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Related WP rule: WP:COMMONNAME

1. (GENERAL WP RULE: WP:UE policy) When possible, use a conventional English name (as defined below) instead of the Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian rules (WP:ROMRUS).
2. (compare WP:SET how-to guide) Selecting the most frequently used variant based on a search engine test is not acceptable.
3. When in doubt, use the name derived from the Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian applied to the Russian name.
4. The variant produced using the Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian must be mentioned in the lead in parentheses after listing the Russian name.

   Example: Moscow (Russian: Москва, Moskva)...

   Example: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильич Чайковский, Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky)

5. (GENERAL WP RULE: WP:R guideline) The variant produced using the WP romanization of Russian and any other variant can be a redirect to the main article.

   Example: Sankt-Peterburg redirects to Saint Petersburg.

   Example: Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky redirects to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

6. (GENERAL WP RULE: WP:MOSDAB guideline) If such a redirect cannot be set up due to a collision of meanings, a disambiguation page entry should be created instead, pursuant to the Manual of Style for disambiguation pages.

   Example: Moskva cannot be a redirect to Moscow, but a link to "Moscow" is available at the "Moskva" disambiguation page.

7. Titles of disambiguation and name pages are always romanized using the WP romanization of Russian.

   Rationale: simplification of maintenance of disambiguation and name pages; consistency.

   Example: the disambiguation page listing all the meanings of "Байкал" is to be located at Baykal (disambiguation), despite the fact that the most common English spelling of the primary meaning of the word (a lake in Russia) is "Baikal".

   Example: the name page listing people with the last name of "Зайцев" is to be located at Zaytsev, despite the fact that names of some people listed on the page are romanized differently (e.g., Alexander Gennadiyevich Zaitsev).

Names of persons

Related WP wide rules:

• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)

A person's conventional name is defined by the criteria outlined below. When spelling is selected based on one of these criteria, it must be documented on the article's talk page or be readily apparent from the sources used in the article. In absence of verifiable documentation, romanization produced by the WP romanization of Russian must be used.

1. (compare: WP:UE policy) If the person is an author of works published in English, the spelling of the name used in such publications should be used. When multiple spellings are used and no single spelling clearly predominates, use the one closest to the WP romanization of Russian.
2. (compare: WP:UE policy) If the person's preference of spelling of his/her name in English is known and can be documented, that spelling should be used.
3. (compare: WP:UE policy) If the person is the subject of English-language publications, the spelling predominantly used in such publications should be used. A preference is given to publications in the area in which the person specializes. When no single spelling predominates, use the one closest to the WP romanization of Russian.

   Example: the article on figure skater Александр Геннадиевич Зайцев is located at Alexander Gennadiyevich Zaitsev (not "Zaytsev"), because "Zaitsev" is the English spelling used by the International Skating Union, Figure Skating Federation of Russia, and in other publications about the person (ref).

Clarifications

• It is important to remember that only the spelling of names used in the English-language sources should be considered. If a Russian person is widely known, for example, in France but virtually unknown in the English-speaking world, the title of the article about him/her should be romanized using the WP romanization of Russian; French spelling should not be used.
  • French spelling can, however, be used if the person became a citizen of France and that spelling matches the person's official name.
• Same condition applies to the personal choice of spelling—it should only be used when the person in question has a clear and documentable preference for the English spelling of his/her name.
• In absence of documentation supporting one of the criteria of conventionality, articles can be moved to the spelling produced using the WP romanization of Russian. Editors performing such moves are encouraged to leave a notice on the articles' talk pages soliciting documentation/sources and allowing a reasonable amount of time to get a response.

Note: In transcribing Cyrillic, it is perfectly reasonable to follow a strict letter for letter encoding; thus the article on Joseph Brodsky may begin with his name in English, in Russian, and in a transcription of the Russian:

Joseph Brodsky (Russian: Ио́сиф Алекса́ндрович Бро́дский Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodskiy)

but it should Romanize his name as Brodsky thereafter. Whether it is useful to include all three forms, and in what order, is an editorial decision.

Names of places

Related WP rules:

• WP:COMMONNAME
• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#Widely accepted name
  • Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#BGN

See also: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#Widely accepted name, Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#Use English

A conventional name of a place is the name listed in major English dictionaries. In particular, if major English dictionaries do not list the place, then WP romanization of Russian should be used.

1. (compare: WP:UE policy) If a dictionary lists several variants of the name, use the main one.

   Example: use "Moscow", not "Moskva"

2. (compare: WP:UE policy) If different dictionaries list different main variants, use the one that's closest to the WP romanization of Russian.

   Example: suppose one dictionary lists the city of Тольятти under "Tolyatti" and another one—under "Togliatti". "Tolyatti" should be used as it is the variant produced by the WP romanization of Russian.

• Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#Russia
• Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian