# Ruslan (given name)

Ruslan (Russian: Руслан) is a masculine given name mainly popular among Turkic (Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Tatar, Uzbek), North Caucasian (Avar, Chechen, Lezgi, Cherkes, Ossetians) and some East Slavic people. The name is an old Azeri/Caucasian Albanian variant of the Turkic word arslan or aslan – meaning lion. The name is derived from Arslan, Eruslan (also Uruslan, Eruslane, Yeruslan), another earlier Tatar variant of the word. The name became popular through the folk tale hero Yeruslan Lazarevich (originally Uruslan). The name is popular in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
The feminine version is Ruslana.

## Fictional characters

* Ruslan and Ludmila, 1820 poem by Alexander Pushkin about Ruslan, a legendary 11th-century hero. For more see Ruslan and Ludmila (disambiguation).
* Ruslan the guard dog, the protagonist of Faithful Ruslan by Georgi Vladimov
* Yeruslan Lazarevich, Russian folk tale hero

## People with the given name Ruslan

* Ruslan Abdulgani (1914–2005), Indonesian diplomat and Foreign Minister (1956-1957)
* Ruslan Abışov (born 1987), Azerbaijani footballer
* Ruslan Agalarov (born 1974), Uzbekistani football manager
* Ruslan Akhmadullin (born 1982), Russian ice hockey player
* Ruslan Alekhno (born 1981), Russian and Belarusian singer
* Ruslan Aushev (born 1954), Soviet General and former President of Ingushetia
* Ruslan Baltiev (born 1978), Kazakh footballer
* Ruslan Beslaneyev (born 1982), Russian footballer
* Ruslan Chagaev (born 1978), an Uzbekistani professional boxer
* Ruslan Fedotenko (born 1979), Ukrainian professional hockey player
* Ruslan Gelayev (1964–2004), commander in the Chechen separatist movement against Russia
* Ruslan Glebov (born 1987), Ukrainian orienteer
* Ruslan Goncharov (born 1973), Ukrainian figure skater
* Ruslan Kapantsow (born 1981), Belarusian footballer
* Ruslan Karaev (born 1983), a Russian kickboxer and martial artist
* Ruslan Khairov (born 1981), Russian-born Azerbaijani boxer
* Ruslan Khasbulatov (1942–2023), a Russian economist and politician
* Ruslan Kogan (born 1982), founder and director of Kogan Technologies
* Ruslan Lyubarskyi (born 1973), Ukrainian footballer
* Ruslan Majidov (born 1985), Azerbaijani footballer
* Ruslan Malinovskyi (born 1993), Ukrainian footballer
* Ruslan Mashchenko (born 1971), a Russian hurdler
* Ruslan Maynov (born 1976), Bulgarian singer
* Ruslan Medzhitov (born 1966), Professor of Immunobiology at Yale University
* Ruslan Mingazow (born 1991), Turkmenistani footballer
* Ruslaan Mumtaz (born 1982), an Indian actor
* Ruslan Nurudinov (born 1991), an Uzbekistani weightlifter
* Ruslan Pidhornyy (born 1977), Ukrainian road bicycle racer
* Ruslan Ponomariov (born 1983), a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE world champion
* Ruslan Provodnikov (born 1984), a Russian boxer
* Ruslan Rotan (born 1981), a Ukrainian football player
* Ruslan Salei (1974–2011), a Belarusian professional hockey defenceman
* Ruslan Sirota (born 1980), a jazz, fusion and funk/R&B pianist and keyboardist
* Ruslan Solyanyk (1984–2024), a Ukrainian footballer
* Ruslan Yamadayev (1961–2008), a Chechen military leader and politician
* Ruslan Zakharov (born 1987), Russian speed skater