We use letters in writing and sounds in speech. Letters represent the sounds we make. There is no simple and direct correspondence between letters and sounds: there are letters that do not designate sounds, there are cases when a letter means two sounds, and cases when several letters mean one sound. Modern Russian has 33 letters and 42 sounds.

Kinds

Letters are vowels and consonants. The letters soft sign and hard sign do not form sounds; there are no words in Russian that begin with these letters. The Russian language is “vociferous”, in Russian words there are many vowels (o, e, i, a), voiced consonants (n, l, v, m, p). Noisy, deaf, hissing (w, h, w, u, c, f) are much less. The vowels yu, e, e are also rarely used. In a letter, instead of the letter ё, they often write the letter e without losing the meaning.

Alphabet

The following are the letters of the Russian language in alphabetical order. Uppercase and lowercase letters are shown, their names are indicated. Vowels are marked in red, consonants in blue, letters ь, ъ in gray.

A a B b C c D d E f f f g f g h I i y y k k l l M m N n O P p p r s s t t u u v f x x z z z h Sh sh y y y y b

The letter L is called "el" or "el", the letter E is sometimes called "E reverse".

Numbering

Numbers of letters of the Russian alphabet in direct and reverse order:

Letter	A	B	IN	G	D	E	Yo	AND	W	AND	Y	TO	L	M	H	ABOUT	P	R	WITH	T	At	F	X	C	H	W	SCH	Kommersant	S	b	E	YU	I
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
	33	32	31	30	29	28	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

The importance of writing in the development of mankind is difficult to overestimate. Back in the era when the alphabet did not exist in sight, ancient people tried to express their thoughts in the form of rock inscriptions.
Alphabet of Elizabeth Boehm

First they drew figures of animals and humans, then - various signs and hieroglyphs. Over time, people managed to create easy-to-understand letters and put them into an alphabet. Who was the creator of the alphabet of the Russian language? To whom do we owe the opportunity to express ourselves freely through writing?

Who laid the foundation of the Russian alphabet?

The history of the emergence of the Russian alphabet goes back to the 2nd millennium BC. Then the ancient Phoenicians came up with consonants and used them for a long time to draw up documents.

In the VIII century BC, their discovery was borrowed by the ancient Greeks, who significantly improved the letter by adding vowels to it. In the future, it was the Greek alphabet, with the help of which statutory (solemn) letters were compiled, that formed the basis of the Russian alphabet.

Who created the Russian alphabet?

In the Bronze Age in Eastern Europe Proto-Slavic peoples lived, speaking the same language.

Primer Slavonic writings of the Greatest Teacher B. Jerome Stridon
Around the 1st century AD, they began to break up into separate tribes, as a result of which several states inhabited by Eastern Slavs were created in these territories. Among them was Great Moravia, which occupied the lands of modern Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, partly Ukraine and Poland.

With the advent of Christianity and the construction of temples, people needed to create a written language that would allow them to record church texts. To learn how to write, the Moravian prince Rostislav turned to the Byzantine emperor Michael III for help, who sent Christian preachers Cyril and Methodius to Moravia. In 863, they came up with the first Russian alphabet, which was named after one of the preachers - Cyrillic.

Who are Cyril and Methodius?

Cyril and Methodius were brothers from Thessalonica (now the Greek Thessaloniki). In those days in their hometown, in addition to Greek, they spoke the Slavic-Thessalonica dialect, which formed the basis of the Church Slavonic language.

Initially, Cyril's name was Konstantin, and he received his second name just before his death, having taken a monastic vow. In his youth, Constantine studied with the best Byzantine teachers of philosophy, rhetoric, dialectics, and later taught at the University of Magnavra in Constantinople.

Monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius in Saratov. The author of the photo is Zimin Vasily.
In 863, having gone to Moravia, with the help of his brother Methodius, he created. Bulgaria became the center for the dissemination of Slavic writing. In 886, the Preslav book school was opened on its territory, where they were engaged in translations from the Greek language and copied Cyrillic and Methodius originals. Around the same time, the Cyrillic alphabet came to Serbia, and at the end of the 10th century it reached Kievan Rus.

Initially, the first Russian alphabet had 43 letters. Later, 4 more were added to it, and the 14 former ones were removed as unnecessary. The first time some of the letters appearance resembled Greek, but as a result of an orthographic reform in the 17th century, they were replaced by those that we know today.

By 1917, there were 35 letters in the Russian alphabet, although in fact there were 37 of them, since Yo and Y were not considered separate. Additionally, the letters I, Ѣ (yat), Ѳ (fita) and V (zhitsa) were present in the alphabet, which later disappeared from use.

