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hullo hullo o/ thank you for a very relatable ask

unfortunately, i don't have some "one fit all" solution for this, but there are some methods, each a bit more time consuming than the last

Check their blog. See "ru" in there? Become sus. If it's stated first, i just block and move on to not waste my time. if it's stated later on - up to you; i'd block still, but if you have time/nerves/energy you can dig deeper and see if it's just a language someone knows or ruzzian who doesn't want to be called out

Example:

2. Check if there are links to other soc.med or other things. Most of the time, you'll either see places somewhere: x, bluesky, insta, wherever. Youtube is a good test if they have it, you can check the country there. If it's not stated, become sus and check the oldest videos. See/hear ru? Block.

Example:

Translation from ru:

3. Speaking of links you may see. See boosty? Block. It's ru parteon, in essense.

4. Same for vk aka vkontakte. Ru attempt of facebook, afaik. Block.

5. Same for yandex email. Block and move on.

6. Another more niche thing is ficbook. Aka "ru try to steal ao3 as well". Block and move on.

7. Check if there are things in pinned posts. Maybe they mention where they are from (people are insane like that nowadays because internet security knowledge is shit), and it can be useful. See a geographic name, check where it is. Ru? Block and move on

8. This one requires some time (and why i usually am so hesitant to like any new artists without checking and cross checking them...) but you can also check their art. Especially older art. They might have ru text in the art itself that you can spot and use to identify them, altho I understand that reading cursive can be challenging

Example:

This one is easier for me, as I know the language, but if you are relying only on google translate, check a few times as it loves lumping other languages into ru for some reason. ы, э (not є) and ё can be telling, tho - but again, they are used in other languages too, and it's better to double check if you're not sure.

9. If you see a combination of "Z" *and* russian language, congratulatons, you found a genocide supporter as Z is how ru soldiers mark themselves. Consider it nazi's swastika if you will, they're the same.

10. This one is more of an observation than a rule, but if you see someone who is a fan of Pathologic (or "Мор. Утопия" in ru) become suspicious. In my experience, 7 times out of 10, they do turn out to be ru. But this is more of a personal experience

Addendum to points 3-6: duckduckgo/google/search by other method of your preference their nickname. People usually reuse those, and you can see same people in vk or on boosty. If you're afraid of unrightfully blocking someone with the same nickname, you can try opening those and check if the same art/pfp/posts are there. I usually just block. But maybe you'll have more energy than me.

The artworks often lack bright colors and tend toward a darker palette. The coloring style frequently resembles painterly strokes. In some cases, there can also be many sharp angles, especially if it’s a sketch. Bright, strong highlights are relatively rare.

There is often a depressive tone, with a tendency to romanticize abuse and toxic relationships (everyone has their own preferences when it comes to shipping and character dynamics, but Russians often add heavier elements even where there isn’t much angst to begin with; there is even a general term for this tendency in their culture—chernukha, etc.). Overall, there is more despair than optimism or resilience, or a desire to overcome something.

There is little to no presence of non-white characters. At most, you might see ethnic minority groups within Russia itself depicted in national costumes; rarely Kazakhs as well (Kazakhstan also has a sad, complicated history with Russia, but is often seen as a “friendly” country toward Russia by Russians), though this is usually also tied to cultural elements. Outside of that, it is rare to see non-white characters portrayed as ordinary people. I would also add that characters who do not fit Eurocentric beauty standards are quite rare too.

Frequent use of the term “slavic”. Many other nations and cultures, which are already tired of fighting for proper representation, tend to specify who they are exactly and where they are from. It also comes from an unspoken pattern: anything labeled under the broad term “slavic” can later easily be absorbed as part of “russian culture,” as this has historically been one of the imperial practices of appropriating other cultures. Additionally, many people still perceive Russia as the primary or “default” representative of slavic identity, so the term often automatically brings Russia to mind. A similar issue exists with language: people often see cyrillic and assume it is Russian.

In addition to the word "Slavic" I have also seen them use "Eastern European" and even "Baltic" in very broad terms without mentioning a specific country. In my experience, that's a warning sign.

You refuse to even interact with or show the slightest bit of humanity towards somebody if they are Russian. You act as if the Russian people are subhuman and inherently evil.

