All Russian study resources

Study Resource: How to punctuate dialogue in Russian?

By: Anna Classing

Introducing the quote

When the sentence starts with the quote, follow it with a dash ( – ).
“Мы на пороге важнейшего открытия!” – сказал профессор.
Transcription: “my na paROgye vazhNYEYsheva atKRYtiya” - skaZAL praFYEsar
Translation: “We are on the verge of a major discovery!” said the professor.
Notice that after the dash, we use a lowercase letter.
Rather than using quotes, you can just use dashes on either side of the quote:
– Мы на пороге важнейшего открытия! – сказал профессор.
Transcription: - my na paROgye vazhNYEYsheva atKRYtiya! - skaZAL praFYEsar
Translation: “We are on the verge of a major discovery!” said the professor.
When the sentence ends with the quote, introduce the quote with a colon ( : ).
Профессор сказал: “Мы на пороге важнейшего открытия!”
Transcription: praFYEsar skaZAL: “my na paROgye vazhNYEYsheva atKRYtiya!”
Translation: The professor said, “We are on the verge of a major discovery!”
Notice that the quote begins with a capital letter.
Rather than using quotes, you can use a colon and present the quote on a new line, beginning with a dash:
Профессор сказал:
– Мы на пороге важнейшего открытия!
Transcription: praFYEsar skaZAL my na paROgye vazhNYEYsheva atKRYtiya
Translation: The professor said, “We are on the verge of a major discovery!”