This chess pawn is thought to have belonged to the family of Vasily Petrovich Ivashev in the first half of the 19th century. On December 7, 1993, the memorial chess pawn made of Ural jasper was donated by Tatyana Vasilievna Zuckschwerdt, the great-granddaughter of the Decembrist Ivashev. This event took place during the opening ceremony of the Turinsk Decembrists House Museum.

Shatranj (an old form of chess) was brought to Russia from the East via trading routes, most likely through Khwarazm and the Khazar Khaganate.

The first records of chess were made in the 13th century. The Orthodox Church banned the game of chess under threat of excommunication. The Novgorod Book of the Helmsman of the late 13th century says,

Despite all efforts made by the church, chess became popular. This is supported by the fact that chess pieces were found in many Russian settlements that existed around that time. Chess is also often mentioned in epics and legends about Russian heroes.

In the 18th century in Russia, chess was called the big checkers game, and sometimes just the checkers. The first Russian chess textbook was published by Ivan Butrimov in 1821.

In the 19th century, chess was the main game of the Russian nobility and intelligentsia. It was also played by the Decembrists. Chess was a favorite pastime of Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Ivan Turgenev, as well Leo Tolstoy who once said,

In 1853, the first chess club opened in Saint Petersburg, the same city where the first magazine dedicated to chess was printed starting in 1859.

Over time, the manufacture of chess pieces was simplified. They began to be made from wood species such as rosewood, cedar, birch, cherry, and maple. Later plastic pieces were introduced as well. Sometimes figurines were made to order from more luxurious materials such as amber, onyx, jasper, malachite, crystal, gold, and platinum.