Russian Language in the Multiethnic Space of Post-Soviet Azerbaijan and the Linguistic Characteristics of Russian Community (Based on the Materials of the 2019 Population Census)

Russian language status features in the multiethnic space of post-Soviet Azerbaijan are considered in the article, the linguistic characteristics of the Russian community of Azerbaijan in the first quarter of the XXI century are revealed. Statistical analysis methods are used as research tools, in particular, grouping, systematization and processing of statistical data, as well as comparative analysis of statistical data. The source base of the research was a census of the population of Azerbaijan 1999, 2009 and 2019, as well as socio-demographic statistics are posted on the website of the State statistics Committee of Azerbaijan. It is concluded that the key factors influencing the presence in the country of a fairly high percentage of the population who are fluent in Russian include the policy pursued in the last decade by the authorities of the country (over the past 15 years, more than 50 new secondary educational institutions have opened in the country with the study of Russian as a compulsory foreign language) as well as the special status of the Russian language in the education system of Azerbaijan (Russian is the only language of instruction in 15 schools in Azerbaijan, and 7.6% of schools have Russian educational sectors, where the learning process is carried out only in Russian).