Russian literature lesson… for dummies

I just finished Dostoevsky’s “Demons”. I enjoyed it more than “Crime and Punishment” but I will not go into literary analysis right now.

For all you beginners out there just starting on russian literature I have one very important lesson that will save you about 2 to 300 pages of disorientation. Hear me and here me well.

The lesson is called:
Naming in Russia.

Problem:
You read and read and encounter multiple characters that keep multiplying and you find yourself asking “where did all these character’s come out of ?!”.
Then, from context you deduce that one character, ONE, is referred to through several names. For example: the same character in “Demons” is referred to as : Piotr Stepanovici, Piotr Verhovenski, Piotr Stepanovici Verhovenski and Petrusa.

Solution:
The explanation is very simple. The character’s family name or surname is Verhovenski. His name is Piotr. His father’s name is Stepan and his nickname is Petrusa. Therefore he is commonly referred to as Piotr Stepanovici, indicating that he is Piotr, the son of Stepan.

Tricky part:
If Piotr was a girl, say we call her Piotra, then her name would be Piotra Stepanova, as in Piotra the daughter of Stepan. Unfortunately, being a girl her family name would also be modified into Verhovenskaia => Piotra Stepanova Verhovenskaia.

Like I said, it is a lesson for “ultimate beginners”, but I’m sure this will make the reader able to focus more on the story than figuring out the characters

What frustrates me most about reading is that after finishing a book, like “Demons”, and discovering the ending, making certain connections hidden by the author to this point with the proverbial “AHAAA…” in mind all I want is to read it all over again…
it may sound stupid but that’s the first urge I get when discovering the ending.

Only one ending has disappointed me so far in my humble list of read books, that is Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” but that’s literally another story.

Source of picture.