Russian (русский язык, tr. russkiy yazyk) is an
East Slavic language native to Russia in Eastern Europe. It is a part of
the Indo-European language family, and is one of four living East Slavic
languages, and also part of the larger Balto-Slavic branch.
Russian is an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and
Kyrgyzstan, and is used widely as a lingua franca throughout Ukraine, the
Caucasus, Central Asia, and to some extent in the Baltic states. It was
the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution,and
continues to be used in public life with varying proficiency in most of
the post-Soviet states.