Russia aims to advance promotion of Russian language abroad, including in Uzbekistan

According to Vedomosti, the center won a tender worth 34.8 million rubles to study the effectiveness of measures supporting the Russian language. The research will cover Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and distant countries such as Venezuela, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2024, the center expanded its scope for the first time, examining the status of the Russian language in Israel, India, Kazakhstan, China, Cuba, and Egypt.

When asked whether the deterioration of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan had affected plans for research in that country, the center’s General Director Valery Fedorov replied, “Tensions come and go…” He clarified that the research has not yet begun, as they had just won the tender and were in the process of signing the contract.

The promotion of Russian abroad is managed not only by the Foreign Ministry but also by Rossotrudnichestvo, the Ministry of Education, and other relevant agencies. According to Rossotrudnichestvo, nearly 14,000 people studied Russian in its foreign offices (“Russian Houses”) in 2024.

Rossotrudnichestvo operates 87 “Russian Houses” in 71 countries, prioritizing CIS states such as Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. However, the sole office in Baku, Azerbaijan, which had been active since 1997, was closed in 2025.

According to Rossotrudnichestvo’s 2023 data, Kazakhstan leads Central Asia in the number of schools teaching in Russian — with 3,606 schools. Uzbekistan has just over 1,000 schools where education is conducted fully or partially in Russian, Kyrgyzstan has 751, Tajikistan 200, and Turkmenistan 71.

Due to worsening Moscow-Baku relations, early July saw widespread online circulation of a supposed “official statement” from the Azerbaijani government announcing the suspension of Russian-language education in the country’s schools. However, on July 2, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Science and Education denied this and urged the public to rely solely on official sources when interpreting the country’s state education policy.