Learn Hardcore Russian: Уважение к другим людям важно в дружбе. - Respect for other people is important in friendship.

Preposition к requires the dative case, so другим людям is dative plural. It indicates the target or recipient of respect—literally “respect for other people.”

What part of speech is важно, and why is it in this form?

Важно is the short-form neuter singular of the adjective важный. In an impersonal sentence like this, the predicate adjective agrees in gender and number with the subject уважение (a neuter, singular noun), so it appears as важно.

Why is в дружбе in the prepositional case, and could we use для дружбы instead?

The preposition в with the prepositional case expresses the context “in friendship.” If you say для дружбы (для + genitive), it means “for friendship” (purpose or benefit). You could use для дружбы, but that changes the nuance to “respect is necessary for friendship” rather than “important in friendship.”

Why is уважение in the nominative case?

Because уважение (“respect”) is the grammatical subject of the sentence. In Russian, subjects in declarative statements are normally in the nominative case.

Can we say к другим instead of к другим людям, and is that okay?

Yes, к другим is grammatically correct (dative plural of другой) and can mean “to/for others.” However, it’s more general and can sound vague—adding людям clarifies that you mean “other people.”

How would word order change if I wanted to emphasize важно or дружба?

Russian word order is fairly flexible. To emphasize the predicate, you could start with Важно:
• Важно уважение к другим людям в дружбе.
To highlight the setting, place в дружбе first:
• В дружбе важно уважение к другим людям.

Could we use a verb form instead of the noun уважение, like Важно уважать других людей в дружбе?

Yes. In impersonal constructions, Важно + infinitive is common.
• Важно уважать других людей в дружбе.
This version uses the action “to respect” instead of the noun “respect,” but the overall meaning stays the same.