# The CIA denies it is trying to remove a letter from Russian orthography **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407 "2012-12-18T07:04:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/1 "2012-12-18T07:04:35Z")
Some Russians take [peeving](http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2012/08/21/language-pet-peeves-freeman) to a whole new level. [Viktor Chumakov, an 80-year-old retired engineer, thinks the CIA is behind a linguistic shift he disapproves of](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/17/cia-officially-denies-that-it-is-trying-to-erase-a-letter-from-the-russian-alphabet/); namely, the fact the letter [Ё (Yo)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_%28Cyrillic%29) is being replaced by the letter [Е (Ye)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_%28Cyrillic%29) in some contexts: > [@](#): > > The Wall Street Journal has a [long, charming article](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324784404578144972339592016.html?mod=ITP_AHED) on the ups and downs of a Russian letter that is fading from the vernacular. The Cyrillic-alphabet letter, ë, is pronounced “yo.” Apparently, people are starting to drop the dots, even though the resulting e is pronounced “ye” in Russia. The distinction does matter: it’s why Russians know their former leader as Nikita Khrushch_o_v rather than Khrushch_e_v, as he is commonly called by the rest of the world. > > [snip] > > Mr. Chumakov sees a more sinister motivation. He alleges the [Russian Language Institute] is at the heart of a plot by the Central Intelligence Agency to weaken Russia. > > “In any country, the alphabet is an instrument to bring order,” he says, carefully brushing a loose wisp of white hair behind his ear. “If it isn’t respected, everything falls to pieces.” The end of the Cold War really hit some people hard. The interesting part is that the CIA officially responded to this. Slow day in the Corporation? I guess: > [@](#): > > Here’s the important part: a CIA spokesperson formally denied the charge that the U.S. spy agency is behind the letter’s gradual fade from popular usage. “There is absolutely no truth to this allegation,” the spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal. “The Agency supports the practice of good grammar and pronunciation in any language.” And, as you may expect, Chumakov is a bit nostalgic for Stalin: > [@](#): > > Chumakov, for whatever it’s worth, also blames the letter’s decline on the death of Josef Stalin, whose government apparently promoted ë. And the Journal points out that the letter “has a mischievous side, bringing to mind a Russian swear word meaning ‘copulate,’ some forms of which start with ë.” The Cold War, Stalin, the CIA, and sex, all referenced by changing one letter into another. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/2 "2012-12-18T14:51:37Z")
I think this guy would fit right in here at The Dope. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/3 "2012-12-18T15:02:20Z")
Well… “Six sax sex sox” means the horn player is good for almost a week of solo gratification. Change any of those letters, and it sux. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/4 "2012-12-18T15:23:44Z")
I think it is a great idea, mess with their grammer and spelling - undermine their civilization from the inside. The Russian response was to secretly fund technology that lead to texting. It was a master blow. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/5 "2012-12-18T15:56:23Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Some Russians take [peeving](http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2012/08/21/language-pet-peeves-freeman) to a whole new level. [Viktor Chumakov, an 80-year-old retired engineer, thinks the CIA is behind a linguistic shift he disapproves of](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/17/cia-officially-denies-that-it-is-trying-to-erase-a-letter-from-the-russian-alphabet/); namely, the fact the letter [Ё (Yo)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_%28Cyrillic%29) is being replaced by the letter [Е (Ye)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_%28Cyrillic%29) in some contexts. You misspelled Chumakev… ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/6 "2012-12-18T18:32:59Z")
You’re on the list, **Elmer J. Fudd**! –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/7 "2012-12-18T18:52:31Z")
I don’t think alot of weakening a country by changing it’s language in subtle ways. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/8 "2012-12-18T19:13:02Z")
They’re not really serious about changing the language. This is just training for when they make their move to overthrow the Academie and start fucking with French. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/9 "2012-12-18T19:58:39Z")
Wake up SHEE- er, llamrades! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/10 "2012-12-18T20:06:16Z")
This is what happens when your crappy language has an E that sounds like an O. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/11 "2012-12-18T20:54:16Z")
Михаил Сергеевич Горбачёв, aka Mikhail Syergeyevich Gorbachyov, suffered from this: in print and in the U.S. media his name was always “Gorbachev.” But a “ё” in Russian ain’t an “e” in English, whether long or short. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/12 "2012-12-18T21:25:23Z")
n Rss, lttrs rmv Y! ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/13 "2012-12-18T21:46:34Z")
Maybe I’m insufficiently paranoid, but I’m not sure I see how the CIA has sufficient power to alter the American English alphabet, let alone that of another country. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/14 "2012-12-18T22:20:06Z")
I think he’s got it backwards–it’s a KGB/FSB plot to make the language difficult for foreigners to learn. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/15 "2012-12-18T22:34:01Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Maybe I’m insufficiently paranoid, but I’m not sure I see how the CIA has sufficient power to alter the American English alphabet, let alone that of another country. 😃 They’re not allowed to operate inside the U.S. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/16 "2012-12-18T22:58:43Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > They’re not allowed to operate inside the U.S. 😉 They’re _spies_. If there’s one thing they can do by definition, it’s sneaking into places! ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/17 "2012-12-19T13:58:20Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Maybe I’m insufficiently paranoid, but I’m not sure I see how the CIA has sufficient power to alter the American English alphabet, let alone that of another country. 😃 Hey, if Mossad can make [sharks attack egyptians](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11937285), the CIA should be able to change letters. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/18 "2012-12-19T14:53:19Z")
It must make Russian “Wheel of Fortune” a little difficult. “Oleg, I’d like to buy a ‘Yo.’” “Sorry, Piotr, ‘Yo’ is no longer for sale.” ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/19 "2012-12-19T17:21:03Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > It must make Russian “Wheel of Fortune” a little difficult. > > “Oleg, I’d like to buy a ‘Yo.’” > > “Sorry, Piotr, ‘Yo’ is no longer for sale.” Which is unfortunate for Pyotr especially, since his name includes the letter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cia-denies-it-is-trying-to-remove-a-letter-from-russian-orthography/644407/20 "2012-12-19T18:05:45Z")
^^^That was great. As a Russian language learner, I approve of Chumakov’s outrage. It’s hard enough reading a text that distinguishes between e and ё, but when you’re reading one that doesn’t, and you’re not fluent in the language, and you’re looking at a word like **сестры** and trying to determine if that’s truly сестры (genitive singular) or actually сёстры (nominative plural), you get a headache.