Russian
In letters and during conversations, Russian speakers use
- Уважаемый / Уважаемая (according to gender - M/F)
- Многоуважаемый / Многоуважаемая
- Глубокоуважаемый / Глубокоуважаемая
followed by the given name and patronymic. Salutations to unknown parties usually include an honorific like
- Гражданин / Гражданка
- Господин / Госпожа
- Товарищ
Examples:
- Уважаемый господин Путин
- Уважаемая госпожа Путина
In less formal conversations it is possible to use
- Молодой человек (addressing a young man)
- Девушка (addressing a young woman)
Read more about this topic: Salutation
Famous quotes containing the word russian:
“We are all dead men on leave.”
—Eugene Leviné, Russian Jew, friend of Rosa Luxemburg’s lover, Jogiches. quoted in Men in Dark Times, “Rosa Luxemburg: 1871-1919,” sct. 3, Hannah Arendt (1968)
“An enormously vast field lies between “God exists” and “there is no God.” The truly wise man traverses it with great difficulty. A Russian knows one or the other of these two extremes, but is not interested in the middle ground. He usually knows nothing, or very little.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“In Western Europe people perish from the congestion and stifling closeness, but with us it is from the spaciousness.... The expanses are so great that the little man hasn’t the resources to orient himself.... This is what I think about Russian suicides.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)