Russo-European Laika (Russko-Evropeĭskaya Láĭka) is the name of a breed of hunting dog that originated in the forested region of northern Europe and Russia, one of several breeds developed from landrace Laika dogs of very ancient Spitz type. The "Russo-European Laika" itself dates to a breeding program begun in 1944 by E. I. Shereshevsky of the All-Union Research Institute for the Hunting Industry, in Kalinin (now Tver) Province.