Given names of Soviet origin appeared in the early history of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Richard Stites Richard Stites (December 2, 1931 – March 7, 2010) was a historian of Russian culture and professor of history at Georgetown University, famed for "landmark work on the Russian women’s movement and in numerous articles and books on Russian and ...

, ''Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution''
p. 111
/ref> coinciding with the period of intensive

word formation In linguistics, word formation is an ambiguous term that can refer to either: * the processes through which words can change (i.e. morphology), or * the creation of new lexemes in a particular language Morphological A common method of word for ...

, both being part of the so-called "revolutionary transformation of the society" with the corresponding fashion of

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

s and

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

s,Valeri Mokiyenko, "Толковый словарь языка Совдепии" (" Explanatory Dictionary of Sovdepiya"), St.Petersburg, Фолио-Пресс, 1998, . which

characterized as a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

n vision of creating a new reality by means of verbal imagery. They constituted a notable part of the new

Soviet phraseology Soviet phraseology, or Sovietisms, i.e., the neologisms and cliches in Russian language of the epoch of the Soviet Union, has a number of distinct traits that reflect the Soviet way of life and Soviet culture and politics. Most of these distinc ...

. Many such names may be found in Russian,Петровский, Н. А. "Словарь русских личных имён", Moscow, АСТ, 2000, . Belarusian, and Ukrainian persons, as well as in other ethnicities of the former

(e.g.

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

History

The proliferation of the new names was enhanced by the propagation of a short-lived "new Soviet rite" of Octobering, in replacement of the religious tradition of child baptism in the state with the official dogma of

Marxist–Leninist atheism Marxist–Leninist atheism, also known as Marxist–Leninist scientific atheism, is the antireligious element of the Soviet Bolshevism-style variant of Marxism–Leninism, the official communist state ideology of the Soviet Union. Based upon a ...

.Daniel Peris, ''Storming the Heavens: The Soviet League of the Militant Godless''
p. 92
/ref> In defiance of the old tradition of taking names from

menology Menologium (), also written menology, and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. From its derivation from Greek , ''menológion'', from μήν ''m ...

, according to the feast days, many names were taken from nature having patriotic, revolutionary, or progressive connotation: Beryoza (Берёза, "

birch tree A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

", a proverbial Russian tree), Gvozdika (Гвоздика, "

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

", a revolutionary flower), Granit (Гранит, "

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

"), Radiy (Радий, "

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...

", a symbol of scientific progress). A peculiarity of the new naming was neologisms based on the revolutionary phraseology of the day, such as ''Oktyabrin/Oktyabrina'', to commemorate the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

, ''Vladlen'' for

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

. Richard Stites classifies the Soviet "revolutionary" names into the following categories: *Revolutionary heroes and heroines (their first names, their last names used as first names and various acronyms thereof) *Revolutionary concepts (exact terms and various acronyms) *Industrial, scientific and technical imagery *Culture, myth, nature, place names Most of these names were short-lived linguistic curiosities, but some of them fit well into the framework of the language, proliferated and survived for a long time.

Common new names

The following names were quite common and may be found in various antroponymic dictionaries.

People with Soviet names

*: Баррикад, from " barricade" *

Elem Klimov Elem Germanovich Klimov (russian: link=no, Элем Германович Климов; 9 July 1933 – 26 October 2003) was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker. He studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, and was married to film dire ...

: Эле́м = Engels, LEnin, Marx *

Elmira (name) Elmira is a given name. Notable persons with the name include: *Elmira Abdrazakova (born 1994), Russian beauty pageant titleholder * Elmira Alembekova (born 1990), Russian racewalker * Elmira Antommarchi, Colombian poet *Elmira Gafarova (1934–199 ...

: Эльмира,

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

for "электрификация мира", ''elektrifikatsiya mira'' (electrification of the world) * Engelsina Markizova: Энгельси́на. * Geliy Korzhev: Гелий = "

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

" * Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin: Patronym = Ге́льевич. Father's name: Geliy = "helium" *: Изиль = исполнитель заветов Ильича, ''ispolnitel zavetov Il'icha'' (Performer of the Testaments of Il'ich (Lenin)) *

Igor Talankin Igor Vasilyevich Talankin (russian: И́горь Васи́льевич Тала́нкин) (3 October 1927 – 24 July 2010) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. His film ''Splendid Days'' (1960, co-directed with Georgiy Dane ...

: birth name: Индустрий (Industriy) * Iskra Babich: И́скра, in reference to ''

Iskra ''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History Due to political repression under Tsar Nicho ...

'', the revolutionary newspaper, the name of which means "spark" *

Marlen Khutsiev Marlen Martynovich Khutsiev (russian: Марле́н Марты́нович Хуци́ев; 4 October 1925 – 19 March 2019) was a Georgian-born Soviet and Russian filmmaker best known for his cult films from the 1960s, which include '' I Am Twe ...

