Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has a relatively short history in Russia. Especially communication possibilities for people who have low communication and cognitive skills have not been well known i Russia. Russian professionals and researchers are becoming more informed about AAC research and practice but the process of implementation is still moderate. One reason for the limited information about AAC in Russia is related to the fact that official ideology did not recognize alternative communication forms as a «normative» language. Another reason was the concern that use of AAC might have a negative effect on speech development. The implementation is geographically irregular and unsystematic but three international conferences in the European part of Russia have had a strong influence. The community of professionals using AAC has grown in the last years, as evidenced by the number of conference participants. There were more than 300 participants in each of the conferences. The discussions included issues of availability and acceptance of the alternative communicative means in society, their legalization in schools, procedure of assessment. New professional alliances have been established, and the possibility has been raised that Russian professionals may join in ISAAC international, not just as individual members, but as a Russian language AAC Chapter.