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Learn MoreStart Speaking Russian
Rating: 4.8 out of 54.8(11 ratings)
69 students
Start Speaking Russian
Russian language video course for beginners
Created byTony Chamberlain, Tatiana Ivanovna Semke
Last updated 10/2025
English
What you'll learn
- Basic Conversational Skills: Students will learn essential phrases and simple sentences for everyday communication, such as greetings, introductions,
- Russian Alphabet and Pronunciation: Students will become familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet and correct pronunciatio
- Fundamental Grammar and Vocabulary: Learners will grasp basic grammar concepts like noun genders, cases, verb conjugation
- Confidence in Speaking and Listening: Students will practice listening comprehension and speaking exercises to gain confidence
Explore related topics
Course content
2 sections • 110 lectures • 21h 43m total length
- The Alphabet20:30
Master the 33-letter Russian alphabet, its letter names, sounds, and handwriting. Practice introductions, formal and informal greetings, and using eta to say this is or these are.
- Greetings13:43
Explore Russian greetings and polite responses, including formal and informal how are you exchanges, practice phrases like spasiba, and study vowels and syllables to build solid pronunciation.
- Growing your vocabulary18:08
Grow your Russian vocabulary by learning to ask useful questions in context, read hard and soft consonants, and practice vowels like ya and ye through market style dialogues.
- Basic conversation phrases13:55
Master polite Russian by using moszna to ask for permission and responding with da and pozhaluysta, while learning stress rules and how vowels change in unstressed positions.
- Asking 'what is it?'14:50
Learn greetings for morning, afternoon, and evening and how to ask what is it, while practicing the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants and their end-of-word pronunciation.
- Revision and practice0:27
- 5 safe and 1 dangerous greetings0:07
- Family members0:51
- Meeting people9:51
Master personal pronouns in russian and learn how to ask and answer about occupations using formal and informal forms, with common professions like doctor, journalist, designer, and programmer.
- Talking about possession17:53
Explore Russian noun genders: masculine, feminine, neuter, and how animate vs inanimate nouns determine gender. Learn possessive and interrogative pronoun agreement with gender.
- Plural nouns18:05
Learn how to form plural forms of Russian nouns and possessive and interrogative pronouns, with rules for hard and soft consonants, gender agreements, and practical examples.
- Numbers 1-1014:13
Learn to count from 0 to 10, ask for and give a phone number, and present yourself with full name and patronymic in Russian, using dialogues and self-presentation practice.
- Resume and practice0:38
- Practice0:16
- Everyday routine22:09
Master the present tense in Russian by learning verb conjugation and two verb groups, with common infinitives for daily routines like have breakfast, work, rest, read, and watch.
- Discussing language skills19:14
Learn the four core language skills: understand, speak, write, and read, how Russian has flexible word order, and how to express near-future plans with want plus an infinitive.
- Street dialogues14:45
Learn street dialogues in Russian to ask and answer 'where's the pharmacy' and build complex sentences, using polite questions and da/nyet, with Moscow landmarks and basic counting 11–20.
- Objects of mental activity15:49
Explore the six Russian cases, focusing on how noun endings change with function, especially in the prepositional case and its use with thinking and speaking.
- Talking about locations20:24
Master the Russian six cases, focusing on the prepositional locative case and its endings to express location, with in, on, at, and learn how noun gender affects endings.
- Practice1:16
- Practice0:38
- Locations and activities22:16
Learn to express location in Russian using the locative case, with singular and plural forms, place names, and verbs, plus when to pair places with activities.
- Discussing skills and talents14:47
Learn to discuss skills and abilities in Russian, including using the prepositional case with musical instruments and expressing what you can or cannot do.
- Seasons and months10:07
- Talking about preferences5:48
Practice reading and listening while talking about preferences in Russian, translate phrases, and discuss daily routines and coffee dialogue to build conversational skills.
- Talking about hobbies17:10
Learn to talk about hobbies in Russian by using want to and have to with verbs for travel and take photos. Practice common activities like football, cooking, and watching series.
- Reading practice5:48
Engage in reading practice with a long text about a young man’s daily routine. Translate phrases and read aloud to reinforce coffee-related vocabulary and comprehension, followed by audio feedback.
