Literature on the Intercultural Teaching of Russian as a Foreign Language (2007–2022): Some Critical Notes

This mini review summarizes and evaluates the results from research on the intercultural teaching of Russian as a foreign language (RFL) during the period 2007–2022. We focused on 10 studies (books, articles, and book chapters) that dealt with concepts and issues relevant to the area of intercultural education (IE) (e.g., the definition of intercultural communication, the development of intercultural communicative competence). In addition to highlighting common patterns in the treatment of IE in the RFL field, we identified the strengths of the literature on IE in the RFL field (the holistic intertwining of IE and RFL and an emphasis on both IE theories and practices) and weaknesses (the isolation of RFL scholars from international debates on IE and their essentialized view of Russian culture). The mini review concludes with suggestions of possible new avenues for the development of IE theories and practices in the RFL sphere.