SUMMARY:

This essay serves as an introduction to the forum “The Prospect of Studying World Russian Languages, Literatures, and Histories.” It offers a new approach to the problem of the Putin regime’s weaponization of Russian culture and the symmetrical response of many post-Soviet countries, which was to cancel the Russian language. The text challenges traditional, nation-centered views of language, advocating for a postcolonial and denationalized understanding of languages’ evolution and function. The author proposes a liberating act that dissociates the Russian-language cultural sphere from Russia as a country and its state. Following the precedent of World Englishes, which recognizes local varieties of English languages as fully autonomous and equal, the essay advances the concept of “World Russians.” Country-specific or differentiated by the type of language contact zone – for example, Ukrainian and Kazakhstani or Turkic and Baltic – these Russian languages are to be claimed by their local speakers as their own. Serving the needs of communication and expressing ideas relevant to their speakers, World Russians can differ in their vocabulary, grammar, and script.