- Resume1:41
- Days of the week18:14
Learn to name the days of the week, count to 100, and answer 'what day is today' using the accusative with days; master because and therefore and gender-based noun changes.
- Objects of seeing and viewing24:06
Learn the difference between to look and to see in Russian, and how animate and inanimate nouns and pronouns change in the accusative case, including feminine endings and common exceptions.
- Description words15:03
Explore how Russian adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, and case, showing hard and soft endings and how to spot them in phrases like goluboy shapka and neba glaza.
- 3 genders of description words20:07
Master Russian adjective endings across masculine, feminine, neuter and plural, guided by phonetic harmony; then learn colors and clothing terms, and how to express likes, truth, and agreement.
- Superlative forms of adjectives13:17
Learn to discuss favorites using superlative adjectives in Russian, forming masculine, feminine, and neuter forms, and asking with kakoi and da/nyet responses.
- Reading practice0:27
- Resume1:11
- Describing personality17:42
Learn to describe people’s character and personality in Russian using adjectives, colors, and traits like active, extrovert, introvert, optimistic, romantic, and creative.
- Adjectives and adverbs19:12
Explore demonstrative pronouns across masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural forms. Distinguish adjectives from adverbs, noting how endings vary by gender and number while adverbs describe actions.
- Verbs of motion15:56
Learn to use the two Russian verbs for go, express direction with the accusative, and indicate transport with prepositions.
- Direction VS location14:38
Learn how to use motion verbs with three direction types and distinguish going somewhere from being somewhere using the correct prepositions and cases.
- Invitations11:31
Explore proposing to go somewhere in Russian using informal and formal forms, practice 'let's go' to kino or a club, and master the present tense for plans, preplans, and events.
- Practice0:50
- Resume1:04
- Verbs of motion1:35
- Verbs of motion and time markers21:05
learn russian verbs of motion, using one-direction verbs for current or near-future trips and multi-directional verbs for frequent movement, with accusative destinations and frequency time markers.
- Talking about past15:20
Learn to form the past tense in Russian by removing the infinitive ending and adding masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural endings, with dialogue examples about Pushkin and films.
- Talking about visiting places23:45
Learn to talk about visiting places in Russian using the past tense of to be and ordinal numerals, with examples from museums, cities, and landmarks.
- Verbs of motions in the past tense13:44
Learn how verbs of motion express past tense and direction in Russian, including complete actions marked by going somewhere and back, with locative versus accusative case usage.
- Reading practice10:52
Practice reading Russian while identifying adjectives and adverbs, and learn how adjective endings change with nouns and how adverbs describe actions, using place names and travel contexts.
- Resume1:07
- Discussing origin11:45
Explore expressing origin in Russian with the genitive and verbs of motion, adjust country and city names, and use prefixes to show arriving by vehicle or on foot.
- Location, direction, origin19:43
Explore Russian verbs of motion, distinguishing destinations and origins with accusative, genitive, and locative cases, and using context-specific prepositions to express movement and location.
- Talking about possession11:22
Learn to talk about possession in the present tense and the presence or absence of items. Practice genitive forms for masculine and feminine nouns in possession phrases.
- Absence of things14:22
Learn to express possession in the present tense by changing pronouns to genitive forms and using possessive constructions with a preposition.
- Possessive pronouns14:47
Learn how the possessive pronoun whose in russian changes form by gender and number, with examples using dictionary, book, letter, and car, and how genitive forms show the possessor.
- Practice0:35
- Resume1:19
- Time18:43
Learn to tell time in Russian, with correct numeral endings for 2–4 vs 5+, minutes, and 24-hour usage; include days and clock phrases.
- Talking about possession1:11
- Reading practice15:48
Practice reading aloud with me, repeating the most important questions and answers to build practical Russian fluency through reading practice.
- Building sentences1:39
- Asking about price.18:27
Learn to ask for prices in Russian using cardinal numbers and gender agreement, including one and two forms, genitive after two to four, and practical price phrases with rubles.
- Ordinal numbers10:31
Discover how to use ordinal numbers in dates, with endings that change by gender and nominative and genitive cases, and practice saying today’s date and month names in Russian.
