Total Dictation 2026 is taking place in Russia and abroad. What is known

Every April in Russia and other countries of the world there is a public action "Total dictation", in which everyone can check their literacy. People of all ages and with any level of education can take part in the event, the main thing is to be able to write in Russian. Read the Izvestia article about when and in which parts of the world dictation will take place in 2026.

When will the Total Dictation take place in 2026

"Total dictation" takes place annually on a single day for all cities and countries. In 2026, it will be held on April 18. In Moscow and the time zones adjacent to the capital, the event will begin at 14:00, and in more remote regions later: in Vladivostok and Novosibirsk — at 15:00, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky — at 17:00, and in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk — at 16:00.

At 14:00 Moscow time, the text of the new author of the educational campaign will be read — Alexey Varlamov, a Russian writer, rector of the Gorky Literary Institute and winner of the Big Book Award from the capital of Total Dictation, which in 2026 became the city of Ulan-Ude.

You can also test your knowledge of the Russian language online by connecting to the webcast on the official website of the event. Registration for the event is already open. To do this, open the official page of Total Dictation and select a city. Anyone can take part in the campaign, regardless of gender, religion, political views, profession or education. The event is organized by activists and volunteers of the Total Dictation Foundation.

The essence and history of "Total Dictation – 2026"

Total Dictation is an educational event organized in Russia and around the world to promote literacy. The project was created by members of the Glumclub creative association of Novosibirsk State University (NSU) in 2004. On March 11 of the same year, the first action took place within the framework of the event "Days of the Faculty of Humanities of NSU". Excerpts from the works of Russian classics, which were read by university teachers, were selected for dictation.

In the first few years, dictation was conducted only at NSU. During this period, the organizers tried different formats to improve the project and increase interest in it. In 2009, famous people began to be involved as "dictators": actors, writers, and journalists. The first of these was the musician Psoy Korolenko. In addition, actors Viktor Dobronravov, Sergey Bezrukov, actress Elizaveta Arzamasova, singer Yulia Savicheva, TV journalist Yana Churikova, TV presenter Lera Kudryavtseva and others were among the other star personalities.

A year later, in 2010, one of the distinctive features of Total Dictation appeared — an original text written specifically for the campaign. This decision was made due to the development of the mobile Internet and increased cases of cheating. The first author to create a text exclusively for the event was science fiction writer Boris Strugatsky.

Later, many Russian cities and even other countries joined the campaign, and with the spread of Internet technologies, it became possible to participate from anywhere in the world. The participants wrote dictation in various locations: on the International Space Station, in Antarctica, in the Kungur cave, underwater, on public transport. The Bratsk, Irkutsk and Ust-Ilimskaya hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) are also sites for dictation.

According to data published on the official website of the project, in 2025, approximately 1.3 million people participated in the event in 112 countries and in 1,239 cities around the world. 56 countries joined the dictation in person, and about 1.3 million people watched the broadcast.

For many years Novosibirsk remained the permanent capital of the action. However, changes have been made since 2018: now other cities can compete for this title. Vladivostok became the first successor of Novosibirsk, Yaroslavl was the capital in 2022, Nizhny Tagil in 2023, Tomsk in 2024, and the federal territory Sirius in 2025. In 2026, this title passed to Ulan-Ude.

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The purpose of the "Total Dictation" campaign

Conducting a "Total Dictation" is associated with several goals. First of all, it is the popularization of the Russian language and literacy. The campaign is aimed at increasing interest in the Russian language as an element of world culture, as well as at drawing attention to the importance of literate writing, which also reflects the motto of the event — "Writing competently is fashionable!".

In addition, dictation is conducted annually in order to improve skills, evaluate their knowledge, identify weaknesses and work to eliminate them. After the end of the campaign, philologists explain difficult points and discuss mistakes, which helps to systematize knowledge. The project also identifies difficult-to-learn language rules, which helps improve teaching methods.

How does the "Total Dictation – 2026" go and how long does it last?

The dictation participants will write the text prepared by the organizers on April 18 at the same time, but with differences in time zones. The text is divided into four parts, each dictated in one of four time zones: at 08:00 Moscow time — in the Far East, at 11:00 Moscow time — in Siberia and the Urals, at 14:00 Moscow time — in the European part of Russia and Europe, at 23:00 Moscow time — in America. Before the start of the campaign, participants receive brief instructions and an analysis of spelling or punctuation rules that may appear in the text.

Next, the speaker will start reading the text that needs to be recorded. After that, participants can listen to the excerpt again. Then the work is submitted for review. The total time of the "Total Dictation" is about 60 minutes. It is recommended to come to the event in advance — about 15 minutes before the start.

The remote dictation format provides two options. One of them is listening to text on a computer with automatic verification. The other is on a paper form with the possibility of self-checking by online analysis.

What is the author of "Total Dictation – 2026" known for?

Every year, a new author is selected for the educational event. In 2025, Marina Moskvina, a talented writer, screenwriter, journalist and TV presenter, was chosen for this honorary title. In 2026, Alexey Varlamov became the author of the new dictation. The text of "Total Dictation – 2026" is dedicated to the childhood of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and his family relationships.

Varlamov is known for his works, including the collection of short stories "The House in Ostozhye" (1990), the novella "Birth" (1995), the novels "The Sunken Ark" (1997), "Dome" (1999) and "The Sucker" (2003). In addition, he is also a regular author of the book series "The Life of Wonderful People" (ZHZL), which are dedicated to famous writers and historical figures — Mikhail Bulgakov, Mikhail Prishvin, Andrei Platonov, Mikhail Prishvin, Alexei Tolstoy, Grigory Rasputin and others.

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Where will the "Total Dictation – 2026" take place abroad

In 2026, the campaign will be held in 55 countries around the world. Offline platforms will be opened on all six continents. Those who wish will be able to participate in the event abroad in 140 cities from 54 countries, including Australia, Armenia, Hungary, Georgia, Spain, Canada, Cuba, China, Libya, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway, Turkey, the USA, France and others.

The most common mistakes and difficult words

One of the traditions of "Total Dictation" is the search for mistakes made by a certain Eva Dalaskina. This character appeared in 2015, when the author of the dictation was the writer Evgeny Vodolazkin. One of the participants of the action incorrectly heard the phrase "text E. Vodolazkina" and wrote "Eva Dalaskina." From that moment on, all the funny mistakes found during the check are attributed to this stranger.

Among Eva Dalaskina's pranks, there were more unusual expressions. For example, "holidays at the manor" turned into "Caligula in the entrance", "listing grades in the report card" became "listing prices of a spatula", and "blogs and publics" transformed into "blocks and factories".

In 2025, the most difficult words for dictation participants were "correspondent" and "professor." In addition, mistakes were also made in writing expressions. So, the phrase "ringer line" became a "row of vertebrae", and the "excavator bucket" turned into an "escalator bucket".