ь is a soft sign

This letter is something of a counterpart to the hard sign (tvordii znak). It is similar in appearance: ь printed and ь written (it too is never at the beginning of a word and has no capital form). It doesn't have quite the intriguing political background, though. Instead, it is the bane of students learning Russian. Called the мякий знак (myakii znak), or "soft sign," it changes the pronunciation of the consonant preceding it from hard to soft. This is a very subtle shift, somewhat like the difference between "canon" and "canyon," or "boo-tiful" and "beautiful."

ы is a special vowel

This letter is difficult to approximate in terms of English sounds. It is closest to a short, hard "i." It looks like ы printed and ы written. It will never be the first letter in a word, but it is otherwise quite common in Russian.

ъ is a hard sign

In Russian there are a couple tricky letters that don't ever begin a word. This one (ъ), which looks like ъ in handwriting, is called a tvyordi znak (твёрдыи знак), which means "hard sign." It creates a separation in the word, but has no sound of its own. I can see why my cousin says we should get rid of it...

Note: This letter has some interesting cultural/historical connotations. As I tried to blithely and obliquely convey at the end, the early Bolshevik government that was coming into power at the time of the Yozhins called for the abolition of ъ at the end of words -- one could say that the Civil War had a spelling front (specifically the enforcement of the spelling reforms of 1918). Later, it slowly began to be used again (though not often) within words, and in post-Soviet Russian may even be found at the end of a word, either ironically or to evoke a sense of conservative values. Fascinating!

Щ is for schyogol

This letter is tricky to put into English terms. Sometimes, it is transliterated as "sch" (as in "borscht"), other times as "shsh" (like the phrase "fresh sheets") It's sort of a softer, more drawn out version of "Ш." In handwriting, it looks like Щщ, with little loops like the ones on "Цц."

Щёголь is a dandy. What a fashion plate!

I'm not really sure what this had to do with anything. I just like drawing foppishly-dressed up hedgehogs...

Ш is for shakhmati

This letter is pronounced like the "sh" sound in English, but hard like "shock," rather than soft like "sheep." In handwriting, it looks like Шш.

Шахматы ("shakhmati") is the great sport of chess! "Шах" means "check" and "мат" means "mate." Sasha is learning how to play from cousin Kolya. He has enthusiasm, at least.

Ч is for Chekhov

This letter is pronounced like an English "ch," but slightly softer (like "cheap," not "chop"). Sometimes it is transliterated as "tch" (as in Tchaikovsky). In handwriting, it looks like Чч.

Антон Павлович Чехов/Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) was a great Russian writer, whose short stories and plays are still highly revered today.

Of course, if you forget to type the "h" when you are looking him up, you may instead find Pavel Andreevich Chekov (Павел Андреевич Чехов), fictional navigator of the Starship Enterprise. How you transliterate can make a great difference!

Ц is for tsar

This is a slightly tricky one. It is pronounced like the "zz" in "pizza" and transliterated usually as "ts," but sometimes as "cz." In handwriting it appears as Цц, with little connecting loops that are smaller than those on Уу.

Царь (tsar') is the title of the ruler of the Russian Empire. Our tsar is Nikolai Romanov II. He has a big beautiful palace in St. Petersburg. My cousin goes to university there. My cousin does not like the tsar very much.

Х is for khimik

This letter is not what it seems! It is pronounced as a hard "h," like the "ch" in "Bach" or "loch." It is generally written in English as "kh," (as seen in the name "Chekhov"). In handwriting, it looks like Хх.

Химик ("khimik") is a chemist. Here is Dmitri Mendeleev, who is famous for pioneering the Periodic Table of the Elements. Not only did he create one of the main early tables on which our current one is based, but he predicted the existence of several of the elements not known at the time!