Russian Alphabet and Pronunciation

The Russian alphabet, also known as Cyrillic script, is a writing system used to write the Russian language and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, such as Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Kazakh. It was derived from the Greek alphabet in the 9th century AD by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, who were Byzantine Christian missionaries. They created the Glagolitic alphabet to write Old Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Orthodox Church, which eventually evolved into the Cyrillic script.

The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, including 10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 letters that are neither vowels nor consonants (ъ and ь). The letters are divided into two categories: hard (consonants and some vowels) and soft (vowels and some consonants). The pronunciation of the letters can change depending on whether they are in a hard or soft position, which can make Russian a challenging language to learn.



Understanding the Cyrillic script is essential for reading, writing, and communicating in Russian language and culture. It is used in a variety of contexts, from literature and poetry to business and technology. In addition to its use in Russia and other former Soviet republics, it is also used by minority communities in countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, and Mongolia.