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The history of the Russian language traces its origins to the East Slavic languages spoken by the early inhabitants of the Kievan Rus' around the 9th century. It evolved from Old East Slavic, which was influenced by the Church Slavonic language brought by Byzantine missionaries, particularly after the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988. Over the centuries, the language underwent significant changes, such as the development of a more distinct grammar and vocabulary in the 14th and 15th centuries. The emergence of Moscow as a political and cultural center in the 15th and 16th centuries contributed to the consolidation of the Russian language, with literary works in the language becoming more widespread during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and the rise of the Russian Empire.

 

In the modern era, Russian continued to evolve, with the 18th century marking a pivotal point under the influence of Peter the Great, who reformed the language by introducing a more standardized system of grammar and spelling, drawing from Western European languages. The 19th century saw the flourishing of Russian literature, with writers like Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky shaping the language's literary legacy. During the Soviet period, the Russian language became the lingua franca of the Soviet Union and was promoted through official policies, while the influence of the Russian diaspora and global media continued to expand its reach. Today, Russian remains one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 250 million speakers.

To hear the 1st paragraph of the 1st Russian translation, Click Here

To hear the 1st paragraph of the 2nd Russian translation, Click Here.

Like a growing number of languages into which Harry Potter has been translated,  Russian has two different translations. The first translation is published by Rosman. There are a few different editions of these Russian books - with a few editions only being available in books 1 -5, with the rarer books of the sets being the later ones. Rosman also published some editions with unique cover art as well. The Mary GrandPre Russian translations are all pretty easily found; the "Black set", the Gift Edition, and the Adult Edition are much harder to find. At this time, I am not aware of any softcover Russian Potter books. 

Гарри Поттер и философский камень

ISBN: 5845105129

SBN: 535300308X

1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Гарри Поттер и Тайная комната

ISBN: 9785353003090

Гарри Поттер и узник Азкабана

ISBN: 5353003705

ISBN: 9785353004325

1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Гарри Поттер и Кубок огня

ISBN: 9785353005797

1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Гарри Поттер и Орден Феникса

ISBN: 

1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Гарри Поттер и Принц-полукровка

ISBN: 

1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Гарри Поттер и Дары Cмерти

ISBN: 9785353029075

1st Edition Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
RussianBox.jpg

Rosman produced several box sets, and this is one of them. I've actually not seen this set for sale, so unsure on rarity. Also, there isn't an ISBN on the box itself, which can make this box set more difficult to hunt for. 

Thanks again, Terrell, for sending photos this way!

Russian Gift Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

ISBN: 5353013395

Russian Gift Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

ISBN: 5353013409

The Russian Gift Editions were first published in 2003 by Rosmen. They are so pretty and fairly hard to find now. Only books 1 - 5 were published in this edition. Book 5 is the rarest of the 5. Additionally, these books are becoming more collectible with the expanding Potter translation collecting market. 

Russian Gift Edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

ISBN: 5353013417

Russian Gift Edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

ISBN: 5353013425

ISBN: 5353018044

The Adult Russian Editions were published in 2004 by Rosmen. Only books 1 -5 were published, and they're quite hard to find (8/10), even in Russia. And like the above Gift Edition, the later books are the most rare. 

Adult Edition
Russian Adult Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Russian Adult Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Russian Adult Edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

ISBN: 5353016815

ISBN: 5353016823

ISBN: 5353016831

Russian Adult Edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

ISBN: 535301684X

Russian Adult Edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

ISBN: 5353016858

The Black Edition was published by Rosmen in 2008 as a set. I know the publication was quite limited, and something like 5,000 to 10,000 sets were made, making them highly sought after and rare, even in Russia. They also tend to be quite pricey, with books selling around $70-$150 each and sometimes higher. All 7 books were published in this edition, although I am still missing 3 of them. HOWEVER, thanks to Terrell, I am able to show you pictures of the spine art as well as the 3 missing books! Thanks SO much!

Black Edition
Russian Black Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Russian Black Edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Black1.jpg

Поттер и философский камень

ISBN: 9785353031703

Гарри Поттер и Тайная комната

ISBN: 9785353031710

Гарри Поттер и узник Азкабана

ISBN: 9785353031727

Гарри Поттер и Кубок огня

ISBN: 9785353031734

Russian Black Edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Гарри Поттер и Орден Феникса

ISBN: 9785353031741

Russian Black Edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Гарри Поттер и Принц-полукровка

ISBN: 9785353031758

Гарри Поттер и Дары Смерти

ISBN: 9785353031765

In 2014, The publisher, Machoan, published the books into Russian for the 2nd time. This translation actually existed before the 1st authorized translation (above), but was unauthorized. This translation has not been well received by native Russian speakers; however, Russian second-language learners tend to prefer this translation over the Rosmen. Maria Spivak translated books 1 - 7 for Machoan. Machoan also has also published Hogwarts House editions as well. The 1st edition of the 2nd translation (pictured below), uses the well-known and much-loved art by Kazi Kibuishi. Book 2 - 7 as well as the box set (published in 2021) are owned by Terrell - thank you!

2nd Translation
2nd Russian Translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Гарри Поттер и философский камень

ISBN: 9785389074354

Гарри Поттер и Тайная комната

ISBN: 9785389077812

Гарри Поттер и узник Азкабана

ISBN: 9785389077881

Гарри Поттер и Кубок огня

ISBN: 9785389077898

Гарри Поттер и Орден Феникса

ISBN: 9785389077904

Гарри Поттер и Принц-полукровка

ISBN: 9785389077911

Гарри Поттер и Дары Смерти

ISBN: 9785389077928

Box Set ISBN: 9785389106680

SelznickRussian.jpg

A box set, released in 2021, is also available with David Selznick cover art - I don't think the books are available separately. 

Box Set ISBN: 9785389196223

Buy the set

IMG_5080.jpg

ISBN: 9785389136243

In 2018, the publisher released House Edition books. However, as of May 2025, only the first 5 books have been produced in this edition. 

I'm not sure how much you can tell from the photo of the green side edge, but the green is more of a mint green rather than a deep green.

ISBN: 9785389108189

JimKayRussian.jpg

ISBN: 9785389115583

JKCOSRussian.jpg

ISBN: 9785389118379

AzkabanJK.jpg

ISBN: 9785389133198

GOFJK.jpg

At this time, only the first 4 Jim Kay illustrated books are available in Russian by Machoan. I also haven't seen any MinaLima illustrated Russian books.

Сказки Барда Бидля

ISBN: 9785389127326

RussianBeedle.jpg

Alongside this Tales of Beedle the bard translation, there is also the illustrated Tales of Beedle the Bard (w/ Jonny Duddle cover) as well as other auxiliary books.

Click to Shop

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