| Languages of Russia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Official | Russian[1] |
| Semi-official | Thirty-five languages |
| Minority | Dozens of languages of theIndo-European,Northeast Caucasian,Northwest Caucasian,Uralic,Turkic,Mongolic,Tungusic andPaleosiberian language families |
| Foreign | 13–20% have foreign language knowledge[2][3][4] |
| Signed | Russian Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
Of all thelanguages of Russia,Russian, the most widely spoken language, is the only official language at the national level. There are 25 otherofficial languages, which are used in different regions of Russia. These languages include; Ossetic, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Buryat, Kalmyk, Chechen, Ingush, Abaza, Adyghe, Tsakhur, Lezgian, Cherkess, Kabardian, Altai, Bashkir, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Khakas, Nogai, Tatar, Tuvan, Yakut, Erzya, Komi, Hill Mari, Meadow Mari, Karelian, Moksha, Veps, Ingrian, Ludian, and Udmurt.[6] There areover 100 minority languages spoken in Russia today.[7]
AlthoughRussian is the onlyofficial language ofRussia at the federal level, there are several other officially recognized languages within Russia's various constituencies – article 68 of theConstitution of Russia only allows the variousrepublics of Russia to establish official languages other than Russian. This is a list of the languages that are recognized as official in constitutions of the republics of Russia, as well as the number of native speakers according mostly to the2010 census or more recent ones:[8]
| Language | Language family | Federal subject(s) | Speakers in Russia[8] | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abaza | Northwest Caucasian |  Karachay-Cherkessia | 37,831 (2010 census – 2014)[9][10] | [11] |
| Adyghe | Northwest Caucasian |  Adygea | 128,000 (2015)[12] | [13] |
| Aghul | Northeast Caucasian |  Dagestan | 33,200 (2020–2021 census) | |
| Avar | Northeast Caucasian | Dagestan | 800,000 (2010 Census)[14] | [15] |
| Altai | Turkic |  Altai Republic | 55,720 (2010 census) | [16][17] |
| Azerbaijani | Turkic | Dagestan | 116,907 (2020–2021 census) | |
| Bashkir | Turkic |  Bashkortostan | 1,152,404 (2010 census)[18] | [19] see alsoregional law |
| Buryat | Mongolic |  Buryatia | 265,000 (2010 census)[20] | [21] |
| Chechen | Northeast Caucasian |  ChechnyaDagestan | 1,354,705 (2010 census) | [22] |
| Chuvash | Turkic |  Chuvashia | 1,042,989 (2010 census) | [23] |
| Crimean Tatar | Turkic |  Republic of Crimea[b] | 308,000 (2010 census) | [25] |
| Erzya | Uralic |  Mordovia | 36,726 (2010 census) | [26] |
| Ingush | Northeast Caucasian |  Ingushetia | 305,868 (2010 census) | [27] |
| Kabardian | Northwest Caucasian |  Kabardino-BalkariaKarachay-Cherkessia | 590,000 (2010 census) | [11][28] |
| Kalmyk | Mongolic |  Kalmykia | 80,546 (2010 census) | [29] |
| Karachay-Balkar | Turkic | Kabardino-BalkariaKarachay-Cherkessia | 305,364 (2010 census) | [11][28] |
| Karelian | Uralic |  Karelia | around 14,000 (2020–2021 census)[30] | [31] |
| Khakas | Turkic |  Khakassia | 43,000 (2010 census) | [32] |
| Komi-Zyrian | Uralic |  Komi Republic | 160,000 (2010 census) | [33] |
| Hill Mari,Meadow Mari | Uralic |  Mari El | 470,000 (2012)[34] | [35] |
| Moksha | Uralic | Mordovia | 130,000 (2010 census) | [26] |
| Nogai | Turkic | Karachay-CherkessiaDagestan | 87,119 (2010 census) | [11] |
| Ossetian | Indo-European (Iranian) |  North Ossetia–Alania | 451,431 (2010 census) | [36] |
| Tatar | Turkic |  Tatarstan | 4,280,718 (2010 Census) | [37] |
| Tuvan | Turkic |  Tuva | 280,000 (2010) | [38] |
| Udmurt | Uralic |  Udmurtia | 324,338 (2010 census) | [39] |
| Ukrainian | Indo-European (Slavic) | Republic of Crimea[b] | 1,129,838 (2010 census) | [25] |
| Yakut | Turkic |  Sakha | 450,140 (2010 census) | [40] |
Dagestan's constitution defines "Russian and the languages of the peoples of Dagestan" as the state languages.[41] 14 of these languages (including Russian) are literary written languages; therefore they are commonly considered to be the official languages ofDagestan. These are, besidesRussian, the following:Aghul,Avar,Azerbaijani,Chechen,Dargwa,Kumyk,Lak,Lezgian,Nogai,Rutul,Tabasaran,Tat andTsakhur. All of these, exceptRussian,Chechen andNogai, are official only in Dagestan and in no other Russian republic.In the project of the "Law on the Languages of the Republic of Dagestan", 32 languages are listed; however, this law project never came to life.[42]
Karelia is the onlyrepublic of Russia with Russian as the only official language.[43] However, there exists the special law about state support and protection of theKarelian,Vepsian andFinnish languages in the republic.[44]
TheGovernment of the Republic of Bashkortostan adopted the "Law on the Languages of Nations", which is one of the regional laws aimed at protecting and preserving minority languages.[45][46][47] In Bashkortostan, the equality of the languages is recognized. Equality is a combination of the rights of peoples and people to preserve and fully develop their native language, and freedom of choice and use of the language of communication. The writing of names of geographical objects and the inscription, road and other signs along with the state language of Bashkortostan can be done in the languages of Bashkortostan in the territories where they are concentrated. Similar laws were adopted inMari El,Tatarstan,Udmurtia,Khakassia and theChukotka Autonomous Okrug.