When did the modern Russian alphabet appear?

In 1917-1918, a major spelling reform was carried out in Russia, thanks to which the modern alphabet appeared. Its initiator was the Ministry of Public Education under the Provisional Government. The reform began before the revolution, but was continued after the transfer of power to the Bolsheviks.

Wikimedia Commons / Jimmy Thomas ()
In December 1917, Russian statesman Anatoly Lunacharsky issued a decree requiring all organizations to use the new 33-letter alphabet.

Although the spelling reform was prepared before the revolution and had no political underpinnings, at first it was criticized by opponents of Bolshevism. However, over time, the modern alphabet took root and is used to this day.

The alphabet of the Russian language has a long history. And although this is a well-known truth, few people know who and when invented it.

Where did the Russian alphabet come from

The history of the Russian alphabet plunges into deep antiquity, during the times of pagan Kievan Rus.

The command to create the Russian alphabet came from Emperor Michael III of Byzantium, who instructed the monk brothers to develop the letters of the Russian alphabet, later called Cyrillic. This happened in 863.

The Cyrillic alphabet went back to the Greek script, but since Cyril and Methodius came from Bulgaria, this land becomes the center for the spread of literacy and writing. Church Greek and Latin books began to be translated into Old Church Slavonic. After several centuries, it became exclusively the language of the church, but played an important role in the development of the modern Russian language. Many consonants and vowels have not survived to this day, since this Russian alphabet has undergone many changes. The main transformations affected the alphabet during the time of Peter the Great and during the October Revolution.

How many letters are in the alphabet?

However, it is interesting not only who invented the Russian alphabet, but also how many letters it contains. Most people, even in adulthood, doubt how many there are: 32 or 33. And what can we say about children! There is every reason for this. Let's dive into history.

There were 43 letters in the Old Slavonic alphabet (in the form in which it has come down to us in written sources). Subsequently, 4 more letters were added, and 14 were removed, since the sounds they denoted ceased to be pronounced or merged with similar ones. In the 19th century, the Russian historian and writer N. Karamzin introduced the letter "yo" into the alphabet.

For a long time, "E" and "Yo" were considered one letter, so it was customary to think that there were 32 letters in the alphabet.

Only after 1942 they were separated, and the alphabet became 33 letters.

The alphabet of the Russian language in its current form is divided into vowels and consonants.

We pronounce vowels freely: the sound passes through the vocal cords without obstacles.
Consonant sounds for their creation require obstacles on the way. In modern Russian, these letters and sounds are in the following ratio, while the number of sounds and letters will be different:

• - sounds: vowels - 6, consonants - 37;
• - letters: vowels - 10, consonants - 21.

If you do not go into details and say briefly, this is due to the fact that some vowels (e, e, u, i) can mean two sounds, and consonants have pairs of hardness-softness.

By spelling, uppercase and lowercase letters are distinguished:

Their writing is associated with the need to highlight proper and common nouns in the text (capitals are used for the latter, as well as for writing words in general).

Learning the order of letters

Even if your child knows what the letters are called, closer to school age, the problem arises that you need to memorize the letters in order in the alphabet. Most children confuse letters for a long time and cannot arrange them in right order. Although helping a child is very simple. There are several ways to do this.

Photos and pictures for babies

Pictures and photos with letters can help you learn the alphabet. You can download them on our website, print, stick on thick cardboard and engage with your child.

What can be useful pictures and photos attached to the designations of letters?

Beautiful design, bright colors will surely attract the attention of kids. Children are interested in everything unusual, colorful - and learning goes faster and more exciting. The Russian alphabet and pictures will become best friends in the lessons for kids.

Cards with letters of the Russian alphabet.
Colorful alphabet for kids.
Black and white Russian alphabet for coloring. Russian alphabet in pictures for children.
Table with cards of the Russian alphabet.

Another option is a table of letters with numbers, numbers

It is also easy to download and print it on the site. A numbered list of letters for children can make it much easier for those who can count to learn the order of the alphabet. So the guys remember firmly how many letters are in the alphabet, and the accompanying photos and pictures that the table includes help build an associative array. So someone came up with a great idea - to learn the alphabet with pictures and photos.

Russian alphabet with letter numbering.

Educational cartoons

No one will argue with the fact that all children love cartoons. But after all, this love can be put to good use and learn the alphabet with the help of specially created educational cartoons. They include excerpts from Soviet cartoons, bright designations of letters, pictures, songs. Musical accompaniment makes children hum and rhyme the alphabet, and this way it is remembered much faster.

