The Union of Russian-Speaking States (URSS) (Russian: Союз Русскоязычных Государств [СРЯГ], Soyuz Russkoyazychnykh Gosudarstv [SRYaG]), colloquially known as the Russkoslovie (Русскословие, Russkosloviye), is an international organization which consists of nations which have large numbers of Russophones (Russian-speakers). Among the goals of the organization are encourage the wider use of the Russian language and to protect the rights of Russian-speakers. The organization was formally established in 1997 and initially consisted of Alaska and the republics of the former Soviet Union. The Russkoslovie is structured similarly to those of la Francophonie and the CPLP.