Russian City Name Generator
Real and realistic Russian city names
Generate Russian city and town names, from real cities like Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to convincing invented ones such as Verkhneozersk, Novoserebryansk and Tikhogorsk. Suited to spy thrillers, alternate history, Cold War games and Slavic-flavoured fantasy.
About Russian city names
Russian city names follow a few clear formulas, and once you know them the invented ones become easy to spot as authentic. The most common ending is -sk or -ovsk (Omsk, Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Khabarovsk), originally an adjective suffix meaning "of the [river or person]": Omsk is the town on the Om, Irkutsk on the Irkut. Old towns founded before the 1600s tend to end in -ov, -ev, -in or -ograd (Pskov, Rostov, Tver, Volgograd), while -gorod means "city" outright, as in Novgorod ("new city") and Belgorod ("white city").
Descriptive prefixes stack onto those roots. Nizhny and Verkhny mean lower and upper (Nizhny Novgorod, Verkhnyaya Pyshma), Novo- means new (Novosibirsk, Novorossiysk), Staraya means old (Staraya Russa), and Krasno- means red or beautiful (Krasnoyarsk, Krasnodar). Cities named after rivers use "-on-" or "-na-" constructions (Rostov-on-Don, Komsomolsk-on-Amur), and Soviet-era foundations often honour a person or ideal: Tolyatti, Komsomolsk, Zheleznogorsk ("iron mountain").
This list combines Russia's real cities and historic towns with a set of invented names built from those same pieces, so a thriller writer can drop an agent in Yekaterinburg or a fictional closed city like Verkhneozersk with equal confidence. It also holds former imperial and Soviet names (Petrograd, Sverdlovsk), closed-city code names (Arzamas-16), and northern outposts and craft villages such as Tiksi and Palekh. Spellings follow standard English transliteration.
How to choose Russian city names
- Pick the ending to match the age of your city: -sk for 17th-to-20th-century foundations, -ov and -gorod for medieval towns, -grad for imperial or Soviet ones.
- For a fictional closed or secret city, use the Soviet formula of a descriptive compound plus -sk (Zheleznogorsk, Snezhinsk) or a colour word (Krasnoznamensk).
- Name a city after its river with "-on-": Rostov-on-Don works, and so does Ust-Kara ("mouth of the Kara") or an invented Verkhne-Ilimsk.
- Check whether a real city has changed names: Leningrad, Stalingrad and Sverdlovsk are period-correct only for the Soviet years, which matters in historical fiction.
- Keep transliteration consistent: choose either Yekaterinburg or Ekaterinburg, and either Nizhny or Nizhniy, and use it throughout your text.
Frequently asked questions
Why do so many Russian cities end in -sk?
The suffix -sk (and -ovsk, -insk) turns a river or founder's name into an adjective, so Omsk means the town of the Om river and Petrovsk means Peter's town. It became the default ending for new cities from the 1600s through the Soviet period.
What do -grad, -gorod and -burg mean in Russian city names?
Grad and gorod both mean "city": gorod is the older native form (Novgorod), grad the Church Slavonic form favoured for imperial and Soviet names (Volgograd, Kaliningrad). Burg is borrowed from German, as in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.
Are these real Russian cities or made up?
Most are real: major cities, small historic towns, a few settlements and villages, and former names that real cities once carried. A smaller set are invented names built from genuine Russian roots and suffixes so they blend in. If you need a name that definitely does not exist, search it before you use it.
Can I use these names in a novel or video game?
Yes. Place names are not copyrighted, and using real cities is standard practice in thrillers and strategy games. For a fictional setting, the invented names in this list give you Russian flavour without any real-world baggage.
