ИСТИНА

A brief historical overview of arachnological research (excluding acarology) in Russia is provided. The three main periods are described as follows: (1) preliminary data accumulation (eighteenth century – 1860s); (2) descriptive faunistics (1870s – 1967); and (3) descriptive taxonomy (1968 – present). A fourth, analytical period, is still under way. Three main arachnological groups, or schools, can be recognized in Russia, based on Perm University, Leningrad (St. Petersburg) University, in cooperation with Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Moscow Lomonosov University. Calculations of the number of spider species in the post-Soviet republics and different physiographical areas are provided on the basis of the latest, 2013 revision based on comprehensive literature data covering more than 2,600 sources published between 1770 and June 2013. 3,340 spider species belonging to 629 genera and 50 families are recorded from the ex-USSR territory. History of this project started in 1981 is briefly overviewed. In addition, renewed data on pseudoscorpion fauna of the same territories are provided.