Index of Russian Date and Calendar Terms

Index of Russian Date and Calendar Terms

In order to find and use specific types of Russian records, researchers need to be able to identify and understand some key terms in the Russian language. The following index contains terms relating to time, dates and calendars transliterated from Russian (left column) and their English translations (right column). The terms included here are those that you are likely to find in Russian genealogical sources. If the term you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a Russian-English dictionary. Compiled by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

Index -- Units of Time - Time of Day - Days - Months - Seasons - Old/New Calendar - Other Terms

Units of Time

Sekunda	second
Minuta	minute
Chas	hour
Den’	day
Nedelya	week
Mesyats	month
God	year
Leto	year
Desyatok	decade
Vek	century; generation
Stoletie	century

Time of Day

Den’	day; afternoon
Noch’	night
Polden’	noon; midday
Polnoch’	midnight
Utro	morning; forenoon
Vecher	evening

Days of the Week

Ponedel’nik	Monday
Vtornik	Tuesday
Sreda	Wednesday
Chetverg	Thursday
Pyatnitsa	Friday
Subbota	Saturday
Voskresen’e	Sunday

Months of the Year

Yanvar’	January
Fevral’	February
Mart	March
Aprel’	April
Mai	May
Iyun’	June
Iyul’	July
Avgust	August
Sentyabr’	September
Oktyabr’	October
Noyabr’	November
Dekabr’	December

Seasons

Vesna	spring
Leto	summer
Osen’	autumn
Zima	winter

Old/New Calendar

Imperial Russia operated on the ‘old-style’ Julian calendar (staryi stil'), which was in common use in Europe after it was authorized by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. However, after 1582, most Western European countries adopted the ‘new-style’ Gregorian calendar (novyi stil') proclaimed by Pope Gregory XIII, which abolished the leap year for centenary years not exactly divisible by 400. By the 19^th century, the old-style calendar was 12 days behind the new-style calendar (13 days behind in a leap-year). In February 1918, the Soviet Union adopted the new-style calendar; however, the Russian Orthodox Church still used the old-style calendar. In the calculation of any historical dates, therefore, one must take into account whether the old-style or new-style calendar was in use.

Other Russian Terms

Bibliography

Dal, V.I. Tolkovyi Slovar Zhivogo Velikorusskago Iazyka. (Moscow, 1999).
Kroutikhin, Mikhail I. Correspondence to the author re: Russian genealogical terms. September, 2006.
Mueller, V.K. English-Russian Dictionary. 24^th Ed. (Moscow, 1995).
Pushkarev, Sergei G. Dictionary of Russian Historical Terms from the Eleventh Century to 1917 (Yale, 1970).