# Languages of the Soviet Union

The languages of the Soviet Union consist of hundreds of different languages and dialects from several different language groups.
In 1922, it was decreed that all nationalities in the Soviet Union had the right to education in their own language. The new orthography used the Cyrillic, Latin, or Arabic alphabet, depending on geography and culture. After 1937, all languages that had received new alphabets after 1917 began using the Cyrillic alphabet. This way, it would be easier for linguistic minorities to learn to write both Russian and their native language. Moreover, the Armenian and Georgian, as well as the Baltic Soviet Socialist Republics were the only Soviet republics to maintain their writing systems (Armenian, Georgian and Latin alphabets respectively).

## Language policy
### Background

Before the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian was the official language for the Russian Empire, with the exception of a few permitted languages in autonomous regions as Poland, Finland, and the Baltic provinces. Regional languages were discouraged or forbidden, as was the case of Ukrainian between 1876 and 1905. There was no explicit plan to enable non-Russians to learn Russian, and there was no possibility for other ethnic groups to develop their own culture and language.
In this period, some individual efforts developed written forms for some of these languages, but they had limited effect and they were focused on missionary activities. In the case of languages with written tradition, as Armenian, Georgian, Turkic languages of Central Asia, and Tajik, their writing system continued being used, but mainly in connection with religious education.

### Soviet language policy

In 1914 Vladimir Lenin was opposed to the idea of a compulsory or official state language. Equality of all peoples and of all languages was a commitment made by Lenin and his associates before and after the October Revolution. As a result, no single language was designated for official use in the Soviet Union and the existence of the spoken languages of the national minorities was guaranteed. Everyone had the right to use their own language, both in private and public, as well as in correspondence with officials and while giving testimony in court. The USSR was a multilingual state, with around 130 languages spoken natively. Discrimination on the basis of language was illegal under the Soviet Constitution, though the status of its languages differed.
However, the Soviet Union faced the problem of unifying the country, and for that reason, Russian was selected as the common language to facilitate communication between members of different ethnic groups.
In 1975, Brezhnev said "under developed socialism, when the economies in our country have melted together in a coherent economic complex; when there is a new historical concept—the Soviet people—it is an objective growth in the Russian language's role as the language of international communications when one builds Communism, in the education of the new man! Together with one's own mother tongue one will speak fluent Russian, which the Soviet people have voluntarily accepted as a common historical heritage and contributes to a further stabilization of the political, economic and spiritual unity of the Soviet people."

### Developing writing systems

Few of the languages of the Soviet state had written forms. One of the first priorities of the Soviet state was the creation of writing systems and the development of literacy programs. New or modified writing systems were adopted for over half of the languages spoken in the territory during the early Post-revolutionary years. In some particular cases, preparatory work was required before the creation of an orthography due to the lack of previous linguistic analysis, as in the case of languages of the Far North.
When a language already had a writing system, there were attempts for making it easier to learn and accessible. As part of this policy, in 1918 Russian orthography was simplified removing orthographic distinctions without phonetic counterpart. Phonemic or close to phonemic orthographies weren't modified, such as Armenian, Georgian, or Chuvash.
Writing systems based on the Arabic script caused major problems because they were poorly adapted to indicate phonemic differences that are found in Turkic languages or North-East Caucasian languages. A first attempt tried to create a simplified form of Arabic script. However, the task was abandoned. Instead, the Latin alphabet was used for all languages of the Soviet Union without a traditional alphabetical writing system, avoiding the impression that the policy was a Russification attempt.
Written forms were developed for several languages with a very small number of speakers, such as the Finno-Ugric languages Karelian, Veps, and Sámi. However, many of these writing systems had a short life. In the case of Itelmen, never was put into practical use. Other languages that received their writing systems during the 1920s and early 1930s kept using them, such as Nanai, Nivkh, Koryak, Chuckchi, Khanty, and Mansi.

