click here for a picture of one!

yes, i really am coming back to this forum topic wanting to get yet another rare russian breed added to the game aha :,) 

anyway. here's some info about the breed below! 

i love german shepherds so i love this breed too, and i find it super interesting, especially since I am finishing up a degree in Russian History with an emphasis on Soviet/KGB international relations history. if you don't want to read the little blurb below, essentially this breed is a working class dog primarily used as a military/police or guard dog, and was the breed used by the KGB. it shares many qualities with the german shepherd, however it is larger, and has a bit of a thicker coat which is suited for the severe russian winter temperatures. it is a paler color then the GSD as well. 

DISCLAIMER - - - - i also want to make it perfectly clear just in case that i'm not in any way romanticising the KGB or the USSR. the USSR is responsible for millions of deaths as well as extreme oppression, including a mass genocide in ukraine known as the holodomor. i am by no means a sympathizer or romanticizer at all. i have close family who escaped the communist bloc of eastern europe and its horrific oppression (ranging from religious oppression, oppression of homosexuality, antisemiticism & others). i know many, both family and friends in local russian, ukrainian & polish communities, who are still mourning the loss of loved ones. they have yet to recieve recognition or closure for the deaths of their loved ones at the hands of Stalin, seeing as the Russian Federation still refuses to recognize the mass graves of bodies that were created under his leadership. and it is because of this personal connection & the enduring pain of my loved ones that i developed an interest in this subject in the first place. any references or interest in the subject of the USSR by me is solely an interest borne out of observance of the complexities and horror of its regime, and is also purely of academic nature, as i am a history and a russian foreign policy major. just want to clarify this, because i know that the history of this breed heavily involves the USSR/KGB, and I know that is a sensitive subject to those with personal/familial connections to former Soviet republics!!!

other names for the breed include the byelorusian shepherd, the byelorussian ovcharka, or the vostochno evropeiskaya ovcharka (VEO)

BREED ORIGINS 

"The East European Shepherd breed was developed by selectively breeding from the old-style German Shepherd lines to local dogs, reportedly including Ovcharkas and Laikas, to produce a larger dog that was capable of performing in and withstanding some of the harshest environments of the former USSR. The breeding program was carried out by the Soviet Union in the early 1920s in Byelorussia (Belarus), and for this reason, the dogs are also known as the Byelorussian Ovcharka. The breed type was established and fixed by the 1930s-1950s. These dogs became a fixture of the KGB, particularly those adorned in a jet black coat. Litters bred to KGB kennels that included any coat color other than black were destroyed, and mating between the parent dogs was never repeated. These dogs were used extensively in the military and police work for patrol, apprehension, and detection. 

Eventually, the dogs were released to the public, and restrictions on colors lessened. Today, the breed is seen in a variety of coat colors and patterns. The East European Shepherd remains one of the more popular breeds throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union, but the dogs are still considered quite rare in other countries, including the United States."¹

¹ source: https://ckcusa.com/breeds/east-european-shepherd/

BREED CHARACTERISITICS 

east european shepherds are larger than the average german shepherd. the average male east european shepherd will reach 67-72cm in height (to withers), and the average female will reach an average of 62-68cm in height. males can be between 85-131 pounds and females between 75-110 pounds. 

their coats are considerably thick, and slightly coarse in texture to help them in the winter. their tails are long, and evenly coated with thick fur. they have wolflike facial features, with tapered muzzle and tall, upright ears. their eyes are intelligent and expressive. the accepted coat colors range from full black, pale brown with a black saddle, marking, black and tan, or wolf grey. 

personality wise, these dogs are extremely loyal and are considered to be one-person dogs, meaning that they typically form a very strong bond with one person, and are not as interested in others. because of this, it is near impossible to rehome them. they are extremely trainable and intelligent, with high energy that requires stimulation. these dogs are not the most sociable dogs. they are regarded to be top-class guard or watch dogs because of their fierce loyalty to the protection of their owners. they are naturally suspicious of strangers and other dogs. they are great police, military & working dogs. 

LINKS!! 

