Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed on Monday that some young members of his family are fluent in Mandarin, reflecting the growing importance of the language in Russia. Speaking to students at Secondary School No. 20 in Kyzyl, Tuva, located about 4,500 kilometers east of Moscow, Putin emphasized the increasing popularity of Mandarin in Russia, attributing it to the deepening economic, political, and social ties between Russia and China.
Putin, who has two daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila, mentioned that they are multilingual, speaking Russian, English, German, and French. Despite their fluency in these languages, Putin shared that his grandchildren, who are rarely discussed in public, have also mastered Mandarin. This disclosure comes amid a broader trend in Russia where Mandarin is becoming a preferred foreign language due to the strengthening partnership between Russia and China.
Putin acknowledged the significance of English, describing it as a crucial language for global communication and cultural exchange. He urged students not to overlook the importance of English, despite the rising interest in Mandarin. “English is a great language,” Putin stated, “It has given humanity a great deal in terms of combining knowledge and uniting people in the field of culture, and so on.”
Mandarin’s growing popularity in Russia is noteworthy, considering that Russian, English, Tatar, German, and Chechen are currently the most widely spoken languages in the country, according to the 2022 census. Nevertheless, Mandarin’s rise is aligned with the closer ties between Moscow and Beijing, particularly after the two nations declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022. This declaration came just days before Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine, igniting the most deadly conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Globally, English remains the most spoken language, with approximately 1.5 billion speakers, followed by Mandarin with about 1.1 billion, according to Ethnologue.