This timeline of Russian innovation encompasses key events in the history of technology in Russia.
The entries in this timeline fall into the following categories:
indigenous invention, like airliners, AC transformers, radio receivers, television, artificial satellites, ICBMs uniquely Russian products, objects and events, like Saint Basil's Cathedral, Matryoshka dolls, Russian vodka products and objects with superlative characteristics, like the Tsar Bomba, the AK-47, and the Typhoon-class submarine scientific and medical discoveries, like the periodic law, vitamins and stem cells
This timeline includes scientific and medical discoveries, products and technologies introduced by various peoples of Russia and its predecessor states, regardless of ethnicity, and also lists inventions by naturalized immigrant citizens. Certain innovations achieved internationally may also appear in this timeline in cases where the Russian side played a major role in such projects.
Kievan Rus'
10th century
Kokoshnik
The kokoshnik is a traditional Russian head-dress for women. It is patterned to match the style of the sarafan and can be pointed or round. It is tied at the back of the head with long thick ribbons in a large bow. The forehead is sometimes decorated with pearls or other jewelry. The word kokoshnik appeared in the 16th century, however the earliest head-dress pieces of a similar type were found in the 10th to 12th century burials in Veliky Novgorod. It was worn by girls and women on special occasions until the Russian Revolution, and was subsequently introduced into Western fashion by Russian émigrés. Kvass / Okroshka Kvass or kvas, sometimes called in English a "bread drink", is a fermented beverage made from black rye or rye bread, which contributes to its light or dark colour. By the content of alcohol resulted from fermentation, it is classified as non-alcoholic: up to 1.2% of alcohol, which is so low that it is considered acceptable for consumption by children. While the early low-alcoholic prototypes of kvass were known in some ancient civilizations, its modern, almost non-alcoholic form originated in Eastern Europe. Kvass was first mentioned in the Russian Primary Chronicle, which tells how Prince Vladimir the Great gave kvass among other beverages to the people, while celebrating the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. Kvass is also known as a main ingredient in okroshka, a Russian cold soup. Multidomed church The multidomed church is a typical form of Russian church architecture, which distinguishes Russia from other Eastern Orthodox nations and Christian denominations. Indeed, the earliest Russian churches built just after the Christianization of Kievan Rus', were multi-domed, which led some historians to speculate what Russian pre-Christian pagan temples might have looked like. Namely, these early churches were 13-domed wooden Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (989) and 25-domed stone Desyatinnaya Church in Kiev (989–996). The number of domes typically has a symbolical meaning in Russian architecture, for example 13 domes symbolize Christ with 12 Apostles, while 25 domes mean the same with additional 12 Prophets from the Old Testament. Multiple domes of Russian churches were often made of wood and were comparatively smaller than the Byzantine domes. Kissel Kissel or kisel is a dessert that consists of sweetened juice, typically that of berries, thickened with oats, cornstarch or potato starch, with red wine or dried fruits added sometimes. The dessert can be served either hot or cold, and if made using less thickening starch it can be consumed as a beverage, which is common in Russia. Kissel was mentioned for the first time in the Primary Chronicle, where it forms part of the story of how a besieged Russian city was saved from nomadic Pechenegs.