You pick apart certain things that you notice Russian users online liking or saying or having or whatever and you use it to identify them and treat them as below you. You correlate being Russian with abuse and depression. Again, you act as if Russians are inherently bad and evil for being Russian.

list of transliterations of names S.T.A.L.K.E.R. characters

i believe some background is needed first. it is just as important to use the proper transliteration of character names as is using the right transliterations of geographical names, such as Prypiat instead of Pripyat and Chornobyl instead of Chernobyl, for the same reason of cutting out the influence of russian occupation and culture. it is especially important to do in the fandom of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., considering the impact the russo-ukrainian war had, is having and will keep having on the franchise, ukrainian fans, the real places that inspired the games and game developers.

the reasons below are for the use of proper transliteration as much as they are reasons as to why russians are unwelcome in this fandom.

1) developer Volodymyr Yezhov, the one who gave his appearance to Loki, was killed by russian army near Bakhmut in the line of duty on December 22th 2022.

2) developer Oleksiy Khilskiy, the model for Zotov, died on August 17th 2023 performing a combat task in Zaporizhskyi region.

3) The Sarcophagus over CNPP was hit by a kamikaze drone on the night of 14th of February 2025, compromising the construction's safety and longevity, which threatens with nuclear reagents being spread over Ukraine and the rest of Europe again. i believe i don't have to explain why it is dangerous.

4) on November 14th 2025 the seventh floor of an apartment building for victims of the Chornobyl catastrophe was hit by a shahed drone. 73 year old Nataliia Khodemchuk, the wife of Valeriy Khodemchuk—the first victim of Chornobyl's Nuclear Disaster—had died in the hospital the next day as a result of 45% bodily burns brought by the shahed hit. the negligence of the soviet union took her husband — russia's imperial ambitions and desire to terrorize and genocide Ukrainians killed her.

5) Last point for now, but on the night of 24th of May 2026, after working for only a month after long restoration, the National Chornobyl Museum in Kyiv has suffered fundamental structural damage as a result of attack of russian drones and ballistic rockets on the city. about 40% of the museum's collection has been lost forever.

these are the main reasons it's so important to not let russian transliteration persist, along with cultural reclaiming and ongoing genocide, if these two are somehow not enough. while we cannot limit russians from being involved in the fandom and can do little more besides just blocking and not interacting, Ukrainian transliterations will once again remind them of how unwelcome they are, which they are for they are physically destroying real-life things related to the fandom.

as such, lower will be a list of characters and their properly transliterated call names. additionally, if you need to check the transliteration of a name, here is a tool created by Ukrainian digital ministry, https://czo.gov.ua/en/translit here. transliteration according to words (the lower option) is more accurate as it takes into account the position of the letter in the word.

the issue of confusion around transliteration of the character names also rises from some being translated or adapted instead of transliterated, but it is inconsistent even in the newest game. i will add both the transliterated and the adapted names. for some characters, such as Strelok or Deggy - it's very important to use properly transliterated names. also the majority of the names are not real names but callnames/monikers/nicknames, but it's easier to write name so forgive my laziness regarding that. i will also highlight the right transliterations in green because i add reasonings and it might be hard to pinpoint with everything going on. these are mostly based on the ao3 character tags, but you can knock into my askbox and dms at any moment to request a deep dive on proper transliteration of a character's name and potential cultural shenanigans behind it.

lets get into it, shall we?

1) Aleksandr Degtyaryov, Alexander Degtyarev, Alexander Degtyarev and any other butchered version of our favourite major's name.

i'd like to begin by apologising for misinforming you all last year on what was the right transliteration. the deep dive on his name will be redone later. the only right transliteration is "Oleksandr (Oleksandrovych) Dehtiarov", from Олександр (Олександрович) Дегтярьов.

"Alexander" is an anglicized version of the name, "Aleksandr" is transliteration from russian. his surname mostly has two mistakes, the ending of -ev which is from the russian version of his surname and the use of the letter "g", which makes it sound harsh and also if we transliterate back to Ukrainian it would be "ґ" instead of "г", so it should be Dehtiarov.

2) Marked One & Strelok = the transliteration for Marked One is "Michenyi", from "Мічений", and for Strelok is "Strilets" from "Стрілець". while "Strelok" is an iconic name with almost two decades of history of use, it is still a russian version of the name. "Strilec" comes from Polish, and while i hold nothing against the language, the original name is in Ukrainian and it should be transliterated according to the rules of Ukrainian transliteration to Latin.

3) Shram is a proper transliteration of Scar's name, dw about it.

4) Skif = the transliteration is right, but i would like to repeat again that his full name is "Yevhen Martynenko", from "Євген Мартиненко". if you were confused, "Zhenia" is from "Женя" and is a nickname. 20 notes and he's getting a deep dive too

5) Dark One = transliteration is "Temnyi", from "Темний".

