The Russian blue is a fine-boned cat with a long, firm, muscular
body that is lithe and graceful without being tubular after the fashion
of Oriental breeds. The Russian's head is a smooth, medium
wedge, neither long and tapering nor short and massive. The
muzzle is blunt without an exaggerated whisker break. The top of
the skull is long and flat in profile, descending gently to a point
just above the eyes and continuing at a slight downward angle
in a straight line to the tip of the medium-length nose. There is
no stop or nose break, and the length of the nose should be
shorter than the length of the line from the top of the skull to the eyes.

Wide-set, vivid-green eyes, at least one eye width apart, confer a
broad look to the Russian blue's face. The eyes, according to
most observers, should be round, or just oval enough to show
[an] oriental slant.

Large ears -- wide at the base, and more pointed than rounded
-- crown the Russian blue head. The ears are set far apart, as
much on the side of the head as on the top.

The Russian blue has a short, dense, fine double coat that stands out from the body.
In a double coat the two outermost layers of hair -- the guard hairs and the awn hairs
-- are the same length. Normally guard hairs are longer than awn hairs, which, in
turn, are longer than down hairs. An even, bright blue throughout, the soft, silky
coat has silver- tipped guard hairs that give the Russian blue a shimmering,
lustrous appearance.