Comment by throw-the-towel
2 months ago
Russians don't actually speak foreign much, a Russian person who speaks four languages is considered very smart / having too much free time for their own good / both. Definitely not West Europe levels of language prowess.
Technically at least one foreign language is required as part of basic school education in Russia. For most people my age and younger it's English. Now the problem is, the quality and methods of this leave a lot to be desired. I myself learned English mostly by spending too much time on the internet and playing games that weren't translated. Other people are much more lazy.
Two years of a foreign language were required in my K-12 schooling; I took Spanish; estudio dos años, pero requerdo poco o nada. mi español es muy mal :-(