This article positions as something invented between the USA and the USSR... But, just looking into wikiepdia:
"One such solution was a method proposed in 1809 by the French pastry chef Nicolas François Appert, which involved long-cooking meat or vegetables (approximately 1-2 hours) and pasteurizing the finished product in a brine solution. Appert received a personal award for this invention from Napoleon."
Yes, as far as I understand, canned meat was not so popular among civilians in the USSR before tushonka. And tushonka is usually referred specifically to canned stewed meat, not ham or vegetables.
Old tushonkka was tasty but many of those sold in stores now, especially the cheap ones, are not so tasty and good-quality.
"One such solution was a method proposed in 1809 by the French pastry chef Nicolas François Appert, which involved long-cooking meat or vegetables (approximately 1-2 hours) and pasteurizing the finished product in a brine solution. Appert received a personal award for this invention from Napoleon."