6) Awl = This is a character named "Шило", so - "Shylo".

7) Petruha = This makes the backward transliteration be "Петруга", it should be "Petrukha".

8) Owl = This is a character named "Сич", so it's transliterated as "Sych".

9) Forester (CS grandpa) = "Lisnyk", from "Лісник".

10) Guide = "Провідник" - "Providnyk".

11) Ganja = This should be an adaptation as far as I was able to check, but "Handzha" is the transliteration.

12) Beard = "Boroda" from "Борода".

13) Eugene = S2 Rostok trader. This is an adaptation of the name, but the transliteration is "Yudzhyn" from "Юджин"

14) Mastiff = This is an adapted version of the name, but "Mastyf" from "Мастиф" is the transliteration

15) Pilot = In ukrainian version of Call of Prypiat his name is "Лоцман", so it's "Lotsman".

16) Bes = This is a character named "Біс", so it should be "Bis".

17) Prizrak | Ghost = His name is "Привид", so the transliteration should be "Pryvyd". "Prizrak" is from a russian word.

18) Sidorovich = It should be "Sydorovych", because there are "и" and not "i" in his name, "Сидорович".

19) Batya | Gaffer = The better transliteration of "Batya" would be "Batia", taking in the account the inner position of the "я" in "Батя".

20) Khomyak | Hamster = As with Batia, not really right transliteration of "я", should be "Khomiak" from "Хом'як". The apostrophe is ignored.

21) Freedom | Svoboda = While "свобода" is a synonym to "воля" and not necessarily a russian version of the word, "Volia" is the name of the fraction. Unlike "свобода", "воля" doesn't just mean "freedom" but also will to be free or be free to do what you will, and just "will" in sense of something you want, desire or order. yknow. will of the monolith and all that.

22) Zveroboy | Trapper = Again, russian version of the word, should be "Zvirobii" from "звір" in "Звіробій".

23) Volkodav | Wolfhound = "Volk" is a russian word, so it should be "Vovkodav" instead, from "Вовкодав". Same goes for Wolf.

24) Kremen = Loki's right hand. Should be "Kremin", from "Кремінь". Soft sign is ignored.

25) Noj | Noah = ...I don't know what was the one who transliterated this smoking and not sure i want it, but it should be "Noi" from "Ной" instead. This "Noj" is genuinely a cardinal sin against transliteration.

26) Jackal = leader of the merc group in Prypiat in CoP. His name is "Шакал", so "Shakal", the other one is an adaptation from English localisation of CoP.

27) Shustryi | Nimble = While he is referred to as "Шустрий" both in S2 and in the Almanach, I believe that "Sprytnyk" from "Спритник" should take its place in front of "Nimble", as "Спритник" was used in the whole trilogy and is more authentic to him as a character too.

28) Jager = Duty guide from S2. His name is "Єгер", so "Yeher".

29) Hog = Merc from CS, saved the freedomer Kostian (Kostyan). His name is "Хог", so "Khoh".

30) Leshiy - Leshy = His name is "Лісовик", so it's "Lisovyk". This is one of the freedomers at the entrance to the Army werehouses in SoC and a merc in CS&HoC

31) Fox = SoC character. His name is "Лис", so "Lys".

32) Seriy = His name is "Сірий", so it's "Siryi". His name wasn't adapted in Shadow of Chornobyl.

33) Pos | Hound = His name is actually "Пес", so it's "Pes", as "Pos" is a russian version. CS character, Wolf's brother.

34) Freshy = His name is "Свіжак", so it's "Svizhak". This is a digger from CS.

35) Danila = His name is "Данило", so it's "Danylo".

36) Ozersky = His surname is "Озерський", so it's "Ozerskyi".

37) Colonel Korshunov = the transliteration is fine, but we know his name, "Oleksandr", so yea he is "Oleksandr Korshunov".

38) Kovalsky = the transliteration is "Kovalskyi" from "Ковальський".

a little subtopic, the "G issue"

1) Garik | Garry = Same as with Dehtiarov, the "G" is going to be a "ґ" instead of a "г" and will be too harsh of a sound & most likely it is transliterated from russian, it should be "Haryk" from "Гарик".

2) Gavaets | Hawaiian = instead of "Gavaets" it should be "Havaiets", from "Гаваєць". The other one is adapted and is fine.

3) Dolg | Duty = it should be "Dolh" from "Долг".

