Home › Ancient
Old Russian weights, from the zolotnik to the berkovets. Part of the Ancient Measures collection.
Every unit converts through grams: funt = 409.517 g, zolotnik = funt/96, pud = 40 funts, berkovets = 10 puds. Worked example: a 2-pud kettlebell = 2 × 16.3807 = 32.76 kg (about 72 lb). These are the standardized imperial values; medieval Russian weights varied by city and commodity before standardization.
40 funts, about 16.38 kg (36.1 lb). The pud is still the standard kettlebell weight in strength sports — a ‘two-pud’ bell is 32.8 kg.
1/96 of a funt, about 4.27 g. The name means ‘golden one’ — it weighed gold, silver and coins, and the Russian saying ‘small zolotnik, but precious’ survives.
Ten puds, about 163.8 kg — the wholesale unit for wax and honey, supposedly what one man could roll in a barrel. Named after Birka, in use since the 1100s.
Russian Length Russian Volume Jewish Length Jewish Weight Jewish Volume Roman Weight Chinese Weight Japanese Weight