A survey of the status of language usage in the Soviet Union begins with an overview of patterns of usage of Russian, Ukranian, Uzbek, Belorussian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Armenian, Georgian, Lithuanian, Moldavian (Romanian), Tajik, Turkmen, Kirghiz, Latvian, and Estonian. The stability of these languages is discussed in the context of centralized efforts to make all non-Russian U.S.S.R. citizens bilingual in Russian, with the use of Russian encouraged in all aspects of public life. A matrix follows that rates all of these languages on: (1) their usage rating using State Department classifications; (2) increase and decrease trends by the year 2000; (3) chief of state use in addressing the populace; (4) use in armed forces, government, court, and diplomatic communications, written and oral; (5) use as a language of instruction or required language in higher education, on the secondary and elementary levels, and in adult education; (6) use in the popular press, radio and television broadcasting, and film; (7) business and professional use, written and oral; (8) use in intellectual circles; (9) the alphabet situation; (10) their status in literature; (11) use in public signs and notices; and the (12) availability of instructional materials and dictionaries for use by English speakers. Explanatory notes give the number and population percentages using the languages, the type of alphabets used, and specific instructional material titles. A selected bibliography is also included. (MSE)