# Russian speech-to-text API (русский)

> KolWrite transcribes Russian audio and video into Cyrillic text with one REST call: send "language": "ru" and get segments with word timings and speaker labels as JSON, TXT or SRT. Oracle models translate Russian into English, Hebrew or 98 other languages in the same job.

Last updated: 2026-10-08 · HTML: https://console.kolwrite.com/speech-to-text/russian

## Transcribe Russian with one request

Set `language` to `ru` and start a job. Poll `GET /transcribe/{jobId}` for the result, or pass a `webhook_url`.

```bash
curl https://app.kolwrite.com/transcribe \
  -H "x-api-key: $KOLWRITE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"audio_url": "https://example.com/interview-ru.m4a", "model": "oracle", "language": "ru", "include_diarization": true, "output_format": "json"}'
```

Translate Russian audio into English in the same job (Oracle models only):

```bash
curl https://app.kolwrite.com/transcribe \
  -H "x-api-key: $KOLWRITE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"audio_url": "https://example.com/interview-ru.m4a", "model": "oracle_mini", "language": "ru", "translate_to": "en", "output_format": "srt"}'
```

## Russian at a glance

| Property | Details |
| --- | --- |
| API code | `ru` |
| Native name | русский |
| Writing direction | Left to right |
| Automatic detection | Yes: omit `language` or send `"auto"` |
| Translate Russian audio into | Any of the 100 supported languages, on Oracle models |
| Translate other languages into Russian | Yes: `translate_to: "ru"` on Oracle models |
| Output | JSON (segments, word timings, speakers), TXT, SRT |
| Price | US$0.48 (Base) to US$3.60 (Oracle Max) per audio hour; US$1.44 on Oracle |

## What to know about Russian transcription

- Russian uses Cyrillic. The letter ё is often written as е in everyday text; normalize ё/е before search or comparison.
- Speakers from Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Israel mix Russian with their local language. Set `ru` when Russian dominates; Ukrainian (`uk`), Belarusian (`be`) and Kazakh (`kk`) have their own codes.
- Russian inflects names and numbers. If you extract entities from transcripts, lemmatize before matching.

## Where teams use Russian transcription

- Research and journalism interviews, translated with `translate_to: "en"`.
- Russian-speaking communities in Israel, Germany and the US: community media and call recordings.
- Lectures and webinars published with Russian subtitles.

## Choosing a model

Start with `oracle` (US$1.44 per hour) for production Russian audio. Use `base` (US$0.48) for clean, single-speaker recordings at volume, `oracle_mini` (US$0.96) for the cheapest translation, and `oracle_pro` or `oracle_max` for noisy or difficult audio. KolWrite does not publish a Russian accuracy figure for this API, so test a sample of your own recordings before committing. Full comparison: [models and prices](https://console.kolwrite.com/models).

## Questions and answers

### Can KolWrite translate Russian audio to Hebrew?

Yes. Use an Oracle model with `translate_to: "he"`; any of the 100 codes works as a target.

### Does it handle speech that mixes Russian and Ukrainian?

Each job takes one language code. Send the one that dominates the recording; test mixed recordings on your own audio.

### What does an hour of Russian cost?

From US$0.48 per audio hour on Base to US$3.60 on Oracle Max; Oracle is US$1.44.

## Related pages

- [Ukrainian speech-to-text](https://console.kolwrite.com/speech-to-text/ukrainian)
- [Polish speech-to-text](https://console.kolwrite.com/speech-to-text/polish)
- [Hebrew speech-to-text](https://console.kolwrite.com/speech-to-text/hebrew)
- [Language research & linguistics](https://console.kolwrite.com/use-cases/researchers)
- [Media, podcasts & subtitles](https://console.kolwrite.com/use-cases/media)
- [Supported languages](https://console.kolwrite.com/languages/)

---
Get an API key: https://console.kolwrite.com/auth · API documentation: https://console.kolwrite.com/public_api_docs · llms.txt: https://console.kolwrite.com/llms.txt