: Марле́н = Marx + Lenin * Melor Sturua: Мэлор = "Marx, Engels, Lenin: Organizers of the Revolution" *: Нинель = "Lenin" read backwards *

Nonna Mordyukova Noyabrina Viktorovna Mordyukova (Russian: Но́нна (Ноябри́на) Ви́кторовна Мордюко́ва; 25 November 1925 – 6 July 2008) was a Soviet and Russian actress and People's Artist of the USSR (1974). She was the star ...

: born Ноябри́на (Noyabrina), from Noyabr = "November";

(which happened in November by

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

) * Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov: Patronym = Oктябpинoвич. Father's name: Октябри́н = October *: Радий (Radiy) = "

" *

Radner Muratov Radner Zinyatovich Muratov (russian: Раднэр Зинятович Муратов, tt-Cyrl, Раднэр Зиннәт улы Моратов, translit=Radner Zinnät uğlı Moratov; 21 October 1928 – 10 December 2004) was a Soviet and Russian s ...

: Раднэ́р = радуйся новой эре, ''raduysya novoy ere'' ("Hail the new era") *: Рево́льт *

Rem Viakhirev Rem Ivanovich Viakhirev ( rus, Рем Ива́нович Вя́хирев, p=ˈrɛm ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ˈvʲæxʲɪrʲɪf; 23 August 1934 – 11 February 2013) was a Russian businessman. From 1992 to 2001, he was chairman of Gazprom. In May 20 ...

: Рем = революция мировая, ''revolyutsiya mirovaya'' (

World revolution World revolution is the Marxist concept of overthrowing capitalism in all countries through the conscious revolutionary action of the organized working class. For theorists, these revolutions will not necessarily occur simultaneously, but whe ...

) *: Рэм = Революция, Энгельс, Маркс (Revolution, Engels, Marx) *

Rimma Kazakova Rimma Fyodorovna Kazakova (russian: Ри́мма Фёдоровна Казако́ва; 27 January 1932 – 19 May 2008) was a Soviet and Russian poet and translator. She was known for writing many popular songs of the Soviet era. Biography Kazako ...

, birth name Remo, Рэмо = Революция, электрификация, мировой Октябрь,Елена Душечкина
"Мессианские тенденции в советской антропонимической практике 1920-х - 1930-х годов"
("Messianic Tendencies in Soviet Anthroponymic Practice of the 1920s-1930s"), ''

Toronto Slavic Quarterly The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

'' (retrieved August 8, 2015) ''revolyutsiya, elektrifikatsiya, mirovoy Oktyabr'' (Revolution, Electrification, World's October) *

Spartak Mishulin Spartak Vasilyevich Mishulin (russian: Спартак Васильевич Мишулин; Moscow, October 22, 1926 – Moscow, July 17, 2005) was a Soviet actor and People's Artist of the RSFSR. He was best known for his roles as Sayid in ''White ...

: Спартак = "

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

" * Telman Ismailov: Те́льман, from

Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician, and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed Marxist-Leninist and Stalinist, Thälmann played a major r ...

Vil Mirzayanov Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov (russian: Вил Султанович Мирзаянов, tt-Cyrl, Вил Солтан улы Мирзаҗанов; born 9 March 1935 in Starokangyshevo, Dyurtyulinsky District, Bashkortostan) is a Russian chemist of ...

: Вил, from VIL = Vladimir Ilyich Lenin *: Вилен, VILen = Vladimir Ilyich Lenin *: VILen = Vladimir Ilyich Lenin *

Willi Tokarev Willi Ivanovich Tokarev (; 11 November 1934 – 4 August 2019) was a Russian-American singer-songwriter. In the 1980s, he became famous throughout the Soviet Union for his songs about life as a Russian ''émigré'' in New York in Brighton Beach. ...

: Вилли, born Vilen *: Віллен (Ukrainian) *: Виль *: Владилен * Vladilen Mashkovtsev *: Владлен *

Vladlen Davydov Vladlen Semyonovich Davydov (russian: Владле́н Семёнович Давы́дов; 1924 — 2012) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1969). The winner of two Stalin Prizes (1950, 1951). Membe ...

* Vladlen Yurchenko *

Zhores Alferov Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (russian: link=no, Жоре́с Ива́нович Алфёров, ; be, Жарэс Іва́навіч Алфёраў; 15 March 19301 March 2019) was a Soviet and Russian physicist and academic who contributed signific ...

: Жоре́с, after

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; oc, Joan Jaurés ), was a French Socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became one of the first social dem ...

Zhores Medvedev Zhores Aleksandrovich Medvedev (russian: Жоре́с Алекса́ндрович Медве́дев; 14 November 1925 – 15 November 2018) was a Russian agronomist, biologist, historian and dissident. His twin brother is the historian Roy Medv ...

: after

References

{{Reflist Given names Soviet culture Soviet phraseology

History

Common new names

People with Soviet names

See also

References