MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Interest towards the Russian language will be growing with Russia’s greater influence and attractiveness in the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Council on the Russian Language on Tuesday.
"Interest towards the Russian language in the world will be growing together with the rise of our well-being in the broadest sense - of the people, of the country and of its influence. And in cannot be otherwise. We may have another two or three tolstoys or four pushkins, they will begin to be translated by good translators, and that’s all. But if the country gets strong and attractive, the Russian language will begin to be studied," Putin said.
He pointed to the fact that in some countries with which Russia’s economic and political cooperation was beginning to revive, were experiencing an upsurge in the interest towards the Russian language. This was happening, he said, "not just in the former Soviet republics, but in what is sometimes called far-abroad countries."
Putin said that "as soon as the country begins to develop and as soon as the economy begins to breathe, Russia’s gains in culture and education will emerge in the limelight and everything else begins to catch up.
"The defense plays a major role in this sense. All this works in combination," he added.
"All this is to be born in mind. Naturally, if we spoil this tool ourselves, nothing will come of it - inside the country or elsewhere. It must be kept in the proper condition. We must take care of this," Putin said.