Russian Abacus (Schoty) schoty.jpg (15195 bytes) This Russian
abacus from my collection is rather old because the quarter
kopek row still exists. It is also made of oak while more modern
ones usually are made of cheaper birch. The size is 25 times 40
cm:  much larger than normal chinese and japanese abacuses.
There also exist smaller Russian abacuses, but this is the most
common size I have seen.  Russian abacusses are different from
the oriental ones.  The row has only four pegs for quarter
rubles.  Older models (like the one in the picture) have a
similar lower row for quarter kopeks, too.  J.M. Pullan in his
"The History of the Abacus", 1968, uses the word "Russian
schoty" or only "schoty". The catalogue of the Science Museum in
London uses the term "Russian abacus (stchoty)". The word
schoty/stchoty is the original Russian term translitterated from
Cyrillic alphabet in English." Timo Leipala.  Photo is courtesy
of: Timo Leipala.  X-Number World