List of English words of Russian origin


This page transcribes Russian using the IPA. For a quick overview of Russian pronunciation, see .
Many languages, including English, contain words most likely borrowed from the Russian language. Not all of the words are truly fluent Russian or Slavic origin. Some of them co-exist in other Slavic languages and it is difficult to decide whether they made English from Russian or, say, from Bulgarian. Some other words are borrowed or constructed from the classical ancient languages, such as Latin or Greek. Still others are themselves borrowed from indigenous peoples that Russians have come into contact with in Russian or Soviet territory.
Compared to other source languages, very few of the words borrowed into English come from Russian. Direct borrowing first began with contact between England and Russia in the 16th century and picked up heavily in the 20th century with the establishment of the Soviet Union as a major world power. Most of them are used to denote things and notions specific to Russia, Russian culture, politics, history, especially well known outside Russia. Some others are in mainstream usage, independent of any Russian context.
While both languages are distantly related members of Indo-European and therefore share a common ancestor, Proto-Indo-European, cognate pairs such as mother - мать will be excluded from the list.

Common

-nik, a borrowed suffix
Babushka, a headscarf folded diagonally and tied under the chin. Also unlike in the Russian language, the accent is made on u instead the first a.
Balalaika
A triangle-shaped mandolin-like musical instrument with three strings.
Balaclava A knitted hat that covers the face. First used in the British army during the Crimean war of 1853-56. From the name of the town of Balaklava, russified Tatar 'Baliqlava'. This usage in Russian is fairly recent and comes from English.
Bridge game.
Cosmonaut Russian: космона́вт. Cosmodrome was coined to refer to a launching site for Russian spacecraft.
Gulag
  1. In the former Soviet Union, an administered system of corrective labor camps and prisons.
  2. ' A coercive institution, or an oppressive environment.
Intelligentsia
  1. The part of a nation having aspirations to intellectual activity, a section of society regarded as possessing culture and political initiative; plural the members of this section of a nation or society.
  2. In the former Soviet Union, the intellectual elite.
Kazakh Kazakh people.
Knout A whip formerly used as an instrument of punishment in Russia; the punishment inflicted by the knout.
Kopeck A Russian currency, a subunit of Ruble, 100 kopecks is equal to 1 ruble.
Kremlin A citadel or fortified enclosure within a Russian town of city, especially the Kremlin of Moscow; Metonym for the government of the former USSR, and to a lesser of extent of Russian post-Soviet government.
Mammoth Any various large, hairy, extinct elephants of the genus Mammuthus, especially the woolly mammoth. 2. Something of great size.
Matryoshka also Russian nested doll, stacking doll, Babushka doll, or Russian doll
  1. A riot against Jews.
  2. ' An organized, officially tolerated attack on any community or group.
  3. Massacre or destroy in a pogrom.
Ruble from Russian руби́ть, rubiti meaning "to chop". Historically, "ruble" was a piece of a certain weight chopped off a silver ingot The Russian unit of currency.
Sable A carnivorous mammal of the Mustelidae family native to Northern Europe and Asia.
Samovar A traditional Russian tea urn, with an internal heating device for heating water for tea and keep the water at boiling point.
Sputnik . This term is now dated in English.
  1. In English, the best known meaning is the name of a series of unmanned artificial earth satellites launched by the Soviet Union from 1957 to the early 1960s; especially Sputnik 1 which on October 4, 1957 became the first man-made object to orbit the earth.
Taiga . The swampy, coniferous forests of high northern latitudes, especially referring to that between the tundra and the steppes of Siberia.
Troika
  1. A Russian vehicle, either a wheeled carriage or a sleigh, drawn by three horses abreast.
  2. A Russian folk dance with three people, often one man and two women.
  3. In the former Soviet Union, a commission headed by three people; especially NKVD Troika. b) In the former Soviet Union, a group of three powerful Soviet leaders; especially referring to the 1953 Troika of Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria, and Vyacheslav Molotov that briefly ruled the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin.
  4. A group of three people or things working together, especially in an administrative or managerial capacity.
Ushanka, or shapka-ushanka the word derives from Russian "уши" "ushi" - ears - ear-flaps hat, a type of cap made of fur with ear flaps that can be tied up to the crown of the cap, or tied at the chin to protect the ears from the cold.

