Geog. names in Russian

[James Gerhart]

Hi!
It's hard for me to resist, so I won't: the answer resides on p 386 of
magnum opus also known as the second edition of Russian's World: Life and
Language by one Genevra Gerhart, Holt/Harcourt, January 1995. Six
additional new chapters and major additions to old ones. etc.
The specific answer to your question is: it depends. Some newspapers have
one policy and insist that their writers follow it. Some newspapers allow
their journalists to spell it the way they want. Generally, if the
communication is between Russians in Russia, then the Russian form of the
name is preferred (Moldaviya, Kirgiziya etc).  When a letter to the
editor from a former republic is printed then they use whatever the
letter-writer wrote.  The choice in any case is going to have political
overtones these days.
Happy reading!          Genevra Gerhart       genevra at u.washington.edu

On Mon, 9 Jan 1995, Joanna and Richard Robin wrote:

> We are now preparing the 2nd printing of Golosa I. We have made
> corrections to the map in the book's cover. Our question is to what
> extent the Russian press has gone back to "old" names. Ostankino TV has
> now reverted to "Russian" variants for places like Modavia, Belorussija,
> Alma-Ata, etc. Naturally, they have retained rechristenings that involved
> a total change of name (e.g. Bishkek for Frunze. On the other hand, it's
> nack to Kirgizija, not Kyrgyzstan).
>
> To what extent has the rest of the press followed this root? My initial
> impression is that Ostankino is in the minority among the media, but that
> they reflect what actually happens in most spoken Russian.
>
> Thanks, Rich Robin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Richard Robin     <robin at gwuvm.gwu.edu>
> Slavic Languages and Literatures, The George Washington University
> Washington, DC 20008
>