## Distribution and status

East Slavic languages (Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian) dominated in the European part of the Soviet Union, the Baltic languages Lithuanian and Latvian, and the Finnic language Estonian were used next to Russian in the Baltic region, while Moldovan (the only Romance language in the union) was used in the southwest region. In the Caucasus alongside Russian there were Armenian, Azeri and Georgian. In the Russian far north, there were several minority groups who spoke different Uralic languages; most of the languages in Central Asia were Turkic with the exception of Tajik, which is an Iranian language.
Although the USSR did not have de jure an official language over most of its history, until 1990, and Russian was merely defined as the language of interethnic communication (Russian: язык межнационального общения), it assumed de facto the role of official language. For its role and influence in the USSR, see Russification.
On a second level were the languages of the other 14 Union Republics. In line with their de jure status in a federal state, they had a small formal role at the Union level (being e.g. present in the Coat of arms of the USSR and its banknotes) and as the main language of its republic. Their effective weight, however, varied with the republic (from strong in places like in Armenia to weak in places like in Byelorussia), or even inside it.
Of these fourteen languages, two are often considered varieties of other languages: Tajik of Persian, and Moldovan of Romanian. Strongly promoted use of Cyrillic in many republics however, combined with lack of contact, led to the separate development of the literary languages. Some of the former Soviet republics, now independent states, continue to use the Cyrillic alphabet at present (such as Kyrgyzstan), while others have opted to use the Latin alphabet instead (such as Turkmenistan and Moldova – although the unrecognized Transnistria officially uses the Cyrillic alphabet).
The Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union and other subdivision of the USSR lacked even this de jure autonomy, and their languages had virtually no presence at the national level (and often, not even in the urban areas of the republic itself). They were, however, present in education (although often only at lower grades).
Some smaller languages with very dwindling small communities, like Livonian, were neglected, and weren't present either in education or in publishing.
Several languages of non-titular nations, like German, Korean or Polish, although having sizable communities in the USSR, and in some cases being present in education and in publishing, were not considered to be Soviet languages. On the other hand, Finnish, although not generally considered a language of the USSR, was an official language of the Karelia and its predecessor as a Soviet republic. Also Yiddish and Romani were considered Soviet languages.
Languages by family, distribution and status :
| Language Family | Language | Official in | Distribution | Status |
| Indo-European > Slavic > East Slavic | Russian | Soviet Union  Russian SFSR | Spoken in all republics | Safe |
| Indo-European > Slavic > East Slavic | Ukrainian | Ukrainian SSR | Ukrainian SSR, Russian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Estonian SSR, Moldavian SSR, Georgian SSR | Safe |
| Indo-European > Slavic > East Slavic | Belarusian | Byelorussian SSR | Byelorussian SSR, Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Slavic > East Slavic | Rusyn | | Ukrainian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Slavic > West Slavic | Polish | | Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Estonian SSR | |
| Indo-European > Slavic > West Slavic | Slovak | | Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Georgian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Slavic > South Slavic | Bulgarian | | Ukrainian SSR, Moldavian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Baltic | Latvian | Latvian SSR | Latvian SSR | Safe |
| Indo-European > Baltic | Latgalian | | Latvian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Baltic | Lithuanian | Lithuanian SSR | Lithuanian SSR | Safe |
| Indo-European > Germanic > North Germanic | Norwegian | | Russian SSR | |
| Indo-European > Germanic > North Germanic | Swedish | | Estonian SSR, Ukrainian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic | German | Volga German ASSR | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSR | |
| Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic > High German | Yiddish | Jewish AO | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Germanic > West Germanic > North Sea Germanic | Plautdietsch | | Kazakh SSR | |
| Indo-European > Romance > Romanian | Moldovan (Romanian) | Moldavian ASSR  Moldavian SSR | Moldavian SSR, Ukrainian SSR | Safe |
| Indo-European > Romance > Italo-Western | Italian | | Ukrainian SSR | |
| Indo-European > Albanian | Albanian | | Ukrainian SSR | |
| Indo-European > Hellenic > Attic-Ionic | Pontic Greek | | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Armenian SSR, Kazakh SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Indo-European > Armenian | Eastern Armenian | Armenian SSR Nagorno-Karabakh AO | Armenian SSR | Safe |
| Indo-European > Armenian | Western Armenian | | Armenian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Armenian & Romani | Lomavren | | Armenian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Indo-European > Indo-Aryan > Romani | Baltic Romani | | Russian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Indo-Aryan > Romani | Sinte Romani | | Kazakh SSR | |
| Indo-European > Indo-Aryan > Romani | Northern Vlax Romani | | Ukrainian SSR, Moldovian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Indo-Aryan > Romani | Northern Balkan Romani | | Ukrainian SSR, Moldovian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Indo-Aryan > Romani | Southern Central Romani | | Ukrainian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Indo-Aryan | Parya | | Tajik SSR, Uzbek SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Indo-European > Iranian > West Iranian | Tajik | Tajik SSR | Tajik SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Iranian > West Iranian | Bukharian Dialect (Judeo-Tajik) | | Tajik SSR, Uzbek SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Indo-European > Iranian > West Iranian | Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish) | | Azerbaijan SSR, Russian SSR, Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR, | Definitely endangered |