Cuisine

Blini, are thin pancakes or crepes traditionally made with yeasted batter, although non-yeasted batter has become widespread in recent times. Blini are often served in connection with a religious rite or festival, but also constitute a common breakfast dish.
Coulibiac A Russian fish pie typically made with salmon or sturgeon, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, and dill, baked in a yeast or puff pastry shell.
Kefir and has its origins in the north Caucasus Mountains
Medovukha . A Russian honey-based alcoholic beverage similar to mead.
Okroshka from Russian "kroshit" meaning to chop A type of Russian cold soup with mixed raw vegetables and kvass.
Pavlova A meringue dessert topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, popular mainly in Australia and New Zealand; named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova.
Pelmeni. An Eastern European dumpling made with minced meat, especially beef and pork, wrapped in thin dough and cooked similarly to pasta.
Pirozhki An Eastern European baked or fried bun stuffed with a variety of fillings.
Rassolnik, is a hot soup in a salty-sour cucumber base. This dish formed in Russian cuisine quite late—only in the 19th century.
Sbiten A traditional Russian honey-based drink similar to Medovukha.
Sevruga A caviar from the Sevruga, a type of sturgeon found only in the Caspian and Black Seas.
Shchi A type of cabbage soup.
Solyanka is a thick, spicy and sour Russian soup that is common in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union and certain parts of the former Eastern Bloc.
Ukha, is a clear Russian soup, made from various types of fish such as bream, wels catfish, northern pike, or even ruffe.
Vodka A 40% alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented wheat mash, but now also made from a mash of rye, corn, or potatoes.

Political and administrative

Agitprop
Apparatchik plural apparatchiki
Bolshevik A member of the majority fraction of the Russian Social Democratic Party, which was renamed to the Communist Party after seizing power in the October Revolution in 1917.
Cheka The first Soviet state security organization, it was later transformed and reorganized into the GPU.
Commissar
  1. An official of the communist party, especially in the former Soviet Union or present day China, responsible for political education and organization; A head of a government department in the former Soviet Union before 1946, when the title was changed to Minister.
  2. A strict or prescriptive figure of authority.
Druzhina also Druzhyna, Drużyna A detachment of select troops in East Slav countries who performed service for a chieftain, later knyaz. Its original functions were bodyguarding, raising tribute from the conquered territories and serving as the core of an army during war campaigns. In Ukrainian, the word дружина means legal wife.
Duma
  1. A pre-19th century advisory municipal councils in Russia, later it referred to any of the four elected legislature bodies established due to popular demand in Russia from 1906 to 1917.
  2. The legislative body in the ruling assembly of Russia established after the fall of communism in 1993.
Dvoryanstvo singular dvoryanin дворяни́н, plural dvoryane дворя́не Term for the Russian nobility that arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the Russian Revolution.
Dyak , diminutive - Dyachok A member of the church workers in Russia who were not part of the official hierarchy of church offices and whose duties included reading and singing.
Glasnost. In the late 20th century an official policy in the former Soviet Union emphasizing transparency, openness with regard to discussion of social problems and shortcomings.
Glavlit The official censorship and state secret protection organ in the Soviet Union.
Kadet A liberal political party in Tsarist Russia founded in 1905, it largely dissolved after the Russian Civil War.
Khozraschyot or Khozraschet A method of the planned running of an economic unit based on the confrontation of the expenses incurred in production with the production output, on the compensation of expenses with the income; often referred to as the attempt to simulate the capitalist concepts of profit into the planned economy of the Soviet Union.
Kolkhoz plural kolkhozy khoz
A form of collective farming in the former Soviet Union.
Kompromat contraction of 'compromising' and 'material'. It refers to disparaging information that can be collected, stored, traded, or used strategically across all domains: political, electoral, legal, professional, judicial, media, and business. The origins of the term trace back to 1930s secret police jargon.
Konyushy A boyar in charge of the stables of the Russian rulers, duties which included parade equipage, ceremonies of court ride-offs, and military horse breeding.
Korenizatsiya also korenization
Kulak Originally a prosperous Russian landed peasant in czarist Russia, later the term was used with hostility by Communists during the October Revolution as an exploiter and strong adherent of private property and liberal values, that is opposite to communists; they were severely repressed under the rule of Joseph Stalin in the 1930s.

