Russian (русский язык, russkiy yazyk, IPA: [ˈruskʲɪi̯ jɪˈzɨk]) is an East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living East Slavic languages,[h] and is also a part of the larger Balto-Slavic languages. It was the de facto and de jure[24] official language of the former Soviet Union.[25] Russian has remained an official language in independent Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and is still commonly used as a lingua franca in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to a lesser extent in the Baltic states and Israel.[26][27][28][29]
en
