Russia is an old country with a complex history and renewed ambitions and importance. Its language is in the East Slavic branch of Indo-European; it’s related to English but distantly. It’s a highly inflected language with a rich case system and a complicated verb system, and it’s not as easy for English speakers as some European languages are. But its complexity will repay you with a deep, rich beauty and literature.

We will use "The New Penguin Russian Course" by Nicholas J. Brown (ISBN 978-0-140-12041-7); it’s available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books A Million, and the local Books-A-Million can order it.

I recommend students also buy a verb book (e.g. "501 Russian Verbs" or “The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs”) and “English Grammar for Students of Russian” by Edwina J. Cruise, and perhaps a grammar reference (e.g. "Russian Grammar" by I.S. Milovanova or "Essential Russian Grammar" by Brian Kemple), but these are not necessary.Students may also want a Russian English dictionary; I recommend the Oxford dictionary.who have access to the Internet will be directed to resource sites.

There will be homework for perhaps two hours every week. We will move as fast as the class wants; I want everyone to be ready when we move on to the next chapter!