Who invented Russian?

Answer 1

The Cyrillic alphabet or "azbuka" is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School. The alphabet was derived from the Ancient Greek uncial script, augmented by ligatures and consonants from the older Glagolitic alphabet.

Both Glagolic and Cyliric alphabet have been invented by Saints Cyril and Methodii and the cyrilic was finalised St Climent of Ohrid. St. Cyril and Metodii were born in Odrin (today called Thessaloniki) which was part of th First Bulgarian Empire at the time.

After the adoption of Christianity in Bulgaria in 865, religious ceremonies and Divine Liturgy were conducted in Greek by clergy sent from the Byzantine Empire, using the Byzantine rite. Fearing growing Byzantine influence and weakening of the state, the Bulgarian King Boris I viewed the introduction of the Slavic alphabet and language in church use as a way to preserve the independence of Slavic Bulgaria from Greek Constantinople (today called Istambul). As a result of Boris's measures, two academies, one in Ohrid and one in Preslav, were founded where St Cyril and Methodii developed the glagolic alphabet.

At the end of the ninth century, one of these students of Methodius (St Climent of Ohrid) who had settled in Preslav (Bulgaria) created the Cyrillic alphabet, which almost entirely replaced the Glagolitic during the Middle Ages. His students spead thoughout the lands eastern Europe, Kiev and Croatia.

In Russia the Cyrillic alphabet achieved its current form in 1708 during the reign of Peter the Great. Four letters were eliminated from the alphabet in a 1917/18 reform.