Obsolete Russian units of measurement Peter the Great replace it with the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. The basic unit is the Russian cubit, called the "arshin", which has been in use since the 16th century. It was standardized by Peter the Great in the 18th century to measure exactly twenty-eight English inches (). Thus, 80 vershoks = 20 piads = 5 arshins = 140 English inches (). A "piad" (, “palm”, “five”) or "chetvert" (, “quarter”) is a hand span, the distance between ends of the spread thumb and index finger. Alternative units: As in many ancient systems of measurement the Russian distinguishes between dry and
Bird measurement that the bill point to the tail tip can be measured. This can however vary with the handling and can depend on the age and state of shrinkage in the case of measurements taken from preserved skins in bird collections. The wing length usually defined as the distance between the bend of the wing and the longest primary can also vary widely in some large birds which have a curved wing surface as well as curved primaries. The measurement can additionally vary depending on whether a flexible tape measure is used over the curve or if measured with a rigid