First encounter

Ozzy found a new playmate in the forest yesterday. We came across Lara, a beautiful Russian Black Terrier. Quite a rare breed here in Western Europe. In fact, it was the first time I came across this breed. She was beautiful and did not mind Ozzy’s wild manners. Her owner, who was about my age, pointed out that she called her Lara after the character in Doctor Zhivago and not after Lara Croft!
During the 1930's, a military kennel named the Red Star, in Moscow, started working on a native breed that would be part of the national security force. Attempting to create the breed at that time was quite a challenge due to the slaughter of much of the purebred dog stock during the Russian Revolution, and additional depletion of pure stock during the World War and economic disasters.
Their breeding program came to life after World War II by working on selective interbreeding using giant Schnauzer, Rottweiler, Airedale and Newfoundland breeds. All in all, a total of 17 breeds were used to create the Black Russian Terrier. It was important to have a large breed, not only reliable but highly trainable in many different situations. The dog would also have to be able to endure the harsh Russian winters.

The dogs were initially used by the military police at border crossings, prisons, and military installations. In 1956 the Red Star Kennel released dogs to private breeders. The first breed standard was created by the Red Army in 1958, and was revised several times before 1981. In 1981, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture recognized the breed and it was internationally accepted by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale) in 1984.