It's All in a Name

Since the break-up of the U.S.S.R. in the last few years, it has become clear that what Westerners traditionally referred to as "Russia" was actually made up of many groups of people with diverse cultures and languages. Some of these languages are spoken by only a few thousand people; others are spoken by millions. By far, the language spoken by the largest single group is Russian.

The typical Russian name consists of three parts. The first part is the individual's given name; the second is what is known as a "patronymic," a name which reflects the given name of the individual's father; and the third is the family name. A common Russian name for a male might be Alexander Vladimirovich Ivanov. The given name and the patronymic would be slightly modified for a female, making the name of Alexander's sister Natalia Vladimirovna Ivanova.

Russian culture requires the use of passports for identification purposes, much like we use a driver's license. Before the widespread use of computers, the names on these documents might be affected by human error, causing the individual's officially recognized name to be slightly altered. If the patronymic were altered a brother and sister might appear to have different fathers.

Differences in interpretation can also result in name changes. The Cyrillic alphabet (shown in the shaded box to the right) contains characters which may look similar to Roman characters but are pronounced differently. These differences in pronunciation can cause the uninformed person to misspell a name when it is translated from Russian characters into English. While many of the current immigrants are educated people who recognize the pitfalls, problems such as these still sometimes occur.

Additionally, since there is no one-to-one correspondence between the Cyrillic alphabet and the Roman alphabet, the process of transliteration - or changing the spelling from one alphabet to another - can be more complicated. For example, the English sound ch can be written as sch, shch or tch, while what we write as u can be translated as iu, ou or yu. These and other differences in spelling can result in the same name being spelled several different ways. The name Tchaikovsky can be spelled Chaikovski, Chaikovsky, Tschaikovsky. The name Berdiayev can also be spelled Berdiaev or Berdyaev.

In Russian the use of nicknames reflects both respect and degree of closeness of the relationship. To close friends and relatives, Alexander would likely be known as Sasha while Ivan would be called Vanya. Natalia's friends might call her Natasha and Tatiana will be known as Tanya. Older people might use these names to refer to younger people; but a respectful young person would know better than to use a nickname to refer to his elder.

When dealing with Russian names, an adjuster or SIU investigator is well advised to check for possible index hits under alternative spellings; ie, Ivanov should be checked as

Ivanof or Ivanoff. A name such as Vladivoski should also be indexed as Vladivosky. We have provided the Cyrillic alphabet with English equivalents to assist claims handlers in understanding the differences between the two alphabets and how to go about searching for Russian names.

The claims handler should also keep in mind the cultural diversity of the "Russian" people. Depending upon which area of "Russia" the person is from, the names could reflect the naming traditions of another culture, e.g., Armenian, Arabic or Scandinavian to name just a few.

A final note: Should a claim appear suspicious, checking the authenticity of the identification documents is wise. Information from the INS indicates a recent heavy influx of forged documents from countries within the former Soviet Union. It is alleged that former KGB agents, now technically "unemployed," are putting their cold war talents to use by manufacturing and selling black market documents.

If you are a new subscriber, you may be interested in obtaining back issues of The John Cooke Fraud Report. In previous issues we have covered the naming traditions of other cultures:

Vietnamese (May/June)

Arabic (July/August)

Hispanic (September/October)

Korean (November/December)

Hmong, Cambodian and Laotian (January/February)

Russian - Part II

Understanding the naming conventions of other cultures is important for an investigator or for anyone wishing to surely and correctly identify people in our diverse country. The following column is an attempt to assist the reader in correctly applying the conventions of uniquely ethnic names so identification is possible. This article should not be interpreted as suggestive of an unusual prevalence of any specific ethnic group toward unlawful or immoral activities, since no such intention exists. In each issue of The John Cooke Fraud Report, we will explore the mysteries of the naming practices of different ethnic cultures. In this issue, we visit Russian names. The typical modern Russian name consists of three parts. The first part is the individual’s given name; the second is what is known as a “patronymic,” a name which reflects the given name of the individual’s father; and the third is the surname. The form of the patronymic varies based on the father’s name. For example, the father Aleksei would name his son Alekseev, while Anton becomes Antonov, Boroda/Borodin, Sviatoslav/Sviatoslavov, Vasilii/Vasile’ev, Iakov/Iakovlev, etc. The ending -vich originated with the upper classes. Female patronymics also vary based on the father’s name, with the father Alekseev naming his daughter Alekseeva, Antonov becoming Antonova, Mikhailov/Mikhailova, Borodin/Borodina, Malin/Malinina, Iakovleva/Ievleva, etc. Adding to the confusion, the child can have multiple patronymics, including the grandfather’s or great- grandfather’s names.

