12 archive pictures showing that Russians are in love with bikes

A popular tale says that Russian serf Efim Artamonov presented the first ever bicycle to Tsar Alexander I in 1801, long before it was invented in the West. // 1907. Fire brigade

The peasant is believed to have ridden the bizarre vehicle all the way from the Urals to St. Petersburg. //1896. Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sofia before a bicycle ride.

Artamonov was allegedly granted freedom for his outstanding invention, which was soon forgotten however. // 1910s. Open air picnic

Artamonov's story is most likely make-belief, but Russian affection for bikes can't be ignored. // 1912. Bikes on display at the “Pobeda” department store in St. Petersburg

1936. Nurses take part in a bike ride from Moscow to Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod)

1940. Balancer Zinaida Tarasova rides on a tightrope under the arches of Moscow’s main circus

1954. A postman delivers newspapers to collective farm workers in Central Asia

1954. The Soviet cycling team

1983. Models in "peasant girl" look pose for a photograph

1983. Engineer Nikolay Sokolovsky tests his original version of the bicycle

1986. Students in the town of Jambyl (now Taraz, Kazakhstan) at the starting line before a cycling competition