See also Russophone (novel)

Russophones worldwide

A Russophone (Russian: русскоговорящий, русскоязычный; russkogovoryashchy, russkoyazychny) is literally a speaker of the Russian language either natively or by preference. At the same time the term is used in a more specialized meaning to describe the category of people whose cultural background is associated with Russian language regardless of ethnic and territorial distinctions.

The largest and most populous Russophone country is Russia, from which the language originates. There are sizable Russophone communities in many neighbouring countries that were parts of the former Soviet Union, including Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Estonia and Latvia. Additionally, there are large Russophone immigrant communities in Israel and various parts of the United States, Canada and Australia.

There are an estimated 280 million Russophones worldwide.

Russian population in post-Soviet states[link]

Russophony in the post-Soviet states is a controversial phenomenon, as it is in all nations which share a European colonial past such as Africa or Spanish America. Throughout Imperial Russia and later the other republics of the USSR, the languages of many different ethnic and indigenous groups were suppressed by Russification, as Russian attained its status as a de facto language that unified the Soviet people and was used exclusively in all official and interstate affairs. Although native language classes (e.g. Latvian or Estonian) were obligatory for all students regardless nationality in every Republic and Autonomy of the USSR alongside with Russian. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union this situation was reversed in the countries state schools of the "Near abroad" (ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye) — the term used in Russia for the post-Soviet states — and the use of Russian was discouraged, with the notable exceptions of Belarus, Krym, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan where Russian remains today an official language. The breakaway republics of Abkhazia (Georgia), South Ossetia (Georgia), and Transnistria (Moldova) have also declared Russian as official in the territories under their control.

See also[link]

• Russians in Ukraine
• Russians in Kazakhstan
• Ukrainophone
• History of Russians in Latvia
• History of Russians in Estonia
• History of Russians in Lithuania

References[link]

• Pål Kolstø, "The new Russian diaspora - an identity of its own? Possible identity trajectories for Russians in the former Soviet republic." Ethnic and Racial studies, July 1996, pp. 609-639
• Pål Kolstø, "The price of stability. Kazakhstani control mechanisms in a bipolar cultural and demographic situation", paper presented at conf. Democracy and Pluralism in the Muslim Areas of the Former Soviet Union at The Cummings Center, University of Tel Aviv, 7-9 November 1999 [1]
• Autin, Claire, «Les États baltes. Le défi des minorités russophones», Géographie et cultures, No. 38, 2001 :5-24

External links[link]

• Boston Jewish Russian Center & Synagogue

Aaron Russo
Russo promoting his film America: Freedom to Fascism
Born	February 14, 1943 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	August 24, 2007(2007-08-24) (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Known for	Music Manager, Film producer, libertarian politician and activist
Religion	Judaism[citation needed]

Aaron Russo (February 14, 1943 - August 24, 2007) was an American entertainment businessman, film producer and director, and political activist. He was best known for producing such movies as Trading Places, Wise Guys, and The Rose. Later in life, he created various Libertarian-leaning political documentaries including Mad as Hell and America: Freedom to Fascism. After a six-year battle with bladder cancer, Russo died on August 24, 2007.

Early life[link]

Aaron Russo was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1943. Growing up on Long Island, Russo worked for his family's undergarment business.

Entertainment career[link]

In April 1968, Russo opened the nightclub Kinetic Playground in Chicago, Illinois, originally naming it the Electric Theater. He booked numerous prominent rock groups and musicians at the club such as The Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Rotary Connection, and The Who.

In addition to owning his own nightclub, Russo managed several musical acts throughout the 1970s including The Manhattan Transfer and Bette Midler.^[1]

Russo then moved into producing and directing movies, six of them receiving Academy Award nominations and two receiving Golden Globe Award nominations.^[2] His final film would be America: Freedom to Fascism, a political documentary critical of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve System and warning about the coming of the New World Order.

Political career[link]

Russo became involved in political issues in the early-1990s when he produced and starred in the documentary entitled Mad As Hell in which he criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the federal government's War on Drugs, the concept of a National Identity Card, and government regulation of alternative medicine.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, Russo took his political interests to a higher level, running for governor of the state of Nevada as a Republican. Placing second in the Republican primary with 26% of the vote to candidate Kenny Guinn, Russo later endorsed the Democratic nominee, then-Las Vegas mayor Jan Laverty Jones, who would eventually lose to Republican nominee Kenny Guinn.^{[citation needed]} Russo was planning to run again for Nevada governor in 2002 as either an independent or Libertarian but was sidelined by cancer.

In January 2004, Russo declared his candidacy for the President of the United States initially as an independent but then as a Libertarian. At the Libertarian National Convention in May 2004, Russo received 258 votes to Michael Badnarik's 256 votes and Gary Nolan's 246 votes, short of the majority required to receive the presidential nomination. Russo would eventually lose the nomination on the convention's third and final ballot to Badnarik by a vote of 423-344.

On January 14, 2007, Russo announced his full support for US Congressman Ron Paul's candidacy for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.^[3]

Later in 2007, Russo created the political grassroots organization, Restore the Republic (restoretherepublic.com), to fulfill the political ambitions laid out in his final movie documentary, America: Freedom to Fascism. Regarding the organization, Russo said his goal was to "try and get the word out to the public about what's happening to America -- and give them an opportunity to try to change things".

Death[link]

On August 24, 2007, Russo died at the age of 64 of bladder cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• America: Freedom to Fascism, Russo's last film
• Visit Aaron Russo' Virtual Memorial
• Aaron Russo at the Internet Movie Database