As a general rule, Russians tend to use cursive when handwriting, and it’ll help you enormously if you learn both to read and write this script before you go to Russia.
Printed and cursive Russian can look quite different at first, and there are countless stories of students who have learned the Russian alphabet (азбука, azbuka), mastered basic vocabulary, and can read printed Cyrillic without difficulty, yet on visiting Russia, they find not only handwritten notes and letters, but also stylized signs and advertisements totally illegible.
Bonus
Download our free writing practice sheet to perfect your Russian cursive handwriting.
How to write Russian Cyrillic cursive
А а а
Б б б
В в в
Г г г
Д д д
Е е е
Ё ё ё
Ж ж ж
З з з
И и и
Й й й
К к к
Л л л
М м м
Н н н
О о о
П п п
Р р р
С с с
Т т т
У у у
Ф ф ф
Х х х
Ц ц ц
Ч ч ч
Ш ш ш
Щ щ щ
ъ ъ
ы ы
ь ь
Э э э
Ю ю ю
Я я я
Russian cursive handwriting practice sheet
Penmanship is still highly valued in Russia, and every pupil learns beautiful cursive in the very first grade, mostly through practice using what is commonly called прописи (propisi)—a workbook with examples of words in cursive Cyrillic and special lined pages for the children to write on their own.
These can be difficult to obtain abroad, so we’ve prepared a handy practice sheet for you to print out and use instead, whether you’re a foreigner learning Russian, or an expat looking for resources to teach your children.
