1. linguistic typology

Dobroslav

Mal (small one)

Volk (wolf)

Zidislav

The Old Slavic names that are in use to this day and spring to mind when you say "Old Slavic name" (both native, like Boris, Vladimir, Svyatoslav, and Scandinavian loan-names such as Oleg, Igor and Gleb) were, in fact, princely names used by the feudal nobility. The common folk used more obscure names which right now are long-antiquated. The reason for that is that Christianization of the Russia started from the aristocracy, and it were the princes who became the first native saints (thus legalizing their Old Slavic names as Christian names).
Foreigners often don’t know when to use the word “an acquaintance “and when “a friend”. This happens because in Russian these words have additional meaning.
Usually we use the word “an acquaintance” when we want to show that there’s no friendship between people. Usually we speak using this word about a colleague or a neighbour. Or sometimes we can call a person whom we don’t know well “an acquaintance”.
We say “a friend”, when we want to stress, that we know this person well and for a long time. People often say “a school friend”, “an old friend”, and “a close friend”. One shares common interests and has close relationship with a friend. The word “a friend” toward a close person can be used regardless of gender. One can say: Maria is a close friend of mine”, “Sergey is my best friend”.
The word «подруга» “a girlfriend” is an equivalent to the word “friend”, when it’s used by a woman. But when it’s used by a man, this word gets and additional “sexual” connotation. That’s why if a Russian man wants to say that he has only friendly relationship with a woman, he uses the word “an acquaintance”. But if he wants to show that there’s not only friendship, but love between them, he says: “my girlfriend”, “my girl”.
In Russian, there are two modes of address – using the polite "you" (Вы) and using the informal "you/thou" (ты). The choice of mode depends on how well you know the other person and whether you are superior or inferior in terms of age and position.
Russians generally use the polite Вы when talking to strangers and older people. It is essentially a plural form of "you" used to refer to only one person. Using “Вы” is a sign of politeness and respect. The formal "you" is also common in official situations, business communication and various public institutions, such as banks, police or consulates. If the person's full name is known he or she is addressed with a combination of the first name and patronymic – for example, “Иван Николаевич”. While the use of a given name (Иван) plus patronymic (Николаевич) is the golden standard of politeness, there has been a recent trend to only say the full version of the first name (but not a nickname) while still maintaining the formal-you mode.
Most first names in Russian have two forms – the full name and short name ("nickname" or "pet name"). The full form is the one you may find in the Russian passport and other official documents. The shortened unofficial version of a given name is often very different and has multiple variations. For example, Сергей is called Серёжа for short and Иван  becomes Ваня. Nicknames are common in everyday life among friends and relatives. Some first names, however, do not have a shortened version, for example Никита, Тарас.
It is also worth noting that several male names end in "-a" which is typically a feminine ending in Russian grammar. At the same time, the shortened versions of some names are the same for both boys and girls. These include Саша (from the male name – Александр, female –Александра) and Женя (male name – Евгений, female – Евгения).
You can talk to someone using ты if you are close friends or know each other well. For instance, it is acceptable to refer to your work colleagues using ты (informal "thou") even if there is a substantial age difference between both of you. The members of the family and very close friends are also on the ты basis, often calling each other diminutive forms of their names, such as Серёженька for Сергей. The diminutive names are tender and affectionate nicknames derived from the first names. In Russia, you can accurately tell the degree of formality between people by listening to the way they address each other.
In Tsarist Russia, there used to be dozens of forms of address, some of them legislatively regulated. The official table of ranks listed 14 titles hierarchically, all to be addressed in different manners, from “Your Excellency” (Ваше Превосходительство) for the higher ranks to “Your Nobleness” (Ваше Благородие) for the lower ones. “Your Honour” (Ваша Честь), “Your Grace” (Ваша Милость), and “Dear Sir” (Милостивый Государь) were the accepted respectful form of address that could be used irrespective of the addressee's rank. The “Dear Sir” address could be abbreviated to “Sir” (Сударь), and there was also a variant for addressing females, “Madam” (Сударыня).
The revolution of 1917 put an end to the class-based division of society, rendering all previous forms of address obsolete. Prof. Preobrazhensky, the surgeon in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel Heart of a Dog, which is set in the 1920s, tells his patient Sharikov: “Dr. Bormental and I will address you as “Господин” (“Mister”) Sharikov. Sharikov takes offense, alluding in his reply to the mass emigration of intellectuals in the previous years: “I am not a Mister, all the Misters are in Paris.” The only two accepted forms of address left in circulation were the ubiquitous (and quite confidential) “Comrade” (товарищ) and the more formal “Citizen” (гражданин).
In the post-Soviet period, “товарищ” lost its currency as a form of address. The word has now become a marker that identifies the person using it with the Communist Party – or it may refer to the Soviet era. People have been left with no appropriate ways of addressing each other. The term “Mister” (господин), which has made a sort of comeback, does not count: it is mainly used in official situations. The most frequent forms of address nowadays are “Young Man” (молодой человек) for males and “Girl” (девушка) for females. These, however, sound ridiculous when addressed to senior citizens. Less common are the forms “Man” (мужчина) and “Woman” (женщина), which are considered vulgar. There are also situational forms of address: you can, for example, address a taxi driver as “Commander” (Командир) or “Boss” (Шеф).
