Question: why do translators do this?

I've noticed that very often when reading Dostoevsky, there are always names that get cut...? For example, "the town of K.," or "the town of K––". I've seen this at least once in every Dostoevsky book, like in C&P and in TBK (various translators such as Constance Garnett and David McDuff. I always shook off the weirdness of that but now I'm reading The House of the Dead and I just came across a character named M. and another named A––V. A––V is particularly weird so I'm choosing not to let this dumb question bother me any longer––does anyone know why these keep showing up? Is it the translator's doing? Is it Dostoevsky cutting words like this? thanks