Russian as an A language, what next?

Hi and welcome!

I will answer your questions assuming that you have the sufficient level in the languages mentionned (English, Finnish and French) and that they can indeed be considered as B and C languages, but i'm pretty sure that by looking through previous posts, you will be able to find out whether this is the case or not.

1. Your combination is good. Learning new languages is always a good thing but I think you should first focus on the languages you already have. Acquiring the skills to become an interpreter will take time and hard work and you probably won't have time to add new languages, especially if they are as challenging as chinese or portuguese.

2. Once again I don't know your true level of English but as a general rule you can't simply choose your A language. Even real hard work won't make an A language out of a B language. Simply because you would have to acquire the same level as somebody who has more than 20 years of practice in that language. Moreover very few people have two A languages. I think the only school where you can study with a Russian A is in Paris but I might be wrong.

3. I think the UN is currently looking for russian interpreters but someone from the russian booth will be able to better answer that question. However demands in languages change rapidly and you can never really predict which languages will be needed. Studying to become an interpreter solely in the aim of working for the EU or the UN is a dangerous bet because only very few interpreters end up working there (for many reasons also explained in previous posts).

What language combinations would be the most beneficial for me considering that my A-language is Russian?

RU A, EN B, FR C, both for the UN and the private market. I'm mostly guessing here, but I'd assume that Finnish would probably give you a unique selling proposition, but you wouldn't have that much demand.

I know that not all universities provide the "interpreting into Russian" option, therefore, is it possible for me to take, for example, A(EN)+B(FI) or B(FR)+C(ES) language combination and later on get Russian accredited?

As Camille has said, you can't change your A language.

Interpreting schools teaching EN into RU can be found in the AIIC school directory: http://aiic.net/directories/schools/byLanguagePairs/from/1/into/136

The availability of the language pair is subject to variations, yet both schools in Paris and the one in Geneva are likely to offer it.

What are the chances for a Russian speaker to get a job in such organizations as EU or UN? Is this language in demand there or is it better to aim at the private markets?

Provided your overall level (languages, general knowledge & interpreting techniques) are on par, you could both pass EU and UN freelance accreditation tests. Yet, the EU won't give you enough work to make a living. You'd be more likely to be in demand by the UN. If you have an English retour (B language), you can work on the private market as well.

Hello!

All the answers above are very good, but leave out one major question: are you aiming at being a freelancer or a staffer? If the latter, the EU is pretty much out, as I don't think that they have staff positions with Russian A.

As a follow-up to this answer, if you want to work as a staffer for the UN, then find out which schools have the most students offered staff tests and hired by the UN. If it is a Paris school then go there, a UK school then go there, or the school in St Petersburg then go there.

If you are aiming on being a freelancer, then follow the advice given in the other answers to this question, as they cover pretty much everyrhing.