# What does this Russian text on this chart say? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2017, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610 "2017-08-02T07:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/1 "2017-08-02T07:04:23Z")
[Seen here, a curio of the early Soviet atomic program.](http://www.vniief.ru/wps/wcm/connect/vniief/site/resources/ace1cc004abf21aab7ebbfc1a41a6ef6/4_b%281%29%5B1%5D.jpg) It’s just a few lines, but it’s kind of small (though not illegible), evidently handwritten, might use some esoteric technical terms, and includes at least a few abbreviations. Needless to say, this is handily thwarting my meager grasp of Russian, as well as the OCR app I’ve tried. Can anyone help me out, while I gently massage the cramps out of my eyeballs? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/2 "2017-08-02T07:43:41Z")
секретно вид спереди вид сбоку вид сзаду варианты без головного тормозного кольца сверху и с ним снизу при вариант без стабипизирующего кольца на оперении с тормозными щитками вариант только со стабипизирующего кольцом на оперении варианты обводов изделия 601 испытанные в цаги \_\_ Secret front view side view rear view Variants without a brake head ring from above and with it from below Variant without stabilizing ring on plumage(?) with brake flaps Variant only with a stabilizing ring on the plumage(?) Variants of the contours of product 601 tested in cages ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/3 "2017-08-02T08:08:07Z")
View from the front, view from the side, View from the rear. Variants without the head brake circle (disk?) (from the top) and with it (from below) Variant without stabilizing disk on the plumage(???) (with braking flaps) Variant only with stabilizing disk on the plumage. Variant outlines of product 601 test in TSAGY(???) ===================== I’m not sure what they mean by “plumage.” I had to look that word up. Edit: I swear I checked and Aspidistra’s translation wasn’t there when I hit “post.” So, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/4 "2017-08-02T08:20:06Z")
My post was секретный! As an addendum - I wasn’t too happy with "cages"so I looked up [ЦАГИ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TsAGI) - the Professor Zhukovskov Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. ---
**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/5 "2017-08-02T08:47:53Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I’m not sure what they mean by “plumage.” I had to look that word up. I presume plumage refers to the tail fins, which could also be called the tail _feathers_, of the bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/6 "2017-08-02T09:35:40Z")
> [@yendis](#): > > I presume plumage refers to the tail fins, which could also be called the tail _feathers_, of the bomb. On a hunch, I looked up fletching (i.e., the tail fins/feathers on an arrow) and it gave me оперение. Similar but not quite the same as оперении. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/7 "2017-08-02T09:59:56Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > On a hunch, I looked up fletching (i.e., the tail fins/feathers on an arrow) and it gave me оперение. Similar but not quite the same as оперении. оперении is just the prepositional case of оперение, since it follows a preposition. But I guess [a picture is worth a thousand words](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_(%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F)#/media/File:Empennage_(PSF)_ru.svg). The label of the picture is “The оперение of an airplane.” Thanks for looking it up. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/8 "2017-08-02T12:21:35Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > оперении is just the prepositional case of оперение, since it follows a preposition. > > But I guess [a picture is worth a thousand words](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_(%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F)#/media/File:Empennage_(PSF)_ru.svg). The label of the picture is “The оперение of an airplane.” > > Thanks for looking it up. The English word would be “empennage”, from the French meaning “feathering”. Although when applied to missiles etc I think “stabilisers” is the more common term. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/9 "2017-08-02T15:39:51Z")
In this context I’m reasonably sure [оперения](https://www.multitran.ru/c/m.exe?l1=2&l2=1&s=%EE%EF%E5%F0%E5%ED%E8%E5) means “tail assembly”. [Тормозное кольцо](https://www.multitran.ru/c/m.exe?l1=2&l2=1&s=%F2%EE%F0%EC%EE%E7%ED%EE%E5%20%EA%EE%EB%FC%F6%EE) is “locking ring”. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/10 "2017-08-03T13:55:37Z")
Giving my total lack of knowledge of any Russian-like language, but a very minimal knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet, I always find it interesting to note how many Russian words are recognizably similar to English words. Examples from this thread alone are “секретно” (secret) and “вариант” (variant). And of course there’s the now-famous word “компромат”, recognizably related to English “compromise”. ---
