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Why learn Russian?
Russian is one of the
major world languages. It is the official language of Russia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Crimea, Abkhazia, South Ossetia,
Transnistria and Gagauzia - as well as being one of the six
official languages of the United Nations. With Russia's markets
open for trade now, more and more business globally is being
conducted in Russian.
If you are doing business
with Russians, it is, of course, a huge advantage to speak
their language, but there are also many other incentives to
learn it. Russians are fascinating people and the best way
to get to know them is to be able to converse with them in
their own tongue. It's great to be able to understand their
songs, get their jokes and, ultimately, to be able to read
the wonderful wealth of Russian
literature in the original.
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only is Russian a useful language to know, it is also
a beautiful language. I studied it for four years at
Manchester University (1986-90, an exciting time in
Russia's history) and very much enjoyed the challenge.
It is difficult at the beginning but it soon starts
to make sense and I loved both getting my mouth around
the new sounds and the feeling of writing sentences
in what looked to my friends like a secret code.
As part of my course,
I spent two months in Russia in the summer of 1989:
two weeks in Moscow, a month in Kalinin (now Tver),
a few days in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and two
weeks in Novosibirsk in Siberia. This was the most amazing
experience! The countryside and a lot of the architecture
are extremely beautiful but what struck me most was
how great the people are. I was impressed by the deep
knowledge of their own culture of everybody I spoke
to, as well as by how much they knew about Britain and
the West. And don't they know how to enjoy themselves?!
Apart from the freely flowing vodka, the singing and
the dancing, they laugh so much.
I'm happy to say
that the Russians I know in Manchester now are just
as much fun as the ones I met out there.
I would definitely
recommend learning Russian as the way to get into a
stimulating and perhaps surprising culture.
Georgie |
If you have never studied a language
before, Russian is a tough challenge to start with. This is
not to say you can't do it, of course, but you will need a
good teacher to explain how it all works.
However, if you have some
knowledge of other European languages, this will be a great
help with Russian. If you have studied German or Greek, the
Russian case system won't be difficult to master; if you have
studied French, you will recognise a lot of the vocabulary;
if you have studied Greek, this will also assist you with
the Russian alphabet. Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet,
developed in the ninth century by a monk called St Cyril.
It has 33 characters, many of which are the same as the Greek.
Recommended Reading
If you are interested
in learning Russian, have a look at the Russian
language books we recommend to accompany any course you
take or for maintaining/improving your Russian by yourself.
If you are interested
in Russian life and culture, have a look at our recommendations
for books about or set in
Russia. These books are in English, a range of fiction
and non-fiction that we have enjoyed and hope you will too.
If
you are planning a trip to Russia, don't go without your Lonely
Planet Guide
to Russia.

Some Quick Facts About Russia
Official name:
Russian Federation
The Russian Federation is the largest of the
21 republics that make up the Commonwealth of Independent
States.
Language:
Russian
Capital city:
Moscow
Area:
Russia is the largest country in the world, the same size
as the USA and Europe put together. It covers an eighth of
the earth's surface.
Russia measures 9,000 kilometers from east to
west and 5,000 from north to south, a total of 17.1 million
square kilometers.
Population:
142.7 million, three quarters of whom live in the one quarter
of Russia that lies in Europe; the other quarter living in
the huge area that is in Asia
Currency:
Ruble
Religion:
Russian Orthodox
Government:
President with extensive executive power
No vice president
Bicameral legislature consisting of the
State Duma (lower house) and the Federation Council (upper
house)
Internet domain:
.ru
Country calling code:
+7
If you are interested in learning
more about Russia, you might also like to look at the following
websites:
www.russia-ic.com
This is a comprehensive Information
Centre, run by Russians for English-speakers.
Pravda
(Truth), the famous Russian newspaper, online in English
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