Russian For Dummies

by Andrew D. Kaufman, Serafima Gettys

Privyet! Explore the Russian language with this fantastic beginner's guide With over 260 million speakers around the world, Russian remains one of the most popular and marketable languages you can learn. And for those who have no idea where to begin, Russian For Dummies is the perfect first step! In this easy-to-understand resource for Russian language beginners, you'll discover basic grammar and common expressions you might use while shopping, dining out, traveling, or conducting business. You'll also find simplified and generalized conjugation rules and a streamlined approach to grammar based on how you actually understand the language, rather than technical rules and details. This book Perfect for any newcomer to the Russian language trying to pick up their first few phrases, Russian For Dummies is a fantastic first foray into conversational Russian that will have you ordering meals, going shopping, and navigating other day-to-day situations with ease. Удачи! (That means good luck!)

400 pages, Paperback

Published June 28, 2022

About the author

An innovative, award-winning teacher of Russian language, literature, and culture, Dr. Andrew D. Kaufman holds a Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures from Stanford University and has spent the last twenty years bringing alive the Russian classics to Americans young and old. Dr. Kaufman, whose titles include Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times (Simon & Schuster, May 2014), Understanding Tolstoy and Russian for Dummies (coauthor), is a featured Tolstoy expert on Oprah.com, and he is frequently invited to discuss Russian literature and culture on national and international television and radio programs.

An internationally recognized Tolstoy scholar, Dr. Kaufman has lectured at the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and at the Leo Tolstoy Museum and Estate at Yasnaya Polyana.

Dr. Kaufman also trained and worked as a professional actor for close to a decade. He helps people appreciate the rich tradition of Russian literature, and draws on his acting skills to create captivating and enlightening talks, as well as inspirational readings from the Russian classics.

Currently he is a Lecturer and Faculty Fellow at the University of Virginia, where he founded and teaches a community-based literature course, “Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature, and Leadership,” in which students lead discussions about Russian literature with incarcerated youth at juvenile correctional centers in Virginia.