Standard Russian · Moskovskoye
The Moscow-area standard of Russian. The reference variety in education, broadcasting, and most second-language teaching.
Volga Russian
Also known as: 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Volga Russian?
Volga Russian is a dialect of the Russian language.
Where is Volga Russian spoken?
Volga Russian is primarily spoken in Russia.
Which region is Volga Russian associated with?
Volga Russian is part of the Europe region on DialectAtlas.
Is Volga Russian known by other names?
Yes — Volga Russian is also referred to as Vladimir-Volga dialects, Middle Russian.
What are the other dialects of Russian?
Russian also includes Moscow Russian, Saint Petersburg Russian, Northern Russian, Southern Russian, Pomor 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 northern Russian dialect group around Vologda and Arkhangelsk. Preserves okanye (clear /o/ in unstressed positions) lost in standard varieties.
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.
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 →202 km away
The sole surviving member of the Oghur branch of Turkic, spoken in Chuvashia in the Volga region. Linguistically the most divergent living Turkic language, with features lost everywhere else in the family.
323 km away
A Kipchak Turkic language of the Volga-Ural region of Russia, centred on Tatarstan and Kazan. The largest minority language of European Russia.
401 km away
The Moscow-area standard of Russian. The reference variety in education, broadcasting, and most second-language teaching.
401 km away
A Northern Romani variety spoken by the Ruska Roma across Russia and Ukraine, shaped by long and intensive contact with Russian. It was the basis of a short-lived literary standard developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s and remains one of the more vital Northern Romani dialects.
711 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.
772 km away
A Kipchak Turkic language of Bashkortostan in the southern Urals. Closely related to Tatar but with distinct phonology and lexicon shaped by the Bashkir steppe heritage.