Russian from the first Cyrillic letter to contract negotiations
Russian lessons span A1 to C2 in reading, listening and writing. Learners distinguish Cyrillic letters from similar-looking Latin ones, recognize the hard and soft signs, and make polite requests when confirming or correcting an arrangement.
At A1, the course covers the alphabet itself: letters typed in alphabetical order, shapes that resemble Latin letters but stand for other sounds, and two signs with no vowel sound of their own. Other lessons cover station notices, form fields, café orders and birthday notes. At C1, a casual message about July data becomes a formal cover sentence to a public agency. A request for the current file by Friday uses a conditional particle, while a photo request to a close friend returns to familiar singular address.
A group in which nobody reads Cyrillic yet can begin with the letter lessons together. Learners who already read it will still find new ground in the lessons where verb forms change with the writer's gender and where a message must pick polite or familiar address.
Lessons
50
Questions
413
writing questions
159
reading questions
174
listening questions
80
Levels
A1–C2
Script
Cyrillic
What Russian asks of an English speaker
Letters that look Latin but read differently
The A1 alphabet lesson pairs capital and small letters and spends a full exercise on shapes an English reader will misread. В/в is v, Н/н is n, Р/р is r and Х/х is kh, even though each resembles a Latin letter. The same lesson introduces Ь/ь, the soft sign, and Ъ/ъ, the hard sign. Neither carries a vowel sound: the soft sign commonly marks a softened consonant, and the hard sign separates a consonant from a following vowel that begins with a y sound.
В/в
represents the consonant sound v
Н/н
represents the consonant sound n
Р/р
represents the consonant sound r
Х/х
represents the consonant sound written kh in transliteration
Ь/ь
soft sign
Ъ/ъ
hard sign
A polite you and a familiar you
Russian keeps a polite or plural you apart from a familiar one, and the A1 lessons show both from the outset. Как вас зовут? is the polite way to ask someone's name, while a classmate asks Как тебя зовут?; in both cases the reply opens with Меня зовут. An apology to a friend uses the informal Извини. In the B1 correspondence lesson, Не могли бы вы frames a polite request, and in the C1 register lesson the formal version of a message writes the pronoun with a capital, Вы, which the friendly rewrite drops.
Как вас зовут?
What is your name? (polite)
Как тебя зовут?
What is your name? (informal)
Меня зовут
My name is
Извини
Sorry (informal)
Не могли бы вы
Could you (polite request)
Вы
you (polite, capitalized)
Verb and adjective forms that show gender
A Russian writer's gender can show up in the verb. When ordering coffee or booking a room at A2, a man writes Хотел бы and a woman writes хотела бы, both meaning "I would like." The routine-writing lesson labels Приготовил, "cooked," as a masculine past form. Gender also reaches the words on signs: in Касса закрыта, "the ticket office is closed," закрыта takes a feminine form to agree with касса.
Хотел бы
I would like (male writer)
хотела бы
I would like (female writer)
Приготовил
cooked (masculine past)
Касса закрыта
The ticket office is closed
закрыта
closed (feminine)
касса
ticket office
Endings that change with a noun's role
Most Russian nouns change their endings to show what they are doing in a sentence, and learners write these forms from A1. A learner who lives in Санкт-Петербург answers Я живу в Санкт-Петербурге, with the city name taking a new ending for location. Age is stated as Мне двадцать пять лет, literally "to me twenty-five years." Thanks follow the frame Спасибо за, and the noun after it changes too, as in Спасибо за информацию.
Санкт-Петербург
Saint Petersburg
Я живу в Санкт-Петербурге
I live in Saint Petersburg
Мне двадцать пять лет
I am twenty-five
Спасибо за
Thank you for
Спасибо за информацию
Thank you for the information
Try two questions from the course
Both are taken unchanged from the Russian lessons, with the explanation learners see after answering.
A1 · exchange basic information in simple written interactions
What information answers «Сколько вам лет?»?
B1 · manage routine written correspondence
Read «Не могли бы вы прислать последнюю версию документа?» What is requested?
What each level covers
A1 Read and type every Cyrillic letter, recognize entrance, exit and caution signs, fill in a form with given name, surname and date of birth, and write short greetings and thanks.
10 skills at A1
recognize russian cyrillic letters, common letter combinations, and numerals
produce russian cyrillic letters and simple words
recognize familiar words and basic phrases in short written texts
understand basic spoken phrases when delivered slowly and clearly
complete simple forms with personal information
write very short simple personal messages
understand simple written instructions supported by context
recognize basic information in signs, notices, and schedules
follow very simple spoken announcements
exchange basic information in simple written interactions
A2 Read text messages and service notices, order and book in writing with a polite conditional that differs for male and female writers, describe a weekday routine, and pull dates and prices from short factual texts.
8 skills at A2
understand short simple personal messages
follow basic spoken information about everyday matters
read simple public information and service texts
write short everyday messages for practical purposes
describe routine matters in simple connected writing
handle simple written transactions
understand simple directions and instructions
extract key details from short factual texts
B1 Reply to a Russian invitation with a confirmation and a polite request for a video link, or distinguish the ordered black suitcase from the red one delivered before requesting a return label.
8 skills at B1
understand the main points of clear texts on familiar matters
understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters
write connected texts on familiar topics
express opinions, plans, and experiences in writing
manage routine written correspondence
understand straightforward narratives and descriptions
follow straightforward presentations and media on familiar topics
summarize factual information from straightforward texts
B2 Read a Russian discussion that combines online booking with on-site help for older visitors, and acknowledge a library’s cost concerns before proposing shorter Sunday hours to preserve evening access for working readers.
8 skills at B2
read articles and reports that present arguments and viewpoints
understand extended speech and presentations with clear structure
write clear detailed texts on a range of subjects
write reasoned arguments supporting a point of view
participate effectively in written discussions
understand specialized texts in familiar fields
identify stance, tone, and implication in spoken discourse
synthesize information from multiple written sources
C1 Move a request between a casual message and an institutional one with the capitalized polite form of you, compare a director's official line that a procedure needs further optimization with his private complaint about pushing papers in circles, and keep a figure that only a museum's own report claims attributed to that report.
8 skills at C1
understand long complex texts across a range of domains
understand extended speech with implicit meaning and complex structure
write well-structured detailed texts on complex subjects
adapt style, register, and conventions to purpose and audience
manage complex written interactions fluently and appropriately
understand implicit meaning, nuance, and rhetorical effect in written texts
take effective notes from complex spoken input
evaluate and synthesize information from complex written sources
C2 Read a guest's narrower toast that keeps a reunion social while withholding a business commitment, press a counterpart on whether a rule for contracts in force after a set date reaches ones already signed, and rewrite a notice suspending someone's system access over missed security training so it stays firm, temporary, and points to the next session.
8 skills at C2
understand virtually all forms of written language
understand virtually all forms of spoken language
produce polished, effective texts for demanding purposes
compose nuanced persuasive arguments
handle demanding written exchanges with precision and flexibility
interpret subtle pragmatic and cultural references
critically synthesize diverse written and spoken sources
edit and transform texts while preserving nuance and effect
Russian with a group
A Russian session puts one item in front of the whole room at the same time: matching Cyrillic letters to their sounds, reading a museum notice, or working out what a polite business email is asking for. Participants join with a room code. The host does not get a ranked list of names but a view of which kinds of item are tripping up the group, such as Latin-looking letters or the choice between polite and familiar address, and Yolango picks the next challenge to work on that. Between sessions, learners can keep practicing on their own.
