Russian

Why learn Russian?

Russian is the fifth most spoken language in the world with 260 million speakers, 160 million of which are native speakers. It is the official language spoken in The Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Russian is also spoken as a second language in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. It’s a very useful language to have when travelling in eastern Europe, especially in places like Bulgaria where they use the same alphabet and also in some parts of Asia like Mongolia and China.

If you are a Leaving Cert student interested in Russian CLICK HERE

A popular language

  • Russian is the second most used language in scientific publications in chemistry, physics, geology, maths and biology.
  • 6% of internet activity is conducted in Russian.
  • The following celebrities speak Russian: Mila Kunis, Kate Beckinsale, Anton Elchin, Mila Iovovich, Ralph Fiennes, Irish Footballer Aidan McGeady.

The language of gaming

The Russian gaming industry is worth 1.7 billion dollars and is comprised of 71.3 million gamers, there is a huge demand for games to be translated and some of the most successful games companies have premises in Russia i.e: 1C soft club (grand theft auto), Innova gaming group, Wargaming Group Ltd. (World of Tanks), Game Insight (mobile gaming).

New perspectives on Russian culture

  • Gain a new perspective on the weird and wonderful stories of Dostoevsky, Gogol, Tolstoy, Pushkin and Chekhov.
  • Russia holds an annual “Irish Week” in Moscow where they hold a film festival, a St. Patrick’s Day parade, brunch clubs and live music all around the city.
  • The Translation industry in Russia is worth 200 million dollars.

A gateway to Slavonic cultures

Russian is the gateway to Slavonic languages and once you know Russian there will be a lot of words you recognise in languages like Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Polish!

Landscape

Russia has such a vast landscape that tourism options are endless, live the cosmopolitan life in Moscow, admire the artistic city of St. Petersburg, explore the Golden Ring from Vladimir to Rostov, experience the glorious views of the Altai mountains and float in the deepest lake in the world – Lake Baikal.

 

For more information:

Junior Cycle Short Course in Russian Language and Culture Booklet – click here

If we can help you find out more about learning Russian in Ireland CLICK HERE

 

 

 

Working with
languages

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Did you
know?

Only 6.5%
of the world’s population are native English speakers