Krai also Kray. 2.2. krai, territory
Term for eight of Russia's 85 federal subjects, often translated as territory, province, or region.
Leninism The political, economic and social principles and practices of the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, especially his theory of government which formed the basis for Soviet communism.
Lishenets A certain group of people in the Soviet Union who from 1918 to 1936 were prohibited from voting and denied other rights.
Menshevik A member of the non-Leninist wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party, opposed to the Bolsheviks who defeated them during the Russian Civil War that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Mir
Namestnik
  1. An official who ruled an uyezd and was in charge of local administration.
  2. A type of viceroy in Russia who ruled a namestnichestvo and had plenipotentiary powers.
Narkompros The Soviet Union agency charged with the administration of public education and most of other issues related to culture such as literature and art. Founded by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution, it was renamed in 1946 to the Ministry of Enlightening.
Narodniks The name for Russian revolutionaries that looked on the peasants and intelligentsia as revolutionary forces, rather than the urban working class.
NEP or The New Economic Policy An economic policy instituted in 1921 by Lenin to attempt to rebuild industry and especially agriculture. The policy was later reversed by Stalin.
Nomenklatura In the former Soviet Union, a list of influential posts in government and industry to be filled by Communist Party appointees; collectively the holders of these posts, the Soviet élite.
Obshchina Russian peasant agrarian communities during Imperialist Russia.
Okhrana in full The Okhrannoye otdeleniye The secret police organization for protection of the Russian czarist regimes. It ended with the Bolshevik takeover of Russia in 1917, who set up their own secret police organization called the Cheka.
Okrug
Oprichnina Term for the domestic policy of Russian czar Ivan the Terrible.
Oprichnik plural Oprichniki Name given to the bodyguards of Russian ruler Ivan the Terrible who ruthlessly suppressed any opposition to his reign.
Perestroika The reform of the political and economic system of the former Soviet Union, first proposed by Leonid Brezhnev at the 26th Communist Party Congress in 1979, and later actively promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev from 1985.
Podyachy An office occupation in prikazes and lesser local offices of Russia from the 15th to the 18th century.
Politburo The principal policymaking committee in the former Soviet Union that was founded in 1917; also known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966.
Posadnik A mayor in some East Slavic cities, notably in the Russian cities of Novgorod and Pskov; the title was abolished in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Praporshchik The name of a junior officer position in the military of the Russian Empire equivalent to ensign. Nowadays this rank is used by modern Russian army, police and FSB and is equivalent to warrant officer.
Prikaz
  1. An administrative or judicial office in Muscovy and Russia of 15th–18th centuries; abolished by Peter the Great.
  2. In modern Russian, an administrative or military order.
Propiska a regulation promulgated by the Russian Czar designed to control internal population movement by binding a person to his or her permanent place of residence. Abolished by Lenin, but later reinstated under Stalin in the Soviet Union.
Silovik, plural siloviks or siloviki , a collective name for ministers, generals and other officials of "силовые ведомства" "siloviye vedomstva" - force departments - ministries and other departments which have arms and ability to use armed force, such as the Army, FSB, MVD. The term siloviks is often used to highlight or suggest their inclination use force to solve problems.
Soviet
Sovkhoz plural Sovkhozes eckoje
