Russian Submitted Place Names

Russian names are used in the country of Russia and in Russian-speaking communities throughout the world. See also about Russian names.
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Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ABAKAN (Settlement & River) Russian, English
Derived from the name Abakhan which is the name of a mythological Turkish khan (king). His name means "bear's blood" in the Khakas language, and was bestowed to the present-day Abakan River and the city of the same name... [more]
ABKHAZIYA (Country & Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Abkhazia.
ADYGEYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Adygea.
ALMATY (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English
Meaning disputed. One theory suggests that the name comes from Almatu, a medieval tribe that inhabited the area near present-day Almaty. Another states that the name is derived from the Kazakh word алма (alma) meaning "apple".
ALTAI (Political Subdivision & Mountain) English, Mongolian, Russian, Altai, Kazakh
Combination of Mongolian алт (alt) meaning "gold" and тай (tay) meaning "with" (wholly meaning "the mountain with gold"). The Altai Republic is a federal subject north of Mongolia in Russia... [more]
ALTAY (Political Subdivision & Mountain) Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz
Russian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz form of Altai.
BAIKAL (Body of Water) Russian, English
Derived from Mongolian Байгал нуур (Baygal nuur) meaning "nature lake"; from Mongolian байгалө (baigalö) "nature" and нуур (nuur) "lake". Lake Baikal is a rift lake in Siberia of Russia and the largest freshwater lake in the world.
BASHKIRIYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Bashkiria.
BASHKORTOSTAN (Political Subdivision) Russian, English
Means "land of the Bashkirs"; a combination of Bashkir—from Turkic baş meaning "head, chief, main, principal" and kurt meaning "wolf"—and the Persian suffix ـستان (-stan) meaning "land, place of", "country"... [more]
BISHKEK (Settlement) Kyrgyz, Russian, English
Meaning uncertain. It could be derived from besh meaning "five" and kek meaning "chiefs", the word pishagakh meaning "place beneath the mountains" or from Kazakh besh meaning "five" and bik meaning "peaks"... [more]
BURYATIYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Buryatia.
CHECHNYA (Political Subdivision) Russian, English
Derived from Russian Чечня (Chechnya), which is possibly from Kabardian shashan with an unknown meaning. The term "Chechen" was first seen in Arabic texts in the 8th century. Chechnya (known as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the Chechen secession from Russia in the 1990s) is a Russian republic located in the Caucasus.
CHERKESIYA (Region) Russian
Russian form of Circassia.
CHUKOTKA (Political Subdivision) Russian, English
Derived from the Russian name Чукчи (Chukchi), referring to the native people who originally inhabited the area. The word Chukchi is derived from Chukchi Chauchu meaning "rich in reindeer", used by the Reindeer Chukchi people to distinguish themselves from the Maritime Chukchi (the Anqallyt meaning "sea people")... [more]
CHUVASHIYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Chuvashia.
DAGESTAN (Political Subdivision) English, Russian
Combination of Turkic dağ meaning "mountain" and the Persian suffix ـستان (-stān) meaning "land, place of". Dagestan is a federal subject in southern Russia situated in the Caucasus region.
GRETSIA (Country) Russian
Russian variant transcription of Gretsiya which is Russian form of Greece.
GROZNY (Settlement) Chechen, Russian, English
Derived from Russian грозный (grozniy) meaning "fearsome" or "formidable". It is informally referred as Соьлжа–Гӏала (Solzha Ghala), "the city on the Sunzha River", by the local Chechen people... [more]
KABARDINO-BALKARIYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Kabardino-Balkaria.
KARELIYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Karelia.
KAZAN (Settlement) Tatar, Russian, English
Meaning disputed, although some sources say that the name of the city is derived from the Volga Bulgar and Tatar word qazan meaning "boiler" or "cauldron". Other sources say that it comes from the name of the Kazanka River or that it was named after the cauldron-shaped hill the city sits atop of... [more]
KIEV (Settlement) Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, German, English
The name Kiev comes from a medieval legend about the founding of the city told by a Chronicler of Rus-Ukraine. It was three brothers, Kie, Shchek and Khoriv, and their sister Lebid, who were the founders.
KOMI (Political Subdivision) English, Russian, Komi
Derived directly from the name Коми (Komi), referring to the native people of the region. The word Komi is a self-designation of the ethnic group, derived from a Finno-Ugric word for "man, human"... [more]
KRYM (Region) Russian, Ukrainian
Russian and Ukrainian form of Crimea.
MAKEDONIYA (Country) Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian
Russian, Bulgarian, and Ukrainian form of Macedonia.
