Besides Russian, name three languages that use a Cyrillic alphabet.

The Cyrillic alphabet is a widely used writing system, serving as the official script for over 50 languages. While commonly associated with Russian, many other languages, particularly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, also employ variations of this alphabet. The languages Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Ukrainian are all excellent examples of this diversity.

The Cyrillic script has a rich history, believed to have been developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th or 10th century AD, likely by disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius. These Byzantine brothers are credited with creating the earlier Glagolitic script, which Cyrillic largely superseded. The spread of Eastern Orthodox Christianity played a significant role in the dissemination of Cyrillic throughout various Slavic peoples and beyond, including non-Slavic languages like Romanian until the 1860s.

Each of the mentioned languages has its own distinct Cyrillic alphabet, adapted to suit its unique phonetic and morphological features. For instance, the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet has 30 letters, while the Macedonian alphabet has 31 and follows a phonetic principle where each letter represents one sound. Serbian is particularly interesting as it is a rare language with active digraphia, meaning it uses both Cyrillic and Latin scripts interchangeably, with both having equal official status. Ukrainian Cyrillic has 33 letters and includes unique characters like 'ґ', 'є', 'і', and 'ї' that distinguish it from other Slavic alphabets. Similarly, Belarusian Cyrillic has 32 letters and features the unique character 'ў', a non-syllabic 'u'. These variations highlight how a common script can be tailored to the specific needs of different languages, reflecting their individual linguistic evolutions.