According to the 1897 census, about 75% of the population of the Russian Empire had no surnames. Finally, the surnames of all residents of our country appeared only in the Soviet era - in the 30s of the 20th century, when universal certification was announced.
The hunt for change of names
If the inhabitants of Central Russia still had official surnames, then on the outskirts of the country, in remote villages, the peasants sometimes did not have any documents, and in order to distinguish, they added either the name of their father (less often the mother) or a nickname to their name. When collective farms began to be created, the names in the documents were recorded accordingly. So, Vasily, the son of Procopius, became by the last name Prokopiev, and Fyodor, nicknamed the Kosoy, received the name either Kosoy, or, for the sake of euphony, Kosov.
In March 1918 V. I. Lenin signed a decree "On the right of citizens to change their surnames and nicknames." The fact is that a lot of citizens turned to the Council of People's Commissars, wishing to change their names or surnames. Someone wanted to change the last name because it was dissonant, someone - because of her noble or spiritual origin, which was not encouraged in the Soviet Union.
Soon after the October Revolution, the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs received a letter from a team of Black Sea sailors. They all asked to change their names. For example, the sailor Durakov asked to be allowed to be called Vinogradov, Gnilokvas - Stepanov, Kobelev - Skobelev.
For the change of the surname, an impressive fee was charged, which went to the income of the young Soviet state. Therefore, those who wish were rarely refused.
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Surnames of modern times
At the same time, many neologisms appeared in the USSR. The proletarian leaders introduced the fashion for them, taking revolutionary pseudonyms instead of their real names: Lenin, Stalin, Kirov, Molotov … Ordinary mortals received such names for various reasons. There were those who wanted to wear a surname corresponding to the trends of modern times. "New" surnames were often given to orphans, orphans. This is how the Avangardovs, Amperovs, Astrovs, Atheistovs, Vilenins, Wolframovs, Damirovs (from: "You give a world revolution" or: "Long live the world"), Dekabristovs, Delegatovs, Democrats, Deputatovs, Iridievs, Komissarovs, Kommunarovs, Mayevs, Martyrs, Mauserovs, Novomirovs, Oktyabrskys, Partizansky, Pravdins, Proletarian, Renatovs (from “revolution, science, labor”), Samoletovs, Soviets, Electronovs, Efirins, Jubilee, Yunnatovs …
"Russification" and "nationalization"
The USSR included various republics, including Central Asian ones. Their inhabitants were often recorded under Russified surnames derived from generic names. So, from the names of Abdulla, Gadzhi, Ibrahim, Mamed the surnames Abdullaev, Gadzhiev, Ibragimov, Mamedov were formed. However, Russian surnames in the union republics, in turn, could be altered in a national way. Thus, in Latvia, Russians were often recorded under the names Petrovs, Kuznetsovs, Fedorovs. By the way, actress Lyudmila Gurchenko writes in her memoirs that the real name of her father is Gurchenkov.
Irina Shlionskaya