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

Vasiliy Chernov wrote:

> I think that in Russia, people in the street will mostly give their
> first names or first name + patronymic, but not last names, if addressed
> e. g. by a TV reporter.
So it seems, but *why* are they doing that?  Is it in order to
remain anonymous, or for some other reason (just seems inappropriate
to give last name, etc.)?

> Is it different in America?
I think that we don't tend to see people being asked their names
on TV, but perhaps they are asked off-camera.

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