a possibly minority position

[Michele A. Berdy]

I have no idea what phonetic rendering of Medvedev will be easiest for English-speakers to pronounce. It's definitely a difficult name for non-Russian speakers. But I think that if people get the stress right and most of the sounds -- that will be just fine. Because (in a small voice) I don't think it's such a big deal. For 8 years Russians have called the US president Mr Boosh. They call the first US president something like Dzhyorch Vashinkton. (And don't forget that famous writer Gerbert Ooels.) That's not disrespect or butchering the names -- it's just the best they can do with their transliteration and phonetic systems. Somehow we have all survived without a serious international incident.   

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