REPORT ON THE CURRENT STATUS OF
UNITED NATIONS ROMANIZATION SYSTEMS FOR GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES
Compiled by the UNGEGN Working Group on Romanization Systems
Version 2.2, January 2003
The United Nations recommended system was approved in 1987 (V/18), based on the official system of the Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography of the former Soviet Union, also known as the GOST 1983 system (GOST 16876-71). The table was published as an annex to the resolution (Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. Montreal, 18-31 August 1987. Vol. I. Report of the Conference, pp. 40-41).
The system is used in the Russian Federation and increasingly in international cartographic products.
Russian uses the Cyrillic script which is alphabetic. The romanization table is unambiguous and can be applied automatically. The system is reversible, although very rarely there can be ambiguities. For example, a geographical name Ojusardah of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) is reconstituted as Ойусардах in the Cyrillic source script, not Оюсардах as would seem logical.
| 1 | А а | a |
| 2 | Б б | b |
| 3 | В в | v |
| 4 | Г г | g |
| 5 | Д д | d |
| 6 | Е е | e |
| 7 | Ё ё | ë |
| 8 | Ж ж | ž |
| 9 | З з | z |
| 10 | И и | i |
| 11 | Й й | j |
| 12 | К к | k |
| 13 | Л л | l |
| 14 | М м | m |
| 15 | Н н | n |
| 16 | О о | o |
| 17 | П п | p |
| 18 | Р р | r |
| 19 | С с | s |
| 20 | Т т | t |
| 21 | У у | u |
| 22 | Ф ф | f |
| 23 | Х х | h |
| 24 | Ц ц | c |
| 25 | Ч ч | č |
| 26 | Ш ш | š |
| 27 | Щ щ | šč |
| 28 | Ъ ъ | " |
| 29 | Ы ы | y |
| 30 | Ь ь | ’ |
| 31 | Э э | è |
| 32 | Ю ю | ju |
| 33 | Я я | ja |
Note. Cursive forms of some characters might be formed differently: Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Фф Хх Цц Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя.
The BGN/PCGN 1947 System provides for the romanization, as a single block, of the following characters differently from the UN system (the Cyrillic character is followed in parentheses by the romanization according to the UN system):
| е (e) | e, yeA |
| ё (ë) | ë, yëA |
| ж (ž) | zh |
| й (j) | y |
| х (h) | kh |
| ц (c) | ts |
| ч (č) | ch |
| ш (š) | sh |
| щ (šč) | shch |
| э (è) | e |
| ю (ju) | yu |
| я (ja) | ya |
The transliteration of Cyrillic characters contained in the standard ISO 9:1995 provides for the romanization, as a single block, of the following characters differently from the UN system:
| щ (šč) | ŝ |
| ю (ju) | û |
| я (ja) | â |