Major Languages:
* Russian: The official language, spoken by a majority of the population.
* Ukrainian: Spoken in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Belarusian: Spoken in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Uzbek: Spoken in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Kazakh: Spoken in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Azerbaijani: Spoken in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Georgian: Spoken in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Lithuanian: Spoken in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Latvian: Spoken in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Moldovan: Spoken in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (a dialect of Romanian).
* Armenian: Spoken in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Turkmen: Spoken in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Kyrgyz: Spoken in the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Tajik: Spoken in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.
* Estonian: Spoken in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Other Languages:
In addition to these major languages, there were numerous other languages spoken by smaller ethnic groups throughout the Soviet Union. These included:
* Languages of the Caucasus: Chechen, Ingush, Ossetian, Dagestani languages, etc.
* Languages of Siberia and the Far East: Yakut, Buryat, Chuvash, Bashkir, etc.
* Languages of Central Asia: Karakalpak, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, etc.
* Languages of the Baltic region: Lithuanian, Latvian, etc.
Language Policy:
The Soviet government promoted the use of Russian as the primary language of education, government, and the media. However, they also encouraged the preservation and development of other languages, especially those spoken by majority groups.
Post-Soviet Era:
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, many of the former republics have adopted their own official languages. However, Russian remains widely spoken in many of these countries due to its historical importance and its role as a lingua franca.