Re: Russian names (was: Re: A perfect day...)

Vasiliy Chernov wrote:

> >First name + patronymic: polite between non-equals
>
> I would put it slightly different: 'distance' or 'formality' seem to be
> more important than 'equality'.
In the American press, there are occasionally interviews
with (non-official) Russians who don't give their last name but only
their first name and patronymic.  This is clearly understood
by the reporter as a desire for anonymity: an American who does
not give his last name is trying to be untraceable.  I wonder if
this is being incorrectly carried over to the Russian context,
or if in fact this means the same thing?

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