We’ve tested tons of resources for learning Russian to help you figure out which ones are worth using and which ones should be avoided. You’ll find resources that cater to your learning preferences and goals. Here are our top choices.
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MOST RECOMMENDED RUSSIAN RESOURCES
Red Kalinka
Red Kalinka is an exceptionally comprehensive online Russian course. With over 75 hours of video, hundreds of pages of learning materials, audio clips, and exercises; the amount of material they offer in their Russian course is truly staggering. Plus, you can email your tutor with any questions you encounter. Although it’s not the most exciting course, nothing comes close to it in terms of quality of instruction.
See our Super-Detailed Red Kalinka Review
Pimsleur
While I still think purchasing the Pimsleur courses is a pretty bad value, the addition of a low-cost subscription plan makes Pimsleur an excellent choice for those looking to learn Russian. It’s quite a bit different than most courses, as the written language and grammar are mostly ignored. Instead, you’ll listen and speak often throughout the course. I don’t think any course will get you speaking as quickly as Pimsleur does.
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See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review
italki
italki is definitely the resource I recommend most to people, regardless of the language they’re learning. Booking 1-1 lessons on italki are very affordable and with the large selection of teachers, you can always find someone that fits your preferences. Plus, bonus features like language exchanges and their Notebooks, where you can have your writing corrected by members of the community, are invaluable.
See our Super-Detailed italki Review
Grammar Hero
Grammar Hero, created by Olly Richards of I Will Teach You a Language, is a really unique resource for learning grammar. You learn the most challenging Russian grammar points in a more natural manner – through reading stories. After reading the story, you’ll learn about the grammar rules, and notice where and why they appear in the text. It also includes exercises to practice what you’ve learned.
See our Super-Detailed Grammar Hero Review
RussianPod101
RussianPod101 is a podcast style course. These lessons typically focus on a dialog which is discussed by a couple of hosts. They go through it line by line, explaining key vocabulary and grammar. Lessons advanced from the absolute beginner to advanced level, with increasing amounts of Russian used at each level. While the Premium and Premium Plus plan are a bit expensive, the Basic plan is great value.
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See our Super-Detailed RussianPod101 Review
Speechling
Speechling makes it easy to improve your Russian speaking and pronunciation skills. Through their paid plan, you can submit an unlimited number of recordings of yourself speaking Russian and get feedback on your pronunciation. For free, you can record yourself mimicking their audio recordings and make use of their exercises, such as multiple choice questions, listening, and dictation.
See our Super-Detailed Speechling Review
Lingodeer
Lingodeer isn’t terribly unique. It teaches Russian in a manner that’s fairly similar to Babbel, Duolingo, and a number of other programs. However, Lingodeer is my favorite because they do a lot of things better – grammar explantions, variety of exercises, professionally recorded audio, and more, all while being cheaper than almost any other course. It’s a pretty fun and easy way to get started with Russian.
See our Super-Detailed Lingodeer Review
Duolingo
Duolingo is far from a perfect resource – with issues like poorly recorded audio and teaching nonsensical sentences. However, the fact that it’s completely free to use makes overlooking these weaker points much easier. Ideal for casual learners, Duolingo is a pretty fun way to get an introduction to Russian.
See our Super-Detailed Duolingo Review
Real Russian Club
The Real Russian Club has a lot of useful resources for Russian learners. Among them are two podcasts, one of which is Slow Russian, and the other teaches Russian through stories. There’s a Youtube channel with lessons and information about Russia and their blog is also quite useful to learners. For those interested, there are also a few premium courses for sale.
Memrise
Memrise is a free to use platform that is great for language learners. It’s best for helping you to memorize words or phrases but not sufficient to teach deeper concepts. Essentially, Memrise teaches via gamified flashcards. There are 7 official Russian courses, created by Memrise, but also tons more that have been added by users. The topics and quality of the user created courses can vary significantly.
See our Super-Detailed Memrise Review
Tandem
Tandem is a language exchange app created to connect learners from around the world. You can teach someone the language you speak and they’ll help you learn the language you’d like to learn. It comes with lots of useful features (as well as a large, active user base) to make connecting with other users easy and facilitate language practice. There’s also a tutoring service offered in the app for those who are interested.
See our Super-Detailed Tandem Review
Clozemaster
Clozemaster makes it easier to learn languages in context. You’ll study Russian by reading sentences and completing lots of fill in the blank questions. You can do so either by typing or choosing the correct multiple choice option. This method will help you study vocabulary within the context of tons of sentences. They also make things a bit more fun by awarding points for your answers. It has an old-school video game feel to it.