- Processes and finished actions15:30
Learn to express Russian process and finished actions by using present, past, and future tenses with imperfective and perfective aspects. Use context to choose the right aspect for actions.
- Imperfective VS Perfective aspects of actions16:12
Explore how Russian imperfective and perfective verb pairs form, using prefixes like pro, na, and s, suffix changes, and three root-based groups, with practice phrases.
- The use of perfective aspect of actions18:19
Explore the perfective and imperfective aspects in Russian, focusing on past and present usage, learn new verbs and forms, and practice distinguishing regular versus one-time actions with practical examples.
- Mastering verbal aspects1:35
- Practice10:01
Practice session reinforces the week's key Russian phrases, questions, and answers through read-aloud drills, while contrasting imperfective and perfective aspect in context.
- Everyday routine19:07
Describe your daily routine in Russian using imperfective and perfective aspects, plus present and past tenses. Learn to distinguish regular actions from one-time events with practical examples.
- Talking about desires13:09
Learn to express desires in Russian using imperfective and perfective. Apply imperfective for regular actions or states, perfective for one-time actions.
- Talking about weather19:46
Learn to talk about the weather in Russian, covering temperature in Celsius with genitive plural 5–20 and after zero, plus rain and snow.
- Talking about future10:59
Learn the imperfective future in Russian, contrast with the perfective, and form future tense with the verb to be plus infinitive to express ongoing processes, recurrent actions, and intentions.
- Imperfective and Perfective aspects of action in future15:18
Master future tense choice in Russian by using imperfective for ongoing processes and general facts, and perfective to express intent to complete actions and emphasize results.
- Understanding the aspects0:33
- Practice21:39
Practice Russian by reviewing the imperfective and perfective aspect across past, present, and future tenses, reinforcing processes, recurring actions, and completed actions through dialogues and examples.
- Revision of the Perfective aspect in the Future11:58
Learn to express future actions in Russian with the perfective aspect to show completion and intention, contrasted with the imperfective in the future tense, through guided practice and examples.
- Revision of the Accusative case12:02
Practice talking about what you want to cook, eat, and drink while applying the perfective aspect and the accusative and genitive cases in Russian, with shopping and meal scenarios.
- The Instrumental case15:04
Master the instrumental case in Russian and use the preposition 's' with, through practical examples like coffee with milk, tea with lemon, and vareniki with sour cream.
- The Instrumental case for togetherness10:30
Learn how to express doing things with another person in Russian using the instrumental case and the preposition with, with examples of going, meeting, dancing, and playing together.
- Personal pronouns in the Instrumental case14:05
Explore how to use Russian personal pronouns in the instrumental case, including forms with me, you, him, her, us, and them, through practical examples.
- Practice0:51
- Practice8:07
Practice session reinforces key Russian phrases and questions, with aloud reading and meaning-focused review, covering perfective and imperfective aspect and cases (accusative, genitive, instrumental).
- Talking about hobbies and occupations17:13
Learn to talk about hobbies and interests in Russian using the instrumental case, with verbs of training and learning, and express being interested in topics like art, music, and history.
- Verbs 'be', 'become'10:06
Learn how to talk about who you want to become in Russian using the instrumental case after the verb stat, and practice past and future forms for professions.
- How to talk about your family9:55
Learn to talk about your family in Russian through a dialogue, and practice expressing professions using the instrumental case after verbs.
- The use of the cases revision20:40
For the course Start Speaking Russian, this lecture revisits the Russian cases—the nominative, prepositional, accusative, genitive, and instrumental—covering usage rules, endings, possession, and verbs of motion with practical examples.
- Question words in the cases10:55
Explore how Russian question words change across nominative, accusative, genitive, instrumental, and prepositional cases with practical examples using who, what, about, and other inquiries.
- Reading practice12:49
Revise Russian cases by reading texts, applying nominative, accusative, genitive, instrumental, and prepositional forms through stories about Sakura's sister, a brat, chai, and more.
- Practice11:43
Practice making questions and answering them in Russian by reading texts about family life and using the prepositional, genitive, instrumental, and accusative cases.
- Dative case18:05
Master the Russian dative case, marking the recipient and verbs that take the dative, like give, help, and advise; learn common endings for masculine and feminine nouns.
