From Beijing to Baku: Russia expands its language reach
Editor's note: Russian military-political analyst, expert in the field of strategic security, specialist in the Middle East and Africa Vladimir Bekish. The article expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the view of News.Az.
There is no secret that Russia is currently doing everything in its power to become the leading country in the world. A country that not only builds a new world order, but once it has done so, acts as the “sheriff” — the one who maintains order, enforces it, and punishes those who break the rules.
Russia has no shortage of tools to achieve this ambition. These include military power, its own armed forces, as well as private military companies and military instructors working in foreign countries and on different continents to serve regimes that are of interest to Russia. Political and economic alliances such as BRICS are also part of this strategy, aiming to reshape the existing global economic and monetary order. And of course, there are also organizations tasked with promoting Russian values, morals, traditions, and culture in countries seen by Moscow as potential allies or friends, and as a counterbalance to its adversaries. These include structures like the “Russian World” foundation, “Rossotrudnichestvo,” and the “African Initiative.” For example, Rossotrudnichestvo operates 87 branches under the brand “Russian House” in 71 countries around the world.
One of the primary objectives of these Russian Houses is the promotion and spread of the Russian language. Moreover, this mission has clearly become one of the Russian state’s top priorities, including for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As an example, the Russian Foreign Ministry recently launched a tender for a sociological study on the promotion of the Russian language abroad. The value of the tender was 450,000 dollars, and the winner was the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).
It turns out that the topic of the Russian language abroad involves many interesting nuances and facts. In addition to the Russian Houses, the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute is also involved in this work. This university has developed and now monitors the so-called Russian Language Position Index in the World. According to this index, Russian consistently holds the fifth spot globally in terms of popularity. But that is based on data from a Russian institution. According to the international reference work Ethnologue, which tracks languages globally, the Russian language dropped out of the top ten most widely spoken languages in the world in 2024. In 2023, it was in ninth place, a year earlier it ranked eighth, and 10 to 12 years ago, it was sixth, behind English, Chinese, Hindi or Urdu, Spanish, and Arabic. This steady decline in global interest in the Russian language appears to have raised serious concerns within the Russian leadership and prompted action.
Now comes some particularly telling information: in which countries will VTsIOM, the winner of the Foreign Ministry's tender, conduct its study on the status and promotion of the Russian language?
Let’s start with countries outside the former Soviet Union.
China is on the list, and that is entirely understandable. Russian-Chinese relations are rapidly expanding across all sectors, and effective communication, ideally in both languages, is essential. It is safe to assume that the number of schools and universities in China offering Russian language courses will increase significantly in the coming years. The goal is to ensure that Russian-speaking Chinese, even if only small groups of 50 to 60 million people by Chinese standards, will be ready to enter the Russian market for business, trade, and investment.
The next country on the list is India. This is somewhat surprising, since experts note that Russian is not widely studied in India, and only a limited number of professionals show interest in the language. Most likely, the real purpose behind this effort is to facilitate the recruitment of Indian labor for the Russian workforce, which is currently experiencing a growing shortage. Even now, one can see Indians working as janitors and loaders in Russian supermarkets and shopping malls. And apparently, the demand for such labor will only increase.
Next in line is Venezuela. Again, this is a bit unexpected. While Venezuela is a political and military partner of Russia and a key player in resource extraction, it’s unclear why there’s an effort to integrate Venezuelans into the Russian-speaking world. One possible explanation is tourism. In recent years, Russia and Venezuela have tried to promote Venezuelan tourism among Russian travelers. But Venezuela is a highly specific destination. I’ve been there many times and speak from experience. Yes, the nature is stunning, the beaches of Margarita Island and Isla Bonita are truly beautiful. However, the level of street crime is extremely high. Caracas, for instance, holds the world’s highest crime rate among cities. The long flights and mediocre hotel services also make it a tough sell. It’s hard to believe that the goal is simply to teach a few hundred waiters and receptionists Russian. Most likely, there’s another motive at play.
Also included on the list is the United Arab Emirates. Here, the reasoning is more straightforward. The number of Russians in the UAE has grown dramatically in recent years, not only tourists, but permanent residents, entrepreneurs, and business owners. Russian companies have also been expanding their presence in the UAE. As a result, demand has emerged for Russian-language infrastructure: schools, shops, clinics, and even bathhouses. That’s not a joke. One Russian company specializing in bathhouse services has entered the Emirati market and is now opening steam rooms there.
Now let’s turn to the countries of the post-Soviet space.
Uzbekistan will be a major focus for studying the spread and use of the Russian language. This is quite logical. Moscow wants Uzbek labor migrants arriving in Russia to already understand and speak the language at a basic level, making them immediately ready to follow instructions and perform their jobs.
Finally, Azerbaijan is on the list. This is particularly telling, given the current state of Azerbaijani-Russian relations. It is highly likely that Russia intends to launch long-term, systematic efforts to deepen the presence of the Russian language in Azerbaijan. The goal is to promote Russian culture, increase interest in Russia, and ultimately establish a stable pro-Russian cultural platform within the country. A platform that, in the event of a political crisis or deterioration in relations, could help Russia pursue its interests from within.
(If you possess specialized knowledge and wish to contribute, please reach out to us at opinions@news.az).
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