Scientific and technical Russian — the language of journal articles, theses (диссерта́ции), textbooks, lab reports, and engineering documentation — is a tightly conventionalised register. Its overriding goal is objectivity: the author effaces themselves so that results appear to speak for themselves. The grammar that achieves this is consistent and learnable, and for a STEM learner it is arguably the most useful C1 skill in the language, because once you internalise its handful of constructions you can read and write across every technical field. The defining move is depersonalisation: the first-person singular «я» essentially never appears. Instead the register reaches for the authorial мы, the -ся passive, the impersonal, and a dense layer of verbal-noun terminology stitched together by precise logical connectors.
The authorial "we" (а́вторское мы)
A single author writing alone still says мы ("we"), not я. This "authorial we" invites the reader to follow the reasoning alongside the writer; it is the workhorse of every proof, derivation, and procedure. It appears overwhelmingly in the first-person plural future/present — рассмо́трим ("let us consider"), полу́чим ("we obtain"), обозна́чим ("let us denote"), предполо́жим ("let us assume"), име́ем ("we have") — and it carries no humility or modesty connotation; it is simply the neutral scientific voice.
Рассмо́трим слу́чай, когда́ температу́ра постоя́нна.
Let us consider the case where the temperature is constant. — рассмо́трим, the canonical opener of a derivation.
Обозна́чим иско́мую величину́ че́рез x и полу́чим уравне́ние пе́рвого поря́дка.
Let us denote the sought quantity by x and we obtain a first-order equation. — chained authorial-мы verbs обозна́чим… полу́чим.
Предположи́м, что фу́нкция непреры́вна на отре́зке.
Let us assume that the function is continuous on the interval. — предположи́м, the standard 'assume' move.
The -ся passive and impersonal
The single most characteristic feature of the register is the -ся (reflexive) passive. Instead of naming who does something, the verb takes -ся and the patient becomes the grammatical subject: да́нные обраба́тываются ("the data are processed") — by whom is left unsaid, which is exactly the point. This is far more frequent in scientific Russian than the participial passive, and it lets the writer foreground processes and results rather than agents. See the -ся passive in detail and the broader passive, impersonal, and agentless style.
Да́нные обраба́тываются в три эта́па.
The data are processed in three stages. — -ся passive обраба́тываются; the agent is suppressed.
При нагрева́нии наблюда́ется измене́ние объёма.
Upon heating, a change in volume is observed. — наблюда́ется ('is observed'), the standard reporting verb for results.
Получе́нные результа́ты сравнива́ются с теорети́ческими.
The obtained results are compared with the theoretical ones. — -ся passive сравнива́ются; note получе́нные, a passive participle as terminology.
Alongside it runs the impersonal — verb forms with no grammatical subject at all, often modal-evaluative phrases that frame the reasoning. The most frequent are сле́дует + infinitive ("one should / it is necessary to"), необходи́мо + infinitive ("it is necessary to"), мо́жно / нельзя́ + infinitive ("one can / one cannot"), and the standalone reporting impersonals бы́ло пока́зано ("it was shown"), изве́стно ("it is known"), очеви́дно ("it is evident").
Сле́дует отме́тить, что да́нный ме́тод име́ет ограниче́ния.
It should be noted that this method has limitations. — сле́дует отме́тить, the textbook hedging-and-flagging impersonal.
Бы́ло пока́зано, что зави́симость носи́т лине́йный хара́ктер.
It was shown that the dependence is linear in nature. — бы́ло пока́зано, the agentless 'it was shown'.
Из э́того мо́жно сде́лать вы́вод о ро́сте давле́ния.
From this one can conclude that the pressure increases. — мо́жно + infinitive, an impersonal inference frame.
Verbal nouns and terminology
Technical Russian is heavily nominal: it prefers a verbal noun where speech would use a verb. Where conversation says «когда́ те́ло нагрева́ется» ("when the body heats up"), a paper writes «при нагрева́нии те́ла» ("upon the heating of the body"). These -ние / -ение / -тие nouns (see verbal nouns and nominalization) pack an action into a noun phrase that can then be modified, counted, and chained — the engine of dense scientific prose.
Измере́ние температу́ры проводи́лось ка́ждые пять мину́т.
The measurement of temperature was carried out every five minutes. — verbal noun измере́ние instead of 'we measured'.
Увеличе́ние концентра́ции приво́дит к уско́рению реа́кции.
An increase in concentration leads to an acceleration of the reaction. — two verbal nouns (увеличе́ние, уско́рение) with приво́дит к + dative.
Распределе́ние напряже́ний в материа́ле зави́сит от его́ структу́ры.
The distribution of stresses in the material depends on its structure. — nominal terminology chained through the genitive.
Terminology itself stacks into long genitive chains — noun after noun in the genitive ("the X of the Y of the Z") — which are normal here though heavy in speech: ме́тод реше́ния зада́чи оптимиза́ции ("the method of solving the optimisation problem").
