Talk:Alexei Smirnov (physicist)

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Spelling of first name[edit]

Although the conventional transliteration of Smirnov's given name would be Alexey, he self-identifies as Alexei. Per WP:RUS#People, here are some links to scientific publications authored by him:

I have not seen a single English-language publication where his name is spelled Alexey. Hqb (talk) 20:46, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, that works great. Much appreciated.

Regarding the patronymic, per WP:NCP, patronymics "are not usually used in the title[s]". However, since they are a part of the full name, we (WP:RUSSIA) use them for disambiguation purposes. Since it is a disambiguator, it makes no sense to abbreviate it (abbreviations, however, are acceptable when only an initial is known, not the full form). Hope this clarifies the matter.—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); 20:52, May 8, 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure... Smirnov may be in the scope of WP:RUSSIA, but he's also in WP:PHYSICS, and arguably he's more notable for his scientific work than for his nationality. "Alexei Yuryevich Smirnov" currently gets zero Google hits, directly contradicting WP:NCP. I propose moving the article back to the original, and far more recognizable, Alexei Smirnov (physicist), unless there's a specific policy to the contrary.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Hqb (talk • contribs)

Sorry, I didn't realize you requested a comment here as well. I have just posted a reply on patronymics on your talk page. I, however, would also like to note that "Alexei Smirnov" is the most likely search term that a reader would enter into the search box, but since that name is shared by multiple people, such a reader is most likely to arrive to a disambiguation page anyway. From there, it does not really matter to readers under what title the article being sought is located, as long as it can be distinguished from other entries.—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); 14:47, May 11, 2009 (UTC)