Sovnarkhoz An organization of the former Soviet Union to manage a separate economic region.
Sovnarkom In the former the Soviet Union, the highest executive and administrative body.
Spetsnaz or Specnaz or Russian special purpose regiments ' A general term for the police or military units within the Soviet Union who engage in special activities. Similar to South African term Commandos.
Stakhanovite
  • In the former Soviet Union, a worker who was exceptionally hardworking and productive, and thus earned special privileges and rewards
  • Any exceptionally hardworking or zealous person, often with connotations of excessive compliance with management and lack of solidarity with fellow workers.
 Stalinism.
  • The political, economic, and social principles and policies associated with Joseph Stalin during his rule of the Soviet Union; especially the theory and practice of communism developed by Stalin which included rigid authoritarianism, widespread use of terror, and often emphasis on Russian nationalism.
  • Any rigid centralized authoritarian form of government or rule.
 Stavka The General Headquarters of armed forces in late Imperial Russia and in the former Soviet Union.
Streltsy singular strelitz, plural strelitzes or strelitzi Units of armed guardsmen created by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century and later abolished by Peter the Great.
Tovarishch also Tovarich ; In the former Soviet Union, a comrade; often used as a form of address.
Tsar also Czar, Tzar, Csar, and Zar.
  • Title of a Southern Slav ruler as in Bulgaria and Serbia.
  • Title for the emperor of Russia from about 1547 to 1917, although the term after 1721 officially only referred to the Russian emperor's sovereignty over formerly independent states.
  • A person with great authority or power in a particular area, e.g. drug czar.
Tsarina also tsaritsa, czarina, German zarin, French tsarine The wife of a tsar; also the title for the Empress of Russia.
Tsarevna also czarevna.
  • The daughter of a tsar.
  • The wife of a tsarevitch.
Tsarevich also tsesarevich, czarevich, tzarevitch Russian: царе́вич, early 18th century, from tsar + patronymic -evich The eldest son of an emperor of Russia; the male heir to a tsar.
Tysyatsky also tysiatsky A military leader in Ancient Rus who commanded a people's volunteer army called tysyacha, or a thousand.
Ukase , a decree:
  1. In Imperial Russia, a proclamation or edict of the ruling tsar or tsarina, the Russian government, or a religious leader that had the force of law.
  2. In the former Soviet Union, a government edict issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and subject to later ratification by the Supreme Soviet.
  3. In the Russian Federation, a Presidential decree.
  4. Any arbitrary command or decree from any source.
Uskoreniye A slogan and a policy initiated in 1985 by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev which aimed at the acceleration of social and economic development of the Soviet Union.
 Votchina also otchina
  1. An East Slavic land estate that could be inherited
  2. The land owned by a knyaz.
Yevsektsiya also Yevsektsia The Jewish section of the Soviet Communist party that was created in 1918 to challenge and eventually destroy the rival Bund and Zionist parties, suppress Judaism and "bourgeois nationalism" and replace traditional Jewish culture with "proletarian culture." It was disbanded in 1929.
Zampolit еститель командира по A military or political commissar.
Zek, zaklyuchennyi In the former Soviet Union, a person held in a Gulag or in a prison.
Zemshchina The territory under the rule of the boyars who stayed in Moscow during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. It was separate from the rule of Ivan's own territory, which was administered by the Oprichnina.
Zemsky Sobor The first Russian parliament of the feudal Estates type during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Zemstvo' A district and provincial assembly in Russia from 1864 to 1917.

