The Committee for Standardization was created on 15 September 1925, date at which the development of standards for the country started.

The state standards (GOST) were compulsory documents for all enterprises and organizations regardless of their rank within various branches of industry until 1992.

Since 1992, the state standards are voluntary, but nevertheless contain obligatory requirements. In accordance with the Federal Law «On Technical Regulating», adopted at the end of 2002, for the next seven years the obligatory requirements for products, processes of production, operation, storage, transportation, marketing and utilization would be included in Technical Regulations, adopted by Federal Laws. The standards thus will acquire voluntary nature.

In May 2004, the State Committee for the Russian Federation for Standardization and Metrology was transformed into the Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (GOST R).

Nowadays the Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (GOST R) is the Federal Executive Body, implementing inter-industry coordination and functional regulating in the fields of standardization, metrology and conformity assessment.

The Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (GOST R) holds the function of National Standards Body in the Russian Federation and represents Russia in international (and regional) organizations for standardization.

GOST standards are regional standards administered by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC).

The collection of GOST standards includes over 20,000 titles used extensively in conformity assessment activities in 12 countries. Serving as the regulatory basis for government and private-sector certification programs throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the GOST standards cover energy, oil and gas, environmental protection, construction, transportation, telecommunications, mining, food processing, and other industries.

The following countries have adopted GOST standards in addition to their own, nationally developed standards: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan.