| Description | This system is the Intelligence Community (IC) standard for the transliteration of Chechen names
that will be applied to all final written reports and products for IC consumers. It is not intended to
eliminate variations of a name that can contribute forensic information. Rather, it is to provide an
IC standard Romanized (English) transliteration from Chechen that can then be linked to forensic
information in ways that will help identify the referent of the name.
In cases where an individual’s name has already been transliterated in a variant spelling, the IC
Standard spelling should appear first, followed by the variant spelling(s) in parentheses at the first
usage. In addition, if the original Cyrillic or Arabic-script spelling is known, that spelling should
also appear in parentheses following the name, if possible, following best practices of the issuing
organization and taking into consideration information system capabilities. For example: Ilyas
Akhmadkant (also seen as Ilyas Axmadkhant, Ильяс Ахмадкӏант). This convention is designed
to ensure that vital forensic information is not lost.
For names of persons who are known to not be part of the Chechen-speaking community, use the
relevant IC transliteration standard for names from that language (e.g., Mikhail, Yitzhak). A
translator’s note may be used to clarify the known origin of the person. Spell names of
individuals from languages that are written in Roman letters as they are spelled in those
languages (e.g., George Clooney, Jorge Garcia, Georges Pompidou).
In the case of active senior government officials in the on-line CIA World Factbook and the online
directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments, the spellings
given in these on-line reference works should be used in place of the IC Standard. For any
individual who has at one time been listed in the Factbook or Chiefs of State directory but who no
longer appears in those resources (i.e. is no longer a government official), the IC Standard
spelling should appear first, with the spelling, if known, as it previously appeared in those
resources listed within parentheses at the first usage.
The primary goal is to produce a consistent Romanized transcription of names that is specifically
readable to the English-speaking non-specialist. The system uses the 26 letters of the standard
(English) Roman alphabet plus the apostrophe. Some ambiguities in the Romanized form will
occur without the use of diacritics. However, within the context of a report, where additional
information about the individual is provided, the referent will be clearly identified. This system
will be used in conjunction with on-line tools, name dictionaries, and lists containing
conventional spellings of names of well-known individuals.
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