To emphasize one more time that - and why - it is useful and important to to know where the emphasis added in Russian falls. And how that knowledge helps you, in both the spelling of the word крокодил (crocodile) and the pronunciation of names such as Tolstoy.

Buildings you know from sight but don’t know the official name of. If this were a competition, this one would win: the Pokrov or St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow, consecrated in 1561, better known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God on the Moat.

It looks like two letters but has an indescribable sound. The 29th letter of the Russian alphabet is quite unique and often causes problems with pronunciation. We are talking about the letter ы, a sound not found in many other languages (except perhaps Turkish). As such, it takes some effort to pronounce it correctly.

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.