Potatoes are a berry that came to Russia from distant South America only in the 18th century. Potato cultivation began 6,000 years ago. Then the Indians put a lot of effort into growing this crop. In the 16th century, the Spaniards brought potatoes to Europe, where the root crop was grown as an ornamental plant. Two centuries later, when potatoes were on the territory of the Russian Empire, they quickly and widely began to be cultivated as an agricultural crop.