BGN/PCGN romanization of Russian

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BGN/PCGN romanization system for Russian is a method for romanization of Cyrillic Russian texts, that is, their transliteration into the Latin alphabet as used in the English language.

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There are a number of systems for romanization of Russian, but the BGN/PCGN system is relatively intuitive for anglophones to pronounce. It is part of the larger set of BGN/PCGN romanizations, which includes methods for 29 different languages. It was developed by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use (PCGN). The portion of the system pertaining to the Russian language was adopted by BGN in 1944, and by PCGN in 1947.

This romanization of Russian can be rendered by using only the basic letters and punctuation found on English-language keyboards. No diacritics or unusual letters are required, but the interpunct character (·) is optionally used to avoid some ambiguity.

In many publications, a simplified form of the system is used to render English versions of Russian names, which typically converts ë to yo, simplifies -iy and -yy endings to -y and omits apostrophes for ъ and ь.

The following table describes the system and provides examples.

Russian
letter
RomanizationSpecial provisionExamples
А (а)A (a)NoneАзов = Azov
Тамбов = Tambov
Б (б)B (b)NoneБарнаул = Barnaul
Кубань = Kubanʼ
В (в)V (v)NoneВладимир = Vladimir
Ульяновск = Ulʼyanovsk
Г (г)G (g)NoneГрозный = Groznyy
Волгодонск = Volgodonsk
Д (д)D (d)NoneДзержинский = Dzerzhinskiy
Нелидово = Nelidovo
Е (е)Ye (ye)
  1. Word-initially;
  2. after vowels;
  3. after й;
  4. after ь;
  5. after ъ.
  1. Елизово = Yelizovo
  2. Чапаевск = Chapayevsk;
  3. Мейеровка = Meyyerovka;
  4. Юрьев = Yurʼyev;
  5. Объезд = Obˮyezd.
E (e)All other casesБелкино = Belkino
Ё (ё)Yë (yë)
  1. Word-initially;
  2. after vowels;
  3. after й;
  4. after ь;
  5. after ъ.
  1. Ёдва = dva;
  2. Змииёвка = Zmiivka;
  3. Айёган = Aygan;
  4. Воробьёво = Vorobʼvo;
  5. Кебанъёль = Kebanˮlʼ.
Ë (ë)All other casesОзёрный = Ozërnyy
Ж (ж)Zh (zh)NoneЖуков = Zhukov
Лужники = Luzhniki
З (з)Z (z)NoneЗвенигород = Zvenigorod
Вязьма = Vyazʼma
И (и)I (i)NoneИркутск = Irkutsk
Апатиты = Apatity
Й (й)Y· (y·)Before а, у, ы, or э. Used primarily for romanization of non-Russian-language names from Russian spelling. The use of this digraph is optional.Тыайа = Ty·ay·a
Сайылык = Say·ylyk
Ойусардах = Oy·usardakh
Y (y)All other casesЙошкар-Ола = Yoshkar-Ola
Бийск = Biysk
К (к)K (k)NoneКиров = Kirov
Енисейск = Yeniseysk
Л (л)L (l)NoneЛомоносов = Lomonosov
Нелидово = Nelidovo
М (м)M (m)NoneМенделеев = Mendeleyev
Каменка = Kamenka
Н (н)N (n)NoneНовосибирск = Novosibirsk
Кандалакша = Kandalaksha
О (о)O (o)NoneОмск = Omsk
Красноярск = Krasnoyarsk
П (п)P (p)NoneПетрозаводск = Petrozavodsk
Серпухов = Serpukhov
Р (р)R (r)NoneРостов = Rostov
Северобайкальск = Severobaykalʼsk
С (с)S (s)NoneСковородино = Skovorodino
Чайковский = Chaykovskiy
Т (т)T (t)NoneТамбов = Tambov
Мытищи = Mytishchi
У (у)U (u)NoneУглич = Uglich
Дудинка = Dudinka
Ф (ф)F (f)NoneФурманов = Furmanov
Уфа = Ufa
Х (х)Kh (kh)NoneХабаровск = Khabarovsk
Прохладный = Prokhladnyy
Ц (ц)Ts (ts)NoneЦимлянск = Tsimlyansk
Елец = Yelets
Ч (ч)Ch (ch)NoneЧебоксары = Cheboksary
Печора = Pechora
Ш (ш)Sh (sh)NoneШахтёрск = Shakhtërsk
Мышкин = Myshkin
Щ (щ)Shch (shch)NoneЩёлково = Shchëlkovo
Ртищево = Rtishchevo
Ъ (ъ)ˮThis letter does not occur at the beginning of a word.Куыркъявр = Ku·yrkˮyavr
Ы (ы)Y· (y·)Before а, у, ы, or э. Used primarily for romanization of non-Russian-language names from Russian spelling. The use of this digraph is optional.Ыгыатта = Ygy·atta
Тыайа = Ty·ay·a
Тыэкан = Ty·ekan
·yAfter any vowel. Used primarily for romanization of non-Russian-language names from Russian spelling. The use of this digraph is optional.Суык-Су = Su·yk-Su
Куыркъявр = Ku·yrkˮyavr
Y (y)All other cases. This letter does not occur at the beginning of words of Russian origin.Ыттык-Кюёль = Yttyk-Kyuyëlʼ
Тында = Tynda
Ь (ь)ʼThis letter does not occur at the beginning of a word.Тюмень = Tyumenʼ
Э (э)·eAfter any consonant except й. Used primarily for romanization of non-Russian-language names from Russian spelling. The use of this digraph is optional.Улан-Удэ = Ulan-Ud·e
E (e)All other casesЭлектрогорск = Elektrogorsk
Руэм = Ruem
Ю (ю)Yu (yu)NoneЮбилейный = Yubileynyy
Ключевская = Klyuchevskaya
Я (я)Ya (ya)NoneЯкутск = Yakut·sk
Брянск = Bryansk
Тс (тс)T·s (t·s)Used primarily for romanization of non-Russian-language names from Russian spelling. The use of this digraph is optional.Вяртсиля = Vyart·silya
Шч (шч)Sh·ch (sh·ch)Used primarily for romanization of non-Russian-language names from Russian spelling. The use of this digraph is optional.Ташчишма = Tash·chishma

See also

Notes

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