diff --git a/archinstall/__init__.py b/archinstall/__init__.py
index f3620648..c3e67a05 100644
--- a/archinstall/__init__.py
+++ b/archinstall/__init__.py
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ storage['__version__'] = __version__
 DeferredTranslation.install()
 
 
+def set_unicode_font():
+	SysCommand('setfont UniCyr_8x16')
+
+
 def define_arguments():
 	"""
 	Define which explicit arguments do we allow.
@@ -243,6 +247,9 @@ def post_process_arguments(arguments):
 	load_config()
 
 
+# to ensure that cyrillic characters work in the installer
+set_unicode_font()
+
 define_arguments()
 arguments = get_arguments()
 post_process_arguments(arguments)