IRAS focuses not only on Russia and neighboring states such as Ukraine and Belarus, but also on the peripheral regions, which have been referred to as "Altaic Regions".
Although the term Altai has not been rigorously defined and agreed upon among scholars in terms of its intension and extension, IRAS attempts to provide an academic definition for the term. In order to achieve such a goal, IRAS performs the following missions.
First, IRAS produces a significant amount of academic researches not only regarding Russian and Slavic languages and cultures, but also regarding Altaic people, culture, society and environment.
Second, IRAS produces useful material about Russian and Altaic regions, which is gathered, classified and digitalized as the form of database.
Third, IRAS will devote itself to educating people who will be future research personnels, by developing academic curriculum and institutionalizing education center.