Editing Russian language (section)

== History and literary language ==
{{Main|History of the Russian language}}
{{See also|Reforms of Russian orthography}}

No single periodization is universally accepted, but the history of the Russian language is sometimes divided into the following periods:<ref>{{cite book |author=Лопатин В. В., Улуханов И. С. |chapter=Восточнославянские языки. Русский язык |title=Языки мира. Славянские языки |location=М. |year=2005 |publisher=[[Academia (Soviet publishing house)|Academia]] |pages=448–450 |isbn=978-5-87444-216-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Development of Tense and Aspect Systems |date=2022 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia |isbn=9789027257444 |pages=12}}</ref><ref name="Matthews">{{cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=W. K. |title=The structure and development of Russian |date=2013 |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781107619395 |pages=112–113 |edition=First paperback |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
* [[History of the Russian language#Feudal and linguistic breakup (13th–14th century)|Old Russian]] or [[Old East Slavic]] (until the 14th or 15th century)
* [[History of the Russian language#The Moscow period (15th–17th centuries)|Middle Russian]] (14th or 15th century until the 17th or 18th century)
* [[History of the Russian language#Empire (18th–19th centuries)|Modern Russian]] (17th century or 18th century to the present)

The history of the Russian language is also divided into ''Old Russian'' from the 11th to 17th centuries, followed by ''Modern Russian''.<ref name="Matthews"/>

[[File:Ostromir Gospel 1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Ostromir Gospels]] of 1056 is the second oldest [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]] book known, one of many medieval [[illuminated manuscript]]s preserved in the [[Russian National Library]].]]

The political reforms of [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]] (Пётр Вели́кий, ''Pyótr Velíky'') were accompanied by a reform of the alphabet, and achieved their goal of secularization and Westernization. Blocks of specialized vocabulary were adopted from the languages of Western Europe. By 1800, a significant portion of the gentry spoke French daily, and German sometimes. Many Russian novels of the 19th{{nbs}}century, e.g. [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s (Лев Толсто́й) ''[[War and Peace]]'', contain entire paragraphs and even pages in French with no translation given, with an assumption that educated readers would not need one.<ref name="Jeffra">{{cite book |title=The ideology of English: French perceptions of English as a world language |last=Flaitz |first=Jeffra |year=1988 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn= 978-3-110-11549-9 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E5fotqsglPEC&q=French+language+in+Russian+aristocracy |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref>

The modern literary language is usually considered to date from the time of [[Alexander Pushkin]] ({{lang|ru|Алекса́ндр Пу́шкин}}) in the first third of the 19th{{nbs}}century. Pushkin revolutionized [[Russian literature]] by rejecting archaic grammar and vocabulary (so-called {{lang|ru|высо́кий стиль}} — "high style") in favor of grammar and vocabulary found in the spoken language of the time. Even modern readers of younger age may only experience slight difficulties understanding some words in Pushkin's texts, since relatively few words used by Pushkin have become archaic or changed meaning. In fact, many expressions used by Russian writers of the early 19th{{nbs}}century, in particular Pushkin, [[Mikhail Lermontov]] ({{lang|ru|Михаи́л Ле́рмонтов}}), [[Nikolai Gogol]] ({{lang|ru|Никола́й Го́голь}}), [[Aleksander Griboyedov]] ({{lang|ru|Алекса́ндр Грибое́дов}}), became proverbs or sayings which can be frequently found even in modern Russian colloquial speech.<ref name="Jeffra"/>

{{Listen|filename=Ru-Zimniy vecher.ogg|title=Winter Evening|description=Reading of excerpt of Pushkin's "Winter Evening" (Зимний вечер), 1825.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