MAKHACHKALA (Settlement) Russian, English
Combination of Makhach, the nickname of Dagestani revolter Magomed-Ali Dakhadaev and Kumyk къала (qala) meaning "fortress". In the Kumyk language, it is referred to as Анжикъала (Anzhiqala) meaning "pearl fortress" (анжи (anzhi) "pearl", къала (qala) "fortress")... [more]
MAYKOP (Settlement) Russian, English
Means "the valley of apple trees" in Adyghe. Maykop is the capital city of the Russian Republic of Adygea located in the Caucasus.
MOSKVA (Settlement) Russian
Original Russian form of Moscow, which refers to the city as well as the Moskva River.
NEFTEKAMSK (Settlement) Russian, English
Derived from Russian нефть (neft') meaning "oil, petroleum" and the name of the Kama River. Neftekamsk is a city in Russia and the Republic of Bashkortostan.
NOVAYA ZEMLYA (Island) Russian
From Russian новий (noviy) meaning "new" and земля (zemlya) meaning "land". Novaya Zemlya is an island in northern Russia.
ORDA (Other) Russian
PAVLODAR (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English
Derived from the name of Pavel Alexandrovich, a former Grand Duke of Russia. The city was originally named Koryakovsky before Pavel's birth. Pavlodar is a northeastern city in Kazakhstan.
RESPUBLIKA SAKHA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of the Sakha Republic.
SAKHALIN (Island) Russian, English
Derived from Manchu sahaliyan meaning "black". A misconception of the original Manchu word led to the present name. "Sahaliyan Ula" is also the Manchu name for the Amur River. Sakhalin Island is an island in the Far East of Russia, right above Japan.
SANKT PETERBURG (Settlement) Russian
Russian form of Saint Petersburg.
SHYMKENT (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English
Derived frim Turkic chim, shym meaning "turf, meadow" and kent meaning "city". The name means "green city". Shymkent is a city in Kazakhstan and was formerly named Chimkent.
SINGAPUR (Country, Settlement & Island) Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Russian, Tajik, Uzbek, Bulgarian, Croatian
Form of Singapore.
SORTOBE (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English
Meaning unknown. Sortobe is a small settlement located near the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The population consists mostly of Dungans, an ethnic group from China.
TADZHIKISTAN (Country) Russian
Russian form of Tajikistan.
TASHKENT (Settlement) English, Russian
Derived from Turkic tash meaning "stone" and kent meaning "city"; literally means "stone city". Tashkent is the capital of the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan.
TATARSTAN (Political Subdivision) Tatar, Russian, English
Means "land of the Tatars"; a combination of Tatar—most likely created in the nomadic Tatar confederation and transmitted into Latin, English, French, etc… from Persian and Turkish tātār "mounted messenger" and the Persian suffix ـستان (-stān) "place, land of", "country".Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia.
TUNIS (Settlement & Country) English, Arabic, Croatian, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Armenian
Derived from the name تُونِس (tūnis), of disputed meaning. One theory suggests Berber origin from the Tamazight root ⵜⵏⵙ (tns) meaning "to lay down" or "encampment" or ens meaning "to lie down, to pass the night", Others state that the name is from Tanith, the name of a Phoenician goddess, or from Tynes, the name of an ancient city... [more]
TURTSIYA (Country) Russian
Russian form of Turkey.
TYVA (Political Subdivision) Russian, Tuvan
Russian and Tuvan form of Tuva.
UFA (Settlement) Russian, English
Meaning unknown. It could possibly be derived from Turkic ufak meaning "small", uba meaning "hill" (possibly a reference to a hill it sits atop of), up meaning "water" in Persian, or from the name of Bashkir tribe, upai... [more]
UKRAINA (Country) Ukrainian, Russian
Ukrainian and Russian form of Ukraine.
ULAN-UDE (Settlement) Russian, English
Means "red Uda" in Buryat, referring to communism (red) and the Uda River. It was formerly called Udinskoye, Udinsk, and Verkhneudinsk. Ulan-Ude is a city in Russia and the capital of the Russian federal subject of Buryatia.
VLADIKAVKAZ (Settlement) English, Russian
Means "ruler of the Caucasus", from the Slavic element vladeti meaning "to rule, to control" and the Russian word Кавказ (Kavkaz) meaning "Caucasus". Vladikavkaz is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.
VOLGA (River) English, Russian
English and Russian name for the largest river in Europe. The Old Mari name of the river is Volgydo, which means "bright". The name volgydo is cognate to Finno-Ugric valkea meaning "white" or "bright"... [more]
YAKUTIYA (Political Subdivision) Russian
Russian form of Yakutia.
YOSHKAR-OLA (Settlement) English, Russian, Mari
Means "red city" in Mari. The city was formerly named Tsaryovokokshaysk and Krasnokokshaysk. Yoshkar-Ola is a city in Russia and the capital city of the Russian republic of Mari El.