The Russian Shorthair is the continuation of the Russian Blue breed originally accepted in 1955. The current Russian Blue breed is a new breed accepted since 2011.  The Russian Shorthair is a slender, dainty cat-- long, svelte and graceful. It belongs to the group known as "foreign type". This fine boning and slenderness is only shared with the Korat and the Oriental Shorthair. The Russian Shorthair appear to be heavier in stature due to their double coats. It is a medium-sized cat with the body of a swimmer rather than a wrestler. The double coat sets the Russian Shorthair apart from the other shorthair cats. This is a coat made of very dense short hair that stands out from the body at a 45 degree angle. Each guard hair is tipped in silver, giving the cat a very shimmering appearance. The texture of the coat should feel like a silk scarf in your hands –soft and luxurious. It should be dense enough to leave your fingerprints in the coat also.  There should be no tabby marks or stripes in the adult coat. Kittens may have faint rings on the tail.Another feature of the breed is eye color. The eye color is a brilliant green that can range from apple-green to deep jade almost a blue-green. The brilliant emerald green is preferred in the show ring. No yellow is allowed in the eyes of adults. The eye shape is almost round, just oval enough to show an oriental slant. Eyes are set one eye width or more apart.

The Russian Shorthair has a high fore-head, with the top of skull flat and narrow, smoothly curving into the back of the neck. Face is broad at eye level and looks even broader due to thick fur at side of head. Medium length straight nose looks upturned from almost any view except profile due to light reflection. Neck is long but does not appear so in repose, due again to thick fur. There are seven planes on the head –each counted separately, giving an almost serpent-like profile when the ears are held down. The ears are rather large and wide at the base, as they are tall, and set far apart as much into side as top of head. Ears look pointed, as hair tufts finish off where the slightly rounded tips stop. Inside furnishings cover approximately one-half of the otherwise bare, translucent ear area. The outside of the ears are completely covered with short, fine hair. There should be no doming (roundness of skull) between the ears.

Many stories have been discussed but some proof has come from both England and Russia as to their origins. The breed has gone through various names such as Archangel, Maltese, Foreign Blue and Russian Blue. Fur trading and shipping may have had some bearing on their ability to be located in many countries.