You might be wondering. Why should I learn Russian? Where can I use this language? Are there a lot of people who speak Russian? This article can answer some of your questions. Here are a few fun facts about the Russian language and the countries where people speak Russian.
1. Countries where Russian is an official language.
There are four countries where Russian is an official language: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. Also, Russian is one of six official languages of the United Nations, together with English, French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic.
Note that there are regions in Russia where local languages are used in the household more than Russian. However, Russian is spoken and understood by more than 95% of the population to a degree of fluency: the Tyva Republic, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Altai Republic, Dagestan, Chechnya.
2. Countries where Russian is not an official language but widely spoken.
In Ukraine and Armenia, Russian is not an official language, but more than 50% of the population uses it. Russian is used as lingua franca, understood and spoken by more than 30% of the population: Uzbekistan, Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia that are de facto Russian protectorates), Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Turkmenistan
3. Countries where Russian was taught in schools or used in some industries.
In many Eastern European countries, Russian was taught at many schools prior to 1991. These countries include Mongolia, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Germany (Eastern part), former Yugoslavia, Albania. That means that there is a chance that a random person older than 45 still can sustain at least basic conversation in Russian. Many Mongolian officials are fluent in Russian because Russia and Mongolia have the same railway system. Many people work with Russian Railways daily due to cargo interchange and Mongolian railway having Russian 1520 mm gauge.
4. Countries where Russian is understood due to similarity with the local language or tourism.
In Serbia, Montenegro, FYR Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Russian is well understood at a basic level if spoken slowly. Here is the list of countries where Russian is popular in tourism. These countries have a significant number of Russian visitors: Bulgaria (Varna, Bansko, Sofia), Eastern Finland (Lapeenranta, Helsinki, Naantali, Rovaniemi), Norway (Kirkenes), Turkey (Istanbul center, Antalya, Kemer, Izmir), Greece (Saloniki, Santorini, Corfu), Croatia (Split, Dubrovnik, Pula), Serbia (Belgrade), Slovenia (Ljubljana, Bled, Adriatic Coast, Postojna), Montenegro (Kotor, Tivat), Egypt (Sharm-el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Cairo), Italy (Rome, Milano, Venice), France (Paris, Azure Coast, Courchevel), Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian/Donostia), Austria (Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck), Switzerland (Zermatt, Gstaad, Geneva, Zürich), Portugal (Lisbon, Sintra, Porto), UAE (Dubai), Thailand (Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket), China (Harbin, Sunfeihe, Sanya, Beijing Yabaolu area), Vietnam (Ho Chi Min/Saigon, Da Lat, Nha Trang), UK (London).
In these places, the odds are high that if you’ll be given a museum booklet or an audio guide in Russian. Also, hotel staff may know some basic Russian phrases. However, don't expect any random person to speak Russian though.
5. Countries where Russian is widely spoken due to the high number of immigrants
A noticeable number of Russian speakers can be found in Israel (20 to 30% by various estimates), Germany (Berlin, Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern), and the United States (NYC, Seattle, Redmond, San Francisco).
6. Countries where medical, agricultural and engineering proferesionals speak Russian.
Back in the days, the Soviet Union offered university programs for students from African, Asian, and South American countries. All the courses were taught in Russian. As a result, medical, agricultural, and engineering professionals speak Russian.
The list of countries includes Uganda, Angola, Congo, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Mongolia, China, India, South Korea, North Korea, Cuba, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.
At that, chances to meet a person speaking Russian with a degree of fluency are slim even at a hospital, agricultural ministry, or air force base, except, maybe, Cuba, Mongolia, and Ethiopia, but you never know.
コメント