{|
! Russian text || Pronunciation || Transliteration || English Translation
|-
| {{lang|ru|'''Зи́мний ве́чер'''}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈzʲimnʲɪj ˈvʲetɕɪr|}} || '''''Zímnij véčer''''' || '''Winter evening'''
|-
| {{lang|ru|Бу́ря мгло́ю не́бо кро́ет,}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈburʲə ˈmɡɫoju ˈnʲɛbə ˈkroɪt|}} || ''Búrja mglóju nébo krójet,'' || The storm covers the sky with a haze
|-
| {{lang|ru|Ви́хри сне́жные крутя́;}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈvʲixrʲɪ ˈsʲnʲɛʐnɨɪ krʊˈtʲa|}} || ''Víhri snéžnyje krutjá,'' || As it swirls heaps of snow in the air.
|-
| {{lang|ru|То, как зверь, она́ заво́ет,}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈto kaɡ zvʲerʲ ɐˈna zɐˈvoɪt|}} || ''To, kak zveŕ, oná zavójet,'' || At times, it howls like a beast,
|-
| {{lang|ru|То запла́чет, как дитя́,}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈto zɐˈpɫatɕɪt, kaɡ dʲɪˈtʲa|}} || ''To zapláčet, kak ditjá,'' || And then cries like a child;
|-
| {{lang|ru|То по кро́вле обветша́лой}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈto pɐˈkrovlʲɪ ɐbvʲɪtˈʂaɫəj|}} || ''To po króvle obvetšáloj'' || At times, on top of the threadbare roof,
|-
| {{lang|ru|Вдруг соло́мой зашуми́т,}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈvdruk sɐˈɫoməj zəʂʊˈmʲit|}} || ''Vdrug solómoj zašumít,'' || It suddenly rustles straw,
|-
| {{lang|ru|То, как пу́тник запозда́лый,}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈto ˈkak ˈputʲnʲɪɡ zəpɐˈzdaɫɨj|}} || ''To, kak pútnik zapozdályj'' || And then, like a late traveller,
|-
| {{lang|ru|К нам в око́шко застучи́т.}} || {{IPA|ru|ˈknam vɐˈkoʂkə zəstʊˈtɕit|}} || ''K nam v okóško zastučít.'' || It knocks upon our window.
|}

:

During the Soviet period, the policy toward the languages of the various other ethnic groups fluctuated in practice. Though each of the constituent republics had its own official language, the unifying role and superior status was reserved for Russian, although it was declared the [[official language]] only in 1990.<ref>[http://legal-ussr.narod.ru/data01/tex10935.htm "Закон СССР от 24 April 1990 О языках народов СССР"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508201331/http://legal-ussr.narod.ru/data01/tex10935.htm |date=8 May 2016}} (The 1990 USSR Law about the Languages of the USSR) {{in lang|ru}}</ref> Following the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|break-up of the USSR]] in 1991, several of the newly independent states have encouraged their native languages, which has partly reversed the privileged status of Russian, though its role as the language of post-Soviet national discourse throughout the region has continued.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wp.towson.edu/iajournal/2021/12/08/language-and-geopolitics-a-case-study-of-the-former-soviet-union/|first=Meyer|last= Madeleine|title=Language and Geopolitics: A Case Study of the Former Soviet Union|date=8 December 2021 }}</ref>

The Russian language in the world declined after 1991 due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and decrease in the number of [[Russians]] in the world and diminution of the total population in Russia (where Russian is an official language), however {{Clarify|reason=The decline, decrease, or diminution; or all three?|date=October 2022|text=this}} has since been reversed.<ref name="demoscope.ru"/><ref name=autogenerated20130215-1/><ref name="Mof.gov.cy">{{cite web |date=23 May 2012 |title=журнал "Демоскоп". Где есть потребность в изучении русского языка |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2008/0329/tema04.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405005201/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2008/0329/tema04.php |archive-date=5 April 2013 |access-date=18 June 2013 |website=Mof.gov.cy |language=ru}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Recent estimates of the total number of speakers of Russian
! Source || Native speakers || Native rank || Total speakers || Total rank
|-
| G. Weber, "Top Languages",<br />''Language Monthly'',<br />3: 12–18, 1997, ISSN 1369-9733 || 160,000,000 || 8 || 285,000,000 || 5
|-
| World Almanac (1999) || 145,000,000 || 8 (2005) || 275,000,000 || 5
|-
| SIL (2000 WCD) || 145,000,000 || 8 || 255,000,000 || 5–6 (tied with Arabic)
|-
| CIA World Factbook (2005) || 160,000,000 || 8 ||||
|}

