Russian is a Slavic language and the official language of Russia, as well as one of the official languages of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and it is widely spoken in many post-Soviet states. With over 258 million speakers worldwide, it is the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and the eighth most spoken language globally. Russian belongs to the East Slavic group of the Indo-European language family and uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th century and adapted for Russian by the 18th century. Historically, Russian has played a significant role as a lingua franca throughout the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, serving as the primary means of communication in politics, science, and culture across the region. During the Soviet era, it was promoted as the language of international socialism, though this policy was sometimes met with resistance in non-Russian Soviet republics. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the status of Russian diminished in some newly independent states, but it remains a crucial second language in many of them, especially in Central Asia and the Caucasus. In the realm of culture, Russian literature, particularly the works of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov, has had a profound global influence. The language is also notable in classical music, with composers like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Stravinsky contributing to its international prestige. In science and technology, Russian was a major language of the Soviet space program and remains important in certain academic and technical fields. Currently, Russian continues to be a key language in international diplomacy, especially within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and organizations such as the United Nations, where it is one of six official languages. The language faces challenges in some former Soviet republics, where national language policies sometimes marginalize Russian in favor of local languages. Nevertheless, it retains strong cultural and practical relevance, supported by a vast diaspora and Russia’s ongoing geopolitical influence. Recent events, such as the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, have prompted renewed debates about the role and status of Russian in Ukraine and other neighboring countries, with some governments taking steps to reduce its official use. Despite these political dynamics, Russian remains a vital medium for cultural exchange, education, and communication across Eurasia.
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Read about the coordinated effort by Ukrainian forces to strike at Russian military installations in response to ongoing aggression and territorial disputes between the two countries.