Transliteration of First Name and Surname in a Russian International Passport

Official Transliteration Rules (ICAO and Russian MFA)

The spelling of your first name and surname in a Russian international passport follows official international and national rules. It is not based on how the name sounds or the “English version”, but on a set standard used for machine-readable documents.

International ICAO Standard

The main rule for transliteration comes from the international ICAO standard (Doc 9303) ¹, which is used worldwide for passports and other ID documents. It explains how letters from national alphabets should be written in Latin letters so that machines and people can read and recognise them correctly.

Russian Rules (MFA Orders No. 4271 and No. 2113)

In Russia, the issuing of international passports is regulated by national legal acts, including orders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 4271 ² and No. 2113 ³. These documents set out how passports should be filled in and make sure the ICAO standard is used in practice.

Based on these rules, your name and surname are written in your passport, and this spelling is then used in all official documents and for international travel.

Other systems, such as ISO 9:1995, are used in academic and library work, but are not used for international passports.

Online Transliteration Converter for Russian Passports

If you want to quickly find out how your name or surname will appear in a Russian international passport, use the online transliteration converter. It automatically changes text from Cyrillic to Latin letters according to the official rules (ICAO and Russian standards).

The converter takes into account all the special features of passport transliteration, including special cases (for example, Ю → IU, Я → IA, Ё → E), and gives you the result as it would appear in official documents. Any symbols not included in the transliteration table will stay unchanged.

The information you enter is not saved or shared with anyone else.

Important: The converter result matches the general transliteration rules, but the final spelling in your passport is decided when your document is issued. It may depend on previous documents or your application.

Transliteration Table (for Passports)

The Russian international passport uses a fixed transliteration system, where each letter of the Russian alphabet has a specific Latin equivalent. This system is based on the ICAO international standard and is used in the same way for all first names and surnames ⁴.

It’s important to note that this transliteration does not reflect exact pronunciation and may be different from the usual English spelling.

Transliteration Table for Russian International Passports

Special Cases in Passport Transliteration

For most Russian letters, transliteration is simple: one letter matches one Latin version. However, there are a few special cases that you should know about.

Ъ Hard Sign

In the table from Russian MFA Order No. 4271, the letter Ъ is shown as IE. This may seem unusual because in Russian, this letter does not have its own sound. In practice, it separates a consonant from the following vowel, usually before the letters E, Ё, Ю, Я. So when transliterating words or surnames with this sign, don’t treat Ъ as a normal spoken letter. Its official form is used to keep differences in spelling and to help identify names correctly in documents.

Other Special Rules

• Ё → E: The two dots are not kept. For example: Фёдор → FEDOR.
• Й → I: The “short I” is written as I. For example: Андрей → ANDREI.
• Ю → IU: For example: Юлия → IULIIA.
• Я → IA: For example: Яков → IAKOV.
• Ь: The soft sign is not shown as a separate letter in the official table.

Last updated:
30 Apr 2026