If you ask around, the reasons that people name for learning Russian or wanting to learn Russian appear to be shifting or at least developing in an interesting way. Based on a number of conversations with those that have been around Russian language training for longer than myself, during the Cold War era, some of the reasons you would have found were:
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| "The Russians are coming!" |
- The Russians are going to invade soon anyway, so I should be prepared
- The Sputnik and the first man in space mean that Russia is way ahead in terms of their technology
- I'm interested in history, and Russia seems to be one of the most important elements of world history
- Don't tell anyone, but I'm being trained to infiltrate the USSR and send top-secret info
The reasons 15-20 years ago used to be mostly within the lines of:
- I want to read Russian literature in the original
- I want to do travel to Russia and have more independence while I'm there
- My company wants to expand to the former Soviet Union
- I have Russian heritage and want to reunite with my cultural roots
Nowadays, people are also learning Russian for a few new reasons:
- Russia is the computer virus and malware centre of the world. If IT security is your thing, Russian is the language to know.
- Russians and Russia are beautiful and mystical
- I needed a personal challenge, and yet a manageable one (unlike, apparently, Arabic or Chinese)
- My significant other has Russian roots or speaks that language
- I have keen interest in Orthodox Christianity
- I want to be able to communicate with Russian speakers playing the same MMORPG or shooter
- Russian sounds sexy/cool
- I'm interested in adopting a child from Russia
- I've recently discovered Russian music and want to be able to understand the lyrics
- Russia is still a major geopolitical rival
And what about you? Why are you interested in learning Russian?
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