Logical connectors
The reasoning is signposted with a fixed, formal set of connectors. Using the right one is a hallmark of competent technical writing:
| Connector | Function | English |
|---|---|---|
| сле́довательно | conclusion from premises | therefore / consequently |
| таки́м о́бразом | summing up / thus | thus / in this way |
| в результа́те | result of a process | as a result |
| в свя́зи с э́тим | linking cause to action | in connection with this |
| с одно́й стороны́… с друго́й стороны́ | balancing two points | on one hand… on the other |
| в ча́стности | specifying | in particular |
| тем не ме́нее | concession | nevertheless |
| при э́том | simultaneous condition | at the same time / moreover |
Все усло́вия теоре́мы вы́полнены, сле́довательно, реше́ние существу́ет и еди́нственно.
All the conditions of the theorem are satisfied; therefore the solution exists and is unique. — сле́довательно draws the conclusion.
Таки́м о́бразом, предло́женный подхо́д позволя́ет сни́зить поте́ри на 15%.
Thus, the proposed approach makes it possible to reduce losses by 15%. — таки́м о́бразом sums up; позволя́ет + infinitive is a stock 'makes it possible to'.
В результа́те экспериме́нта бы́ли получе́ны сле́дующие да́нные.
As a result of the experiment, the following data were obtained. — в результа́те + genitive; participial passive бы́ли получе́ны.
Present-tense definitional statements
Definitions, laws, and general truths are stated in the present tense, which here reads as timeless and universal — the "gnomic" present. The copula is normally omitted and the dash stands in for "is" in the equational pattern X — э́то Y or X называ́ется Y.
Си́ла равна́ произведе́нию ма́ссы на ускоре́ние.
Force equals the product of mass and acceleration. — present равна́; a law stated as timeless fact.
Изото́пами называ́ются а́томы одного́ элеме́нта с ра́зным число́м нейтро́нов.
Isotopes are atoms of one element with different numbers of neutrons. — called X-ed: называ́ются + instrumental изото́пами is the definitional frame.
Постоя́нный ток — э́то напра́вленное движе́ние заря́женных части́ц.
Direct current is the directed motion of charged particles. — the dash carries the omitted copula in the X — э́то Y definition.
Numerals and units, fully declined
A surface marker that separates careful technical Russian from sloppy writing is that numerals and units decline in full and govern their case correctly (see advanced numeral syntax). The quantified noun takes genitive singular after 2–4 and genitive plural after 5+, and in oblique positions the whole numeral phrase shifts case. Units are spelled out and declined in running text, abbreviated only beside figures.
При температу́ре в три́ста гра́дусов Це́льсия наблюда́ется фа́зовый перехо́д.
At a temperature of three hundred degrees Celsius a phase transition is observed. — три́ста гра́дусов (gen. pl. after a large numeral), declined in the prepositional phrase.
Образе́ц вы́держивался в тече́ние двух часо́в при давле́нии в пять атмосфе́р.
The sample was held for two hours at a pressure of five atmospheres. — двух часо́в (gen. after 'two', oblique), пять атмосфе́р (gen. pl.).
Ма́сса образца́ соста́вила сто два́дцать три гра́мма.
The mass of the sample amounted to one hundred twenty-three grams. — compound numeral ending in 'три' → gen. sg. гра́мма; соста́вила is the stock 'amounted to'.
How this differs from English
English scientific style has been moving toward the first person and the active voice for decades — "we measured", "I argue", "this paper shows" are now encouraged in many journals. Russian has not made this shift: it remains firmly depersonalised and passive-leaning. The English instinct to write «Я измеря́л…» ("I measured") or to hunt down and name every agent works directly against the Russian register. The corresponding moves are: "I/we measured" → измеря́лось / бы́ло изме́рено / измеря́ли (impersonal); "this shows" → бы́ло пока́зано / из э́того сле́дует; "we can see that" → ви́дно, что / мо́жно заме́тить, что. The mindset to adopt is the opposite of modern English: remove the human, foreground the process and the result.
Common Mistakes
❌ В э́той статье́ я рассмотрю́ три ме́тода.
Incorrect register — singular я is out of place in technical writing. Use the authorial мы: рассмо́трим.
✅ В да́нной статье́ рассмо́трены три ме́тода. / Рассмо́трим три ме́тода.
This article considers three methods. / Let us consider three methods.
❌ Мы наблюда́ли, что объём измени́лся (in a results section).
Weak register — prefer the agentless -ся passive/impersonal for reporting results: наблюда́лось / бы́ло отме́чено.
✅ Наблюда́лось измене́ние объёма.
A change in volume was observed. — depersonalised, nominalised.
❌ При нагрева́ть те́ло объём увели́чивается.
