Russian language education in Germany

Abstract

Russian is one of the languages which are learnt in Germany at any educational level. Though today it has lost its positions in the rate of foreign languages chosen by the Germans, there are many interesting projects and initiatives supporting and maintaining the status of the Russian language in Germany. In this paper, I am going to give an overview of the history of cultural relations between Russia and Germany, try to explain the reasons of the current situation and describe the perspectives of the Russian language in today’s Germany. By way of examples, I will discuss such events and projects as “To4ka-Treff”, “RussoMobil” and the activities of the Russian culture centers in Germany, as well as programs in Russian as a foreign language at schools and universities in Germany.