The work on creating combines began in the 1830s. The best engineers worked on this task, and the first experimental combine was assembled by American inventors Moore and Haskell. However, their machine turned out to be unreliable and did not gain widespread use. At the same time, developments were also underway in Russia, and the domestic combine surpassed foreign analogues. It was created by Andrey Romanovich Vlasenko, a graduate of the Agricultural School of Mogilev Province.

While managing an agricultural estate in the Tver region, Vlasenko focused on improving equipment and ultimately developed a machine called the Horse Grain Harvester. This was the first Russian combine, which included a rake for cutting ears, a threshing drum, conveyor belts, sieves for sifting, and a grain bunker. The machine could be operated by just two people: one managed the horses, while the other monitored the equipment. Compared to American counterparts, grain losses during harvesting were minimal.

In 1869, Vlasenko applied for a patent, and experts highly appreciated his invention. Leading engineers in Russia approached the Minister of State Properties, Alexander Zeleny, with a proposal to start industrial production of Vlasenko's combine. However, the minister, after studying the device, refused, stating that the complex machine was beyond the capabilities of domestic factories, and noted that even simpler reaping machines and threshers were imported.

Moreover, no funds were allocated from the budget for transporting the combine to the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. As a result, the Americans quickly occupied this niche and began promoting their machines. Russian combines continued to operate in the Tver province until they were completely worn out. Such is the sad story of the first Russian combine.