Word origins

• belugaA whale, Delphinapterus leucas, found in the Arctic Ocean.
• VladivostokA city and seaport in the Russian Far East, on the Sea of Japan, near North Korea; the administrative centre of Primorsky Krai.
• KasparovA Russified Armenian surname from Armenian.
• NIIA Soviet scientific research institute.
• ronaCOVID-19.
• KamchatkaA long peninsula forming part of Kamchatka Krai in the Far East of Russia, lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.
• ChekhovA surname from Russian
• KurskA magnetic anomaly in Chernozemye, Russia, first discovered in 1773, the largest magnetic anomaly on Earth.
• DostoevskyA transliteration of the Russian surname Достое́вский (Dostojévskij).
• rubleThe monetary unit of Russia, Belarus and Transnistria, equal to 100 kopeks. (Russian: копе́йка (kopéjka), Belarusian: капе́йка (kapjéjka)).
• gulagAlso GULAG: the system of all Soviet labour camps and prisons in use, especially during the Stalinist period (1930s–1950s).
• saloa type of fatback, or non-rendered underskin pig fat consumed in Central and Eastern Europe, usually seasoned
• nihilismThe view that all endeavours are devoid of objective meaning.
• vedraA municipality of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
• UfaThe capital and largest city of Bashkortostan, Russia.
• SakhalinThe largest island of Russia, off its eastern coast.
• KharkovSynonym of Kharkiv (city).
• KirillA transliteration of the Russian male given name Кири́лл (Kiríll).
• BaikalA large freshwater lake in Siberia, Russia.
• PavlovTo condition a person or animal to react to a stimulus, without consideration to the meaning of it.
• IrkutskAn oblast and federal subject of Russia in Siberia.
• StepanA transliteration of the Russian or Ukrainian male given name Степа́н (Stepán).
• taigaA subarctic zone of evergreen coniferous forests situated south of the tundras and north of the steppes in the Northern Hemisphere.
• ChitaA city, the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, Siberia, Russia.
• TulaA city in Hidalgo, Mexico, near the remains of the Toltec city Tollan.
• StalingradFormer name of Volgograd: a city, the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia, and site of a famous World War II battle; used from 1925–1961.
• AbkhaziaA geographic region and de-facto independent but largely unrecognized country on the coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus on the border of Europe and Asia, which considers itself an independent state called the Republic of Abkhazia; considered part of Georgia's territory by the Georgian government and the vast majority of the international community.
• SmirnovA transliteration of the Russian surname Смирнов (Smirnov).
• KirovA transliteration of the Russian surname Киров (Kirov).
• RasputinAny influential political advisor who is considered a poor influence due to being a quack or charlatan.
• VolgogradAn oblast and federal subject in southwestern Russia.
• glasnost1980s and early 1990s policy of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev to allow more government transparency; often paired with perestroika
• khaThe name of the Cyrillic script letter Х / х.
• GRUThe Main Intelligence Directorate — the Soviet and then the Russian military intelligence agency.
• bayanA type of chromatic button accordion developed in Russia in the early 20th century.
• RachmaninoffA transliteration of the Russian surname Рахма́нинов (Raxmáninov).
• laikaA type of hunting dog from Russia.
• AntonovA transliteration of the Bulgarian surname Антонов (Antonov).
• intelligentsiaThe intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.
• GubaA woreda in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia.
• DimaA transliteration of the Russian male given name diminutive Ди́ма (Díma).
• gogolA Russian and Ukrainian surname.
• balaclavaA type of warm headgear covering the neck, head, and often part of the face, with apertures left as necessary, often made out of wool.
• sevaSelfless service that is performed without any expectation of reward for performing it.
• tokamakA torus-shaped chamber used in nuclear fusion research in which plasma is magnetically confined.
• KhrushchevEnglish transliteration of the Russian surname Хрущёв (Xruščóv); usually refers to the Russian revolutionary and Soviet Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) Nikita Khrushchev.
