When traveling the world or looking for a new place to put down roots, it’s always helpful to know if you’ll be able to speak the local language. If you’re a native Russian speaker or a learner looking for some immersion, you may think your options are a bit limited. However, the Russian language has reached many parts of the globe and communities of Russian speakers have popped up in a variety of different regions.
At Remitly, we are dedicated to providing immigrants and travelers with the information they need to step out into the world confidently. In this article, spin the globe and see which regions are known for their Russian-speaking communities, where Russian speakers and learners can feel at home.
Russian-speaking countries and their global reach
Russian speakers have ended up all over the world for many reasons. And as they moved, they brought with them their language and culture. Russia also expanded into Central Asia and Europe over the years, leaving a mark on the linguistic landscape. Let’s take a look at where the biggest Russian-speaking communities are located and how they got there.
Overview of Russian speakers worldwide
According to the UN Regional Information Center, as many as 258 million Russian speakers live around the world, including around 154 million native speakers. These figures make Russian the most spoken Slavic language, as well as the most widely spoken mother tongue in Europe. Outside of Europe and Asia, approximately 830,000 speakers live in the US and Canada.
Historical context of the Russian language spread
From the Russian Empire to the USSR to the Russian Federation, the nation’s shifting borders have left a strong linguistic influence on its neighbors. In fact, many of the countries that speak Russian as an official language today are former USSR states.
Countries with large Russian-speaking populations
The countries with the largest number of speakers are, not surprisingly, Russia itself and the states of the former USSR.
Russia
Russian is a Slavic language with roots in Old East Slavic and, later, Old Church Slavonic. Both of these languages were used over the course of the existence of the Kievan Rus’, an East Slavic state which existed from the late 800s through the sack of Kiev in 1240 by the Mongols.
As the Kievan Rus’ broke up over time, languages based on Old Church Slavonic continued to be used by the peoples of the former Kievan Rus’. Eventually, Moscow arose as a cultural center, and the language spoken in and around the city became the main dialect of the emerging Russian language. Eventually, Russian was described in multiple grammar books in the mid-1700s. Alphabet, vocabulary, and spelling reforms were carried out through the 1800s and 1900s, consolidating the Russian language we know today.
Russia continues to be the heart of the Russian-speaking world, though it is home to over 100 languages. As the lingua franca between various cultural groups, Russian thrives as a means of communicating and carrying out business across the country. This means there are plenty of Russian speakers to chat with, since the country holds the ninth-largest population in the world.
Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova
As former members of the USSR and parts of the former Russian Empire, all three of these countries have sizable Russian-speaking populations. Belarus is the only country of these three that still has Russian as an official language at the national level. In Belarus, 4.975 million people or 54.2% of the population speak Russian alongside the Belarusian language.
12 million people (32.9% of the populace) speak Russian in Ukraine as well. However, for some time, Ukraine has been pushing a variety of policies which focus on keeping Ukrainian the main language of the country. Current geopolitical events have also caused many Ukrainians to move away from using Russian in their daily lives, as they see themselves more as Ukrainian citizens than Russian speakers.
Moldova has been slowly moving away from Russian use, too. There was a short-lived attempt to make Russian the official lingua franca among minority groups, but this was struck down by the constitutional court. While it’s no longer an official language, Russian is still used to communicate between ethnic groups, along with the official state language of Romanian/Moldovan.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
In central Asia, Russian is still a widely spoken language, though its use is beginning to wane as the countries begin to promote their own languages instead. In Kazakhstan, for example, ethnic Russian populations have been decreasing since the fall of the Soviet Union. As of January 2024, just under 15% of the population is ethnically Russian. This is down from 40% in 1989.
Though Russian still functions as the lingua franca in Kazakhstan, its use is often restricted to the biggest cities. Further into the countryside, Kazakh and other local ethnic languages are more likely to be heard. The government has been working to prevent linguistic discrimination, but also is looking to begin promoting wider Kazakh and English use. This could take some time, though, as 90% of Kazakhs still speak Russian to some degree and 20% speak it natively.
Kyrgyzstan was in a similar position historically, but these days, it has fewer Russian speakers. Only 44% of the country speaks Russian, and just 5% as a first language, so speaking Russian may not get you as far as in Kazakhstan. Still, both countries count it as an official language, so you can get the government support you need if you are a Russian speaker living in these countries.
