Russian Language Resources

Russian Language Resources

Below we have highlighted a number of free Russian language resources that we have found especially helpful. You can find these and additional resources for Russian and our other languages and regions in the Resource Library. If you are a language teacher, student, or resource creator with a resource you would like to see us feature on the website please email us at ceeres@uchicago.edu. 

Dictionaries

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Open Russian

An Open Source website that compiles definitions from a number of other free dictionaries on the internet. It currently has 121,611 translation entries available for Russian-English and English-Russian searches. 

 

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Multitran

A massive online crowdsourced dictionary with millions of entries. Especially useful for technical terms and abbreviations. Allows users to search in both Russian and English. 

 

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Linguee

Linguee is a unique translation tool combining an editorial dictionary and a search engine with which you can search billions of bilingual texts for words and expressions.

 

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ABBYY Lingvo Live

An online dictionary and translator that now supports tens of languages but was originally built for Russian. It displays definitions from a number of proprietary and specialty dictionaries as well as allows users to add new words to flashcard decks. 

Textbooks

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Между нами

Между нами is a complete first-year program with daily lesson plans, structured classroom activities, written homework and sample schedules.

 

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Sputnik Textbook — Julia Rochtchina

Sputnik Textbook (Part 1 and 2) is an introductory Russian course designed to develop basic reading, writing, listening and communication skills. Sputnik is designed both for classroom use at the university/college level as well as a helpful self-study guide for beginning learners of Russian. It is a companion to the Russian For Everyone website by the same author, which also contains a number of introductory lessons on grammar and pronunciation. 

 

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Russain Interactive Online Reference Grammar — Robert Beard

A reference grammar for a number of introductory grammar topics with online exercises. 

 

 

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Beginner's Russian With Interactive Online Workbook — UCLA

Although the textbook itself is not freely accessible online, the interactive online workbook that accompanies the textbook can be accessed free of charge and offers an innovative, easy, and thorough way to speak, and read Russian confidently. The website is full of videos, audio, and self-correcting exercises. The enriching material on the website reinforces the basics of the lessons in the book, helping you acquire Russian skills in a natural, engaging way.

Online Russian Courses and Resources

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Russian Language Learning on the Web

For more advanced learners this online multimedia system allows students to learn Russian grammar and vocabulary through works of classic Russian literature. Students can explore the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy and Blok, each presented in their historical context. The website offers annotated versions of the texts alongside spoken Russian recordings, video discussions, and interactive exercises.

 

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Olga’s BlogМоя Россия, and Russian MiniLessons — SRAS

These various Russian lessons focused on reading comprehension and vocabulary building are now all hosted by SRAS's Folkways blog.  

 

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Don't Forget Your Russian

A website dedicated to free resources for students to help them practice the various elements of language acquisition. 

 

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Resources for Russian Students — Folkways Blog

This extensive list of web resources to assist students learning the Russian language was developed by SRAS and is now hosted on Folkways. It has some of the resources listed here as well as many many more. 

 

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Russian Language Learning and Teaching — Indiana University Library Guide

This library guide contains a rich selection of online Russian resources for the full range of learners as well as useful reviews of print textbooks and dictionaries for all levels and purposes.   

 

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Global Language Online Support System — Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

A service of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, the Global Language Online Support System offers 650 free interactive Russian lessons at 4 different levels, with an emphasis on reading and listening comprehension. 

 

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Rockin Russian — The University of Texas at Austin

 

Rockin Russian is designed to give students exposure to the Russian language and culture through the medium of Russian music videos. Students are able to perfect their grammar while rocking out to music videos from Russia's pop stars. Based on Russian music videos from MTV Russia, Rockin' Russian is supplemented with exercise materials focusing on pronunciation, vocabulary development, grammar and cultural features. Parts of the videos are embedded into exercises in each category that students can revisit, strengthening their language skills.