Incorrect — при takes a verbal NOUN in the prepositional, not an infinitive: при нагрева́нии.
✅ При нагрева́нии те́ла объём увели́чивается.
Upon heating the body, the volume increases. — verbal noun нагрева́нии.
❌ …при температу́ре три́ста гра́дус.
Incorrect — after a large numeral the unit is genitive plural: гра́дусов, and the whole phrase must agree in the prepositional context.
✅ …при температу́ре в три́ста гра́дусов.
…at a temperature of three hundred degrees. — gen. pl. гра́дусов.
❌ Поэ́тому реше́ние существу́ет (in a formal proof).
Too colloquial — поэ́тому is conversational. The formal conclusion connector is сле́довательно.
✅ Сле́довательно, реше́ние существу́ет.
Therefore, the solution exists. — сле́довательно is the register-appropriate 'therefore'.
Key Takeaways
- The register is built on depersonalisation: я is essentially absent.
- Use the authorial мы (рассмо́трим, полу́чим, обозна́чим) for a single author.
- Lean on the -ся passive (обраба́тываются, наблюда́ется) and the impersonal (сле́дует отме́тить, бы́ло пока́зано, мо́жно сде́лать вы́вод) to suppress the agent.
- Prefer verbal nouns (нагрева́ние, измере́ние, увеличе́ние) and genitive chains for dense terminology.
- Signpost reasoning with сле́довательно, таки́м о́бразом, в результа́те — not the colloquial поэ́тому.
- State definitions in the present tense with the dash for the copula, and decline numerals and units in full.
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- Passive, Impersonal, and Agentless StyleB2 — When you want to background or omit who did something, Russian gives you four routes — the -ся imperfective passive, the быть + participle perfective passive, the indefinite-personal third-person plural, and reflexive-impersonal verbs. The key skill is knowing that the natural Russian for most English passives is NOT a passive at all, but the active 3rd-person-plural: 'I was told' = Мне сказали.
- The -ся Passive in DetailB2 — The imperfective half of the passive: an inanimate patient as nominative subject + a 3rd-person -ся verb + an optional agent in the INSTRUMENTAL (Дом стро́ится рабо́чими 'the house is being built by workers'). It is IMPERFECTIVE only — completed results use быть + a participle (Дом постро́ен). The construction is bookish; ordinary speech recasts it as the indefinite-personal active (Дом стро́ят).
- Verbal Nouns (-ние, -тие)B2 — Deverbal action-nouns — чита́ть → чте́ние, реши́ть → реше́ние, разви́ть → разви́тие — are how FORMAL Russian packages actions: instead of a finite clause ('we studied the problem'), academic Russian nominalizes the verb into a -ние/-тие noun that takes a genitive object (изуче́ние пробле́мы, 'the study of the problem'). They are neuter, decline as -ие nouns (в реше́нии), retain aspectual meaning, and govern the genitive — so recognizing реше́ние, образова́ние, разви́тие, изуче́ние as frozen action-nouns with predictable verbal roots both unlocks formal reading and is the key to writing noun-heavy formal Russian.
- Nominalization: Turning Clauses into Verbal-Noun PhrasesC1 — Formal Russian nominalizes heavily — it recasts a verbal clause as a verbal-noun phrase, the engine of bookish, official, and academic style. 'They decided to build' becomes реше́ние о строи́тельстве; 'after he arrived' becomes по́сле его́ прие́зда; 'in order to improve' becomes для улучше́ния. The former verb's object turns genitive (изуче́ние пробле́мы). This page shows the transformation, its genitive government, its register effect, and — crucially — when it tips into ugly канцеляри́т and should be unpacked back into verbs.
- Formal and Academic WritingC1 — The conventions of formal/academic Russian: the passive and impersonal (рассма́тривается, бы́ло устано́влено, отмеча́ется, что…), heavy nominalization into verbal nouns (проведе́ние, изуче́ние, реше́ние вопро́са), participial and verbal-adverb phrases, formal connectors (сле́довательно, таки́м о́бразом, в свя́зи с тем что), the avoidance of я in favour of authorial мы or impersonal forms, full numeral declension, and formal lexicon over neutral (явля́ться for быть, осуществля́ть for де́лать, в тече́ние for за). The defining trait: academic Russian nominalizes heavily and is denser and more noun-heavy than English academic prose.
- Advanced Numeral SyntaxC1 — The hardest corners of Russian numbers: adjective agreement inside 2-4 phrases (два больши́х до́ма, две но́вые кни́ги), animacy in accusative numeral phrases (ви́жу двух студе́нтов vs два стола́), declining every word of a compound (с двадцатью́ пятью́ рубля́ми), collective-numeral restrictions (дво́е дете́й, нас бы́ло тро́е), verb agreement (Два студе́нта пришли́ vs Пришло́ пять студе́нтов), approximate numbers by inversion (челове́к де́сять), and the government of полтора́.