The federal law "On the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation", adopted in 1991,[48] allows the federal subjects to establish additionally official languages in the areas where minority groups live. The following 15 languages benefit from various degrees of recognition in various regions under this law:
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2026) |
As a result of mass migration to Russia from the former republics of the Soviet Union, especially from the Caucasus and Central Asia, many non-indigenous languages are spoken bymigrant workers. For example, in 2014, 2.4 million Uzbek citizens and 1.2 million Tajik citizens entered Russia.[49]
For comparison, Russian citizens with ethnicities matching these of home countries of migrant workers of are much lower (from2010 census, in thousands):
| Armenian | 830 |
| Azerbaijani | 515 |
| Kazakh | 472 |
| Uzbek | 245 |
| Kyrgyz | 247 |
| Tajik | 177 |
| Georgian | 102 |
| Romanian | 90 |
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There are manyendangered languages in Russia. Some are considered to be near extinction and put on thelist of endangered languages in Russia, and some may have gone extinct since data was last reported. On the other hand, some languages may survive even with few speakers.
Some languages have doubtful data, likeSerbian whose information in theEthnologue is based on the1959 census.
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2020) |
Most numbers are according toMichael Krauss (1995). Given the time that has passed, languages with extremely few speakers might be extinct today. Since 1994,Kerek,Aleut (in Russia),Medny Aleut,Akkala Sami,Oroch andYugh have become extinct.
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According to the various studies made in 2005–2008 byLevada Center,[2] 15% of Russians know a foreign language. From those who claim knowledge of at least one language:
| English | 80% |
| German | 16% |
| French | 4% |
| Turkish | 2% |
| Others | 9% |
| From 1775 respondents aged 15-29, November 2006 | |
| English | 44% |
| German | 15% |
| Ukrainian, Belarusian and other Slavic languages | 19% |
| Other European languages | 10% |
| All others | 29% |
| From 2100 respondents of every age, January 2005 | |
Knowledge of at least one foreign language is common among younger and middle-aged people. Among those aged 18–24, 38% can read and "translate with a dictionary", 11% can freely read and speak. Among those aged 25–39, these numbers are 26% and 4% respectively.
Knowledge of a foreign language varies among social groups. It is most appreciable (15-18%) in big cities with 100,000 or more inhabitants, while in Moscow it rises up to 35%. People with higher education and high economic and social status are more likely to know a foreign language.
The new study by Levada-Center in April 2014 reveals such numbers:[3]
| English | 11% |
| German | 2% |
| Spanish | 2% |
| Ukrainian | 1% |
| French | <1% |
| Chinese | <1% |
| Others | 2% |
| Can speak a foreign language but with difficulty | 13% |
|---|---|
| Do not speak a foreign Language at all | 70% |
| From 1602 respondents from 16 and older, April 2014 | |
The age and social profiling are the same: knowledge of a foreign language is predominant among the young or middle-aged population, those with a high level of education and high social status, and those who live in big cities.
In 2015, a survey taken in all federal subjects of Russia showed that 70% of Russians could not speak a foreign language. Almost 30% could speak English, 6% could speak German, 1% could speak French, 1% could speak Spanish, 1% could speak Arabic and 0.5% could speak another language.[50]
| Language | % of speakers in Russia (2003) | % of speakers in Russia (2015) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 16 | 30 |  14 |
| German | 7 | 6 |  1 |
| French | 1 | 1 |  |
Source:[50]
| Knowledge | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Can speak English to a degree | 30% |
| Can read and translate using a dictionary | 20% |
| Can understand colloquial language | 7% |
| Can speak very fluently | 3% |
In the 18th and 19th centuries, French was a common language among upper class Russians. The impetus came fromPeter the Great's orientation of Russia towards Europe and accelerated after theFrench Revolution. After the Russians fought France in theNapoleonic Wars, Russia became less inclined towards French.[51]
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2026) |
Every year, theMinistry of Education and Science publishes statistics on the languages used in schools. In 2014/2015 the absolute majority (13.1 million or 96%) of 13.7 million Russian students used Russian as a medium of education.[52] Around 1.6 million or 12% students studied their (non-Russian) native language as a subject. The most studied languages are Tatar, Chechen and Chuvash with 347,000, 253,000 and 107,000 students respectively.
The most studied foreign languages in 2013/2014 were as follows:
| Language | Students (in thousands) |
|---|---|
| English | 11,194.2 |
| German | 1,070.5 |
| French | 297.8 |
| Spanish | 20.1 |
| Chinese | 14.9 |
| Arabic | 3.4 |
| Italian | 2.9 |
| Others | 21.7 |