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All 1,000 Russian city names
A: 50 names
- Abakan
- Abaza
- Abdulino
- Abinsk
- Abramtsevo
- Achinsk
- Adygeysk
- Agryz
- Akhtubinsk
- Aksay
- Alagir
- Alapayevsk
- Alatyr
- Albazino
- Aldan
- Aleksandrov
- Aleksandrovsk
- Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky
- Alekseyevka
- Aleksin
- Aleysk
- Almetyevsk
- Alzamay
- Amderma
- Amursk
- Anadyr
- Anapa
- Andropov
- Angarsk
- Anzhero-Sudzhensk
- Apatity
- Aprelevka
- Apsheronsk
- Aramil
- Ardatov
- Ardon
- Argun
- Arkhangelsk
- Armavir
- Arsenyev
- Arsk
- Artyom
- Arzamas
- Arzamas-16
- Asbest
- Asha
- Asino
- Astrakhan
- Atkarsk
- Azov
B: 76 names
- Babushkin
- Baikalsk
- Bakal
- Baksan
- Balabanovo
- Balakhna
- Balakovo
- Balashikha
- Balashov
- Baley
- Baltiysk
- Barabinsk
- Barguzin
- Barnaul
- Barysh
- Batagay
- Batalpashinsk
- Bataysk
- Belaya Kalitva
- Belaya Kholunitsa
- Belebey
- Belgorod
- Belogorsk
- Belokurikha
- Belomorsk
- Belorechensk
- Beloretsk
- Belotsarsk
- Belovo
- Beloyarsky
- Belozersk
- Belyov
- Berdsk
- Berezniki
- Beryozovka
- Beryozovo
- Beryozovsky
- Beslan
B, continued
- Bezhetsk
- Bikin
- Bilibino
- Birobidzhan
- Birsk
- Biryuch
- Biysk
- Blagodarny
- Blagoveshchensk
- Bobrov
- Bodaybo
- Bogdanovich
- Bogoroditsk
- Bogorodsk
- Bogotol
- Boguchar
- Bolgar
- Bolkhov
- Bologoye
- Bolotnoye
- Bor
- Borisoglebsk
- Borodino
- Borovichi
- Borovsk
- Borzya
- Bratsk
- Brezhnev
- Bronnitsy
- Bryansk
- Budyonnovsk
- Bugulma
- Buguruslan
- Buinsk
- Buturlinovka
- Buy
- Buynaksk
- Buzuluk
C: 27 names
- Chaikovsky
- Chapayevsk
- Chebarkul
- Cheboksary
- Chegem
- Chekhov
- Chelyabinsk
- Chelyabinsk-40
- Chelyabinsk-70
- Cherdyn
- Cheremkhovo
- Cherepanovo
- Cherepovets
- Cherkessk
- Chernogolovka
- Chernogorsk
- Chernolessk
- Chernushka
- Chersky
- Chistopol
- Chita
- Chita-46
- Chkalov
- Chudovo
- Chukhloma
- Chulym
- Chusovoy
D: 25 names
- Dalmatovo
- Dalnegorsk
- Danilov
- Dankov
- Davlekanovo
- Demidov
- Derbent
- Desnogorsk
- Dikson
- Dimitrovgrad
- Divnogorsk
- Dmitriyev
- Dmitrov
- Dmitrovsk
- Dno
- Dobryanka
- Dolgoprudny
- Domodedovo
- Dorogobuzh
- Dubna
- Dubovka
- Dudinka
- Dukhovshchina
- Dyatkovo
- Dzerzhinsk
E: 5 names
- Egvekinot
- Elektrostal
- Elista
- Engels
- Ertil
F: 6 names
- Fatezh
- Fedoskino
- Fokino
- Frolovo
- Fryazino
- Furmanov
G: 30 names
- Gadzhiyevo
- Gagarin
- Galich
- Gatchina