| Indo-European > Iranian > West Iranian | Tat | Dagestan ASSR | Azerbaijan SSR, Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Indo-European > Iranian > West Iranian | Juhuri (Judeo-Tat) | | Azerbaijan SSR, Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > West Iranian | Talysh | | Azerbaijan SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Scythian | Ossetian | North Ossetian ASSR South Ossetian AO | Georgian SSR, Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Scythian | Yaghnobi | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Scythian/Pamiri | Wakhi | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Rushani | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Shughni | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Yazghulami | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Bartangi | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Ishkashimi | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Khufi | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Indo-European > Iranian > East Iranian > Pamiri | Sanglechi | | Tajik SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Kartvelian | Georgian | Georgian SSR | Georgian SSR | Safe |
| Kartvelian | Kivruli/Gruzinic Dialect (Judeo-Georgian) | | Georgian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Kartvelian | Svan | | Georgian SSR, Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Kartvelian | Mingrelian | | Georgian SSR, Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Kartvelian | Laz | | Georgian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Northwest Caucasian | Abkhaz | Abkhaz ASSR | Georgian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northwest Caucasian | Abaza | | Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Northwest Caucasian | Kabardian (East Circassian) | Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR Karachay-Cherkess AO | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northwest Caucasian | Adyghe (West Circassian) | | Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Northwest Caucasian | Ubykh | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Northeast Caucasian > Nakh | Chechen | Checheno-Ingush ASSR Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Kazakh SSR, Georgian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Nakh | Ingush | Checheno-Ingush ASSR | Russian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR, Turkmen SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Nakh | Bats | | Georgian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Avar | Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Kazakh SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Andi | | Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Tindi | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Bagvalal | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Akhvakh | | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Karata-Tukita | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Botlikh | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Godoberi | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Avar-Andic | Chamalal | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Dargin | Dargwa | Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Dargin | Kaitag | | Russian SSR | |
| Northeast Caucasian > Dargin | Kubachi | | Russian SSR | |
| Northeast Caucasian > Dargin | Itsari | | Russian SSR | |
| Northeast Caucasian > Dargin | Chirag | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Khinalug | Khinalug | | Azerbaijan SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lak | Lak | Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Archi | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Lezgian | Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Tabasaran | Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Aghul | | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Rutul | | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Tsakhur | | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Udi | | Russian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Kryts | | Azerbaijan SSR | |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Jek | | Azerbaijan SSR | |
| Northeast Caucasian > Lezgic | Budukh | | Azerbaijan SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Tsezic | Tsez | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Tsezic | Bezhta | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Tsezic | Hunzib | | Russian SSR, Georgian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Tsezic | Khwarshi | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Northeast Caucasian > Tsezic | Hinuq | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Estonian | Estonian SSR | Estonian SSR | Safe |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Võro | | Estonian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Seto dialect | | Estonian SSR | |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Karelian | Karelo-Finnish SSR | Karelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Finnish | Karelo-Finnish SSR | Karelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSR | Safe |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Ingrian | | Russian SSR, Karelo-Finnish SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Ludic | | Karelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSR | |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Votic | | Karelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Livonian | | Latvian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Uralic > Balto-Finnic | Veps | | Karelo-Finnish SSR, Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Sámi | Kildin Sámi | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Sámi | Ter Sámi | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Uralic > Sámi | Skolt Sámi | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Uralic > Sámi | Akkala Sámi | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Uralic > Permic | Komi-Zyrian | Komi ASSR | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Uralic > Permic | Komi-Permyak | Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug | Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Uralic > Permic | Komi-Yazva | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Permic | Udmurt | Udmurt ASSR | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Estonian SSR, Kazakh SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Permic | Mari | Mari ASSR | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Uralic > Mordvinic | Erzya | Mordovian ASSR | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Mordvinic | Moksha | Mordovian ASSR | Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Uralic > Samoyedic | Tundra Nenets | Nenets AO Yamalo-Nenets AO | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Samoyedic | Forest Nenets | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Samoyedic | Enets | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Uralic > Samoyedic | Selkup | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Samoyedic | Nganasan | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Samoyedic | Kamassian | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Uralic > Ugric > Khanty | Salekhard (Northern) Khanty | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Ugric > Khanty | Surgut (Eastern) Khanty | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Uralic > Ugric > Khanty | Southern Khanty | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Uralic > Ugric > Mansi | Central Mansi | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Uralic > Ugric > Mansi | Northern Mansi | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Uralic > Ugric > Mansi | Southern Mansi | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Uralic > Ugric | Hungarian | | Ukrainian SSR | Safe |
| Turkic > Oghuric | Chuvash | Chuvash ASSR | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Kazakh | Kazakh SSR | Kazakh SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Kyrgyz | Kirghiz SSR | Kirghiz SSR | |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Tatar | Tatar ASSR | Russian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Kirghiz SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Crimean Tatar | Crimean ASSR | Russian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR | Severely endangered |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Dobrujan Tatar | | Ukrainian SSR, Moldavian SSR | |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Siberian Tatar | | Russian SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Bashkir | Bashkir ASSR | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Urum | | Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Krymchak | | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Karaim | | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Lithuanian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Nogai | Dagestan ASSR Karachay-Cherkess AO | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Kumyk | Dagestan ASSR | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Karachay-Balkar | Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR Karachay-Cherkess AO | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Karakalpak | Karakalpak ASSR | Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR, Turkmen SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Southern Altai | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Turkic > Kipchak | Fergana | | Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Tajik SSR | Extinct |
| Turkic > Karluk | Uzbek | Uzbek SSR | Uzbek SSR | Safe |
| Turkic > Karluk | Uighur | | Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Tajik SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Karluk | Ili Turki | | Kazakh SSR | Critically endangered |
| Turkic > Karluk | Chagatai | | | |
| Turkic > Oghuz | Turkmen | Turkmen SSR | Turkmen SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Oghuz | Azerbaijani | Dagestan ASSR | Azerbaijan SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Oghuz | Meskhetian Dialect (Turkish) | | Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kirghiz SSR | |
| Turkic > Oghuz | Gagauz | | Moldavian SSR, Ukrainian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Northern Altai | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Khakas | Khakas AO | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Tuvan | Tuvan ASSR | Russian SSR | |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Shor | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Yakut | Yakut ASSR | Russian SSR | |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Dolgan | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Chulym | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Tofa | | Russian SSR | |
| Turkic > Siberian Turkic | Soyot | | Russian SSR | |
| Afro-Asiatic > Semitic | Central Asian Arabic | | Uzbek SSR, Tajik SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Afro-Asiatic > Semitic | Neo-Aramaic | | Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR | Safe |
| Mongolic | Buryat | Buryat ASSR | Russian SSR | |
| Mongolic | Kalmyk | Kalmyk ASSR | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Mongolic | Oirat | | Kirghiz SSR | |
| Mongolic | Khamnigan Mongol | | Russian SSR | |
| Mongolic | Mongolian | | Russian SSR | Potentially vulnerable |
| Tungusic | Evenki | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Tungusic | Even | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Tungusic | Nanai | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Tungusic | Negidal | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Tungusic | Kili | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Tungusic | Oroch | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Tungusic | Udege | | Russian SSR | |
| Tungusic | Uilta | | Russian SSR | |
| Tungusic | Ulch | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Chukotko-Kamchatkan | Chukchi | Chukotka AO | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Chukotko-Kamchatkan | Koryak | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Chukotko-Kamchatkan | Alyutor | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Chukotko-Kamchatkan | Kerek | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Chukotko-Kamchatkan | Itelmen | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Language Isolate | Nivkh | | Russian SSR | Severely endangered |
| Yukaghir | Tundra Yukaghir | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Yukaghir | Southern Yukaghir | | Russian SSR | Critically endangered |
| Inuit-Aleut | Siberian Yupik | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Inuit-Aleut | Aleut | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Inuit-Aleut | Naukan | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Inuit-Aleut | Old Sirenik | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Yeniseian | Ket | | Russian SSR | Definitely endangered |
| Language isolate | Ainu | | Russian SSR | Extinct in Russia, critically endangered in Japan |
| Sino-Tibetan | Dungan | | Russian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Uzbek SSR | Endangered/unsafe |
| Sino-Tibetan | Taz Dialect (Mandarin) | | Russian SSR | Extinct |
| Koreanic | Koryo-Mar (Central Asian Korean) | | Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, Turkmen SSR, Russian SSR, Ukrainian SSR | |
| Dravidian | Brahui | | Turkmen SSR | Potentially vulnerable |

