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Abstract: The article deals with the key issues of motivation to learn Russian as a foreign language by children from 3 to 13 years old. The urgency of the topic is connected with the growing number of children who lear Russian as a foreign language. The author argues that it is necessary to differentiate the approaches to learning a foreign language by bilingual and monolingual children, children with heritage Russian and children learning Russian from the very beginning. The article highlights the main factors affecting the wish and motivation of children to learn the language: absence of textbooks and didactic aids for children learning Russian as a foreign language, use of tables explaining the grammar rules, unpopularity of Russian in many countries. The author suggests using such motivating factors as correspondence with children from other countries also studying Russian as a foreign language; watching animated cartoons or TV programs in Russian (if possible, with Russian subtitles); games which presuppose certain knowledge of Russian; use of the so-called calendar-portfolio in which the child gives details about himself and about current events. It is also suggested to use the socio-cultural aspect providing an opportunity to carry out positive identification of a person with the language and culture of the language. The article also highlights the necessity to provide teaching guides for different levels of language acquisition and tempo of learning designed in accordance with the age group they are addressed to.