For non-native speakers of Russian living and working here, life can be tough — linguistically speaking. Russian grammar is remarkably complex and students of the language must wage an uphill battle against six cases, complicated verbs of motion and a seemingly endless sea of endings. However, the general consensus is that for top-level professionals working in Russia knowledge of the language is, largely, unnecessary.

According to most human-resources managers, there is little demand for Russian-language skills among foreign managers and professionals. Of course, employees in non-government organizations and other positions requiring frequent travel or contact with people outside of major cities are expected to have some level of proficiency.

“We’re more interested in people with special skills and management abilities,” said Yelena Strok, human-resources director for Caterpillar, an international heavy-equipment company. She said there was little need to know Russian, as the working language in the office was English. “The only time you hear Russian here is between Russian employees,” she said. “We make an effort to speak English whenever Westerners are around.”

This is the case at most multinational companies, according to Vyacheslav Volkov of IIPC Executive Search and Selection Agency. He said, “Company directors and managers still have very little incentive to speak Russian, as their duties can be performed in English.”

Volkov said that Russian is only important for workers who need to interact directly with Russian clients on a regular basis, particularly those who work in the food-processing-equipment industry, which involves frequent contact with Russia’s underdeveloped regions. However, he noted that knowing “a little Russian” was more dangerous than “knowing no Russian at all,” as limited comprehension skills can lead to misunderstandings in business deals.

The trend in the Russian job market since the ‘98 crisis has been to hire locals rather than foreign experts, according to most HR managers. At first, employers were simply looking to save cash. But now, Russians have acquired the skills necessary to make them competitive in the job market.

“Russians are less expensive, more likely to stay, more motivated and easier to deal with legally,” said Steve Roberts, a human-resources manager at a Western pharmaceutical company. He said that since the crisis his company has primarily hired Russians. He noted that foreigners occupy only a few, top-management positions, none of which require knowledge of Russian.

What makes foreigners attractive to companies is not their “linguistic abilities” but their “corporate culture,” according to Roberts.

He said that the greatest incentive to speak Russian was survival. “It makes life more comfortable and convenient when you speak the language,” he said.

Frasar Kelly, a global medical-services manager at International SOS, an international medical clinic and evacuation company, agreed that lack of Russian is “more of a social” than a professional problem.

Non-governmental organizations and other groups that coordinate civil-development programs tend to have higher language requirements.

Rebecca Bryan, director of the partnerships and training division of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), said that it is necessary for their Western employees to speak Russian. “I, for example, travel a lot and the language is essential for communicating with people in the regions and making presentations, as well as reading field reports,” she said.

Bryan said that employees who speak Russian are more comfortable living in underdeveloped regions and cheaper, since they do not require translators.

Yekaterina Chichikina, Head of The Department of Russian as a Foreign Language at Language Link, a foreign language school, says that 90% of students only want to learn survival Russian and not for professional use.

“It’s difficult for English-speakers,” she said. “Russian is like a puzzle where all the endings need to fit together, which is hard for non-native speakers to grasp,” she said, noting that many students become stuck and never move on.

“What is more important than language is understanding the culture,” according to Volkov of IIC Partners. “A person who plans to be here for only a year or two should read Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Only those who plan to be here long-term need to be fluent.”