People should be able to understand what is going on there, so I say go for it.

This would also open the door to other Slavic languages, many not even written in cyrillic.

The only use I could see for learning the language is if you use a lot of Russian torrent sites, and are too lazy to switch the language back to English when installing games from them.

I believe learning languages is generally a net good. But to answer your question, it would help to know: why do you want to learn Russian?

If you just find the idea of the language interesting, then yes! Start leaning it. If you have motivation, that will help.

Is there specific media you’re looking to consume in its original language, Russian? Then yes, absolutely :).

Are you just trying to learn “any Slavic language”, to extend the language families you have knowledge of? You already have some Polish, so what is it about Russian that attracts you? Is there another language that might have more resonance or utility for you?

As far as I am aware, mostly sue to Soviet influence, Russian is probably the most-widely-understood Slavic language, so this does offer some advantages. I have spoken with Ukranians and Georgians who now don’t like speaking Russian, for obvious reasons, though I don’t know how widespread this feeling really is. And at least here in Germany, I feel like Croatian, Czech, or Slovakian would be a more useful day-to-day or holiday language, but itball depends on your goals.

And, as a dentist once told me in regards to dental floss, but it applies here too: The best language to learn is the one that you will actually learn. If there’s a language you’ll actually stick with, that’s good.

I think you’re Russian to conclusions.

There’s never really any downsides to learning another language, provided you have the commitment and resources.

Learn Ukrainian first maybe, and then learn Russian? It may be easier to learn if you already know Ukrainian, too.

Of course, if you already know Ukrainian, why not learn Russian too?

IMO it depends on if you are interested in the language or culture, or if you plan to be in contact with Russia or Russians. For example, do you plan to translate Russian? Do you plan to read Russian-language literature?

Will that be offensive?

Bigots deserve to be offended.

Many people HATE Russia and the language.

Not your problem if people are prejudiced against Russians for the actions of the government that lords over them. If you want to learn the language, go for it.

I’ll chime in to add that Russian grammar is fairly complex! As long as you’re willing to spend the time on it, I don’t personally see any downsides. As others have pointed out, Russian can help with other Slavic languages, and can also be useful for other countries in that area.

I learned Russian when I was in school - after having family who left during the pograms. Learning the Russian language, or any language, should not be about politics. You don’t learn the language to embrace government policies, you do it in order to better understand the artists and the art they created. I don’t have my Russian keyboard, so you’ll forgive me - but there are works which work best when untranslated and understanding some context. “We” by Zamyatin, “Master & Margarita” by Bulgakov, a bunch of Tolstoy’s works, “Diary of a Madman” by Gogol, “Roadside Picnic” by the Strugatsky brothers, and movies like Solaris and Stalker. Not to mention the poetry.

Learn the language for the art. If it does make you political at all, it’ll make you even more opposed to the Chekist in charge.

Learning Russian could be useful in certain geographical areas near Russia, in the military, or translator position. It’s also possible that when hostilities end (or escalate) more position openings could occur. But to learn for personal life the use will be limited.

I don’t personally see how learning a language could be offensive, it’s knowledge not a lifestyle or way of supporting current hostilities. The hate people have is mainly towards the Russian government and policies, anyone who extends that to a language likely also have a lot of other issues they lump together and are being small minded.

The only person who can determine the need to learn the language is yourself. I doubt the world will be overrun by Russian speaking soldiers any time soon, Mandarin is more likely in that kind of a situation.

Of course not. If we blamed the language for the bad actions of the people who spoke it during, there would be virtually no language left in a pristine enough condition to learn.

That being said, tempers can boil over. So maybe don’t shout your Duolingo answers at a full Starbucks. I mean, that’s good advice regardless of the language but you know what I mean.

I’m going OG and learning Latin.

I’m of the general opinion that learning new things is never a bad idea, but let’s break down your sub question regarding usefulness.

At the very least a basic understanding is certainly useful. I make a point to at least learn alphabets and their sounds so I have a fighting chance putting what I hear into a translation engine. Similarly, Russian isn’t the only language that uses Cyrillic.

Paet that though? In my lifetime it was first unthinkable that I could ever visit Russia, then became possible and even a tourist destination (see: Trans-Siberian rail), and back to basically unthinkable to me.

It’ll most likely swing again.

Learn Mandarin, Spanish, and maybe Hindi, if you’re planning for the future.

Yup!