Translate Russian to English, from business emails to old letters
A partner sends an invoice and a contract in Russian, or you found your grandmother's letters in Cyrillic handwriting. Your todo.is agent reads the text, even from scans, translates it into clear English, spells names consistently in Latin letters and explains terms like ООО, ИНН and договор.
The prompt
- Translate the attached Russian [ATTACH THE FILE, SCAN OR PHOTO] into clear English. It is [WHAT IT IS, E.G. AN INVOICE, A CONTRACT OR FAMILY LETTERS]. Read scans and handwriting with OCR and mark any word you cannot read with a question mark. Write names in [TRANSLITERATION STYLE, E.G. PASSPORT STYLE OR AS IN MY DOCUMENTS] and give the Cyrillic once in parentheses. Explain abbreviations and legal or business terms in one line each. Write dates as [DATE FORMAT] and keep amounts with their currency. Deliver a Word file with the Russian and English side by side, plus [EXTRA I NEED, E.G. A SUMMARY OR A REPLY IN RUSSIAN].
What to change
- [ATTACH THE FILE, SCAN OR PHOTO]: A PDF, Word file, scan or phone photos. Several pages are fine.
- [WHAT IT IS, E.G. AN INVOICE, A CONTRACT OR FAMILY LETTERS]: Context helps the translation, e.g. "a supply contract" or "letters from the 1960s".
- [TRANSLITERATION STYLE, E.G. PASSPORT STYLE OR AS IN MY DOCUMENTS]: Or give the exact spelling: "Aleksandr, not Alexander".
- [DATE FORMAT]: E.g. "March 14, 2025" or "14 March 2025".
- [EXTRA I NEED, E.G. A SUMMARY OR A REPLY IN RUSSIAN]: Write "nothing else" if you only need the translation.
Example result
- Translation: invoice from a partner company
- Russian → English (US) · 2 pages · side by side
- Original (extract)
- Счёт на оплату № 58 от 14 марта 2025 г.
- Поставщик: ООО «Северный Ветер», ИНН 7701234567
- Покупатель: Brightline Ltd
- Дизайн и печать каталога, 48 страниц: 96 000,00 руб.
- НДС не облагается.
- Оплата в течение 5 банковских дней. Генеральный директор Петров А. В.
- English
- Invoice for payment No. 58 dated March 14, 2025
- Supplier: Severny Veter LLC, taxpayer ID (INN) 7701234567
- Buyer: Brightline Ltd
- Design and printing of a 48-page catalog: 96,000.00 rubles
- Not subject to VAT.
- Payment due within 5 banking days. CEO: A. V. Petrov
- Terms explained
- • ООО: limited liability company, usually written LLC in English
- • ИНН: the company's taxpayer identification number
- • НДС не облагается: no VAT charged, often because the company uses a simplified tax system
- • Генеральный директор: general director, the head of the company
- • Петров А. В.: surname first, then the initials of the first name and patronymic
- Names and numbers
- • Северный Ветер → Severny Veter ("North Wind"), kept as a name, not translated
- • Петров → Petrov
- • Russian writes thousands with a space and decimals with a comma: 96 000,00 = 96,000.00
- What to do
- • Payment is due within 5 banking days of March 14
- • Check the bank details on page 2 before paying, and confirm by phone with a known contact if they changed
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and say what the Russian document is and how names should be spelled.
- Attach the PDF, scan or phone photos in todo.is, or send them to your agent on Telegram.
- Open the side-by-side Word file and read the notes on terms and names.
- Ask for a reply in Russian or a one-paragraph summary to forward to your team.
Tips for a better result
- If names must match a passport or visa, give your agent the spelling from that document. Russian names have several Latin spellings (Aleksandr, Alexander).
- Letters written before 1918 use old letters like ѣ and і. Mention the age of the document so your agent reads them correctly.
- Russian dates go day.month.year (14.03.2025). Ask for written-out months to avoid mix-ups.
- Birth, marriage and education certificates usually need a certified or notarized translation. Use this version to understand them and prepare.
translate Russian to English: FAQ
- Can I translate handwritten Russian letters? Often yes, if the handwriting is reasonably clear. Cursive Cyrillic can be hard to read, so your agent marks uncertain words for you to check.
- How are Russian names transliterated into English? There are several systems. Passports follow one standard, while older documents may use another. Your agent follows the one you choose and keeps it consistent.
- What is a patronymic? It is a middle name formed from the father's first name, like Andreevich (son of Andrei). It is part of formal Russian names and documents.
- Is Ukrainian the same as Russian? No. They are separate languages, and Ukrainian uses some different letters such as і, ї and є. Tell your agent which one the text is in, or ask it to detect the language.
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