• SaratovA city, the administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Volga Region, Volga Federal District, European Russia, Russia.
• MurmanskAn oblast in far northern Russia.
• kabA guided bomb (GBU), in a Soviet or post-Soviet (especially Russian or Ukrainian) military context.
• lapinRabbit fur.
• OvechkinA masculine-form surname from Russian.
• privetAny of various shrubs and small trees in the genus Ligustrum.
• AeroflotThe largest airline in Russia.
• borzoiA dog of a particular breed, similar in shape to a greyhound but with longer silkier hair.
• blatTo cry, as a calf, sheep, or goat.
• OssetiaAn ethnolinguistic region on the border of Europe and Asia, located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The northern part of the region forms North Ossetia-Alania federal subject of Russia. The southern part is South Ossetia.
• CCCPUSSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
• cosmonautAn astronaut, especially a Russian or Soviet one.
• amurAny of various hybrids of the white amur that were bred for aquatic weed control.
• SamarkandThe regional capital of the Samarkand region, Uzbekistan. Official name: Samarqand.
• PetrovaA female surname from the Slavic languages, masculine equivalent Petrov.
• SokolovA surname from Russian
• garnetsAn old Russian dry measure, approximately 3.28 litres.
• VitaliA surname.
• KhodorkovskyA transliteration of the Russian surname Ходорко́вский (Xodorkóvskij).
• aulA village encampment in the Caucasus, Central Asia or the Southern Urals.
• TomskA city, the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia.
• NatalyaA female given name from Russian.
• KuraA river in Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, flowing into the Caspian Sea.
• OmskA city, the administrative center of Omsk Oblast, Russia, the seventh-largest in the country by population.
• KurA mountain or mountains, usually identified as the Zagros mountains to the east of Sumer.
• pavlovaA meringue dessert usually topped with fruit and cream.
• commissarAn official of the Communist Party, often attached to a military unit, who was responsible for political education.
• YevgenyA transliteration of the Russian male given name Евге́ний (Jevgénij).
• PortnoyA surname.
• IngushetiaA republic and federal subject of Russia in the Caucasus. Capital: Magas.
• yurtA large, round, semi-permanent tent with vertical walls and a conical roof, usually associated with Central Asia and Mongolia (where it is known as a ger).
• DagestanA republic and federal subject of Russia, located in the Caucasus region. Capital: Makhachkala.
• MagadanAn oblast and federal subject in far eastern Russia.
• LebedevA transliteration of the Russian surname Лебедев (Lebedev).
• presidiumA permanent executive committee, used primarily in Communist countries, with the power to act for a larger governing body when the latter is in recess.
• KhabarovskA krai and federal subject of Russia, in the Russian Far East.
• smetanaA form of soured cream or crème fraîche from Central and Eastern Europe.
• GomelThe second-largest city of Belarus.
• DubnaA city in Moscow Oblast, Russia.
• agitpropPolitical propaganda disseminated through art, drama, literature, etc., especially communist propaganda; (specifically, communism, historical) such propaganda formerly disseminated by the Department for Agitation and Propaganda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
• MunaA river in Russia
• samizdatThe secret copying and sharing of illegal publications, chiefly in the Soviet Union; underground publishing and its publications.
• KrasnodarA krai and federal subject of Russia, unofficially called Kuban.
• karyotypeThe observed characteristics (number, type, shape, etc) of the chromosomes of an individual or species.
• UstinovA surname from Russian.
• sarmaA dumpling of minced meat and other ingredients wrapped in a leaf (grape or cabbage).
• DostoyevskyA transliteration of the Russian surname Достое́вский (Dostojévskij).
• ChelyabinskAn oblast of Russia, near the Ural Mountains.
• zheThe letter Ж, ж.
• perestroikaA program of political and economic reform carried out in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and early 1990s under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.
• SochiA city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
• blinTo cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up.
• VolkovA surname from Russian.
• AndreevA transliteration of the Russian surname Андреев (Andrejev).