## Distribution of Russian in 1989

The Russian language by ethnic group in the USSR in 1989 :
| Ethnic group | Total (in thousands) | Speakers (in thousands) | Speakers (in thousands) | Speakers (in thousands) | Percentage | Percentage | Percentage |
| Ethnic group | Total (in thousands) | L1 | L2 | Total | L1 | L2 | Total |
| Russians | 145,155 | 144,836 | 219 | 145,155 | 99.8 | 0.2 | 100 |
| Non-Russian | 140,587 | 18,743 | 68,791 | 87,533 | 13.3 | 48.9 | 62.3 |
| Ukrainians | 44,186 | 8,309 | 24,820 | 33,128 | 18.8 | 56.2 | 75.0 |
| Uzbeks | 16,698 | 120 | 3,981 | 4,100 | 0.7 | 23.8 | 24.6 |
| Belarusians | 10,036 | 2,862 | 5,487 | 8,349 | 28.5 | 54.7 | 83.2 |
| Kazakhs | 8,136 | 183 | 4,917 | 5,100 | 2.2 | 60.4 | 62.7 |
| Azerbaijanis | 6,770 | 113 | 2,325 | 2,439 | 1.7 | 34.3 | 36.0 |
| Tatars | 6,649 | 1,068 | 4,706 | 5,774 | 16.1 | 70.8 | 86.8 |
| Armenians | 4,623 | 352 | 2,178 | 2,530 | 7.6 | 47.1 | 54.7 |
| Tajiks | 4,215 | 35 | 1,166 | 1,200 | 0.8 | 27.7 | 28.5 |
| Georgians | 3,981 | 66 | 1,316 | 1,382 | 1.7 | 33.1 | 34.7 |
| Moldovans | 3,352 | 249 | 1,805 | 2,054 | 7.4 | 53.8 | 61.3 |
| Lithuanians | 3,067 | 55 | 1,163 | 1,218 | 1.8 | 37.9 | 39.7 |
| Turkmens | 2,729 | 27 | 757 | 783 | 1.0 | 27.7 | 28.7 |
| Kyrgyz | 2,529 | 15 | 890 | 905 | 0.6 | 35.2 | 35.8 |
| Germans | 2,039 | 1,035 | 918 | 1,953 | 50.8 | 45.0 | 95.8 |
| Chuvash | 1,842 | 429 | 1,199 | 1,628 | 23.3 | 65.1 | 88.4 |
| Latvians | 1,459 | 73 | 940 | 1,013 | 5.0 | 64.4 | 69.4 |
| Bashkirs | 1,449 | 162 | 1,041 | 1,203 | 11.2 | 71.8 | 83.0 |
| Jews | 1,378 | 1,194 | 140 | 1,334 | 86.6 | 10.1 | 96.7 |
| Mordvins | 1,154 | 377 | 722 | 1,099 | 32.7 | 62.5 | 95.2 |
| Poles | 1,126 | 323 | 495 | 817 | 28.6 | 43.9 | 72.6 |
| Estonians | 1,027 | 45 | 348 | 393 | 4.4 | 33.9 | 38.2 |
| Others | 12,140 | 1,651 | 7,479 | 9,130 | 13.6 | 61.6 | 75.2 |
| Total | 285,743 | 163,898 | 68,791 | 232,689 | 57.4 | 24.1 | 81.4 |