The paper is devoted to the problem of designing a nationally oriented level-based testing system for Russian as a foreign language and as a non-native language using a cultural approach in teaching on the example of Kyrgyzstan. The authors review the stages of the development of the language proficiency level system in Russian as an official language (TROL) within the framework of the KYRGYZTEST program. They described the test tasks based on the texts and words with a national-cultural component in the context of the cultural paradigm. The authors substantiated an important thesis about the need for meaningful filling of textual material with fragments of a cultural nature that describe the country of the student and can be related to their life experience, which makes the language test more interesting and emotionally significant. The design of test tasks involves linguodidactic selection of material, analysis of the similarities and differences of systemic phenomena in contacting languages and cultures, and mandatory consideration of the specifics of their functioning in expressing meaning.