When you need to address a stranger you usually begin your address with “Excuse me” (извините). The ending – “те” carries an important meaning: it shows that you have chosen the respectful, plural form of address. Whether to address a single person in the plural or in the singular is a choice of great import.
The plural “You” (Вы) is the mandatory polite way of addressing strangers and people who are older than you. Switching to the singular “You” (Ты), on the other hand, suggests a more intimate acquaintance with the addressee and should normally occur only with the latter's consent. Interestingly, this principle does not work in low brow communities where accentuated politeness is frowned upon and the usual forms of address among males are “guy” or “dude” (мужик), “bro” (братан), or “homie” (земляк).
Before the revolution, we had an elaborate system of addresses, both polite and familiar, developed to fit every sphere of social life. After the communist revolution of 1917, all these words were abolished and replaced by the unisex and democratic “Товарищ” – “comrade” to eliminate all social differences. So in the Soviet times, in the official context, the universal form of address was “Товарищ + Surname”. However, it was really used only in formal, work related situations. In real life, when people spoke to someone whose name they didn’t know, not everyone would be comfortable with using the word “comrade”. Some people did, but for some it would have seemed strange and awkward. And that’s where the “address crisis” starts. The old forms of address were banned and therefore forgotten, and nothing new was created to replace them, apart from “Товарищ”.
So what does one do? If for example, you would like to talk to a girl/guy you liked at a party – no way you could address him/her as “Товарищ”! It would sound like you were in a party conference, about to discuss the 5-year plan for the Soviet economy, rather than ask them out! So Russians, being what they are, started using the words that were the exact opposite of the official requirements for unisex and PC address: “Девушка” and “Молодой человек”. “Девушка” literally means a girl or young lady, and “Молодой человек” is a young man. Not only they are gender-related, but also age-based! So older people still have a problem with addressing each other.
“Молодой человек”, on the contrary, has become a rather unfriendly expression, that you would want to use when you are about to tell someone off, or talk to a guy who is trying to jump a queue in front of you.
So what do we do in formal situations to address someone? If you know their name and patronymic – that’s easy, you would just use those. If not, the old words “Господин” (Mister) and Госпожа (Miss or Mrs – marital status does not matter) were reintroduced. So if you address an audience of people, the thing to say is “Дамы и господа”! It sounded really weird when it was just
reintroduced, in the early 90-s, but now we’ve got used to it.
Another form of address is “Гражданин” or “Гражданка” (meaning “citizen”). It’s very formal and rather unfriendly. It brings to mind pictures of the police arresting people, or officials receiving complaints from people in some Soviet-style social services office!
A more rough, really unfriendly form of address is “Женщина” (meaning “woman”) and “Мужчина” (meaning “man”). A staple of Soviet (and present day Russian) queues and rush hour tube squabbles – “Женщина”, you are not supposed to stand here! “Мужчина”, move further into the carriage!” “You irritate me, I’d rather not see you there!” is a clear message there. Nasty…
For older people, the masculine equivalent is “Дедушка” or “Дедуля” (the affectionate form of “granddad”) may be acceptable, but only by very young people towards a person who is clearly old and would not mind young people calling them “granddad”).
When children address adults, in an informal situation they can use “Дядя” (“uncle”) plus the first name, or even “Дяденька” – the diminutive forms. In formal situations, children are obliged to use the name and patronymic of an adult. A collective address “Ребята” (“guys”) is often used by adults towards children, very common at school, used by teachers.
Rude words of address include: “Мужик” – “man” (difficult to find an English equivalent, it originally meant “a peasant man”), “дед” (grandfather – but formal unfriendly kind of words). “Мужик” is used a lot in colloquial modern Russian to refer to men, but not to their face. Used to address people, they are really unfriendly and aggressive.
And finally, something you usually learn in one of your very first Russian lessons – the difference between “ты” and “вы” – the informal and formal versions of “you”. As you probably know, Russian culture is rather formal, so when you meet someone for the first time, or talk to someone you don’t know very well, you have to use “вы”. You can switch to “ты” when you become friends or very close colleagues. It’s a sign that you are equal, that you know each other very well, and that you do not mind being seen as mates. “Ты” is totally inappropriate for addressing teachers, doctors or any other professionals who work with you. I get rather upset when students try to call me “ты”, because they were taught by someone in the past who thought it was appropriate. I know that in some cultures this is a sign of being friendly, rather than formal, but not in Russian. Some people would get seriously upset by being called “ты”, because it sounds disrespectful. But it’s appropriate to use “ты” for children and teenagers, even if you don’t know them very well.
So, as you can see, there is no universal word that we can all use. The safest bet is to use the person’s name or just a good old “извините” – “excuse me”.
The fact once again confirms that language is the mirror of social values. And the change that such a requirement is being discarded indicates the co-variation between social change and linguistic choice.