#i am sending you something…as a token of my gratitude LMAOO

[lottiies]

LOTTIE HII the comment limit kept cutting me off so here’s a guide for russian names :3 using raskolnikov as an example bcs he shows up the most often!!

so, legally, russians follow the first name/middle name/last name convention — ex. rodion romanovich raskolnikov! formally, he is referred to by other characters as rodion romanovich or raskolnikov — calling someone by their first name alone that you know on a professional or impersonal basis is kind of frowned upon culturally (or at least was at the time!)

additionally, he’s referred to as rodya by his mother — characters are often given nicknames by family members to show affection! —ya or —nya at the end of part of the character’s first name is meant to show attachment. by extension, —echka is used similarly, but usually by parents about their children. ex: sofya is referred to as sonya and sonechka by her father!

middle and last names change slightly for girls — for example, raskolnikov’s sister is called avdotya romanova raskolnikova. they have the same middle name because middle names are derived from one’s father’s first name, but different suffixes to indicate gender. same goes for last names!! she’s also called dunya & dunechka as a nickname! ap sesh over :3

EM OH MY GOD I’M SO KISSING YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS I LOVE YOU

that’s actually super interesting, like the whole part with the nicknames!! it kept messing with my head while i was reading because i was like wait…are they referring to the same person or are they talking about a completely new person? especially while reading raskolnikov’s mother’s letter

my journal will hear about you now <3 i’m going to write this all down for future reference because i plan to read more of dostoevsky’s books after this

once again, thank you professor em (๑>ᴗ<๑) i would pass all my classes if i had you as a teacher AHHH