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Borzois were popular with the Tsars before the 1917 revolution, and for a long time
Borzois could not be purchased but only given as gifts from the Tsar. The most famous breeder was the Russian Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaievich, (son of Nicholas I of Russia), who bred hundreds of
Borzois at Perchino, his private kennel. During Tsarist times, several varieties of wolfhounds were bred; however, after the revolution, many of the Tsarist breeds were neglected. During that time, Russians also performed "hunting tests", to show that
Borzois could actually hold a wolf until the hunter arrived. The wolf hunt itself was organized with riding hunters and Foxhounds on the Russian steppe. When the wolf was sighted, the hunter would release a pair of
Borzois. The Borzois would charge the wolf, attack its neck from both sides, and hold it until the hunter arrived. The classical killing was by the human hunter with a knife.
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