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During the Imperial era, quality transport for Russian officials was riding in a horse-drawn open carriage called a droshky. The one pictured below has springs on each wheel, providing a much smoother ride than an unsprung vehicle would.

  • When did chains or leather strap suspensions become common in Russian carriages?

  • When did spring suspensions become common in Russian carriages?

sample droshky

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    I might have asked on "Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair" if not for the word "Motor".
    – user18968
    Commented Mar 13, 2017 at 17:22
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    Are you interested in suspensions exactly like that one? Wikipedia suggests that these were preceded by literal suspensions, on chains or leather bands. These were much more common outside of Western Europe because they did not need advanced metallurgy to produce.
    – SPavel ♦
    Commented Mar 13, 2017 at 21:20
  • @SPavel No, I guess I am interested in the introduction of both sorts of suspensions.
    – user18968
    Commented Mar 14, 2017 at 1:02

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(*)In Europe carriage suspension (on chains) is recorded in visual images and written accounts from the 14th century ('chars branlant' or rocking carriages), and was in widespread use by the 15th century.

(*)Julian Munby, ‘From Carriage to Coach: What Happened?’, in Robert Bork and Andrea Kann (eds) The art, science, and technology of medieval travel (Ashgate, 2008), pp.41–53.

Introduced to Europe during the Renaissance. The Renaissance and Reformation both reached Russia via Peter the Great's Grand Embassy 1697–1698.

See the Russian Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century and the Shadow of the Past. under the heading Idea's of Europe.. page 398 and

Wiki. Peter the Great's Grand Embassy. for dates.

So that's probable a fair guess as to when they got suspensions on their carriages.

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