ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the language situation of the heterogeneous Russian-speaking community in Germany, which numbers approximately 6,000,000. At present, Russian is above all used as a first and heritage language (by second-generation Russians), mainly by the so-called re-settlers from the countries of the former Soviet Union (Russlanddeutsche, Spätaussiedler), who immigrated primarily from Russia and Kazakhstan. The development of the Russian language has recently become a topic of several social and linguistic research projects, which are discussed in detail in the present chapter. In addition, it presents a brief overview of the Russian speakers’ migration to Germany in the 19th and 20th century. The chapter will provide the reader with information on the anchoring of the Russian language in the German educational system, both as a foreign and as a heritage language. For the majority of the Russian-speaking immigrants the Russian language plays an important role as an identity marker. Therefore, one can assume that it will remain widespread in Germany and in the observable future will be used as a first and heritage language and, to a lesser degree, as a foreign language.