**Author:** ![Doubticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@Doubticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubticus)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/11 "2017-08-03T14:58:58Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I always find it interesting to note how many Russian words are recognizably similar to English words. I believe that many Latin words figure prominently in Russian and English. That is the cause for some of the similarities. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/12 "2017-08-03T15:11:20Z")
Modern Russian borrowed liberally from languages around it, including English and German, for modern terms. I recall to this day the joy I had when learning that, in German, “I am going to the movies” could be stated “Ich gehe ins kino.” This was startling to me because I already knew that in Russian, this could be stated “Ya idu f’kino”. It had never occurred to me that a Slavic language would have words in common with a Germanic language. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/13 "2017-08-03T15:14:46Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Modern Russian borrowed liberally from languages around it, including English and German, for modern terms. I recall to this day the joy I had when learning that, in German, “I am going to the movies” could be stated “Ich gehe ins kino.” This was startling to me because I already knew that in Russian, this could be stated “Ya idu f’kino”. It had never occurred to me that a Slavic language would have words in common with a Germanic language. :eek: Russia imported a bunch of German colonists and skilled professionals during IIRC the 18th century (by the 1960s Kazakhstan was 8% German), and the elite largely spoke French during the 19th century. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a lot of German and French influence. And of course many European languages including Russian draw “learned” or technical words from a common source, Greek. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/14 "2017-08-03T18:07:47Z")
Just one more reason to love the Dope… _spasibo_! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/15 "2017-08-04T01:59:21Z")
Thank you all so much—I love you guys. 🙂 As a trivia note, that “TSAGY” is likely the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute [“TsAGI,”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TsAGI) which I can never help imagining being read by Sir Peter Ustinov, thanks to watching a lot of the Discovery Channel’s “Wings of the Red Star” as a kid. One additional little thing: can anyone decipher some of the individual letters/characters after “при” on line two (the bit that starts with what looks like “d x = 0,95 D u”)? I’m _guessing_ those are abbreviations for size/dimensions, but like I said, I don’t have the eye to even make out which single letters those are before I could check if they might match up for the Russian words for “diameter,” “length,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/16 "2017-08-04T03:11:21Z")
It’s well-known that Soviet missiles 'ad beautiful plumage, especially the Murmansk Blue. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/17 "2017-08-04T04:24:22Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > It’s well-known that Soviet missiles 'ad beautiful plumage, especially the Murmansk Blue. You won’t find many of 'em in Notlob, mate. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-text-on-this-chart-say/792610/18 "2017-08-04T06:39:36Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Thank you all so much—I love you guys. 🙂 > > As a trivia note, that “TSAGY” is likely the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute [“TsAGI,”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TsAGI) which I can never help imagining being read by Sir Peter Ustinov, thanks to watching a lot of the Discovery Channel’s “Wings of the Red Star” as a kid. > > One additional little thing: can anyone decipher some of the individual letters/characters after “при” on line two (the bit that starts with what looks like “d x = 0,95 D u”)? I’m _guessing_ those are abbreviations for size/dimensions, but like I said, I don’t have the eye to even make out which single letters those are before I could check if they might match up for the Russian words for “diameter,” “length,” etc. “при” means at, near, or in front of. the letters that look like a lower case “u” is actually an “и” which means “and”. I don’t think the rest of the letters on that line are Cyrillic. I blew the image up as best as I can, but I can’t make out the subscripts. It looks like “d (sub x or sub alpha or sub K) = 0, 95 D” the letter in front of the next D is either an “r” or a “t”. the subscript after the next D just blows up to a fat dot. then “(lower case) L (sub x, alpha, or K, but looks more like a K here) = 0.617 L (sub r or sub upper case gamma)” And the last one looks like “(lower case) gamma (sub x or alpha or k) = 18 degrees”