"The Russian diaspora abroad is ranked the third or fourth largest in the world, comprising 30 million people, including 20 million living in the Commonwealth of Independent States and 10 in countries outside the post-Soviet states," said Alexander Chepurin, who heads the department on contacts with compatriots residing abroad.
Chepurin said compatriots are not necessarily ethnic Russians, but people linked to Russia by cultural, historical and spiritual ties, who are keen to maintain contact with their former homeland.
Ukraine is home to some 12 million Russians, of whom only eight million are ethnic Russians, the diplomat said, adding that all citizens of the former multi-ethnic Soviet Union who now live abroad are considered Russians.
There were several large waves of immigration from the Soviet Union, the most recent of which took place in the 1990s, before and after the union broke up, triggering major economic and social hardships. Millions of Russians also remained in other former Soviet republics after 1991.
Moscow has repeatedly highlighted human rights abuses that Russian-speakers encounter in these republics, particularly in the Baltic States. Also, with the country's acute demographic crisis and heavily reliance on foreign workers, Russian authorities have drawn up a program to repatriate Russians.
The Second World Congress of Russians Abroad, which will take place St. Petersburg in late October, will address ways to improve ties with Russia, preserve Russian-speaking traditions, support and protect legitimate rights and interests, and also ways Russia can support the voluntarily repatriation of its nationals.
