As in other countries, early Soviet work on rotary flight centred upon the autogyro. The first Soviet rotary-wing aircraft to fly was the KaSkr-1. This craft was designed by Nikolai I. Kamov, who would later become a primary Soviet helicopter designer, and by Nikolai Skrzhinsky. The KaSkr-1 was constructed in 1929, and over the next decade, a number of different Soviet autogyro craft were developed.

Soviet designers were greatly impressed with the German Fa-61 helicopter developed in the late 1930s and copied the craft's general layout. Designer Ivan Bratukhin began work on the 2 MG Omega helicopter in July 1940 and completed work on it by June 1941, just after the Germans had invaded the Soviet Union. Like the Fa-61, the 2 MG Omega had two rotors mounted to either side of a main fuselage on outriggers. Unlike the Fa-61, however, each rotor had its own engine mounted underneath. Work had to be suspended on the craft while Moscow's entire aviation industry was forced to move 1,000 miles to the east, away from the advancing German Army. Although work was resumed and the 2 MG Omega eventually flew, it suffered severe vibration problems and could not fly for long or it would shake itself apart in midair.

Bratukhin and Boris N. Yuriev developed other experimental helicopters over the next several years but were severely hindered by the Soviet need to build fighter and ground-attack aircraft. Bratukhin's reliance on the side-by-side rotors also lost support from the Soviet Air Force, because this design was no longer in favour among other designers (such as Igor Sikorsky in the United States and Anton Flettner in Germany) and was too large. After the war ended, three other designers emerged to lead Soviet helicopter development.

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Yakovlev was born in Moscow in 1906. By the early 1930s, while designing airplanes, Yakovlev became a favourite designer of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. During the war, he designed various fighter planes. In 1944, he began developing a helicopter that did not fly until 1947. He later built two other helicopters, including the Yak-24 Horse, which first flew in July 1952 and was a tandem rotor design like the American Piasecki H-21 "Flying Banana." The Horse was the largest helicopter in the world at the time. But Yakovlev soon returned to designing airplanes.

Nikolai Ilyich Kamov was born in 1902 in Irkutsk, Siberia. By 1929, he had helped build the first Soviet autogyro and soon designed several more. In 1945, he began designing an ultralight helicopter designated the Ka-8 "flying motorcycle" because it used a motorcycle engine. It had coaxial rotors, mounted one on top of the other and rotating in opposite directions. The Ka-8 did not have enough power to lift off the ground but soon formed the basis for the slightly larger Ka-10 Hat, which was used by the Soviet Navy aboard icebreaking ships. All of Kamov's helicopters, except for one, used this same configuration with one rotor mounted atop the other and were popular with the Soviet Navy, primarily because they took up less space on a ship than a more conventional design.

The greatest Mil helicopter ever built was the Mi-8 Hip. The first Mi-8 flew in 1961, and the helicopter entered production in late 1965. Over 10,000 Mi-8s of many different variants were produced. The Mi-8 was nearly as popular as the American Bell UH-1 Huey (of which 15,000 were produced) and was widely exported. The Mi-8 had two engines and a five-blade main rotor. Its cabin had a rear door that dropped down to allow people or equipment to be unloaded. It was a big helicopter, capable of carrying up to 36 fully armed troops.

Mi-8s have been armed with rocket launchers and anti-tank guided missiles. They have been equipped as executive transports and as command posts. They have also been fitted as electronic warfare helicopters with equipment and antennas for jamming enemy radars and radios. The primary user of the Mi-8 was the Soviet military, and when the Soviet Union collapsed in the late 1980s, Mil's production of the Mi-8 dropped from hundreds a year to a few dozen a year, nearly all for export.

Mil also developed the Mi-24 Hind assault helicopter, which shared some features with the Mi-8, but was intended to carry a substantial weapons load. It first flew in 1970. The Mi-24 was never a totally satisfactory aircraft, and by the late 1980s, in large part due to its experience in Afghanistan and the success of the American AH-64 Apache, Mil began developing the two-seat Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopter to compete with the single-seat Ka-50. The Russian government chose to build both aircraft in small numbers, hoping for large orders from foreign countries.

The Mi-10 Harke first flew in 1960 and used the same engine, transmission, hydraulics, and rotor system as the Mi-6. The main difference was the Mi-10's fuselage, which was smaller and mounted on tall landing gear, allowing it to carry large loads, such as un-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), underneath the fuselage. In 1965, a specially modified Mi-10 lifted a payload of 55,347 pounds (25,105 kilograms) to an altitude of 9, 317 feet (2,840 meters), setting a new record. 

Neither the Mi-6 nor the Mi-10 were ideal helicopters, and Mil eventually developed the Mi-26 Halo. The Halo can transport more than 85 fully equipped combat troops and has a substantial lifting capability. The Mi-26 is still flying today, although it is no longer in production.

The Soviets have used helicopters in the skycrane role extensively. This role has been dictated by the vast size of the Soviet Union—many major construction projects were hundreds of miles from the nearest town. Mi-6 and Mi-10 helicopters were used to support oil drilling facilities, construction work, and military outposts in remote areas. Although the Russians still use helicopters as skycranes, this activity is much diminished.