Belarus has two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. And Russians make up 11 percent of the population, one of the largest ethnic groups in Belarus. As one of the official languages, Russian is widely spoken and understood by most people and is taught in all schools. In Belarus, official documents are available in both Belarusian and Russian.
Russian is widely spoken as a second language in the Ukraine, although about 30 percent of the population claims it as their first official language. Ukrainian is the official language of the Ukraine, although in Kiev, Russian is more widely spoken.
Russian is considered a second language in Kazakhstan, but it is actually more popular that the official language, Kazakh. As only 20 percent of the population is Russian, it might seem surprising that it is so popular among non-Russians as well.
Russians make up about 9 percent of the population of Kyrgyzstan. Despite this, Russian is an official and popular language with Kyrgyz being the state official language.
Many regions in Russia speak Russian as a second language, with another language or dialect as the first language. Of the 100 other languages spoken in Russia, some are used locally more prolifically than Russian, delegating Russian to a second language despite it being the nation's official one.
Russian is spoken by many people in Moldova, even though Moldovan and Romanian juggle for official status as first language.
Russian is also spoken as a second language in Israel, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, and the older citizens of Czech Republic and Poland use Russian as a second language, even though it is not so popular today. In America, particularly parts of New York and Oregon with large Russian immigrant populations, Russian is a common second language for second- and third-generation Russian Americans. With English as their official and first language, they speak Russian with their families and in the shopping districts run by Russians.
