It’s a fair question to be asking, especially in light of the recent invasion of Ukraine. When people find out I’m learning Russian (despite not having any familial ties to the language nor the country), they are surprised and at times unsettled. I can’t blame those who conflate the government with “Russia” itself—it’s easy to do and sometimes this conflation makes sense (not only with regards to Russia, but in general. An American can easily say “I dislike America”, and be accused of malicious treason, when they truly mean “I dislike American foreign policy”, which is a fair—and some may say sane—indictment).

But the metonymy is misleading. Just because I’m learning Russian doesn’t then mean that I support the actions of the Russian government and military. Similarly, just because I speak English doesn’t then mean that I am a bloodthirsty endorser of American colonialism or military intervention in the Gulf, for example.

It’s simply a bad faith argument that also ignores the fact that Russian is spoken in countries that aren’t Russia, such as those of the CIS and many enclaves in Western Europe. Israel, as well, is home to a large number of Russian speakers, particularly Russian Jews that fled the USSR in the face of widespread anti-semitism.

A big factor in choosing to learn a language might be the number of speakers it has. And guess what, a language that has many speakers doesn’t happen to be that way because of serendipity or any inherent quality of the language itself. It’s due to many years of violent colonialism, invasions, and cultural oppression. In this regard, Russia unfortunately has just as much blood on its hands as does France, England, or America. Yet nobody reacts with much consternation when you say that you’re learning French, Japanese, or Arabic (see what I’m getting at here?).

Russia has existed before the (genuinely evil) corruption, power-hungry oligarchs, and violent political suppression that now infect its state. And it will exist after all these things. It’s a home to hundreds of millions of people, and home is nothing short of sacred.

The fact that many Russians continue to love their country and have complete faith in it, while the current government is making an absolute disgrace out of itself, should never be shamed. Contrarily, it deserves the utmost admiration.

I know I didn’t directly answer the question posed at the start, but I hope I’ve made my point of view clear.