The thirty-first letter of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. Its name is э(ɛ) or э́ оборо́тное(ɛ oborótnoje, “backwards ɛ”) and it has the broad sound of /e/. Unlike е(je), it is not pronounced with a preceding /j/ sound or a palatalized consonant. It is preceded by Ь and followed by Ю.