Russia has a rich experience of cooperation with diff erent countries in the fi eld of culture, science, and education. The strategic goal of foreign policy is to popularize the Russian language. The most urgent problems of studying the Russian language abroad (in China, Turkey, Cyprus, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Belgium, Holland) have been analyzed: the complexity of the educational process, the necessity of logical thinking in the learning process, the essential features of the phonetic system and grammar. The modern approaches of teaching Russian language have been analyzed, including the use of tongue twisters, radio broadcasts, and curatorship of foreign students by native Russian speakers. New educational technologies (including theory of multiple intelligence) have the potential to reduce the negative impact of the identifi ed problematic aspects.