Surnames are generally based on animals, inanimate objects or occupations. Some names are considered good, others bad. In some cases, the criteria for the distinction can be hard for Westerners to understand; in other cases, the reasons are abundantly clear. In the past, some peasants had not only official names (based on the landowner’s name), but also names used in their everyday lives. These peasants might seek to change their names to the one used by friends and family. Others had names that were difficult to pronounce or names whose meanings could be embarrassing.

Some of the embarrassing names were derived from the names of animals, including Sobachii (dog), Strok (horsefly), Varona (crow), Doiniak (milk cow), Svinko (swine) Krysa (rat) or the more complex Grobdlyakuritsy (coffin for a chicken). Other names were derived from body parts, including Puzik (paunch), Pupkov (navel), Kishek (guts), Khudobriukhov (skinny belly) or Golen’kaya (little naked girl). Some names were derived from body functions or their products, including Sliuniaev (slobber) and Perdunov (fart) or from undesirable qualities, such as Lysyi (bald), Durakov (foolish) or Negodiaev (good-for-nothing). Names that are embarrassing but harder to classify include Likhobaba (evil hag), Zhivodevov (lively virgin), Variborshch (cook up some borshch) or Nizkoshapka (low hat).

Some names seem to have influenced their owner’s occupations. The composer of the Russian song Davai zakurim (Let’s Have a Smoke) is named Tabachnikov (works with tobacco). One village has a blacksmith named Zheleznyi (zhele:iron). A well-known fencer is named Krovopushkov (krovopuskan’e:blood-letting), and the head doctor of the Vladivostok region was named Bol’nykh (bol’noi: sick).

In the past, those who were dissatisfied with their names for one reason or another would petition the tsar for a change. The chancellery would either reject the change or request more information. If there was a positive decision, a recommendation for a change of name would be made to the tsar. The tsar would then officially suspend the legal ban on name changes and allow the petitioner to change his name.

Today, Russian culture requires the use of passports for identification purposes, much the same as Americans use a driver’s license. Before the widespread use of computers, the names on these documents might be affected by human error, causing the individual’s officially recognized name to be slightly altered. If the patronymic were altered in this way, a brother and sister might appear to have different fathers.

Differences in interpretation can also result in name changes. The Cyrillic alphabet contains characters that may look similar to Roman characters but are pronounced differently. These differences can result in mistakes when an uninformed person attempts to translate from Russian characters into English. While many current immigrants are educated people who recognize the pitfalls, problems such as these can still sometimes occur.

In Russian the use of nicknames reflects both respect and degree of closeness of the relationship. To close friends and relatives, Alexander would likely be known as Sasha while Ivan would be called Vanya. Natalia’s friends might call her Natasha and Tatiana will be known as Tanya. Older people might use these names to refer to younger people; but a respectful young person would know better than to use a nickname to refer to his elder.

When dealing with Russian names, an investigator is well advised to check for possible alternative spellings; ie, Ivanov should be checked as Ivanof or Ivanoff. A name such as Vladivoski should also be checked as Vladivosky. Many popular dictionaries include a Cyrillic alphabet with English equivalents that may be helpful in understanding the differences between the two alphabets and may provide clues about searching for Russian names.

The investigator should also keep in mind the cultural diversity of the “Russian” people. Depending upon which area of “Russia” the person is from, the names could reflect the naming traditions of a nearby culture, eg, Armenian, Arabic or Scandinavian to name just a few.

A final note: Should a document appear suspicious, a check for authenticity is wise. Information from the INS indicates a recent heavy influx of forged documents from countries within the former Soviet Union. It is alleged that former KGB agents, now technically “unemployed,” are putting their cold war talents to use by manufacturing and selling black market documents.