Why is the Russian Tsar Nicholas and not Nikolai? The linguist explained the rule.

Philologist Olga Vasilyeva reminded that Belarusian and Russian names should not be transliterated, but only reproduced with Ukrainian equivalents. According to the expert, Russian names should be conveyed in the Ukrainian language, like Dmitry Medvedev.

The only exceptions are well-known names of some Belarusian writers and cultural figures. The philologist also noted that there is inconsistency among names, for example, Alies, not Alyes; Adamovich, not Adamovich; Borodulin, not Baradulin. This is a tradition that philologists have been working with for several centuries. However, Vasilyeva advised paying attention to the mutual influence of political realities on the language. She emphasized that if Russian phonetics are observed for Ukrainian officials, the same should be done for Belarusian. For example, not Alexander Lukashenko, but Aliaksandr Lukashenka; not Svitlana Tikhanovskaya, but Svyatlana Tsikhanovskaya. Also, Russian surnames are adapted: Medvedev, not Miedvedev.

Vasilyeva also noted that many mistakes are made by Ukrainians in expressions and words, such as 'pidkazhit', 'zgidno z' and 'vidpovidno do'. She pointed out that not all borrowed words require replacement, for example, feedback can be replaced with 'zvorotnyy zv'yazok', but it's harder with lifehack.