- Gavrilov Posad
- Gavrilov-Yam
- Gdov
- Gelendzhik
- Georgiyevsk
- Glazov
- Golitsyno
- Gorbatov
- Gorky
- Gorno-Altaysk
- Gorodets
- Gorokhovets
- Goryachy Klyuch
- Grayvoron
- Grozny
- Gryazi
- Gryazovets
- Gubakha
- Gubkin
- Gubkinsky
- Gudermes
- Gukovo
- Guryevsk
- Gus-Khrustalny
- Gzhatsk
- Gzhel
I: 21 names
- Igarka
- Ilansky
- Imperatorskaya Gavan
- Innopolis
- Inta
- Inza
- Irbit
- Irkutsk
- Ishim
- Ishimbay
- Isilkul
- Iskitim
- Istra
- Ivangorod
- Ivanovo
- Ivanteyevka
- Ivdel
- Izberbash
- Izborsk
- Izhevsk
- Izobilny
K: 145 names
- Kachkanar
- Kalach
- Kalach-na-Donu
- Kalachinsk
- Kalinin
- Kaliningrad
- Kaltan
- Kaluga
- Kalyazin
- Kambarka
- Kamen-na-Obi
- Kamenka
- Kamenogorsk
- Kamensk-Shakhtinsky
- Kamensk-Uralsky
- Kamyshin
- Kamyshlov
- Kanash
- Kandalaksha
- Kansk
- Karabash
- Karachayevsk
- Karachev
- Karasuk
- Kargopol
- Karpinsk
- Kartaly
- Kashin
- Kashira
- Kasimov
- Kasli
- Kaspiysk
- Katav-Ivanovsk
- Kataysk
- Kazan
- Kem
- Kemerovo
- Khabarovka
- Khabarovsk
- Khadyzhensk
- Khanty-Mansiysk
- Kharabali
- Khasavyurt
- Khatanga
- Khibinogorsk
- Khilok
- Khimki
- Khlynov
K, continued
- Khokhloma
- Kholmogory
- Kholmsk
- Khotkovo
- Khvalynsk
- Kimovsk
- Kimry
- Kinel
- Kineshma
- Kingisepp
- Kirensk
- Kireyevsk
- Kirillov
- Kirishi
- Kirov
- Kirovo-Chepetsk
- Kirovsk
- Kirsanov
- Kirzhach
- Kiselyovsk
- Kislovodsk
- Kizel
- Kizilyurt
- Kizlyar
- Klin
- Klintsy
- Kodinsk
- Kogalym
- Kokhma
- Kola
- Kolchugino
- Kologriv
- Kolomna
- Kolpashevo
- Kolpino
- Komsomolsk
- Komsomolsk-on-Amur
- Kondopoga
- Kondrovo
- Konstantinovsk
- Kopeysk
- Korenovsk
- Korkino
- Korocha
- Korolyov
- Korsakov
- Koryazhma
- Kostomuksha
K, continued
- Kostroma
- Kotelnich
- Kotelniki
- Kotelnikovo
- Kotlas
- Kovdor
- Kovrov
- Kozelsk
- Kozlov
- Kozmodemyansk
- Krasnaya Polyana
- Krasnoberezhsk
- Krasnodar
- Krasnogorsk
- Krasnokamensk
- Krasnokamsk
- Krasnoslobodsk
- Krasnoturyinsk
- Krasnoufimsk
- Krasnouralsk
- Krasnovishersk
- Krasnoyarsk
- Krasnoyarsk-26
- Krasnoye Selo
- Krasnoznamensk
- Krasny Kut
- Krasny Sulin
- Kronstadt
- Kropotkin
- Krymsk
- Kstovo
- Kubinka
- Kudymkar
- Kulebaki
- Kungur
- Kurchatov
- Kurgan
- Kurganinsk
- Kurilsk
- Kursk
- Kurtamysh
- Kusa
- Kushva
- Kuvandyk
- Kuybyshev
- Kuznetsk
- Kyakhta
- Kyshtym
- Kyzyl
L: 34 names
- Labinsk
- Labytnangi
- Lagan
- Langepas
- Lebedyan
- Leningrad
- Leninogorsk
- Leninsk-Kuznetsky
- Lensk
- Lermontov
- Lesnoy
- Lesosibirsk
- Lgov
- Likhoslavl
- Lipetsk
- Liski
- Listvyanka
- Livny
- Lobnya
- Lodeynoye Pole
- Lomonosov
- Losino-Petrovsky
- Lovozero
- Luga
- Lukhovitsy
- Lukoyanov
- Lyantor
- Lyskovo
- Lysva
- Lytkarino
- Lyuban
- Lyubertsy
- Lyubim
- Lyudinovo
M: 59 names
- Magadan
- Magas
- Magnitogorsk
- Makarov
- Makaryev
- Makhachkala
- Malaya Vishera
- Malgobek
- Malmyzh
- Maloyaroslavets
- Mamadysh
- Mangazeya
- Manturovo
- Mariinsk
- Mariinsky Posad
- Maykop
- Mednogorsk
- Medvezhinsk
- Medvezhyegorsk
- Medyn
- Melekess
- Melenki
- Meleuz
- Mendeleyevsk
- Menzelinsk
- Meshchovsk
- Mezen
- Mezhdurechensk
- Mezhgorye
- Miass
- Michurinsk
- Mikhaylov
- Mikhaylovka
- Mikhaylovsk
- Millerovo
- Mineralnye Vody
- Minusinsk
- Mirny
- Mogocha
- Mologa
- Molotov
- Monchegorsk
- Morozovsk
- Morshansk
- Mosalsk
- Moscow
- Mozdok
- Mozhaysk
- Mozhga
- Mstyora
- Mtsensk
- Murashi
- Murmansk
- Murmansk-150
- Murmansk-60
- Murom
- Myshkin
- Myski
- Mytishchi
N: 72 names
- Naberezhnye Chelny
- Nadezhdinsk
- Nadym
- Nakhodka
- Nalchik
- Naro-Fominsk
- Nartkala
- Naryan-Mar
- Navashino
- Nazarovo
- Nazran
- Neftegorsk
- Neftekamsk
- Nefteyugansk
- Nelidovo
- Nerchinsk
- Nerekhta
- Neryungri
- Nevel
- Nevelsk
- Nevinnomyssk
- Nevyansk
- Nikel
- Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
- Nikolsk
- Nikolsk-Ussuriysky
- Nikolskoye
- Nizhnekamsk
- Nizhnekedrovsk
- Nizhneudinsk
- Nizhnevartovsk
- Nizhniye Sergi
- Nizhny Lomov
- Nizhny Novgorod
- Nizhny Tagil
- Nizhnyaya Kedrovka
N, continued
- Nizhnyaya Salda
- Nizhnyaya Tura
- Noginsk
- Nogliki
- Nolinsk
- Norilsk
- Novaya Ladoga
- Novaya Lyalya
- Novo-Mariinsk
- Novoaleksandrovsk
- Novocheboksarsk
- Novocherkassk
- Novodvinsk
- Novokhopyorsk
- Novokuznetsk
- Novomoskovsk
- Novonikolayevsk
- Novorossiysk
- Novoserebryansk
- Novosibirsk
- Novosil
- Novotroitsk
- Novotumansk
- Novouralsk
- Novouzensk
- Novovoronezh
- Novozybkov
- Novy Oskol
- Novy Urengoy
- Noyabrsk
- Nurlat
- Nyagan
- Nyandoma
- Nyazepetrovsk
- Nytva
- Nyurba
O: 33 names
- Obdorsk
- Obluchye
- Obninsk
- Oboyan
- Ocher
- Odintsovo
- Okha
- Okhotsk
- Oktyabrsky
- Olenegorsk
- Olonets
- Olyokminsk
- Omsk
- Omutninsk
- Onega
- Opochka
- Oranienbaum
- Ordzhonikidze
- Orekhovo-Zuyevo
- Orenburg
- Oreshek
- Orlov
- Orsk
- Oryol
- Osa
- Osinniki
- Ostashkov
- Ostrogozhsk
- Ostrov
- Ostyako-Vogulsk
- Oymyakon
