GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup ISBN 9780748668458 ISBN 9780748668465 ISBN 9780748668489 The first book to examine Russian as a minority language in different countriesThe collapse of the Soviet Union dramatically changed the global distribution of the Russian language Apart from Russia it is now spoken in fourteen successor states of the former Soviet Union while the increased mobility of Russian speakers has expanded russophone communities across the world Taking a broad sociolinguistic perspective this book explores a comprehensive set of tensions which emerged from the dislocated and deterritorialised position of Russian in the contemporary world It examines contexts for shaping Russian speakers identities in various locations across the globe the shifting attitudes towards Russian language outside the metropolis emerging new global varieties of Russian and the use of Russian language as soft power in the transnational russophone media In order to discuss problems posed by the current stage of globalisation of Russian a number of non metropolitan spaces are sampled chapters take the reader to locations which include both the post Soviet states specifically Ukraine Estonia Latvia and Belarus and the countries of the traditional West Italy the US and Israel A thought provoking and engaging book it is essential reading for advanced students and specialists in Russian and Eastern European Studies Post Soviet Studies Language Studies and Sociolinguistics Key FeaturesProvides a sociolinguistic perspective on the position of the Russian language throughout the worldDiscusses the globalisation of Russian in metropolitan and non metropolitan spacesContributes to the understanding of developments in Russian as it engages with different new social political geographical legal and cultural environments