4) Garmata = Should be "Harmata" from "Гармата".

5) Gonta = Should be "Honta" from "Гонта", as it is now in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

6) Gluhar | Grouse= Should be "Hlukhar" from "Глухар".

7) prof. Kruglov = Should be "Kruhlov" from "Круглов".

8) Shulga = Should be "Shulha" from "Шульга". his rank in english is "Lieutenant colonel"

9) Morgan = "Morhan", from "Морган";

onto some groups often seen in fanfiction:

Strider's group (og 5 of noontide):

1) Strider (obviously)

Strider is the official adaptation of both games he is in. but i did see "Stray" and i consider it cute af. shout out to moot who's idea it is (not sure if you want publicity so not tagging). the transliteration of Strider's name would be "Brodiaha", "Brodiaga" is wrong for the same reason of the 'g issue'. if you are on board of his real name being "Олег Жаба", it's transliterated as "Oleh Zhaba" or "Oleh Sereda", if you wish for a more serious surname. shoutout to @poliyanakvasova for the idea of Sereda, even i moved on from Zhaba. it's still partially frog themed, as wednesday, which is sereda in Ukrainian, is considered to be a frog day.

aaand onto the rest of the group:

2) Armor = his name is "Броня", the transliteration is "Bronia";

3) Walrus = his name is "Морж", the transliteration is "Morzh";

4) Sickle = his name is "Серп", the transliteration is "Serp";

5) Фома | Foma = his name was "Хома" ("Khoma") in Call of Prypiat, but it's "Foma" in s2;

6) Tihiy | Meeker | Quiet = Instead of "Tihiy" it should be "Tykhyi" from "Тихий". "Tihiy" is a transliteration from russian. "Meeker" is CoP adaptation, "Quiet" is s2 adaptation.

Quiet's camp group:

1) Вектор | Vector = this one is fine, i am just listing everyone in the group considering that neither Ukrainian nor English fandom wiki have proper pages for them yet

2) Пляма | Spot = transliteration would be "Pliama";

3) Кодак | Kodak - he is just chilling in the camp, still a Noontider.

4) Джампер | Jumper;

5) Синюх | Bluish = transliteration is "Syniukh";

OG Spark:

1) Topol = his name is "Тополь", and considering that the soft sign is ignored "Topol" is just fine;

2) Snake = his name is "Змій", the transliteration is "Zmiy";

3) Mace = his name is "Булава", the transliteration is "Bulava". btw, a mace is a symbol of power and leadership in Ukraine.

4) Spirit = His name is "Дух", so "Dukh";

Kazkovyi/NK-5 Reseach group:

1) Scoutmaster = his ukrainian callname is "Вожатий", so "Vozhatyi". his other name is a spoiler, but if you know you know, it's going to be a little lower.

2) Rascal = His name is "Шельма", so the transliteration is "Shelma";

3) Medulin = everything is fine here;

4) Banzai = everything is fine nere too;

the merc group under Tesak/Hatchet's command:

1) Oak = "Dub" from "Дуб";

2) Kirzach (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) = should be "Kyrzach" from "Кирзач";

3) Hazon | Mower = "Hazon" is from "Газон", and "Mower" is CoP English adaptation;

4) Hoblin | Goblin = "Hoblin" is from "Гоблін", "Goblin" is CoP English adaptation;

5) Pysok | Mug = "Pysok" is from "Писок", "Mug" is CoP English adaptation;

6) Tank | Танк - pretty straightforward;

these are the ones we can feed on Zaton.

the merc group under Chornyi's/Black's command:

1) Black = his name is "Чорний", so the transliteration is "Chornyi";

2) Stake = "Stake" is an adaptation, transliteration would be "Kol" or even "Kil", considering that "кол" is a russian word. "Кіл" means a rough, sharpened piece of wood. "Паля" is a synonym. think real Vlad Dracula (i don't remember his name, just google it if you're more curious about that);

3) Duplet = og name is "Дуплет" and there is no issue;

4) Surgeon = "Surgeon" is an adaptation, transliteration would be "Khirurh" from "Хірург";

6) Skull = "Skull" is an adaptation, transliteration is "Cherep" from "Череп";

7) Corpse = "Corpse" is an adaptation, transliteration is "Trup" from "Труп";

8) Koshey = this one is completely missing the mark, it should be "Koshchiy" from "Кощій";

these are the ones protecting the scientific bunker on Yaniv. Trup and Koshchiy appear only for when Dehtiarov finds the documents on Jupiter, they are the scouts.