- Ozyorsk
- Ozyory
P: 54 names
- Palana
- Palekh
- Pallasovka
- Partizansk
- Pavlovo
- Pavlovsk
- Pavlovsky Posad
- Pechora
- Pechory
- Penza
- Penza-19
- Peredelkino
- Pereslavl-Zalessky
- Perm
- Pervouralsk
- Peterhof
- Petrograd
- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
- Petrov-on-Oka
- Petrovsk
- Petrozavodsk
- Petukhovo
- Petushki
- Pevek
- Pitkyaranta
- Plavsk
- Plyos
- Pochep
- Pochinok
- Podgornoye
- Podolsk
- Podporozhye
- Pokhvistnevo
- Pokrov
- Pokrovsk
- Polevskoy
- Polyarny
- Polyarnye Zori
- Porkhov
- Poshekhonye
- Povorino
- Primorsko-Akhtarsk
- Prokhladny
- Prokopyevsk
- Provideniya
- Pskov
- Puchezh
- Pudozh
- Pugachyov
- Pushkin
- Pushkino
- Pustozersk
- Pyatigorsk
- Pyt-Yakh
R: 23 names
- Ramenskoye
- Ranenburg
- Rasskazovo
- Raychikhinsk
- Reutov
- Revda
- Rezh
- Romanov-on-Murman
- Roslavl
- Rossosh
- Rostov Veliky
- Rostov-on-Don
- Rtishchevo
- Rubtsovsk
- Rudnya
- Ruza
- Ruzayevka
- Ryazan
- Ryazhsk
- Rybinsk
- Rybnoye
- Rylsk
- Rzhev
S: 120 names
- Sabetta
- Safonovo
- Saint Petersburg
- Salavat
- Salekhard
- Salsk
- Samara
- Saransk
- Sarapul
- Saratov
- Sarov
- Sasovo
- Satka
- Sayanogorsk
- Sebezh
- Segezha
- Semikarakorsk
- Semiluki
- Semyonov
- Serdobsk
- Sergach
- Sergiev Posad
- Serov
- Serpukhov
- Sestroretsk
- Severobaikalsk
- Severodvinsk
- Severograd
- Severomorsk
- Severouralsk
- Seversk
- Sevsk
- Seymchan
- Shadrinsk
- Shagonar
- Shakhty
- Shakhunya
- Shali
- Sharya
- Sharypovo
- Shatsk
- Shatura
- Shcherbakov
- Shchigry
- Shchyokino
- Shchyolkovo
- Shebekino
- Shelekhov
- Shenkursk
- Shilka
- Shkotovo-17
- Shlisselburg
- Shumerlya
- Shumikha
- Shushenskoye
- Shuya
- Sibay
- Simbirsk
- Skopin
- Skovorodino
S, continued
- Slavgorod
- Slavyansk-na-Kubani
- Slobodskoy
- Slyudyanka
- Smolensk
- Snezhinsk
- Sobinka
- Sochi
- Sokol
- Sol-Iletsk
- Soligalich
- Solikamsk
- Solnechnogorsk
- Solovetsky
- Soltsy
- Solvychegodsk
- Sorochinsk
- Sortavala
- Sosnovoborsk
- Sosnovy Bor
- Sovetsk
- Sovetskaya Gavan
- Sovetsky
- Spas-Klepiki
- Spassk-Dalny
- Spassk-Ryazansky
- Srednekolymsk
- Sretensk
- Stalingrad
- Stalinsk
- Staraya Ladoga
- Staraya Russa
- Staritsa
- Starodub
- Staroozyorsk
- Stary Brod
- Stary Oskol
- Stavropol
- Stavropol-on-Volga
- Sterlitamak
- Strezhevoy
- Stupino
- Sudogda
- Sudzha
- Sukhinichi
- Sukhoy Log
- Surazh
- Surgut
- Surovikino
- Susuman
- Suzdal
- Sverdlovsk
- Sverdlovsk-44
