Born in the family of a chemist and a doctor, the boy Dima from Krasnoyarsk did not even plan to follow in his parents' footsteps. Interest in music began to manifest itself at the earliest stages of growing up. The local art institute or the opera and ballet theater were just stages on his way to recognition. Winning the international opera singers competition in the British city of Cardiff and performing at the best venues allowed him to become one of the main performers who glorified the modern Russian school of arts, and Dmitry Hvorostovsky, became known as the golden baritone or "Elvis from the opera".
Native speakers of the word
Russian speech can be heard anywhere in the world today: it is a universal communication tool from Grodno to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, from Vorkuta to Ashgabat. And, of course, it is one of the world’s main languages – it is no coincidence that Russian is among the six official languages of the UN. In politics, the Russian language has a special demand: it was spoken by Angela Merkel and Kim Jong Il, Condoleezza Rice and Jacques Chirac, who, by the way, even independently translated "Eugene Onegin" into French.
The Russian language is no less in demand in space: even astronauts who share the ISS and a common space home together with Russian colleagues, learn it. Do not forget nuclear and "traditional" energy, science and humanities, where knowledge of Russian can significantly help foreign specialists. In this sense, language acts as a career engine: with Russian-speaking "specialists", it is much easier for foreign businesses to explore new markets and conduct research, launch multimedia products, and gain access not only to Russian users, but also to the huge market of CIS countries.
The Russian language often serves as one of the basics on the Internet: it is no coincidence that in the Steam service, the leading channel for the distribution of multimedia entertainment, the share of the Russian language is estimated at 10%, second only to English and Chinese. The Russian segment of the Network, Runet is one of the most popular parts of the World Wide Web, no one, even the most famous brand, will be able to access its resources without using Russian. The same applies to bloggers: Russian opens access to a huge audience. In addition, if many niches are already occupied on the English-speaking Internet, you can still find your own unique format in the Russian part of the Network, which opens up development paths for thousands of bloggers.
Movies, games and more
Cinema is not far behind: foreign viewers are familiar with Russian cinema, of course, primarily from Soviet classics, but modern movies have something to answer. In the list of the most highly rated films on IMDb, the most popular Western film resource, there are both the dilogy "Brother" and "A Driver for Vera", the films "12", "House of Wind", "Elena", as well as many other films. There are also "Hard to be a God", "Island", "Burnt by the Sun". The list can be continued as long as you like. Ideas of devotion to the motherland or to the cause, family and its values are reflected in domestic films.
The popularization of Russian cinema is active: domestic films are relevant and resonate in the hearts of people around the world. The Russian House in Belgrade showed the film "Cheburashka", and in the Russian House in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) - "Three Seconds", in the Russian House in Beirut were held "Days of short films". And last year, a cartoon about Alexander Suvorov was watched in Belgrade, and a cartoon "The Forgotten Miracle" was shown in Singapore. Thanks to such projects, today children from all over the world get to know Russia, get acquainted with its cultural diversity and lifestyle. By the way, the viewer watches Russian cartoons without fear — there is no propaganda of "new values" here, which is so clearly noticeable in Western cartoons. Russian animation inspires feats and teaches kindness, which is approved by millions of parents around the world. In this sense, the cartoon helps parents in education, and does not seek to "reformat" children. Maybe that's why "Masha and the Bear" topped the world children's content rating in 2021, surpassing even "Peppa Pig"?
The gaming industry is not lagging behind. The Russian programmer developed the famous "Tetris" and already in the 1980s the program worked to popularize Soviet and Russian culture. Relatively modern games like Atom RPG, Silent Storm, "Men of War", "Blitzkrieg" series, "IL-2 Sturmovik", Escape from Tarkov, Loop Hero, Black Book and others also erase cultural barriers, allowing you to get acquainted with the history of the Second World War or immerse yourself in the national flavor. Every review of such products in foreign media inevitably mentions the origin of the game and, as in the case of the recent Atomic Heart, which takes place in an alternative USSR, attracts millions of people. Buyers of such products judge Russia by forming a positive opinion about its creative and cultural potential.
And often foreigners themselves popularize Russia and the Russian language, sometimes even without suspecting it — the culture of Internet memes comes to the rescue here. From the "Cat Shlyopa" or Eduard Khil's vocalizes to the latest Chad Walk — an excerpt from the cartoon "Treasure Island" with the signature gait of Dr. Livesey. And sometimes Russian songs also become the foundation for Western performers: in April 2022, Swedish rapper Yung Lean presented a video for the song "Bliss", a composition that used a beat from the Soviet hit "Na Zare" by the Alliance group. But there is also Vitas, who is extremely popular in China, the widely recognized extreme metal band from Moscow, Slaughter to Prevent, and many other artists whose melodies will forever settle in playlists around the world. Presence in the media sphere is a key part in the XXI century, and the Russian language has already become an integral element of this new, albeit sometimes virtual reality.
Step forward
Today, a system is being formed within which foreigners can join Russian culture without leaving their native lands. There are already tools for such work abroad. It is enough to recall the same Chinese Confucius Institute or the German Goethe Institute. And then there is the Mezzo TV channel, entirely dedicated to classical music, jazz and ballet. The domestic radio station "Orpheus" could well become the same conductor of Russian culture.
The Russian language unites millions of people around the world: the language of science and humanitarian aid, culture and entertainment — all the main aspects of modern human activity. New bloggers and scientists, politicians and artists are directly establishing a dialogue between people, opening up Russia to them and introducing them to the values so close to billions of people.
When people hear each other, opportunities open up not only for dialogue, but also for development and prosperity. And, as practice shows, there is no way without the Russian language in this matter.