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Desyatina


A native system of weights and measures was used in Imperial Russia and after the Russian Revolution, but it was abandoned in 1924 when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system.

The Tatar system is very similar to the Russian one, but some names are different.

The system existed since ancient Rus', but under Peter the Great, the Russian units were redefined relative to the English system. Until Peter the Great the system also used Cyrillic numerals, and only in the 18th century did Peter the Great replace it with the Hindu-Arabic numeral system.

The basic unit is the Russian cubit, called the arshin, which has been in use since the 16th century. It was standardized by Peter the Great in the 18th century to measure exactly twenty-eight English inches (71.12 cm). Thus, 80 vershoks = 20 piads = 5 arshins = 140 English inches (355.60 cm).

A piad (пядь, “palm”, “five”) or chetvert (че́тверть, “quarter”) is a hand span, the distance between ends of the spread thumb and index finger.

Alternative units:

As in many ancient systems of measurement the Russian distinguishes between dry and liquid measurements of capacity. Note that the chetvert appears in both lists with vastly differing values.

Two systems of weight were in use, an ordinary one in common use, and an apothecaries' system.

The pood was first mentioned in a number of documents of the twelfth century. It may still be encountered in documents dealing with agricultural production (especially with reference to cereals), and has been revived in determining weights when casting bells in belfries following the rebirth of the Orthodox Churches in the former Soviet lands. It is also popular in the modern fitness industry of the 21st century, as the pood is used when referencing the weight of a kettlebell, a Russian invention, especially in CrossFit.


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