The article deals with problems of the present day situation and prospects of Russian language development in conditions of increasing globalization, intensification of ethnic linguistic pluralism on one hand and exacerbation of national linguistic self-identification problems on the other hand. Status of Russian language and title languages of former Soviet republics and autonomies has changed radically and brought about the change in mutual relationships between the general Federal language and national languages. Struggle for promotion of national languages' status has become a tool of political manipulation used not just by national elites but by certain social strata too. Majority of CIS countries pursued the purposeful policy of ethnic linguistic distance from Russia and this policy contributed to disintegration of once unified linguistic political space and to radicalization of disintegration processes. Issues of language law development are among the most acute issues for multinational states.