Tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons) have been studied by researchers in Russia (and the FSU). Not only do these storms pose a threat to ships at sea, but the Far East Region of Russia even feels their effects on occasion. Since the late 1960s there has been an increasing number of Soviet/Russian articles on tropical cyclone research. These have largely appeared originally in the Russian language, however English translations have been published shortly thereafter. Nevertheless a survey of the general tropical cyclone research literature reveals little reference to the large body of Soviet/Russian research. In this paper we review this research, detailing the various primary lines of study, highlighting the work of specific prolific authors and recalling some of the important field projects.

The bulk of the research articles have appeared in Soviet/Russian Meteorology and Hydrology, Izvestia, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, Doklady, SSSR/Russian Academy of Sciences , Oceanology, and Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. In addition there have been numerous monographs published by Gidrometeoizdat (Leningrad), and books. Over 200 articles by more than 100 different authors have appeared. For the last quarter century the number of publications has averaged about a dozen per year.

Several themes are more prevalent in the research: combined air and sea motions (Sutyrin, Khain, Falkovich, Ginis), the properties of tropical cyclone wakes (Pudov), the hydrodynamics of the core region of tropical cyclones (Dobryshman), mutual interactions between two or more storms (Pokhil, Petrova), and global patterns of tropical cyclone occurrence (Pokrovskaya, Sharkov, Golitsyn). There have been relatively few articles on track (Sitnikov) and intensity forecasting nor case studies of individual storms (Yurchak); there have in fact been more on the interactions of tropical storms with the ozonosphere (Gushchin, Nerushev) and on seismic detection of storm activity (Yaroshevich).