The spelling of the Russian surname "Fedotova" can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The first four letters, "F-e-d-o", are pronounced as "fɛdɔ". The "t" is silent, so "t-o-v-a" is pronounced as "vɑ". Therefore, "Fedotova" is spelled as "fɛdɔtɑvɑ" in IPA. This surname is a patronymic, meaning it's derived from the father's first name, "Fedot". "Fedotova" is a feminine form of the surname, indicating that the person is a daughter of a man named Fedot.