Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has commissioned a sociological study on the promotion of the Russian language abroad. The poll, to be conducted by the state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), will take place in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates, Vedomosti reported.
VTsIOM General Director Valery Fedorov confirmed that the center had won the tender and is currently finalizing the contract terms with the ministry. The cost of the project has been disclosed: 34.8 million rubles (approximately $445,000).
The MFA is reviewing possible research methodologies and is expected to select a uniform approach across all countries. The likely method is an online public opinion survey, with at least 1,500 respondents per country. In addition, around 1,000 individuals in each country will be contacted for telephone or in-person interviews.
According to media reports, in addition to the survey, VTsIOM will conduct an expert assessment of Russian language use abroad and draft recommendations to improve its appeal in the selected countries. A team of 10 experts in linguistics, international relations, cultural studies, and media will contribute to this analysis. These details are outlined in the technical brief received by the polling center. Once the project is complete, a roundtable will be held in Moscow to present the findings.
Efforts to promote the Russian language abroad are led by the MFA, the Ministry of Education and Science, and Rossotrudnichestvo, the federal agency for international humanitarian cooperation. According to the agency, around 14,000 foreign students studied at its overseas offices—known as “Russian Houses”—last year. There are 87 such centers operating in 71 countries, with priority given to the CIS region.
Rossotrudnichestvo’s 2023 data shows that Kazakhstan led Central Asia in the number of Russian-language schools with 3,606 institutions. It was followed by Uzbekistan with just over 1,000 schools, including mixed-language institutions. The remaining figures: Kyrgyzstan — 751, Tajikistan — 200, and Turkmenistan — 71.
