Editing Russian language (section)

=== Asia ===
In [[China]], Russian has no official status, but it is spoken by the [[Russians in China|small Russian communities]] in the northeastern [[Heilongjiang]] and the northwestern [[Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region]]. Russian was also the main foreign language taught in school in China between 1949 and 1964.

In [[Kazakhstan]], Russian is not a state language, but according to article 7 of the [[Constitution of Kazakhstan]] its usage enjoys equal status to that of the [[Kazakh language]] in state and local administration.<ref name="fundeh1"/> The 2009 census reported that 10,309,500 people, or 84.8% of the population aged 15 and above, could read and write well in Russian, and understand the spoken language.<ref name=kazcensus>{{cite web |title=Results of the 2009 National Population Census of the Republic of Kazakhstan |url=http://liportal.giz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/oeffentlich/Kasachstan/40_gesellschaft/Kaz2009_Analytical_report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615010100/https://liportal.giz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/oeffentlich/Kasachstan/40_gesellschaft/Kaz2009_Analytical_report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 June 2021 |publisher=Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit |access-date=31 October 2015 }}</ref> In October 2023, Kazakhstan drafted a media law aimed at increasing the use of the Kazakh language over Russian, the law stipulates that the share of the state language on television and radio should increase from 50% to 70%, at a rate of 5% per year, starting in 2025.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Kazakhstan drafts media law to increase use of Kazakh language over Russian|agency=Agence France-Presse|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/06/kazakhstan-drafts-media-law-to-increase-use-of-kazakh-language-over-russian|website=The Guardian|id=0261-3077|date=6 October 2023|accessdate=28 October 2023|language=en-GB|archive-date=28 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028002220/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/06/kazakhstan-drafts-media-law-to-increase-use-of-kazakh-language-over-russian|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[Kyrgyzstan]], Russian is a co-official language per article 5 of the [[Constitution of Kyrgyzstan]].<ref name="fundeh1"/> The 2009 census states that 482,200 people speak Russian as a native language, or 8.99% of the population.<ref name=kyrcen>{{cite web|title=Population And Housing Census Of The Kyrgyz Republic Of 2009 |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_phc/Kyrgyzstan/A5-2PopulationAndHousingCensusOfTheKyrgyzRepublicOf2009.pdf |publisher=UN Stats |access-date=1 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710092216/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Kyrgyzstan/A5-2PopulationAndHousingCensusOfTheKyrgyzRepublicOf2009.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2012}}</ref> Additionally, 1,854,700 residents of Kyrgyzstan aged 15 and above fluently speak Russian as a second language, or 49.6% of the population in the age group.<ref name=kyrcen/>

In [[Tajikistan]], Russian is the language of inter-ethnic communication under the [[Constitution of Tajikistan]] and is permitted in official documentation.<ref name="fundeh1"/> 28% of the population was fluent in Russian in 2006, and 7% used it as the main language with family, friends or at work.<ref name="demoscope329"/> The World Factbook notes that Russian is widely used in government and business.<ref name="bookoffact">{{cite web |title=Languages |url=https://www.hannasles.com/languages/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523002924/https://www.hannasles.com/russian-translation-services/ |archive-date=23 May 2022 |access-date=26 April 2015 |publisher=The World Factbook}}</ref>

In [[Turkmenistan]], Russian lost its status as the official ''lingua franca'' in 1996.<ref name="fundeh1"/> Among 12%<ref name=bookoffact/> of the population who grew up in the Soviet era can speak Russian, other generations of citizens that do not have any knowledge of Russian. Primary and secondary education by Russian is almost non-existent.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bekmurzaev |first1=Nurbek |title=Russian Language Status in Central Asian Countries |date=28 February 2019 |url=https://cabar.asia/en/russian-language-status-in-central-asian-countries |publisher=Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting |access-date=22 June 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173149/https://cabar.asia/en/russian-language-status-in-central-asian-countries |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Uzbekistan]], Russian is spoken by 14.2% of the population according to an undated estimate from the World Factbook.<ref name=bookoffact/>

In 2005, Russian was the most widely taught foreign language in Mongolia,<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=Brooke |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=For Mongolians, E Is for English, F Is for Future |date=15 February 2005 |access-date=16 May 2009 |url=https://nytimes.com/2005/02/15/international/asia/15mongolia.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614225411/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/international/asia/15mongolia.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all |archive-date=14 June 2011}}</ref> and was compulsory in Year 7 onward as a second foreign language in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|date=21 September 2006|script-title=ru:Русский язык в Монголии стал обязательным|language=ru|trans-title=Russian language has become compulsory in Mongolia|agency=New Region|url=http://www.nr2.ru/83966.html|url-status=dead|access-date=16 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009170315/http://www.nr2.ru/83966.html|archive-date=9 October 2008}}</ref>

Around 1.5{{nbs}}million Israelis spoke Russian {{as of|2017|lc=y}}.<ref>[http://www.forbes.ru/finansy-i-investicii/340519-rossiysko-izrailskie-ekonomicheskie-svyazi-ne-tolko-neft-na К визиту Нетаньяху: что Россия может получить от экономики Израиля] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313125416/http://www.forbes.ru/finansy-i-investicii/340519-rossiysko-izrailskie-ekonomicheskie-svyazi-ne-tolko-neft-na |date=13 March 2017}} Алексей Голубович, Forbes Russia, 9 March 2017</ref> The Israeli [[Mass media|press]] and websites regularly publish material in Russian and there are Russian newspapers, television stations, schools, and social media outlets based in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/russians-in-israel|title= Russians in Israel|access-date= 11 July 2019|archive-date= 11 July 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190711133459/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/russians-in-israel/|url-status= live}}</ref> There is an Israeli TV channel mainly broadcasting in Russian with [[Israel Plus]]. See also [[Russian language in Israel]].

Russian is also spoken as a second language by a small number of people in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>Awde and Sarwan, 2003</ref>

In [[Vietnam]], Russian has been added in the elementary curriculum along with Chinese and Japanese and were named as "first foreign languages" for Vietnamese students to learn, on equal footing with English.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-to-add-chinese-russian-to-elementary-school-curriculum-3470743.html |title=Vietnam to add Chinese, Russian to elementary school curriculum |date=20 September 2016 |access-date=12 July 2019 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712121639/https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-to-add-chinese-russian-to-elementary-school-curriculum-3470743.html |url-status=live }}</ref>