In this chapter you learned what the different parts of a Russian's full name mean (p. 9). To practice your newly acquired detective skill, let's visit the home of the All-Russian Family Tree (Всероссийское генеалогическое древо):
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Since we are here to learn about Russian names, let's figure our way around the site by finding the genealogical record for a famous Russian writer - for example, for Leo (Lev)Tolstoy. The first few steps are straightforward: Click on the "T" in the alphabet, and you will be prompted with a list of sub-headings. Under what sub-heading might you be able to find the information about Tolstoy? |
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Now that you've located the Tolstoy page you can see for yourself just how many Tolstoys (famous and not so famous) there are in Russia. Where in this enormous list is the author of War and Peace? You will need to do some scrolling and searching to locate the record in question. Did you find more than one Lev Tolstoy? If so, which one do you think might be the famous writer? Why do you think so? |
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Look at Tolstoy's biographical record. What is his father's first name (in Cyrillic)? Note that Tolstoy's patronymic is also a link. Please follow that link to the biographical entry for the father. You should not have to scroll up or down; the record you are looking for should appear at the very top of your screen. |
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By clicking on the patronymics of the individuals you encounter, try to go back as far as the site will allow you in the Tolstoy family tree. In some records, you will also see a reference to the individual's wife and a link to her maiden name (What was, for instance, the maiden name of Tolstoy's mother?). You may want to explore those links as well. Each time the link will take you directly to that record, so that you shouldn't have to scroll up or down. To what year (or century) were you able to go back? |
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Go back to the record with which you began. How many children (дети) did Tolstoy have? What should their patronymics and last names be? Click on a couple links to the children's biographical information and check whether you guessed their full names correctly. any links Is this person's patronymic listed? If so, check whether you guessed it correctly. If not, and the child's first name has a link, follow it to the full biographical record of the child to see if the patronymic is listed there. |
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If you were introduced to any of Tolstoy's children, how would you greet him/her in Russian? What form (formal/informal) would you use? |
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А ЧТО ДАЛЬШЕ?Now that you know how the site works, feel free to explore it by clicking on any letter in the alphabet and checking on Russian names familiar and unfamiliar to see what kind of information is available to the users of the site. Feel free to use the help available by clicking on the "English version" link on the site's home page. For more information about Russian names and history of Russian families visit this site (which contains information both in Russian and in English): http://www.mtu-net.ru/rrr/ |
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