# Roofing in Russia

> Russian roofing: timber tent roofs, onion domes clad in aspen shingles, painted sheet iron, Soviet asbestos slate and flat panel-block roofs, and today's metal tile.

- URL: https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-russia/
- Topic: Roofing Around the World
- Also known as: Russian roofing; roofs in Russia
- Regions: Europe, Arctic
- First published: 2026-11-02 · Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
- Cite as: "Roofing in Russia." roof.wiki. https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-russia/

## Key facts

- **Dominant material today:** Metal roofing, about 67% of low-rise pitched roofing (2024)
- **Traditional forms:** Tent roof, barrel roof, onion dome
- **Asbestos-cement production:** Began 1908 in Bryansk
- **Roof code:** SP 17.13330 "Roofs"
- **Key load:** Snow

Russia's vast territory spans temperate forests, steppe, Siberian permafrost and Arctic coasts, and most of it has long, cold winters with substantial snow. Its roofing tradition grew from timber, producing the tent roof, the barrel roof and the onion dome, often clad in carved aspen shingles. In the 18th and 19th centuries painted sheet iron spread through towns, the Soviet period brought corrugated asbestos-cement "slate" (*shifer*) and the flat roofs of mass panel housing, and today steel roofing dominates new low-rise construction.

## Climate and hazards

Heavy snow loads, ice dams at eaves and falling icicles are recurring hazards, and clearing snow from roofs is a routine winter job in many cities. Freeze-thaw cycles and, in the north and east, permafrost add to the demands on roofs and foundations. The national roofing code applies to all of Russia's climatic zones.

## Roofing history

Early written evidence is sparse, but the early 10th-century writer Ibn Rusta described pitched roofs covered with earth. Birch bark has been used as a waterproofing material since ancient times. Roof coverings ranged over the centuries from wooden boards and shingles to thatch, which was characteristic of the southern regions and gradually spread north, and later iron.

Russian wooden builders developed expressive roof forms for churches. Tent roofs could reach about 18 m (60 ft) and were often crowned with onion domes and crosses; St Nicholas at Lyavla, from the 1580s, is regarded as the oldest surviving tented wooden church. The form was also built in brick, as at the Church of the Ascension at Kolomenskoye (1532). Barrel (*bochka*) and cube-shaped roofs appeared mainly on churches and wealthy houses, decorated with carvings and ploughshare shingles. In the medieval city of Pskov, builders favoured flat roofs covered with planks. In the 17th and 18th centuries church roofs were sometimes painted, often red below and green above.

Onion domes appear on Russian buildings from as early as the 13th century and were most popular in the 17th and 18th centuries; in Russia they are typically timber or metal frames clad in sheet iron, tiles or wooden shingles. Older roofs were built without nails, using concealed timber joints, but nails spread in the 19th century, when iron roofs also became popular. Painted, folded-seam sheet iron became a familiar sight on town houses and manor houses, often in green or red.

Asbestos-cement manufacture began in Russia in 1908 at Bryansk. The chrysotile-cement industry developed most intensively in Russia and the former Soviet republics because of their large asbestos reserves; the chrysotile mine at Asbest in the Urals is often described as the world's largest. Corrugated asbestos-cement sheets became the standard roof for rural houses, dachas and farm buildings.

From 1956 to the 1970s, the Soviet Union built prefabricated four- and five-storey apartment blocks, the *khrushchyovka*, mostly of large concrete panels; a few series, such as the brick 1-447, had pitched roofs. Many such blocks are now being replaced: Moscow's 2017 renewal programme targeted 5,171 dilapidated blocks built in 1957-1968.

## Traditional and vernacular roofs

- **Tent roof (*shatyor*):** a tall, steep pyramid over a church's central space.
- **Barrel roof (*bochka*):** a curved, pointed roof over church volumes and side chapels.
- **Lemekh:** carved aspen shingles used on domes, barrels and tent roofs. See aspen ploughshare shingles.
- **Plank and board roofs** on houses and on flatter roof planes, and **thatch** in the south.

## Roofing today

The market research group Techart estimated that Russia's low-rise housing sector used 261.0 million m² (2.8 billion ft²) of pitched-roofing materials in 2024. Metal roofing made up about 67% of consumption, and metal tile about 76% of metal roofing sales. Bitumen shingles rose from about 11% to 16.5% of the market over four years, and corrugated bitumen sheet from 6% to 8% between 2020 and 2024. Consumption of asbestos-cement slate fell by about 28% over 2020-2024 and is now bought mostly for repairs. Natural tile accounts for only about 0.2% of the market. An earlier Techart study found that more than 85% of Russia's pitched roofs were over 20 years old. Flat roofs on apartment and commercial buildings use bituminous and polymer membranes.

## Codes, standards and regulation

Roof design is governed by the Set of Rules SP 17.13330 "Roofs", an updated edition of SNiP II-26-76, issued by the Ministry of Construction. Amendment No. 2 to SP 17.13330.2017 took effect on 30 June 2021, clarifying requirements for roofing materials, metal components, corrugated sheet, seamed metal roofs and drainage.

## Industry

The chrysotile and asbestos-cement industry, centred historically on Asbest and on plants such as Bryansk, remains active. The roofing market is dominated by steel roofing producers; corrugated bitumen sheet production is almost entirely by one brand, Ondulin, which accounts for 99% of Russian output of that product.

## Notable roofs

- **Kizhi Pogost**, Karelia (UNESCO, 1990): the 22-domed Church of the Transfiguration, built after 1713-1714, and the nine-domed Church of the Intercession (1764).
- **St Basil's Cathedral**, Moscow, with its onion domes.
- **Church of the Ascension**, Kolomenskoye (1532), an early masonry tent roof.
- **St Nicholas Church**, Lyavla (1580s), regarded as the oldest surviving wooden tent-roofed church.

## Local roofing terms

- *shatyor* - tent roof
- *bochka* - barrel roof
- *lemekh* - ploughshare shingle
- *shifer* - corrugated asbestos-cement sheet
- *metallocherepitsa* - metal tile
- *kokoshnik* - decorative arched gable stepping up to the drums

## Sources and gaps

The statistics refer to pitched roofs on low-rise housing; a national census of roof materials are not well documented in published sources.

## Sources

1. Architecture of Russia — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Russia
2. Russian wooden architecture — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_wooden_architecture
3. Onion dome — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_dome
4. Kizhi Pogost — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kizhi_Pogost
5. Khrushchyovka — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchyovka
6. New technologies and materials are taken into account in the updated Set of Rules 17 "Roofs" — Ministry of Construction of the Republic of Tatarstan. https://minstroy.tatarstan.ru/eng/index.htm/news/1978887.htm
7. Roofing materials market (Строительные материалы, оборудование, технологии XXI века, No. 4, 2025) — Techart marketing group. https://www.techart.ru/files/publications/roofing-materials_pub-2025.pdf
8. Russian Roofing Materials Market 2013-2018 — Techart. https://research.techart.ru/industry/construction/projects/7535/
9. Construction with Slate – Quick Solution to the Country's Housing Problems — Stroitel'nye Materialy (journal). https://vestnik-pp.samgtu.ru/0585-430X/article/view/635982
10. Shifer volnovoi: kak pravilno vybrat shifer — Strgid. https://strgid.ru/en/shifer-volnovoi-kak-pravilno-vybrat-shifer-poleznye-sovety
11. Asbest — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbest
12. Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye — UNESCO World Heritage Centre. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/634