Russian language: Half a billion people in the world speak Russian

Half a billion people in the world already speak Russian language. This data was led at the IV World Congress of Compatriots by President of the St. Petersburg State University, President of the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature Lyudmila Verbitskaya.

"I can assure you that half a billion people already speaks Russian language, and it is not the fourth place, but the third after the Chinese and English", - said Verbitskaya. "The Spanish language follows now in this scale after Russian" - she said.

"The Russian language is taught anyway in about a hundred countries around the world", - said the head of the Association. "The attitude toward Russia is changing, in many states they do not look like a problem and danger, but as an opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation", - said Verbitskaya.