- Svetlogorsk
- Svetlograd
- Svobodny
- Svyatogorod
- Syktyvkar
- Sysert
- Syzran
T: 59 names
- Taganrog
- Taldom
- Talitsa
- Tambov
- Tara
- Tarko-Sale
- Tarusa
- Tashtagol
- Tatarsk
- Tavda
- Tayga
- Tayshet
- Teberda
- Temir-Khan-Shura
- Temnikov
- Temryuk
- Terek
- Teriberka
- Tetyushi
- Teykovo
- Tikhogorsk
- Tikhoretsk
- Tikhvin
- Tiksi
- Timashyovsk
- Tobolsk
- Toguchin
- Tolyatti
- Tommot
- Tomsk
- Tomsk-7
- Topki
- Toropets
- Torzhok
- Tosno
- Totma
- Troitsk
- Troitskosavsk
- Trubchevsk
- Tryokhgorny
- Tsaritsyn
- Tsarskoye Selo
- Tsaryovokokshaysk
- Tsimlyansk
- Tsiolkovsky
- Tsivilsk
- Tuapse
- Tula
- Tulun
- Tumanov-on-Lena
- Tura
- Turan
- Turinsk
- Turukhansk
- Tutayev
- Tuymazy
- Tver
- Tynda
- Tyumen
U: 33 names
- Uchaly
- Udomlya
- Uelen
- Ufa
- Uglegorsk
- Uglich
- Ukhta
- Ulan-Ude
- Ulyanovsk
- Unecha
- Uray
- Uren
- Urus-Martan
- Uryupinsk
- Urzhum
- Usinsk
- Usman
- Usolye
- Usolye-Sibirskoye
- Ussuriysk
- Ust-Ilimsk
- Ust-Kamchatsk
- Ust-Kara
- Ust-Katav
- Ust-Kut
- Ust-Labinsk
- Ust-Nera
- Ust-Sobolinsk
- Ust-Sysolsk
- Ust-Tumannaya
- Ustyuzhna
- Uvarovo
- Uzhur
V: 59 names
- Valday
- Valuyki
- Vanino
- Velikiye Luki
- Veliky Novgorod
- Veliky Ustyug
- Velizh
- Velsk
- Venyov
- Vereshchagino
- Vereya
- Verkhne-Ilimsk
- Verkhneozersk
- Verkhneudinsk
- Verkhneuralsk
- Verkhny Tagil
- Verkhny Ufaley
- Verkhnyaya Pyshma
- Verkhnyaya Salda
- Verkhnyaya Tura
- Verkhoturye
- Verkhoyansk
- Vesyegonsk
- Vetluga
- Vetrogorsk
- Vichuga
- Vidnoye
- Vikhorevka
- Vilyuchinsk
- Vilyuysk
- Vladikavkaz
- Vladimir
- Vladimir-30
- Vladivostok
- Volchegorsk
- Volgodonsk
- Volgograd
- Volkhov
- Vologda
- Volokolamsk
- Volsk
- Volzhsky
- Vorkuta
- Voronezh
- Voroshilov
- Voskresensk
- Votkinsk
- Vsevolozhsk
- Vuktyl
- Vyatka
- Vyatskiye Polyany
- Vyazemsky
- Vyazma
- Vyazniki
- Vyborg
- Vyksa
- Vyoshenskaya
- Vyshny Volochyok
- Vytegra
Y: 36 names
- Yadrin
- Yakhroma
- Yakutsk
- Yalutorovsk
- Yamburg
- Yanaul
- Yaransk
- Yaroslavl
- Yarovoye
- Yartsevo
- Yasnaya Polyana
- Yefremov
- Yegoryevsk
- Yekaterinburg
- Yekaterinodar
- Yelabuga
- Yelets
- Yelizovo
- Yelnya
- Yemanzhelinsk
- Yemva
- Yeniseysk
- Yershov
- Yessentuki
- Yeysk
- Yoshkar-Ola
- Yugorsk
- Yukhnov
- Yurga
- Yuryev-Polsky
- Yuryevets
- Yuryuzan
- Yuzha
- Yuzhno-Kurilsk
- Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
- Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk