The modern function of ЪĪpart from being placed at the end of a word, the hard sign also had another function - as a separator of letters” “Ъ” was put between the prefix and the root of a word if the prefix ended with a consonant and the root began with a vowel. After all, competition was effectively non-existent in Soviet shops, where goods were often in short supply. Pet shop (Зоологический магазинъ) in the 19th century MoscowĪdding “Ъ” at the end of a word carries a semantic reference to private enterprise in Tsarist times - in other words, a reference to good service and competition among shop owners for customers. In shop signs, Ъ was often used in the surnames of shop owners, or in the names of the shops - Граммофоны А. In most cases the letter meant that the gender of a thing, verb or even surname was masculine: Санктъ-Петербургъ, "понялъ" or Д. So how did it end up indicating the name of the newspaper? Legacy of Tsarist Russiaīefore the 1917 Revolution, the letter “Ъ” was called "Yer" and was used, among other things, after a consonant at the end of a word.
![word spelled using russian alphabet word spelled using russian alphabet](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/33DhMTzwkbg/maxresdefault.jpg)
The Russian word "коммерсант", however, does not have a hard sign.
![word spelled using russian alphabet word spelled using russian alphabet](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9c/39/d6/9c39d6b3397cc24cb6ba896f1bb8cd4f.gif)
Abbreviations - Yes but a letter, and, what’s more, one that is unpronounced - No!
![word spelled using russian alphabet word spelled using russian alphabet](https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/000/090/149/original/russian-alphabet-vector-learning-guide.jpg)
Sergei Khodnev, editor of the newspaper's culture section, says he can't think of any other publication in the world that is recognized by just one letter.