The global spread of Russian
Both officially and unofficially, the Russian language has made its mark on countries around the world. Russia’s historical sphere of influence, combined with widespread migration, means that Russian speakers will find many communities to support them as they relocate or travel abroad.
Countries where Russian holds official status
Today, only four countries use Russian as an official language: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia itself. Russian is also recognized in Tajikistan as an interethnic lingua franca, but it does not have full official status within the government. Russian is used officially in some intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations. It’s also one of the official languages of the International Space Station due to Russia’s continued cooperation in transporting astronauts to and maintaining the ISS.
The role of Russian as a minority language
In addition to its official status, Russian has a very important role as a minority language in many countries. Especially among countries that were part of the USSR, Russian is often the largest minority language. Many still offer schooling in Russian and create local Russian-language media.
Aside from the countries already mentioned above, Russian speakers also make up between a quarter and a third of the population in Estonia and Latvia. Finland has around 50,000 Russian speakers among its population, and countries like Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan have Russian-speaking communities that make up 10% or less of their populations.
Russian-speaking diaspora in the United States
Today, 670,000 Russian speakers live in the US, though they only represent 0.2% of the country as a whole. The most recent wave of Russian-speaking immigration to the United States started in 1969, as people from Soviet states began moving to escape economic and political hardship.
The impact of Russian and its future
At a geopolitical level, Russian has been and will continue to be an important language, but it has also served many communities at a much more local level. As cultures and values change, the use of Russian will continue to evolve as well.
The cultural and economic significance of the Russian language
One of the most impactful effects of Russian has been its use as a lingua franca to connect people of different cultures. This often came as a result of Moscow’s annexation of various territories into the Russian Empire or the USSR, but the spread of the Russian language undoubtedly served to build bridges between cultures that would not have otherwise connected. That is a major reason why Russian is still fairly widely spoken today outside of Russia.
Internationally, Russian is still used as a diplomatic language between countries in the Russosphere. Representatives of post-Soviet countries still find it easiest to negotiate and do business in Russian. Even the United States looks to recruit Russian speakers to represent its interests in Russian-speaking areas of the world.
Derussification trends and their effects
Despite the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the effects of Moscow’s rule over the countries it annexed are still felt today. Nonetheless, these countries are undergoing significant cultural and economic shifts. As part of a “derussification” movement aimed at strengthening national identities, the use of local languages is often promoted where possible.
For example, Ukraine mandated that 75% of TV and radio programming be in Ukrainian rather than Russian. As of 2023, this was elevated to 90%, with non-Ukrainian usage being dubbed over where possible. Latvia is also beginning to phase Russian out of its schools—starting in 2025, Latvian will be the sole language of education.
In Central Asia, even names are being derussified. Under the Soviet Union, all last names had to end in the Russian “-ov/-ev” or “-ova/eva” suffixes. However, laws are now being passed in many Central Asian states allowing citizens to adopt last names that more closely fit the local languages and customs.
While all of this is happening as a means to protect and promote a national identity that was in danger following Moscow’s colonial aspirations, the Russian language is, in many ways, still thriving. It lives on through its use as an important lingua franca for a variety of speakers. This may change as more English education comes to these areas, but only time will tell.
The future of the Russian language on the global stage
Compared to French, a language that was also spread by colonialism but with even more reach, Russian is certainly in danger of disappearing from some areas of the world. Much of this has to do with the geopolitical fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Still, the language has a lot of historical momentum behind it as an important lingua franca, and many countries with Russian speakers find themselves economically tied to Russia as a result of their isolation during the Soviet era. Russian speakers and learners will continue to have many opportunities across the globe and may yet find themselves in positions to shape the linguistic future of this language.
FAQs
How many Russian speakers live outside Russia?
11 million native Russian speakers live outside of Russia today, but this number goes up to 115 million if we count speakers who are non-native.
Do Mongolians speak Russian or Chinese?
The only official language in Mongolia is Mongolian. English is the most popular second language to learn, followed by Russian and Korean, though Russian speakers tend to be of an older generation.
Which US state speaks the most Russian?
New York is home to the largest community of Russian speakers, at around 130,000 people. California and Washington follow in second and third place.