If you ask Ukrainians why one should learn Russian in Kiev, the first answer that will be on the tip of their tongues is “Why not?” Just like people learning other languages (Polish, Turkish or Mandarin Chinese) have their reasons to do so, there are people in Kiev who are willing to speak Russian fluently and flawlessly. The only difference is that being the second widespread language in Ukraine, Russian is a lot more popular than other languages.

The question also has a more serious background. Although Ukraine has turned to “Ukrainian-only” policy within administrative bodies, there are still about 90% of the residents of Kiev who speak Russian as their native language in everyday life. The remaining 10% can understand and converse in Russian anyway. The matter is that Kiev is multinational and therefore a multilingual center, with a great number of Russian-speaking people working and living here. To visit, work and live in Kiev, you have to know Russian.

As we see it, the Russian language remains dominant in the central (Kiev), eastern and southern parts of Ukraine as before while practically all people in the West of the country now speak Ukrainian. So, here is the answer to the question “why learn Russian?”: Because, when moving to Kiev, you enter a Russian-speaking environment where you can learn Russian simply and easily.

Another reason for learning Russian in Kiev is that there are lots of job and business opportunities, especially in the Eastern and Southern regions of the country for Russian-speakers. And living in Kiev does not mean you will never leave the city either for working or travel purposes. You may also visit relatives and friends located in Russia, easily accessible from our city. You can take classes at a location that is convenient for you — close to your place of work or at home.

Finally, why learn Russian in Kiev together with the native Ukrainian language? One of the most successful bilingual countries, Canada, has proved how feasible it is to speak both languages fluently. Bilingual people get better business opportunities and tend to be more successful than those who only speak one language. Canada is a great example of how you can take advantage of something other people consider to be an obstacle. So, the people in Kiev are getting it absolutely right when learning Russian together with Ukrainian: they will surely take profit from it.