According to figures published in 2006 in the journal "[[:ru:Демоскоп Weekly|Demoskop Weekly]]" research deputy director of Research Center for Sociological Research of the [[Ministry of Education and Science (Russia)]] Arefyev A. L.,<ref>{{cite web |last=Арефьев |first=А. Л |script-title=ru:Сведения об авторе |url=http://www.socioprognoz.ru/index.php?page_id=80&id=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511073946/http://www.socioprognoz.ru/index.php?page_id=80&id=2 |archive-date=11 May 2013 |access-date=18 June 2013 |publisher=Socioprognoz.ru |language=ru}}</ref> the Russian language is gradually losing its position in the world in general, and in Russia in particular.<ref name="autogenerated20130215-1">{{cite web |last=Арефьев |first=А. |script-title=ru:Меньше россиян — меньше русскоговорящих|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema04.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308114712/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema04.php |archive-date=8 March 2013 |access-date=18 June 2013 |publisher=Demoscope.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Арефьев |first=А. |script-title=ru:В странах Азии, Африки и Латинской Америки наш язык стремительно утрачивает свою роль |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema03.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308100454/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema03.php|archive-date=8 March 2013 |access-date=18 June 2013 |publisher=Demoscope.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Арефьев |first=А. |script-title=ru:Будет ли русский в числе мировых языков в будущем? |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema05.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512104646/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema05.php |archive-date=12 May 2013 |access-date=18 June 2013 |publisher=Demoscope.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref name="demoscope"/> In 2012, A. L. Arefyev published a new study "Russian language at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries", in which he confirmed his conclusion about the trend of weakening of the Russian language after the Soviet Union's collapse in various regions of the world (findings published in 2013 in the journal "[[:ru:Демоскоп Weekly|Demoskop Weekly]]").<ref name="demoscope.ru"/><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:Все меньше школьников обучаются на русском языке |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2013/0571/tema03.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805082906/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2013/0571/tema03.php |archive-date=5 August 2014 |access-date=23 April 2014 |publisher=Demoscope.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:Русский Язык На Рубеже Xx-Ххi Веков |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2013/0571/biblio01.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201203021/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2013/0571/biblio01.php |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=23 April 2014 |publisher=Demoscope.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated20130213-1>[http://www.civisbook.ru/files/File/russkij_yazyk.pdf Русский язык на рубеже XX-XXI веков] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615042230/http://www.civisbook.ru/files/File/russkij_yazyk.pdf |date=15 June 2013}} — М.: Центр социального прогнозирования и маркетинга, 2012. — 482 стр.</ref> In the countries of the former [[Soviet Union]] the Russian language was being replaced or used in conjunction with local languages.<ref name="demoscope.ru"/><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:журнал "Демоскоп". Русский язык — советский язык? |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2008/0329/tema01.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402125223/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2008/0329/tema01.php |archive-date=2 April 2013 |access-date=18 June 2013 |website=Demoscope.ru |language=ru}}</ref> Currently, the number of speakers of Russian in the world depends on the number of [[Russians]] in the world and total population in Russia.<ref name="demoscope.ru"/><ref name=autogenerated20130215-1/><ref name="Mof.gov.cy"/>

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ The changing proportion of Russian speakers in the world<br />(assessment Aref'eva 2012)<ref name="demoscope.ru"/><ref name=autogenerated20130213-1/>{{rp|387}}
|- style=vertical-align:bottom
! Year || worldwide<br />population,<br /><br />billion || population<br />Russian Empire,<br />Soviet Union and<br />Russian Federation,<br /><br />million || share in world<br />population,<br /><br />% || total number<br />of speakers<br />of Russian,<br /><br />million || share in world<br />population,<br /><br />%
|-
| 1900 || 1.650 || 138.0 ||{{nbs}} 8.4 || 105 || 6.4
|-
| 1914 || 1.782 || 182.2 ||{{nbs}} 10.2 || 140 || 7.9
|-
| 1940 || 2.342 || 205.0 ||{{nbs}} 8.8 || 200 || 7.6
|-
| 1980 || 4.434 || 265.0 ||{{nbs}} 6.0 || 280 || 6.3
|-
| 1990 || 5.263 || 286.0 ||{{nbs}} 5.4 || 312 || 5.9
|-
| 2004 || 6.400 || 146.0 ||{{nbs}} 2.3 || 278 || 4.3
|-
| 2010 || 6.820 || 142.7 ||{{nbs}} 2.1 || 260 || 3.8
|-
| 2020 || 7.794 || 147.3 ||{{nbs}} 1.8 || 256 || 3.3
|}