximately 290,000 in the USSR, of which some 27,000 were considered purebred.

This horse breed–related article is a stub.