May 16, 2007

Zero in Russia


The answer to the question - "how did a pre-Petrine Russian express the notion of zero as a number, in writing and in speech?" - is supersimple: it didn't. The Greeks had no zero, the Romans had no zero, the Russians had no zero as long as they used their variant of Greek numeration.

Zero appears as placeholder in Hindu-Arabic numerals; it is first TREATED as number in using HA numerals for calculation (6-0=6); it is first RECOGNIZED as a number extremely late... the Flemish mathematician Simon Stevin at the end of the 16th century announced that the ONE is the same numerically as all other numbers, and called zero "the root of number." So it's not a number even here. Pascal thinks you're dumb if you don't understand that 0-4=0. One could do all sorts of incredible things in math before coming up with the notion of zero as a number.

Russians used the abacus to calculate - no one ever calculated in Slavic numerals because, like Greek and even Roman numerals, they are not intended for calculation but for setting down results. If your numeration or calculation has no place for zero, you won't understand why there should be a numeral that points to absence of number.

Zero entered Muscovy in the early- or mid-seventeenth century when introduction of HA numerals allowed for calculating on paper. Zero was called tsifra from the Arabic word for empty (sifr) and Medieval / Renaissance Latin for zero (cifra), which gave English both "zero" and "cipher." In Russian, already in the 17th century the word for zero started referring to all HA numerals (tsifry), also arithmetic (tsifir') and code (tsifir'). (Same denotative spread as in Latin, by the way.) I read in, I think, A. P. Iushkevich that in the 17th century the HA zero was also called "on" or "onik," like the letter O, which in Slavic numeration stands for 70.

Anyway, before the seventeenth century there really is nothing in any way like the concept of zero in Russia. And, of course, the concept of number at this point includes only natural numbers, nothing more.

Eugene Ostashevsky
NYU


I seem to remember an article on this subject by Simonov, the leading specialist on early Russian mathematical manuscripts, but I can't find it. For some discussion of this see ch. 2 of A. P. Iushkevich, Istoriia matematiki v Rossii, M. 1968. Also L.L. Kutina, Formirovanie iazyka russkoi nauki, M.,1964, pp. 14-20.

There are several coins, manuscripts and printed books of Russian origin in the seventeenth century which use or give lists of modern 'hindu-arabic' numerals, and Russian traders and officials in the Posolskii prikaz must certainly have been familiar with western numerals, so the concept must have been known and understood, at least by some.

Russian alphabetical numerals did not in fact need a zero since every number ending in zero in modern notation had a letter to designate it: e.g. k= 20. These could be modified by a preceding or subscript oblique line with two cross bars to produce thousands, and various kinds of circle round the letter for larger multiples of 1000. Arithmetical calculation was perfectly possible in this system as it had been for the Greeks from whom it was taken.

The earliest words for zero are recorded from the end of the 17th century and early eighteenth century - on, onik (i.e. the name of the latter o) in Peter I notebook (1688) and Kopievskii, later tsifra and nul'.

Emeritus Professor W. F. Ryan FBA, FSA
Warburg Institute
(School of Advanced Study, University of London)

Tags: math
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955