Russia promotes language as symbol of resurgence

By Conor Sweeney

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has launched a campaign to promote the national language after almost two decades of retreat -- to match the country's increasing economic and political confidence.

The Kremlin believes it can start rebuilding the credibility of Russian as a means of communication outside its own borders, with business and not communist ideology driving the revival.

One recruitment expert has advised expats that if they want a top management job they should learn Russian.

In Moscow this week, ministers announced a series of plans, such as expansion of an international cultural foundation comparable with Germany's Goethe Institute or the Alliance Francaise.

"Russian was the first language spoken in space," said Education Minister Andrei Fursenko referring to the first cosmonauts and their Cold War-era space race against English-speaking U.S. astronauts.

Once the common language across most of the communist world, Russian has been sidelined, especially in Eastern Europe where English has replaced it as the favored second language.

Russian also suffers from an image problem there, with Czechs, Poles and other former Warsaw Pact member states resentful at being forced to study a language linked with an occupying foreign power.

Across former states of the Soviet Union, only Belarus still recognizes Russian as a state language. In many others, notably Turkmenistan, the post-Soviet leadership has sought to erase all traces of Russian.

The number of mother-tongue Russian speakers also continues to decline. Russia's population is falling by 700,000 every year and now stands at 142 million.

CRUCIAL

Spearheading the campaign, President Vladimir Putin linked the country's linguistic fate to its morals and values.

"Looking after the Russian language and expanding the influence of Russian culture are crucial social and political issues," he told Russian parliamentarians in his annual address.

Putin said he backed proposals to develop "the Russian language at home, support Russian language study programs abroad and generally promote Russian language and literature around the world".

The Russian government has launched a Web site in both Russian and English to promote Russian, www.russian2007.ru. It provides details on more than 100 international festivals and events, as well as publications and plans to build libraries.

Russian is one of six official languages at the United Nations and is still used widely in many former Soviet states.