Russia increasingly emphasises the importance of 'soft power' for securing its foreign policy interests, but recent research has paid more attention to Russia's intentions rather than to the receiving end of its cultural and public diplomacy. This volume seeks to address this gap and explore the specifics of both Russian language promotion and its acceptance in a number of case and country studies, including Ukraine, Germany and Ireland. A range of scholars discuss the legal status and the practical use of Russian for communication or media use, both in the 'near' and the 'far abroad', examining the politics of the Russian language, the role of the Russian Federation in influencing these politics and the challenges that the promotion of Russian faces in particular contexts across the globe.