Chapter Text
Here is a list of the characters:
Kylo Ren (Renat "Topor" Solaev)
Armitage Hux (Arseny "Rzhavyi" Khakasov)
Rey (Reikhan Solaeva)
Poe Dameron (Pasha Damirian)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Vladimir Leonidovich)
Captain Phasma (Katerina Fazova)
Dopheld Mitaka (Mitka “Dead”)
Lieutenant Rodinon (Rodionov)
Brendol Hux (Boris Khakasov)
Leia Organa-Solo (Elena Solayeva)
Han Solo (Amirkhan Solayev)
Street Nicknames
Hux and Ren go by street nicknames "Rzhavyi" and "Topor," which literally translate to "Rust" and "Axe", respectively. These are badass yet faintly ridiculous nicknames. But we thought "Rust" and "Axe" might be super distracting words to see used as names, it seems very weird in English, so we left them as the original Russian words.
Mitaka's street name is "Dead" (Dokhlyy / «Дохлый»). This means 1) a dead body, especially an animal that has been dead for some time. 2) weak.
About the name Topor
Topor literally means "Axe". When Rzhavyi asks Topor why he goes by that name, he replies, it's because he can't swim. Which literally is from the phrase "sink like an axe." He's being a smartass. Kylo is an old Russian word for 'axe'. Also, there is a saying "face looks as made with an axe," which may be an oblique reference to Kylo's facial scar.
Ren probably came up with the name "Topor" to be able to talk to Rzhavyi. So that Rzhavyi would be impressed that he also has a handle. You don't just have one for no reason, So he clearly knows/has seen some shit. It's also possible he literally did get it in the army. Like, if he got tossed in the water as a hazing thing. But he probably just came up w/ it, because later Rzhavyi notes that his buddies don't use it.
About the name Rzhavyi
Rzhavyi literally means rusty, covered in rust. In Russian and in English. "rusty" has the connotation of red, he may have this nickname because of his red hair
Korytnik
Rzhavyi (Hux) frequently refers to Topor (Ren) as a korytnik. This is not a name, but a term that refers to a person who drives an inexpensive but customized car. Korytnik is a bit like "gearhead." Think the Russian version of a 1950s California hot rodder or rice rocket / Japanese import / drift car enthusiast.
Topor's black car, his pride, and joy, is referred to as a koryto, and a desyatka (model number twelve). Some untranslatable slang terms for car translated literally to tub, basin, wheelbarrow, and pelvis. Mostly we just translated this as "car"
About Full Names
People are seldom addressed using their full names. It doesn't depend on the length, full names in 99% of the cases sounds too official. Almost every name has multiple forms. Depending on which form of the name is used, you can understand the relationship between people. eg. Olga is an official name (and short one). No one except teachers, police, other officials, or parents, when they are mad at you, will use it. The normal form would be Olya. A petname that family or close friends can use would be Olen'ka or Olech'ka. Then if you want to call her you can say "Ol', come here!"
For Arseny (Hux) - it's a long name, so definitely short form. Renat calls him Senya, it's informal but not a petname. His petname would be Senich'ka. His grandmom might call him Arsenich'ka, grandmoms like to combine long-form with petnames. But variants can be countless.
For Renat (Kylo) - a bit tricky, it's not a common Slavic name. But that wouldn't stop for example his grandmom Padme if she was alive. First, she would nag to Leia (Elelena) that that's a stupid name, and it's so hard to come up with a petname, then she would call him Renatik, or Renatush'ka. But with Renat it's only for family and partners, even with a close friend it'd sound weird
It's usually forgotten in movies, no one is really Boris or Vladimir, they are Borya and Vova.
Using the full name without the patronymic sounds wrong, maybe even condescending. It can be a juxtaposition of using the full name without formal You.
Snoke is Vladimir Leonidovich. That one is so good! It’s his full name and patronymic. The most polite and respectful form in our culture. Literally Vladimir the son of Leonid. It screams that he is a serious person, and doesn’t give a shit about their petty nicknames.
Poe Dameron is Pasha (full name Pavel) Damirian. He’s Armenian, and this is reflected in his surname.
Read more about the Russian naming tradition on Wikipedia.