Russian State Register of Selection Achievements Explained

Table

What is the State Register of Selection Achievements Approved for Use?
Who maintains the register?
What does it mean for a variety to be listed?
How does state variety testing and admission work?
Admitted vs. protected: what is the difference?
How to search the official register step by step
Why it matters for grain growers and trade
FAQ
Sources

The Russian State Register of Selection Achievements Approved for Use is the official list of plant varieties, hybrids and animal breeds cleared for use in Russia. It is kept through the State Variety Commission, an institution tied to the Ministry of Agriculture. A listed plant variety has passed state testing and is admitted for specific regions.

What is the State Register of Selection Achievements Approved for Use?

The register (Государственный реестр селекционных достижений, допущенных к использованию) is the state's documented list of plant varieties and animal breeds admitted for use. It is split into two volumes. Volume 1 covers plant varieties and hybrids, and Volume 2 covers animal breeds.

When consulted in November 2026, the first held 29,261 records and the second 865 records. Plants dominate by a wide margin, and the plant volume spans crops as different as sugar beet, winter rapeseed, spring wheat, sweet pepper and maize.

Who maintains the register?

The register is maintained by the State Variety Commission, formally the FGBU "Gossortkomissiya" (ФГБУ «Госсорткомиссия»), a federal state budgetary institution in Moscow. It answers to the Ministry of Agriculture, and its official website lists its main functions: state variety testing, examination of breeding achievements, drafting the rules for testing and protection, developing testing methods, supplying data to the state registers and storing seed samples.

The Commission also has regional branches, among them offices in North Ossetia–Alania, the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions and Ingushetia. The same site hosts four further lists: the register of protected breeding achievements (8,069 entries), a register of license agreements (48,138 entries), a register of originators and the animal breed volume.

What does it mean for a variety to be listed?

A listed variety has been admitted for use in Russia; for plants, admission is tied to one or more of 12 numbered regions. Admission is permission, not a yield guarantee. Farmers still choose by climate, soil and management, as this overview of climate-resilient varieties explains.

The twelve regions run from Northern (1) and North-Western (2) through Central (3), Volga-Vyatka (4) and the Central Black Earth region (5) to North Caucasian (6), Middle Volga (7), Lower Volga (8), Urals (9), West Siberian (10), East Siberian (11) and Far Eastern (12).

A real row shows how this reads. A spring bread wheat entered in 2023 is admitted in regions 7 and 9, the Middle Volga and the Urals. A winter rapeseed line entered in 2024 carries the note that it is a "00-type", meaning low in erucic acid and glucosinolates. Each entry is a row with these columns:

Column	What it tells you
Genus and species	The crop or animal group, with its crop group in brackets
Code	The register's identifier for the entry
Name	The variety, hybrid or breed name
Year	Year of the entry
Admission regions	Regions (1–12) where use is admitted
Category	Variety, line, simple hybrid, F1 hybrid, cross, parent component, breed and similar types
Use direction	Intended use, such as brewing, fodder, sugar, technical or table
Consumption period	Seasonal timing of use
Ripening group	From very early to very late, plus a remontant class
Plant type	Growth habit, such as parthenocarpic cucumbers
Growing conditions	Protected ground, garden plot, irrigation or commercial production
Form	Shape of the fruit, such as cylindrical, round or pear-shaped

Not every column is filled for every entry, and animal entries use only a few.

How does state variety testing and admission work?

State variety testing is the official evaluation of a new variety before it can be admitted for use. The Commission publishes its testing methods, crop descriptions, admission regions and light zones in a dedicated section. In general terms the path runs like this:

The breeder or originator submits an application for admission. The Commission says applications go in electronically through the Gosuslugi government portal.
The variety is tested under the Commission's published methods.
The results are evaluated against the crop's description and regional conditions.
If the variety is admitted, it is entered in the register with its admission regions.

Criteria vary by crop and year, and the Commission's documents section holds the current rules.

Admitted vs. protected: what is the difference?

An admitted variety is cleared for use; a protected one carries a breeder's exclusive right. The two lists are separate, and a variety can be in one without the other.

	Register of admitted achievements	Register of protected achievements
Purpose	Permission to use the variety	Exclusive right for the breeder
Question it answers	Can it be used, and where?	Who holds the rights?
Where listed	Volumes 1 and 2 of the register	Separate register on the same official site
Size at consultation	29,261 plant and 865 animal records	8,069 entries

Internationally, breeders' rights are the field of UPOV, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. Its site lists 80 members covering 99 states and says 93% of plant variety protection applications are covered by its test guidelines.

How to search the official register step by step

The official interface is in Russian, so a browser translation tool helps. Searching works like this:

Open the Commission's website and go to the Registry section.
Choose Volume 1 (plants) or Volume 2 (animal breeds).
Use the filters: admission region (1–12), light zone (I–VII), category, use direction, season, ripening group, plant type, growing conditions or form.
Press "Уточнить поиск" (refine search) to apply them, or "Сбросить" to reset.
Read the results table. Volume 1 is paginated over 1,394 pages of 21 entries each, so filtering first saves time.

The category filter is a useful shortcut for breeders and seed buyers. It separates, for example, simple hybrids, three-line hybrids and lines, which are otherwise mixed together under one crop name.

Why it matters for grain growers and trade

For wheat and other cereals, the register shows which varieties are admitted in each region, a starting point for comparing options. Pair it with guidance on managing a wheat crop and what drives cereal yields.

For the market side, see Russia's grain exports and the wheat production outlook. Regional admission is why a wheat variety bred for the Middle Volga is not automatically an option in West Siberia.

FAQ

What is the State Register of Selection Achievements?

It is the official list of plant varieties, hybrids and animal breeds admitted for use in Russia, published in two volumes by the State Variety Commission.

Who runs the register?

The State Variety Commission, a federal institution linked to the Ministry of Agriculture, maintains it.

How many regions of admission are there?

Plant entries use 12 numbered regions, from Northern (1) to Far Eastern (12).

Can I search the register in English?

The official interface is in Russian. The steps above can be followed with the browser's translation tool.

Is a listed variety also patented?

Not necessarily. Admission for use and protection of breeders' rights are recorded in separate registers.

Sources

State Variety Commission (FGBU "Gossortkomissiya") official website, Registry section
State Register of Selection Achievements Approved for Use, Volume 1: plant varieties and hybrids
State Register of Selection Achievements Approved for Use, Volume 2: animal breeds
UPOV, International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants