Russian nicknames

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Guide to Russian nicknames and pronunciation in Daughters of a Dead Empire

Russian names are notoriously difficult for English-speakers to keep track of, sound out, and translate. There is no standard way to transliterate names from the Russian alphabet (Cyrillic) into English. For The Devil's Wall I chose the simplest spellings.

Russians have three names: 1) First name, 2) Patronymic (their father’s name), and 3) Last name (family name). They are also very fond of nicknames. I'm posting this quick guide to help my beta readers follow the story.

Evgenia and the Koltsov Family

  • Evgenia Ivanovna Koltsova:

    • Pronunciation: EV-GEH-NEE-YA. The “g” is hard, as in “get.” Both “e”s are short, as in “ever.”

    • Nickname: Zhenya. Pronounced ZSHEN-YA. This nickname softens the hard “g” in Evgenia's name into a very soft “sh” sound, as in Zsa Zsa Gabor.

  • Konstantin Ivanov Koltsov:

    • Pronunciation: CON-STAN-TEEN.

    • Nickname: Kostya. Pronounced COAST-YA.

  • Mikhail Ivanov Koltsov:

    • Pronunciation: MEE-KAH-EEL.

    • Nickname: Misha. Pronounced MEE-SHA.

  • Lev Ivanov Koltsov:

    • Pronunciation: LEV.

    • Nickname: Levka. Pronounced LEV-KA.

 Anastasia and the Romanov Family

  • Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanovna:

    • Pronunciation: AH-NAH-STAH-ZEE-YA. The “a”s in her name are soft, as in the word “father.”

    • Nickname: Nastya. Pronounced NAH-STEE-YA. The “a”s are soft, as in the word “father.”

    • Nickname: shvibzik, pronounced SH-VIH-B-ZICK. This is a Russian word meaning “imp,” like a mischievous sprite or demon.

    • Also known as: Anna. Pronounced AH-NA. The "a"s are soft, as in the word "father."

  • Maria Nikolaevna Romanovna:

    • Pronunciation: MAH-REE-YA.

    • Nickname: Masha. Pronounced MAH-SHA.

  • Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanovna:

    • Pronunciation: TAH-TEE-YA-NAH.

    • Nickname: Tanya.

  • Olga Nikolaevna Romanovna:

    • Pronunciation: OLE-GAH.

    • Nickname: Olya.

  • Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov:

    • Pronunciation: AH-LEK-SEE.

    • Nickname: Alyosha. Pronounced AL-YO-SHA.

 Other Key Characters

  • Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovksy:

    • Last name pronunciation: YOO-RAW-V-SKEE.

    • Nicknames: None.

  • Jiri Valchar:

    • Pronunciation: ZSHEER-EE.

    • Nicknames: None.

    • Note: Jiri is Czech, so he does not use a patronymic.

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