Russian Language in Mongolia?

Hello,

Some sources I have read state that due to socialist ties to the USSR, the older generation of Mongolians (30+) sometimes have some Russian skills... one source said that something like more than 50% of older Mongolians have some Russian capabilities (however rudimentary).

Has anyone traveled in Mongolia, independently, and communicated in Russian? How often would you run into a Russian speaker? Was it enough that you could handle basic travel arrangements?

We're specifically looking at the Western areas of the country, Olgi, Khovd, etc

Thank you!!!!

I would expect some people in the Olgi area to speak Russian but I would expect English to be equally common amongst those in the travel industry.

Ruth

Out of the maybe 20 people I met outside of Ulaan Bataar, two could understand Russian. One was a 20-something medical student doing the nomad thing with his family en route to Kazakhstan for the fall. He learned at school. Another was a 30-something mechanic in Olgii.

In UB, some of the "service industry" folks understood Russian -- hotels.

I don't speak Russian but I travelled with someone who speaks it fluently.

Maybe a lot of them were pretending not to know because they enjoyed watching us gesticulate wildly, I don't know.