Ever read any Russian literature like War and Peace? Names are a nightmare. Russians might have 5 or 6 names and which one they use depends on who they're talking to. Family will call you name #1. A close friend will call you name #2. A casual friend will call you name #3, etc. A good book translator will just pick one and stick with it all the way through the book. Otherwise, you'll be half way through it before you can figure out the names.
I tried reading the original War and Peace and got totally lost. Then someone loaned me a different translation with the names straightened out and it was much more enjoyable.
Yes! Read Gogol and Dostoyevsky. Need to start back on Bulgakov's "The Master and the Margarita", when I can!