Religious

Beglopopovtsy also Beglopopovtsy A denomination of the Old Believers which included priests who had deserted the Russian Orthodox Church during the Raskol.
Bespopovtsy also Bespopovtsy A denomination of the Old Believers which that rejected the priests and a number of church rites such as the Eucharist.
Chlysty also Khlysts, Khlysty A Christian sect in Russia that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century and renounced the priesthood, holy books, and veneration of the saints. They were noted for their practice of asceticism which included ecstatic rituals.
Doukhobor plural Doukhobors or Doukhabors A Christian sect, later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, and social movement, which in the 18th century rejected secular government, the Russian Orthodox priests, icons, all church ritual, the Bible as the supreme source of divine revelation, and the divinity of Jesus. Widely persecuted by the Russian Tsarist regimes, many of them immigrated to Canada in the late 19th century.
Edinoverie, the practice of integrating Old Believer communities into the official Russian Orthodox Church while preserving their rites. The adherents are Edinovertsy.
Imiaslavie also Imiabozhie, Imyaslavie, Imyabozhie; also referred as Onomatodoxy
Lippovan also Lipovan, Lipovans also Russian Old Believers A religious sect that separated from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century.
Molokan A Christian sect which broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church in the mid-16th century and rejected many traditional Christian beliefs including the veneration of religious icons, the Trinity, the worship in cathedrals, and the adherence to saintly holidays.
Pomortsy
Popovtsy also The Popovtsy, or Popovschina A branch of the Old Believers who strived to have priests of their own.
Raskol also Raskolnik Russian: раско́л The schism of the Russian Orthodox Church that was triggered by the 1653 reforms of Patriarch Nikon.
Rogozhskoe Soglasie A denomination among the Popovtsy Old Believers.
Shaman. A tribal priest who enters an altered state of consciousness to commune with spirits.
Skoptzy plural Skopets, also Skoptsy, Skoptzi, Skoptsi, Scoptsy A Russian religious sect that practiced self-castration.
Starets A Russian religious spiritual leader, teacher, or counsellor.
Yurodivy A form of Eastern Orthodox asceticism in which one intentionally acts foolish in the eyes of men; a Holy Fool.
Znamennoe singing also Znamenny Chant The traditional liturgical singing in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Technical, special

Chernozem A dark, humus-rich, fertile soil characteristic of temperate or cool grasslands, especially referring to the soil of the Russian steppes. Ukraine is famous as a country of best chernozem.
Baidarka A type of sea kayak originally made by the Aleut people of Alaska.
Elektrichka A commuter electric train.
Gley A blueish-grey sticky clay found under some types of very damp soil.
Kalashnikov Alternative name for the AK-47 assault rifle A type of rifle or sub-machine gun of Soviet Union and used in most Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War. The term later became associated with nationalist, guerrilla and terrorist groups who use it exclusively or extensively.
Ledoyom, intermontane depressions filled with glaciers
Liman A type of lake or lagoon formed at the mouth of a river, blocked by a bar of sediments, especially referring to such features along the Danube River and the Black Sea.
Marshrutka. A share taxi used in the CIS and Bulgaria. In Kiev, Ukraine and in Russia these are usually large vans or sometimes mini- or midibuses which go usually faster than ordinary buses and more frequently, but do not have monthly pass tickets and have less obligations to carry invalids, pensioners etc. for discounted/free tickets. The word "taxi" is used as Soviet legacy since in 1980's similar marshrutkas, usually small and comfortable Latvian RAF minibuses, in large cities could stop by demand, but only on their specific route and cost more than ordinary bus. In mid 1990 in some cities small minibuses, usually Russian GAZelle, also could stop by demand. Nowadays marshrutkas are rather small buses, but the word "taxi" is used sometimes, in official cases.
Mirovia A hypothesized paleo-ocean which may have been a global ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic Era about 1 billion to 750 million years ago.
Mormyshka also Mormishka, Marmooska A type of fishing lure or a jig.
Podsol also Podzol, Spodosol Any group of soils characterized by greyish-white leached and infertile topsoil and a brown subsoil, typically found in regions with a subpolar climate.
Polynia also polynya, polynia A non-linear area of open water surrounded by sea ice; especially referring for areas of sea in the Arctic and Antarctic regions which remain unfrozen for much of the year.
Redan A type of fortification work in a V-shaped salient angle toward an expected attack.
Rodinia Name given to hypothesized supercontinent said to have existed from 1 billion to 800 million years ago.
Rasputitsa The twice annual season when roads become muddy and impassable in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine due to the melting snows in the spring, and heavy rains in the fall.

