Did you know that Russian is the fifth most spoken language in the world? It has 277 million speakers worldwide, with 154 million native speakers. Not only is it the official language of the Russian Federation, but also Russian is a vehicular language in Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Russian Literature and Art: You can study the work of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Biely, Bulgakov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn and Nabokov (among many others). Reading the original poetry of Pushkin, Tiútchev, Akhmátova, Mandelstam and Tsvetáyeva can be a transformative experience. Chagall, Kandinsky, Malevich... You will be able to know the art, architecture, ballet and Russian music first hand.

Film and theatre: Russia not only gave birth to some of the revolutionary figures of modern theatre (Chekhov, Stanislavsky), but is also now a global epicenter of political performance that unersies punk rock, visual arts and theatre. As for film, russians are the founders of film history such as Eisenstein, Dovzhenko and Vertov. From here has come an apparious cinematic tradition, from Tarkovsky to Muratova, Sokurov and Lungin.

Politics:Russia is growing as a global economic and political power. You will be able to better understand Russia's permanent strategic importance from the time of the Tsars and Romanovs, through the Soviet Union of Stalin and Khrushchev to the Russian Putin Federation.

Philosophy and theory: Solovyov, Bajtín, Shklovsky, Jakobson and Vygotski are some of the names that revolutionized the history of cultural theory and philosophy of the twentieth century.

Music: With a classical tradition that includes the greatest, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Skriabin, Shostakovich and Stravinsky, Russian music has a prominent place in the universal tradition.

In recent years, learning Russian has become an added value of importance at the business level

Science and technology: They say the new "Silicon Valley" is in Skolkovo, just outside Moscow. It is a center of development of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and much more. In many fields of engineering, including aeronautics, Russia remains a driving force. The development of information technologies is also growing and, after English, Russian is the most widely used language on the Internet.

Studies: you can apply for a scholarship to study at Russian universities in Moscow or San Petesburg, or even venture to distant Siberia. Russia's past is very important in understanding the history of the world. Recently, the authorities opened access to a large number of files containing invaluable documents. If you are interested in the history of Russia and the world, learn Russian!

Work: Speaking Russian opens many doors for you. There are many job offers in government institutions such as State Departments, Commerce, Justice, Defense and Intelligence Agencies. More and more business opportunities are emerging from the growing Russian economy. In addition, Russian companies that have business with the West and foreign companies that settle in Russia always need workers with multiple language skills. There are many specialized courses in business and for professionals.