Nyet to Russian, Moscow. Yes to English, West.

All across the former Soviet Union, thousands of students are making the same choice—turning away from the Russian language to embrace English, as well as the education standards of Western Europe and America.

The implications extend far beyond the classroom. The language and culture in which people educate their young say a lot about the world they expect their kids to grow up in. For many members of the elite in Ukraine, Georgia and the Baltic republics—and to a lesser extent Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—the cultural center of gravity is no longer Moscow.

From the Newsweek article "Softer Russian Power: Moscow Once Extended Its Reach Through Schools and Language, But No more," via NCPA.

Related 2002 Newsweek article "Saying Nyet To Russian: Beyond the Motherland, The Language is on the Wane."