Teaching culture in the Russian as a world language classroom: the place of the concept of the русский мир

Teaching about the culture of the target language is an important part of world language education. This is clear in the ACTFL Standards, in which one of the ‘Five Cs’ is ‘Cultures.’ While there is no question about the importance of culture in world language education, teaching about culture can be deeply problematic. An example of how teaching about culture can be precarious in the context of the Russian as a foreign language (RFL) classroom is with respect to the concept of the Русский мир. In this article, we discuss the challenges presented by the idea of the Русский мир as a component of contemporary Russian culture. We begin with an analysis of the concept of the Русский мир before turning to discussions of the place of the Russian language in the Русский мир, the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the promotion of the concept of the Русский мир, the Русский мир as a manifestation of Russian ‘soft power,’ and last, the Русский мир and its implications for the situation in Ukraine. The article ends with a discussion of how the concept of the Русский мир can be addressed in the RFL classroom.