[EDLING:238] Sustaining the Russian Language at Home and Abroad

[Francis M. Hult]

Russia Profile

The Rediscovery of the “Russian World” 

Sustaining the Russian Language at Home and Abroad 

During the last few weeks, the term “russkiy mir,” which can roughly be 
translated as “Russian world,” suddenly gained increasing prominence. It became 
the center of numerous initiatives and contentious debates. Although the term 
has been previously known but not widely used, it was ushered into the public 
sphere by President Vladimir Putin in his State of the Union speech at the end 
of April: “The Russian language not only preserves an entire layer of truly 
global achievements but is also the living space for the many millions of 
people in the Russian-speaking world, a community that goes far beyond Russia 
itself. As the common heritage of many peoples, the Russian language will never 
become the language of hatred or enmity, xenophobia or isolationism.” 

The president suggested creating the National Russian Language Foundation, 
which would “develop the Russian language at home, support Russian language 
study programs abroad and generally promote Russian language and literature 
around the world.” Starting in May, first attempts were made to put these ideas 
into practice. Moscow hosted an international conference on raising the 
international status of Russian language. The event was attended by some of the 
country’s leading public figures, including First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry 
Medvedev, widely seen as a possible successor to Putin.  

Full story:
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Politics&articleid=a1182161554