Standard Russian · Moskovskoye
The Moscow-area standard of Russian. The reference variety in education, broadcasting, and most second-language teaching.
Northern Russian
The northern Russian dialect group around Vologda and Arkhangelsk. Preserves okanye (clear /o/ in unstressed positions) lost in standard varieties.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Northern Russian?
Northern Russian is a dialect of the Russian language.
Where is Northern Russian spoken?
Northern Russian is primarily spoken in Russia.
Which region is Northern Russian associated with?
Northern Russian is part of the Europe region on DialectAtlas.
What are the other dialects of Russian?
Russian also includes Moscow Russian, Saint Petersburg Russian, Southern Russian, Pomor Russian, Volga Russian, Ural Russian, Siberian Russian, Far Eastern Russian, Kazakhstani Russian. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Russian dialects
See on the atlas →Petersburg pronunciation
The traditional educated speech of Saint Petersburg. Distinct from Moscow Russian in clearer enunciation of unstressed vowels and a number of lexical preferences.
The southern Russian dialect group spanning Voronezh, Rostov, and the broader steppe. Marked by fricative /ɣ/ and a distinct verb-ending system.
Pomorsky govor
The Russian of the Pomor coastal communities along the White Sea. A North Russian variety with a distinct lexicon shaped by maritime life, fishing, and contact with Karelian and Saami.
Vladimir-Volga dialects · Middle Russian
The Central Russian dialects of the middle Volga, around Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir. A transitional zone between the Northern and Southern dialect groups.
Uralsky govor
The Russian of the Ural region around Yekaterinburg and Perm. Mixes Northern and Central Russian features with contact influence from local Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages.
Sibirskie govory
The Russian varieties of Western and Central Siberia, descended from northern-Russian settlers. Distinguished by retained okanye, a conservative lexicon, and contact features from indigenous Siberian languages.
Dalnevostochny govor
The Russian of the Russian Far East around Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. The youngest major regional variety, formed through 19th- and 20th-century settlement; close to standard Russian with regional vocabulary tied to Pacific life.
The Russian of Kazakhstan, used by ethnic Russians and as a second language by many Kazakhs. Based on standard Russian but with regional vocabulary, code-switching, and Kazakh contact features.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →276 km away
The Russian of the Pomor coastal communities along the White Sea. A North Russian variety with a distinct lexicon shaped by maritime life, fishing, and contact with Karelian and Saami.
436 km away
A Finnic Uralic language spoken across the Republic of Karelia in Russia and adjacent parts of eastern Finland. Closely related to Finnish but distinct enough to be classified as a separate language.
607 km away
A Permic Uralic language of the Komi Republic in northern European Russia. One of the oldest written Uralic languages, with a literary tradition going back to the 14th-century missionary Stephen of Perm.
735 km away
The traditional educated speech of Saint Petersburg. Distinct from Moscow Russian in clearer enunciation of unstressed vowels and a number of lexical preferences.
874 km away
A Northern Romani variety spoken by the Finnish Kale in Finland and, through twentieth-century migration, in Sweden. It shows heavy structural and phonological influence from Finnish, including consonant gradation, and is one of the most distinctive Northern Romani dialects. Intergenerational transmission has weakened markedly.
933 km away
The Central Russian dialects of the middle Volga, around Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir. A transitional zone between the Northern and Southern dialect groups.