Modern Russian is based on Old Church Slavonic, which, in turn, was previously used for both writing and speech. Many scrolls and paintings have survived to this day.
Culture of Ancient Russia: writing
Many scholars claim that until the ninth century there was no written language at all. This means that in the days of Kievan Rus, writing as such did not exist.
However, this assumption is erroneous, because if you look at the history of other developed countries and states, you can see that each strong state had its own script. Since Ancient Russia was also included in a number of rather strong countries, writing was also necessary for Russia.
Another group of scientists-researchers proved that there was a written language, and this conclusion was supported by a number of historical documents and facts: Brave wrote the legends “About Writings”. Also, "in the Lives of Methodius and Constantine" it is mentioned that the Eastern Slavs had written language. Ibn Fadlan's notes are also cited as evidence.
So when did writing appear in Russia? Answer tothis issue is still controversial. But the main argument for society, confirming the emergence of writing in Russia, are the agreements between Russia and Byzantium, which were written in 911 and 945.
Cyril and Methodius: a huge contribution to Slavic writing
The contribution of the Slavic enlighteners is invaluable. It was with the beginning of their work that the Slavic language had its own alphabet, which was much simpler in pronunciation and writing than the previous version of the language.
It is known that the educators and their students did not preach among the East Slavic peoples, but researchers say that perhaps Methodius and Cyril set themselves such a goal. Adoption of one's views would allow not only to expand the range of one's interests, but would also simplify the introduction of a simplified language into the East Slavic culture.
In the tenth century, books and lives of the great enlighteners came to the territory of Russia, where they began to enjoy real success. It is to this moment that researchers attribute the emergence of writing in Russia, the Slavic alphabet.
Rus since the appearance of its language alphabet
Despite all these facts, some researchers are trying to prove that the alphabet of the Enlighteners appeared in the days of Kievan Rus, that is, even before baptism, when Rus was a pagan land. Despite the fact that most of the historical documents are written in Cyrillic, there are papers that contain information written in Glagolitic. Researchers say that,probably, the Glagolitic alphabet was also used in Ancient Russia precisely in the period of the ninth-tenth centuries - before the adoption of Christianity by Russia.
Most recently this assumption was proved. Scientists-researchers found a document that contained records of a certain priest Upir. In turn, Upir wrote that in 1044 the Glagolitic alphabet was used in Russia, but the Slavic people perceived it as the work of the enlightener Cyril and began to call it “Cyrillic”.
It's hard to say how different the culture of Ancient Russia was at that time. The emergence of writing in Russia, as is commonly believed, began precisely from the moment of the widespread distribution of the books of the Enlightenment, despite the facts indicating that writing was an important element for pagan Russia.
The rapid development of Slavic writing: the baptism of the pagan land
The rapid pace of development of the writing of the East Slavic peoples began after the baptism of Russia, when writing appeared in Russia. In 988, when Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in Russia, children, who were considered the social elite, began to be taught from alphabetic books. It was at the same time that church books appeared in writing, inscriptions on cylinder locks, and there were also written expressions that blacksmiths knocked out by order on swords. Texts appear on princely seals.
Also, it is important to note that there are legends about coins with inscriptions that were used by princes Vladimir,Svyatopolk and Yaroslav.
And in 1030, birch-bark documents became widely used.
First written records: birch bark letters and books
The first written records were records on birch bark. Such a letter is a written record on a small piece of birch bark.
Their uniqueness lies in the fact that today they are perfectly preserved. For researchers, such a find is of great importance: in addition to the fact that thanks to these letters one can learn the features of the Slavic language, writing on birch bark can tell about important events that took place during the eleventh-fifteenth centuries. Such records have become an important element for studying the history of Ancient Russia.
Besides the Slavic culture, birch bark letters were also used among the cultures of other countries.
At the moment, there are a lot of birch bark documents in the archives, the authors of which are Old Believers. In addition, with the advent of birch bark, people taught how to exfoliate birch bark. This discovery was the impetus for writing books on birch bark. Slavic writing in Russia began to develop more and more.
A find for researchers and historians
The first writings made on birch bark paper, which were found in Russia, were in the city of Veliky Novgorod. Everyone who has studied history knows that this city was of no small importance for the development of Russia.
A new stage in the development of writing: translation as the main achievement
The South Slavs had a huge impact on writing in Russia.
Under Prince Vladimir in Russia, books and documents began to be translated from the South Slavic language. And under Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the literary language began to develop, thanks to which such a literary genre as church literature appeared.
The ability to translate texts from foreign languages was of great importance for the Old Russian language. The first translations (of books) that came from the Western European side were translations from Greek. It was the Greek language that largely changed the culture of the Russian language. Many borrowed words were used more and more in literary works, even in the same church writings.
It was at this stage that the culture of Russia began to change, the writing of which became more and more complicated.
Reforms of Peter the Great: on the way to a simple language
With the advent of Peter I, who reformed all the structures of the Russian people, significant amendments were made even to the culture of the language. The appearance of writing in Russia in ancient times immediately complicated the already complex Slavic language. In 1708, Peter the Great introduced the so-called "civil type". Already in 1710, Peter the Great personally revised every letter of the Russian language, after which a new alphabet was created. The alphabet was distinguished by its simplicity and ease of use. The Russian ruler wanted to simplify the Russian language. Many letters were simply excluded from the alphabet, which made it easier not only to speak, but also to write.
Significant changes in the 18th century: introduction of new symbols
The main change during this period was the introduction of such a letter as "and short". This letter was introduced in 1735. Already in 1797 Karamzin used a new sign to denote the sound "yo".
By the end of the 18th century, the letter "yat" lost its meaning, because its sound coincided with the sound of "e". It was at this time that the letter "yat" was no longer used. Soon she also ceased to be part of the Russian alphabet.
The last stage in the development of the Russian language: small changes
The final reform that changed writing in Russia was the reform of 1917, which lasted until 1918. It meant the exclusion of all letters, the sound of which was either too similar or completely repeated. It is thanks to this reform that today the hard sign (b) is dividing, and the soft sign (b) has become divisive when denoting a soft consonant sound.
It is important to note that this reform caused great dissatisfaction on the part of many prominent literary figures. For example, Ivan Bunin strongly criticized this change in his native language.