Solonchak A pale or grey soil-type found in arid to subhumid, poorly drained conditions.
Solonetz An alkaline soil-type having a hard, dark subsoil under a thin friable topsoil, formed by the leaching of salts from a solonchak.
Tokamak In Nuclear fusion, a toroidal apparatus in which plasma is contained by means of two magnetic fields, a strong toroidal field and a weaker poloidal field generated by an intense electric current through the plasma.
Zastruga sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion, saltation of snow particles, and deposition, and found in polar and temperate snow regions.
Obsolete Russian weights and measures:
Vigorish the amount charged by a bookmaker for taking a bet from a gambler.

Animals and plants

Beluga : A large kind of sturgeon.
Beluga : A type of white whale.
Corsac, a type of fox.
Khramulya, name of several fish species of family Cyprinidae: Anatolian Khramulya, Colchic Khramulya and Sevan khramulya.
Lenok, a genus, Brachymystax, of salmonid fishes.

Various

These are some other untranslatable Russian terms that have articles in English language Wikipedia.
Banya A traditional Russian steam bath.
Bayan A type of chromatic button accordion developed in Russia in the early 20th century.
Belomorkanal
  1. White Sea – Baltic Canal. A ship canal that joins the White Sea with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea.
  2. Belomorkanal, a brand of cheap Soviet cigarettes.
Burlak A Russian epithet for a person who hauled barges and other vessels down dry or shallow waterways from the 17th to 20th centuries.
Bylina A traditional form of Old Russian and Russian epic and heroic narrative poetry of the early East Slavs of Kievan Rus from the 10th to 12th century, a tradition that continued in Russian and Ukrainian history.
Cantonists singular Cantonist Boys, often sons of military conscripts, who attended a type of military school called a Canton, a school that was originally established by Peter the Great; in the 1820s the term was applied to Jewish boys drafted into the Russian army.
Chainik
Chastushka. A traditional type of short Russian folklore humoruos song with high beat frequency, that consists of one four-lined couplet full of humor, satire, or irony. Usually many chastushkas are sung one after another.
Dacha A country house or cottage in Russia.
In archaic Russian, the word dacha means something given. Initially they were small estates in the country, which were given to loyal vassals by the tsar. Typical Soviet dachas were small 600 square meters land plots, given by state to city dwellers where people built their summer houses and grew little gardens.
Dedovshchina
A system of hazing in the Soviet and Russian Army.
GUM A common name for the main department store in many cities of the former Soviet Union and some post-Soviet states; especially referring to the GUM facing Red Square in Moscow.
Izba also Isba A traditional log house of rural Russia, with an unheated entrance room and a single living and sleeping room heated by a clay or brick stove.
Junker A student who attended a type of Russian military school called a Junker school. 4. Former rank of a volunteer in the Russian Navy in 19th and 20th centuries.
Katorga A form of penal servitude during Tsarist Russia, later transformed into the Gulags after the Bolshevik takeover of Russia.
Khodebshchik A person carrying an advertisement hoarding, or a peddler.
Mat Russian obscene language.
Muzhik - a Russian peasant. Used as a topical calque in translations of Russian prose.
Padonki A subculture within the Russian-speaking Internet characterized by choosing alternative spellings for words for comic effect.
Palochka A typographical symbol of the Cyrillic alphabet that looks like the Latin uppercase letter "I". A Russian currency, a superunit of Ruble, 1 palochka is equal to 100 rubles.
Preved A Russian Internet slang, corrupted "privet" .
Sambo
A modern martial art, combat sport and self-defense system originally developed in the former Soviet Union.
Samizdat In the former Soviet Union, the system by which government-suppressed literature was clandestinely written, printed and distributed; the term also is applied to literature itself.
Sbitenshchik A vendor who sold a sbiten, a type of a traditional Russian hot drink been consumed during the winter.
Sharashka also Sharaga, Sharazhka
Informal name for the secret research and development laboratories in the Soviet Union's Gulag labor camp system.
Tamizdat In the former Soviet Union, literary works published outside the country without permission of Soviet authorities.
Zaum A type of poetry used by the Russian Futurist poets.