RKF document (a GREAT overview of the breed's history & characteristics! my favorite source regarding this breed): http://rkf.org.ru/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/vostochnoevropejskaja-ang.pdf

overview of dog by Continential Kennel Club: https://ckcusa.com/breeds/east-european-shepherd/

the Russian east european shepherd/VEO organization/breed standard association: (sorry, it is in Russian! no english version. It is basically listing information about the breed) http://www.veorkf.ru/node/311

RECOGNITION

this is the only thing I am not sure about -- the breed is so exceedingly rare to the west that it is not recognized or even really heard of in the US, so the AKC does not have any information or recognition for it. I could not find anything for the FCI either. However, the Russian equivalent of the AKC (the RKF) recognizes the breed! And a few others do too, listed below:

 Continential Kennel Club: https://ckcusa.com/breeds/east-european-shepherd/

Finnish Kennel Club: (cannot read Finnish so I have no idea how to navigate the site, but the Wikipedia entry on them lists their recognized breeds): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomen_Kennelliitto#cite_note-uusia-4

Swedish Kennel Club (cannot find it on this site, but everywhere I read stated that this one recognized it? not sure what to do about that): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svenska_Kennelklubben

Russian kynological federation: http://rkf.org.ru (there is an english version if you click the button in the top right hand corner I think!) 

current supporters

1. me 

2. nadhima

3. sitric

4. lostea

5. jaya 

6. goose 

I'd try them out. I love GSD! They'd work well with my GSD. We could also possibly train a couple pairs on our shared account too since we dont have any dogs on there.

ahh yay nad!!! yes that's true!! and i love GSDs too, so I thought this breed was super neat! I'll add your name to the list! :) 

Id be interested in doing a partner with somebody on them.

ahhh yay, awesome!!! i will add your name to the list!!!! 

only 2 more people needed now!

I would definitely breed them if they were added! (:

Yay!!! Almost there!

ahhh yay @Lostea!!! :) we are super close now!

Sure, I'd start a pair

ahhh yay, awesome @jaya!!!! i'll send a message to koni about it since i think that makes it to where we have enough now!! 

I am absolutely starting a pair when they are added! I love german shepherds and socialism so yay commie-dogs ;)

german shepherds are great!! my soft spot for them certainly is what led to this breed catching my eye when i noticed their existence haha. 

on the other subject mentioned - i also want to make it perfectly clear in general, just in case anyone gets the wrong idea (especially anyone of eastern descent) that i'm not in any way romanticising the KGB or the USSR. the USSR is responsible for millions of deaths as well as extreme oppression, including a mass genocide in ukraine known as the holodomor. i am by no means a USSR/Marxism sympathizer or romanticizer at all. i have very close family who escaped the communist bloc of eastern europe and its horrific oppression (both religious oppression and oppression of sexual preference, personal freedoms, and just human rights in general). i know many, both family and close friends from my local russian, polish, and ukrainian communities, who are still mourning the loss of loved ones. they are still hurting to this day. they have yet to recieve recognition or closure for the deaths of their loved ones at the hands of Stalin, seeing as the Russian Federation still refuses to recognize the mass graves of bodies that were created under his leadership. and it is because of this personal connection & the enduring pain of my loved ones that i developed an interest in this subject in the first place. any references or interest in the subject of the USSR by me is solely an interest borne out of observance of the complexities and horror of its regime, and is also purely of academic nature, as i am a history and a russian foreign policy major. if you want to romanticize the USSR, that is your personal right, but i will not do so, ever. i just want to make that clear so nobody gets the wrong idea regarding the roots of my personal interest in the subject!! :) there is no disrespect to those connected to the former USSR intended.

Apologies if my comment seemed to belittle the regime's atrocities... I am aware of the massive failures that each ideology carries. It looks like we should abolish hierarchical structures that create systems of inequality and learn from our collective past. Again, I did not mean to cause offense. I am certain that the people of both the USSR and modern day Russia would encourage us to do so.

I agree with your comment that we should "learn from our collective past," @goose. History is not just history. We should learn from it so we don't make the same mistakes again.

yes i agree fully @nad!! it's so super important to learn from history! that's the reason i study it. it's the best way to ensure that the same mistakes that hurt so many in the past are not made again. 

and anyway, i'm not trying to start a political debate haha! i didn't mean to do so with my response. my disclaimer was put there in general for anyone who might then become confused or get the wrong idea. i know many with slavic roots who always feel very hurt and invisible when there is romanticization of the soviet regime, or denial of the genocides & human rights violations committed by said regime. so! i just wanted to make my personal standing clear so that anyone potentially reading this with similar roots or connections to such countries would not then take offense to my interest in the subject in general!! or misinterpret me for being at all in favor of political structures that had hurt them so badly. 

but anyway & more on topic, we have enough supporters now!! i contacted koni once we hit 5, so fingers crossed that these can be added & that the RKF recognition of the breed is enough!!! (or maybe the continential kennel club's recognition, though i have no idea if that one is legit or not :P)

i'm so excited to get started on these!! they are such pretty bbies!!! (& huge. 130 pounds, gee whiz, had no idea they were that big till i made this post lol) 

hey guys, this breed has been added by Koni as of this morning!!!! :) 

Awesome! I'm going to go get a pair and put them with my GSD since they look so similar!

I will add mine to my hound account for now. Since thats the only place I have open at the moment.