Thread: Russian Naming

Originally Posted by mudrets

I'm not concerned here with the way Russians address each other.

OK. Now I see what you mean. Sorry for the confusion.

Originally Posted by mudrets

Are there any Russian parents officially naming their children, for instance, Misha Petrov or Nadya Petrova?

I agree with Gromozeka. I am pretty sure - no.

Originally Posted by mudrets

Does anyone skip the patronymic all together?

No.
Moreover, if a foreigner accepts the Russian citizenship due to some reason, he/she just have to have a patronimic! It is required for all the official documents. He/she would not be able even to get a Russian passport with empty "отчество" field.
As far as I know, foreigners may use various ways to get a patronimic: they can derive it from their actual father's name according to the Russian rules; or they can derive it from their middle name, surname etc., or even invent a patronimic they wish. The basic requirement is it should follow the Russian language pattern: -ович/-евич for men or -овна/-евна for women.

Example: if a Chinese man whose name is Xiao Shu Lian (Сяо Шу Лянь in Cyrillic transliteration) accepts the Russian citizenship, he may be registered as Сяо Шуевич Лянь officially. It sounds unusual and a bit funny for Russians, but so are the rules.
I hope you get the idea