Introduction. One of the urgent problems of modern education is building a professional competence model of a specialist in order to increase the effectiveness of training and the formation of professional competencies necessary for a successful entry into the profession. From this point of view, the description of a professional portrait of Teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language will contribute to the most effective design of educational programs in this area of training.Materials and Methods. In the course of the work, theoretical and empirical research methods were used: analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison, juxtaposition, scientific theorization.Results.In the preparation of Teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language, two models were initially laid down: when the teacher is a native speaker and when he himself learns Russian as a foreign language and subsequently broadcasts the acquired knowledge to foreign students. The main difference between these portraits of teachers is the presence of a foreign language communicative competence in the training of foreign language teachers, as well as the formation and improvement of a foreign language reading competence. At the same time, the common, uniting both models, are the psychological, pedagogical, methodological, intercultural and acmeological competences, which constitute the portrait of Teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language. The designated competencies made it possible to formulate professional competencies in educational programs in the direction of training «Pedagogical education» at the bachelor's and master's degrees at the Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University named after Kozma Minin (44.03.01 «Russian as a foreign language» and 44.04.01 «Teaching Russian as a foreign language») and the corresponding sets of regulatory documents. Discussion and Conclusions. Teacher of Russian as a foreign language being a translator of Russian culture, it should be a competent, erudite, tolerant, ready for intercultural communication, striving for constant professional improvement, having both general pedagogical and specialized competencies.