The breed has been known as the Archangielsk Maltese cat, blue archangel
cat (after the Russian harbour from which it was first brought to Great
Britain in the mid-1850's;) American blue, Spanish blue cat. Today they are
known simply as the Russian Blue cat.

Russian legend says that bringing a blue cat into the house means good luck
and happiness.

Early records, from data written by an unnamed Englishman, says that these
cats were bred in Russia for their fur. In 1902 he wrote:
"The cats were transported in many caravans ... it convinced us there was a lot of variety of blue cats that came from Asiatic Russia. A lot of beautiful furs originate from Russia, in reality they were the coat of the blue cats".
The Russian Blue cat we know today is not bred for fur production.
It is probable that Russian sailors, sailing between Mediterranean
countries and Russia, brought the cats on aboard before settling in
Archangielsk. These cats' offspring later traveled as ships cats with
sailors to England where they caught the interested of English breeders.
These British cat fanciers refined the cats to what we know today - amazing
emerald green eyes accompanied by the original fur - fat and soft, thick,
nice in touch - plush.

The Russian Blue cat is a happy, loyal companion. The breed has many
advantages: often calm, intelligent, bright, gentle, emotional, it is also
brave, clean and easy to live with. Very often at shows people ask me:
"..and they destroyed what..?" I always smile because it's hard to believe
that these blue mascots travel with me everywhere, They accompany me often
on trips, and when they must stay home they wait politely and look through
the window longingly.
My 3 month old American Curl female is a small hurricane in comparison
to the Russian kittens.