Sociolinguistic variation of the Russian language

Abstract

The article analyzes the processes of functioning of the Russian language in the modern geopolitical space of the former Soviet States and Eastern Europe. A key thesis of the article is a provision on the need to preserve the informational, cultural and educational space, where traditionally functioned Russian language with the status of world language. Identify sociolinguistic parameters, allowing to classify the author of the article cited statistics on the spread of the Russian language in Soviet and post-Soviet period and comes to the conclusion about the existence of internal and external zones the existence of language. The article presents data on the distribution of languages of the former Soviet republics in the post-Soviet period.