this is all, for now. should cover the basics. my ask box and dms are open!

i will leave this off my saying that no matter how much some want to believe that the fandom of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is not political, it is, was, has always been and will be political. before some of you mention that the language for the trilogy was originally russian — you should take into account the mentality of GSC and Ukraine as a whole at the time of the game releases. 2007-2009 was a period of severe russification, which came to everything in Ukrainian media and society. we had a renaissance of Ukrainian culture (music, movies, festivals, games) in the 90s, just after we became independent, but russia, being the imperial country it is, decided to choke that down. additionally, the post-ussr inferiority complex that was propagated to all not-russians also influenced the language GSC made their game on.

partially in the words of the Almanach's pre-word — S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise as a whole are projects born in Ukraine, made by Ukrainians, made first and foremost for Ukrainians, made about Ukrainians, Ukrainian-born characters, Ukrainian cities and villages, places, Ukrainian history. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is created to glorify and spread Ukrainian culture, be it as little as a box of matches with a Cossack with a diagonal Ukrainian flag behind him. And you know who is it devoted to? Those who protected and keep protecting Ukraine.

if even everything mentioned above is not enough, i would also like to remind of the fact that Skif, the main character of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 mind you, is a veteran. he served from 2014 to 2016. he has an honorary PM, and honorary weapons in Ukraine are given by the president for, and i will just quote the Wikipedia:

"«Named honorary firearm» reward — Ukrainian government's reward for rewarding the officers of Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian border service, other military groups created according to Ukrainian laws, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian outer intelligence service, Government service of special connection and protection of information of Ukraine, and also Government special transport service, Burau of economic safety of Ukraine, policemen and government servicemen with officer rank, for extraordinary merits in ensuring defensibility of Ukraine, untouchability of her borders, support of high battle readiness of army, strengthening of national security, fighting with crime, protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, for exceptional multi-year service, exceptional execution of military and service duty, honour and valor shown at the time of that."

og quote just in case:

"Відзна́ка «Іменна́ вогнепа́льна збро́я» — державна нагорода України для нагородження офіцерського складу Збройних Сил України, Державної прикордонної служби України, інших військових формувань, утворених відповідно до законів України, Служби безпеки України, Служби зовнішньої розвідки України, Державної служби спеціального зв'язку та захисту інформації України, а також Державної спеціальної служби транспорту, Бюро економічної безпеки України, поліцейських та державних службовців, які мають офіцерське звання, за визначні заслуги у забезпеченні обороноздатності України, недоторканності її державного кордону, підтримці високої бойової готовності військ, зміцненні національної безпеки, боротьбі зі злочинністю, захисті конституційних прав і свобод громадян, за бездоганну багаторічну службу, зразкове виконання військового та службового обов'язку, виявлені при цьому честь і доблесть."

so, yea. and if we take his age into account, he went to the army right after finishing school. thus, you are playing as the character who at 17-18 chose to abandon higher education and highly likely lost his health serving in army to protect his country and kill the russian invaders.

oh, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is illegal in russia. you can get up to 10-15 years in prison for streaming it or buying it. weird for a country to make a game "about true russian soul and toska" (sarcasm, ofc) illegal in russia, isn't it?

A Russian missile wiped out an entire family in the village of Radushne.

In their own home, 47-year-old Artem and 41-year-old Olena were killed. Along with them, the Russian strike took the lives of their children and their 18-month-old grandson.

Among those whose bodies have already been recovered or are still being searched for beneath the rubble—are:

Mark, who would have turned 18 next month, Dominika (16), Viorika (14), Zakharii (13), Azarii Ilai (11), Federika (9), Emiliia (7), and little Artem, just 1 year and 6 months old.

i want to talk specifically about the first comment

this is always so insane to me because it's only said when we speak against our oppressor, it's always a response to us not being okay with seeing people who wish death on us and actively participate in making that happen in spaces designed for celebration

go make your own post about the usa and israel and see if we come in the comments justifying their war crimes because god forbid people going through a genocide are most vocal about their own genocide

this weird need to force people sleeping in shelters every night to speak about things they barely have even time to think about is so strange especially when it comes from westerners who live unbombed lives and can actually advocate for the causes they care about but instead they bitch and moan online because a victim they don't like is speaking up about their own tragedies

"Russian strike hits the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a world-famous Orthodox monastery and UNESCO site, igniting fire on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral. The House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro was also targeted. Russia has attacked the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio in Kyiv, one of Ukraine’s oldest film studios."