Russian Submitted Place Names
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ABAKAN (Settlement & River) Russian, EnglishDerived 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] ALMATY (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, EnglishMeaning 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, KazakhCombination 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] BAIKAL (Body of Water) Russian, EnglishDerived 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.
BASHKORTOSTAN (Political Subdivision) Russian, EnglishMeans "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] BELARUS (Country) Belarusian, Russian, EnglishDerived from Slavic
bela meaning "white" and
Rus, a medieval Slavic state; the name literally means "white Rus" or "white Russia".
BISHKEK (Settlement) Kyrgyz, Russian, EnglishMeaning 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] CHECHNYA (Political Subdivision) Russian, EnglishDerived 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.
CHUKOTKA (Political Subdivision) Russian, EnglishDerived 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] DAGESTAN (Political Subdivision) English, RussianCombination 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.
GROZNY (Settlement) Chechen, Russian, EnglishDerived 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] KAVKAZ (Region) Russian, Chechen, Ingush, Karachay-Balkar, Ossetian, Ukrainian, Avar, Lezgin, Chuvash, Kazakh, Croatian, Bosnian, Czech, Uzbek, Macedonian, Serbian, TatarForm of
Caucasus.
KAZAN (Settlement) Tatar, Russian, EnglishMeaning 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, EnglishThe 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, KomiDerived 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] MAKHACHKALA (Settlement) Russian, EnglishCombination 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, EnglishMeans "the valley of apple trees" in Adyghe. Maykop is the capital city of the Russian Republic of Adygea located in the Caucasus.
MOSKVA (Settlement) RussianOriginal Russian form of
Moscow, which refers to the city as well as the Moskva River.
NEFTEKAMSK (Settlement) Russian, EnglishDerived 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) RussianFrom Russian
новий (noviy) meaning "new" and
земля (zemlya) meaning "land". Novaya Zemlya is an island in northern Russia.
PAVLODAR (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, EnglishDerived 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.
SAKHALIN (Island) Russian, EnglishDerived 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.
SHYMKENT (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, EnglishDerived 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.
SORTOBE (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, EnglishMeaning 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.
TASHKENT (Settlement) English, RussianDerived 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, EnglishMeans "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, ArmenianDerived 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] UFA (Settlement) Russian, EnglishMeaning 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] ULAN-UDE (Settlement) Russian, EnglishMeans "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, RussianMeans "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, RussianEnglish 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] YOSHKAR-OLA (Settlement) English, Russian, MariMeans "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.