Why is the Cyrillic alphabet designed to be so different from the Latin and Greek scripts?

Answer 1

The Cyrillic alphabet is not as different as you may think. In fact, 15 of the letters are directly from both Greek and Latin scripts and a few others are variations. What does set the Cyrillic alphabet apart from the other two scripts is the existence of "pronunciation markers," symbols that have no inherent sound but instead influence the sound of the proceeding letter.