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Learning Russian with News
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Even with bad news there is good news: there is a lot to learn from it. Russian news articles are excellent teaching material, even for the more advanced student.
Learn Russian with Interviews
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Learn spoken Russian while also getting to know some Russians. From a rocker and a tennis player to Dmitri at the disco and the average Joe. Educational and entertaining: these are the most useful and fun interviews на русском.
Зелёная лампа (The Green Lamp) is a short story from 1930 by Aleksandr Grin (1880-1932), the surname being an abbreviation. Regarding Aleksandr Grinevski (Russian: Александр Гриневский), Wikipedia offers a real recommendation: “His stories mainly revolve around the sea, adventures, and love.”
How Difficult Is Russian?
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A frequently asked question that’s not so easy to answer. There are certainly degrees of difficulty (see
How long it takes to learn Russian; more at the bottom), but what’s a breeze for one person can be a challenge for another. Some can run a marathon with ease, while others struggle to bike even half the distance.
Learn Russian with Films (1)
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With Russian films, you can learn the language and practice listening while lounging on the couch with chips and soda (just to paint a scenario). Learning becomes enjoyable, and watching films becomes productive—almost the perfect combination.
Is Grammar Unnecessary?
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This might sound like music to many ears: learning Russian without grammar. Is this a case of ‘too good to be true,’ or is it really possible? The advice of
Benjamin Rich (Bald and Bankrupt on YouTube) is clear. Forget grammar. In fact, (from the description under the video embedded here), ‘throw away the grammar books and you’ll make massive progress very quickly.’
Learning Russian during the pandemic
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For Russian hobbyists and students, the pandemic (is? was? will be?) not all bad. In many cases, some extra time became available, and what better way to spend it than learning русский.
From earlier (2017) and corona-free, here’s an analysis by Anna Cher (Russian from the Heart) of a short excerpt from a TV interview. Putin talks about social media and the common practice of operating under a pseudonym.
Whatever your opinion may be of Russia’s president, his language is excellent material for learning. He expresses himself clearly, but with sentences that are not simple or impoverished — something not all presidents manage, even in their own language. While the language isn’t always easy and may not be ideal for beginners, there are subtitles and explanations available, and it’s about more than just language alone.
Anastasia Semina (
Russian with Anastasia) created a series called Short Stories in Russian with Subtitles. YouTube has a
Playlist.
In particular, parts 1 and 2 are recommended. Anastasia in the library with Tolstoy and a lamp. Russian text with English subtitles on screen (2017).
How Long It Takes to Learn Russian
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Anyone starting something wants to know when they’ll finish. How long does it take to understand, read, and speak Russian? How much time does it take to learn the language well? Как долго (how long), сколько (how much)?
Learn Russian with Song Lyrics (1)
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Song lyrics are compact, memorable, and accessible at all levels. They make studying fun and effective at the same time.
Why Learn Russian?
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There are many reasons to (want to, start, or continue) learning Russian. It’s the language of the world’s largest country, the biggest language in Europe, and it’s useful in many countries outside of Russia too. And perhaps the best reason to learn Russian: simply the most beautiful language of all.