- Personal pronouns in the Dative case16:17
Learn to use Russian personal pronouns in the dative case and practice reported speech, with examples and exercises on dative after verbs and the imperative mood.
- The use of different cases in a sentence13:55
Explore the accusative and dative cases, noting how the accusative marks direct objects and answers whom or what, while feminine endings vary and masculine inanimate remains unchanged.
- The imperative mode of actions11:14
Learn the Russian imperative to ask for things or give orders, with informal and formal forms, including the plural. Practice polite usage with 'give me, please' and 'tell me, please'.
- How to ask for direction8:03
Learn how to ask for directions in Russian using polite phrases, locate places like cafe, theater, museum, pharmacy, and use go straight, left, right, and stairs to navigate.
- Imperative forms of verbs9:26
Explore the imperative forms in Russian, focusing on formal and plural endings, and the informal form without t, while practicing verbs from earlier lessons and new ones through everyday scenarios.
- Revision of the case system0:48
- Talking about age10:54
Master how to talk about age in Russian by using the dative case with numbers, practice informal and formal questions, and learn age expressions from 5 to 20.
- How to say 'I like'18:12
Learn how to express 'I like' in Russian using the dative construction, with nouns and infinitives, including examples like marathons and travel.
- How to say 'I need'13:02
Learn to say what you need to do in Russian using the dative with infinitives, choosing imperfective or perfective. Practice with dialogues on everyday needs.
- Talking about obligations10:24
Learn how to express obligations in Russian using must, have to, should, need to, and other synonyms, with practical examples and usage notes.
- Wishes and congratulations13:10
Learn to congratulate in Russian with pozdrav, using accusative for who and instrumental for the occasion. Note dative and genitive for wishes, and glimpse New Year, Christmas celebrations, and Olivier.
- Reading practice11:51
Revise the dative case in Russian, practice key phrases, questions, and answers, and learn how to indicate the recipient, give or receive information, and talk about age.
- Reading practice7:05
Read about Russian new year traditions, including midnight celebrations with champagne, fireworks, and greetings from strangers, plus the old new year and January 7 Christmas.
- Verbs of motion12:54
Explore Russian verbs of motion, using accusative for directions to places and dative for directions to people, with imperfective and perfective forms, past tense, and example dialogues.
- How to advise to visit a specialist7:33
Learn to use the dative case to advise someone to visit a doctor or specialist, with practice across professions and real-life scenarios.
- Review9:46
Practice Russian reading and comprehension using ad-based exercises, pausing to answer questions, check your responses, and reinforce material from the course.
- Review6:55
Practice reading and listening as you answer questions about a guided trip to Kolomna, including the Kolomensky Kremlin, Kolomenskoye, Moskva, and excursion logistics like tickets and times.
- Review7:50
Learn to write a letter about yourself for a summer Russian study program, detailing background, motivation, an application form, chosen city and university, and places you wish to visit.
- Vocabulary memorizing tips1:39
- Review20:15
Master Russian phonetics by learning how stressed and unstressed vowels alter o and r sounds, and how vowels signal consonant hardness or softness through voicing rules and examples.
- 100 common words29:38
Learn the 100 most commonly used Russian words at the A1 level, covering health, food, travel, shopping, and daily life terms with practical phrases.
- Final Test
Requirements
- You will learn Russian from the Alphabet. No knowledge is needed.
Description
Start Speaking Russian is an online Russian language well-dosed training course consisting of 110 pre-recorded video lessons of 10-15 min each with summary and vocabulary lists in PDF.
After completing the whole training, you will reach the language level A1 (Beginner) and will be ready to communicate in a simple way if the other person talks slowly and clearly.
You will be able to:
read in Russian
speak clearly and confidently
understand up to 1000 words
ask all types of “survival” questions
share basic info about yourself and your family
understand and use very common everyday expressions and simple phrases for immediate needs
ask and answer questions about personal details, such as where you live and work, things you have and like
buy food and order meals in restaurants
count money and talk about prices
talk about the past
tell and ask about future plans
invite other people to do something
This training is for you…
If you speak a little or no Russian at all
If you want to speak Russian actively and without fear
If you like learning online
If you like to smartly allocate your learning time within a day by yourself
If you agree that regularity is the key to success
Who this course is for:
- English speakers whom wish to learn Russian