Word Russians Use Most Often Isn’t Russian but Borrowed from English, Moscow Institute Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 12 – The Moscow Institute of Russian Studies says that the word Russians use most often is “OK,” saying that Russians appear to like it because it is clear and unambiguous. But some Russian nationalists, including those in the Kremlin, may be unhappy because the word is not originally Russian but borrowed from English.

            Another reason that “OK” is so popular, experts at the institute say, is that it is short; and for many years, Russians have been drawn to the use of words and phrases that are extremely brief (ria.ru/20260110/slovo-2067067914.html and nazaccent.ru/content/45020-nazvano-samoe-upotrebimoe-slovo-v-russkom-yazyke/).

            Perhaps because “OK” doesn’t have the ideologically correct Russian origin, none of the institutions that named words of the year at the end of 2025 identified it as such. Instead, they reported that words deserving that honor included anxiety, victory and birthrate (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/12/russian-governments-word-of-year-is.html).