Начальный курс русского языка: Звонкие и глухие согласные
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Начальный курс русского языка
Раздел 3
Voiced and voiceless consonants / Звонкие и глухие согласные
In Russian, there are two types of consonants: voiced and voiceless. Some consonants make up voiced-voiceless pairs as shown in the table.
These voiced conconants
б
в
г
д
ж
з
have voiceless counterparts
п
ф
к
т
ш
с

When pronouncing the corresponding voiced and voiceless consonants the speech apparatus works the same way. The difference is made only by voice involvement. With a voiced consonant, the vocal cords are vibrating, while when pronouncing a voiceless consonant, the vocal cords are relaxed and do not vibrate.

б
п
ба—па
бо—по
бу—пу
бэ—пэ
бы—пы
в
ф
ва—фа
во—фо
ву—фу
вэ—фэ
вы—фы
г
к
га—ка
го—ко
гу—ку
гэ—кэ
гы—кы
д
т
да—та
до—то
ду—ту
дэ—тэ
ды—ты
ж
ш
жа—ша
жо—шо
жу—шу
жэ—шэ
 —— 
з
с
за—са
зо—со
зу—су
зэ—сэ
зы—сы
Some consonants do not form voiced-voiceless pairs.
  1. й, л, м, н, р are always voiced
  2. х, ч, щ, ц are always voiceless
It is important to know the distinction of the paired voiced and voiceless consonants since it forms the basis for the consonant assimilation rule.