BGN/PCGN romanization system for Russian is a method forromanization ofCyrillicRussian texts, that is, theirtransliteration into theLatin alphabet as used in the English language.
There are a number of systems forromanization of Russian, but the BGN/PCGN system is relatively intuitive foranglophones to pronounce. It is part of the larger set ofBGN/PCGN romanizations, which includes methods for 29 different languages. It was developed by theUnited States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and by thePermanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use (PCGN). The portion of the system pertaining to theRussian 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 theinterpunct 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 convertsë toyo, simplifies-iy and-yy endings to-y and omits apostrophes forъ andь.
The following table describes the system and provides examples.
| Russian letter | Romanization | Special provision | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| А (а) | A (a) | None | Азов =Azov Тамбов = Tambov |
| Б (б) | B (b) | None | Барнаул =Barnaul Кубань = Kubanʼ |
| В (в) | V (v) | None | Владимир =Vladimir Ульяновск = Ulʼyanovsk |
| Г (г) | G (g) | None | Грозный =Groznyy Волгодонск = Volgodonsk |
| Д (д) | D (d) | None | Дзержинский =Dzerzhinskiy Нелидово = Nelidovo |
| Е (е) | Ye (ye) |
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| E (e) | All other cases | Белкино = Belkino | |
| Ё (ё) | Yë (yë) |
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| Ë (ë) | All other cases | Озёрный = Ozërnyy | |
| Ж (ж) | Zh (zh) | None | Жуков =Zhukov Лужники = Luzhniki |
| З (з) | Z (z) | None | Звенигород =Zvenigorod Вязьма = Vyazʼma |
| И (и) | I (i) | None | Иркутск =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 cases | Йошкар-Ола =Yoshkar-Ola Бийск = Biysk | |
| К (к) | K (k) | None | Киров =Kirov Енисейск = Yeniseysk |
| Л (л) | L (l) | None | Ломоносов =Lomonosov Нелидово = Nelidovo |
| М (м) | M (m) | None | Менделеев =Mendeleyev Каменка = Kamenka |
| Н (н) | N (n) | None | Новосибирск =Novosibirsk Кандалакша = Kandalaksha |
| О (о) | O (o) | None | Омск =Omsk Красноярск = Krasnoyarsk |
| П (п) | P (p) | None | Петрозаводск =Petrozavodsk Серпухов = Serpukhov |
| Р (р) | R (r) | None | Ростов =Rostov Северобайкальск = Severobaykalʼsk |
| С (с) | S (s) | None | Сковородино =Skovorodino Чайковский = Chaykovskiy |
| Т (т) | T (t) | None | Тамбов =Tambov Мытищи = Mytishchi |
| У (у) | U (u) | None | Углич =Uglich Дудинка = Dudinka |
| Ф (ф) | F (f) | None | Фурманов =Furmanov Уфа = Ufa |
| Х (х) | Kh (kh) | None | Хабаровск =Khabarovsk Прохладный = Prokhladnyy |
| Ц (ц) | Ts (ts) | None | Цимлянск =Tsimlyansk Елец = Yelets |
| Ч (ч) | Ch (ch) | None | Чебоксары =Cheboksary Печора = Pechora |
| Ш (ш) | Sh (sh) | None | Шахтёрск =Shakhtërsk Мышкин = Myshkin |
| Щ (щ) | Shch (shch) | None | Щёлково =Shchëlkovo Ртищево = Rtishchevo |
| Ъ (ъ) | ˮ | This 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 |
| ·y | After 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) | ʼ | This letter does not occur at the beginning of a word. | Тюмень = Tyumenʼ |
| Э (э) | ·e | After 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 cases | Электрогорск =Elektrogorsk Руэм = Ruem | |
| Ю (ю) | Yu (yu) | None | Юбилейный =Yubileynyy Ключевская = Klyuchevskaya |
| Я (я) | Ya (ya) | None | Якутск =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 |