— "Alphabet in cartoons"

You can watch this cartoon here:

This is a great video tutorial for kids. There is not only writing and reading letters, but also excerpts from cartoons, images of what words mean for a particular letter, etc. The kid will have no choice but to memorize the song and the order of the letters.

- "Learning letters: the alphabet in verse"

You can watch this cartoon here:

In addition to colorful cartoons, melodic musical accompaniment, the cartoon "Learning letters: the alphabet in verse" offers simple verses that are easy to remember and tell the kid which letter in the alphabet is next.

- "ABC for kids" studio Berg Sound

This is a great cartoon for those children who are already familiar with the alphabet and are trying to read. Here we learn the alphabet and the rules for writing words with the Computer and its assistant File. They tell the kids, using the example of words, how to read, and what place the letters occupy in the alphabet, as well as how many letters are in the Russian alphabet. This is a fascinating cartoon designed for 30-40 minutes, so you have to be patient. But for children, it will not be needed: the material is presented in a playful way, and the children do not get bored.

You can see the cartoon here

- "Learning letters with the cat Busya"

You can download the cartoon here

The main character is the cat Busya, who came out of the illustrated primer to show the children how the letters look and read. The cartoon has not only colorful drawings, but also musical accompaniment. Cat Busya reads short poems dedicated to a single letter.

- "Learning the Russian alphabet"

It will be easy to watch this cartoon here

It is a viewing of an illustrated primer, and a male voice pleasantly and slowly reads small poems dedicated to letters.

Thus, learning the alphabet should be interesting for children, then they will quickly and easily master the material. Learning in a fun and non-intrusive way! This is the main key to success. You can download the video on our website or print pictures, buy books for children in the store or manuals that speak the alphabet on batteries. Paste over all available places in the apartment with letters and tables with the alphabet. Education should merge into life itself, and then it will become imperceptible to the child, but as effective as possible.

The alphabet is one of the first tasks for children to learn. Modern children still in kindergarten learn the alphabet and all the words that begin with these letters. Everyone will agree that we only know when we teach. Today, not all adults can quickly answer the question of how many letters are in the Russian alphabet, despite the fact that they know them. There are 33 letters in Russian.

We have all studied these letters and use them to speak, write and read. But few people thought about how many of these letters. Now you know that there are 33 of them, no more and no less. Everyone knows that there are vowels and consonants, then we'll talk about them.

How many vowels in the Russian alphabet

We form all words and phrases thanks to vowels and consonants; without the presence of certain letters, we would not be able to compose a single word. Let's see how many vowels and what they are.

There are 10 vowels in the Russian alphabet, among them:

With their help, we compose words using consonants.

How many consonants are there in Russian?

We figured out the vowels, now it's time to talk about consonants, there are much more of them than in the first version. It is consonants that occupy most of our words, so you simply cannot do without them.

There are 21 consonants in the Russian alphabet, namely:

The Russian language is very beautiful and powerful. Every day we use a lot of different words in our colloquial vocabulary, including all of the above letters in our work. It is almost impossible to single out a letter that would not be used in colloquial speech. Despite the fact that the solid sign "Ъ" is the least common, many words can also be noted with it, for example:

• Entry.
• Withdraw.
• Injection.
• Shooting.
• lens and others.

We do not even think about how many times a day we can use these words and all the letters from our alphabet. Since we speak mainly in Russian, knowing foreign languages, then you must definitely know how many letters are in the Russian alphabet, both vowels and consonants, and all together. Recall for those who have already forgotten that there are 33 letters in the Russian language, which we use every day to explain our thoughts and tasks.

1. The Russian alphabet has undergone fundamental changes more than once. Before Cyril and Methodius, it had exactly 49 letters, they looked like this:

The use of such letters was difficult, as a result of which the Slavs could not even write letters to each other, and the story told by the sages turned into a chronicle that was difficult to translate into our language.

2. The birth of writing in Rus' took place in 863. Cyril and Methodius abolished the old letters, denoting whole words, taking the Greek alphabet as a basis. Here's what happened:

3. Over the centuries, the phonetic composition of the language has gradually changed, many letters have sunk into oblivion, the pronunciation of more than 90% of the letters has changed radically. However, all letters are "descendants" of those that were written by Cyril and Methodius in their famous alphabet.

Important: many historians and experts in Russian phonetics claim that with each new edition the alphabet is getting poorer and thinner, which negatively affects the phonetic richness of our native "great and mighty".