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Russian is the official language, so wherever you go in Urals, you'll find someone who speaks it. English is becoming a requirement in the business world, and younger people especially will often know enough to communicate, but by no means is English universally understood and spoken. In upscale hotels almost the entire staff has a working knowledge of foreign languages including English.
It's hard to learn the language in a short time; concentrate on learning some key "courtesy" phrases, and the Cyrillic alphabet e.g. "ÑеÑÑоÑан" spells "restaurant" so you have a chance to recognize street names, labels and public signs.
On the south-west of Urals also Bashkir, Udmurt and Komi languages can be found.
