Russian

Why Study Russian?

Russian is spoken by upwards of 170 million people in Russia, a country that covers one eighth of the world's landmass and that spans eleven time zones across Europe and Asia. Russian is also widely spoken as a second language throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, making it the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, and thus one of only six official languages of the United Nations. It is the language of some of the world's greatest scientists (including Mendeleev, creator of the periodic table of elements), musicians (including Tchaikovsky, composer of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The 1812 Overture), and writers (including Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, and Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment). Study of Russian opens up a myriad of career opportunities in fields ranging from business to diplomacy to environmental studies to technology and cultural exchange.