See our Super-Detailed Clozemaster Review
All Russian Reviews
- 17 Minute Languages Review: I Wouldn’t Recommend Using It
- Babbel Review: Honest Insights from Real Testing & Results
- Babbel Russian Review: We Actually Really Like It
- Busuu Review: Some Courses Are Better Than Others
- Clozemaster Review: Limited Focus But Fun Way To Grow Vocab
- Cudoo Review — I Wouldn’t Even Use it if it Were Free
- Drops App Review – Decent As A Supplementary Resource
- Duolingo Review: Useful But Not Sufficient – 2 Language Learners Test It (With Video)
- Earworms Review – A Unique Idea But Lacks Substance
- Fluent Forever App Review – Lots Of Potential But Not There Yet
- FluentU Review — More Expensive than the Competition
- Glossika Review – Not Cheap But Useful
- Grammar Hero Review – I Like It A Lot, But Wish It Were Cheaper
- HelloTalk Review – Make Friends & Practice Languages
- HiNative Review: Useful But Not Exceptional Q&A App
- italki Review – The Good, The Bad, & The Just Alright
- Language101.com Course Review – The Worst I’ve Ever Tried!
- LanguagePod101 — All Languages, Pod101 and Class101
- Ling App Review — Gamified Practice in Less Common Languages
- Lingodeer Review – A Better Alternative To Duolingo, Busuu, Rosetta Stone, etc.
- LingQ Review – Extensive Reading Made Easy
- LinguaLift Review – You’d Be Better Off Using A Textbook
- Lingvist Review: Putting Their Courses To The Test
- Living Language Online Course Review – Not Very Good
- Mango Languages Review – Pretty Good For Beginners
- Memrise Review – Useful But Don’t Overuse It
- Michel Thomas Method Review – Avoid At All Costs
- Mimic Method Review: Trying Out The Elemental Sounds Courses
- Mondly Review – Is Mondly Worth It?
- Pimsleur Review — Learn While You… Do Just About Anything
- Pimsleur Russian Review: Great for Speaking Russian From Day 1
- Preply Review – Tutors Created Tailored Lesson Plans for You
- Review Of Red Kalinka’s Russian Course – Exceptionally Comprehensive
- Rocket Russian Review – Uninspiring And Overpriced
- Rosetta Stone Review — Updated and Improved…And Needs More Improvement
- Rosetta Stone Russian Review: Grammar? Cyrillic Alphabet? Not Found Here
- RussianPod101 Review – Testing Their Course
- Rype App Review: I Wouldn’t Recommend It To Anybody
- Speaky Review: Better Than Other Language Exchange Apps?
- Speechling Review – I Didn’t Know I Was Saying That Wrong!
- Tandem Review: A Tinder-esque Language Exchange App?
- Transparent Language Review – Not Exciting, But Language Offering Is So Vast That You May Need It
- uTalk Review – For Beginners Who Want To Learn Key Words & Phrases
- Verbling Review: Online Classes With Helpful Revision Tools
- Word Dive Review: Falls Short Compared To Similar Apps
All Russian Mini Reviews
- 3ears Mini-Review: Free Learning Through Russian Videos
- 50 Languages Mini-Review: Basically an online phrasebook
- AmazingTalker Mini Review: Not Our Top Pick for Web Classes
- Anki Mini-Review: The Go-To SRS Flashcard App
- Avatalks Mini Review: Conversational Practice for All Levels
- Bab.la Mini-Review: Use WordReference or Linguee Instead
- Beelinguapp Mini-Review: Reading & Listening Practice
- BeFluent Mini-Review: Friendly and Supportive
- Bilingual Oxford Dictionaries Mini Review: Handy Apps
- Bite Size Languages Mini-Review: Good for Beginners
- Bluebird Languages Mini-Review: Over 160 Languages Available
- Brainscape Mini-Review: Adaptive Flashcards
- Cafehub Mini Review: Learn, Practice and Connect with Native Speakers
- CaptionPop Mini-Review: Use The Free Version
- Complete Language Lessons Mini Review: Almost Useless
- Comprehensible Russian Mini-Review: Best for Absolute Beginners
- Cooljugator Mini-Review: Conjugations For Uncommon Languages
- Coursera Mini Review: Great for Beginners, but Limited Options
- DLI Courses Mini-Review: Free With a Strong Focus on Pronunciation
- Easy Languages Mini-Review: Interviews Around The Globe
- Elon.io Mini Review: Quickly Learn Vocabulary and Grammar
- Encore!!! Language Learning Mini-Review: Basically a Phrasebook
- Flowlingo Mini-Review: Has Potential, Still Developing
- Forvo Mini-Review: Audio Pronunciation of Millions of Words
- FSI Courses Mini-Review: Free, Comprehensive, but Also Outdated
- FunEasyLearn Mini-Review: Build Vocabulary The Fun Way
- Hey! Lingo Mini-Review: Has Useful Phrases
- iLanguages Mini-Review: Almost Identical to Learn 101
- iLoveLanguages Mini-Review: Another Phrasebook SIte
- Instant Immersion Mini-Review: No Longer a Good Investment
- Interlinear Books Mini-Review: Literal Translations Between The Lines
- Internet Polyglot Mini-Review: Word Lists With Games
- iTranslate Mini-Review: 5 Apps To Support Communication
- L-Lingo Mini-Review: Textbook Content, Depends On Your Style
- Lang Workbooks Mini Review: Thorough Writing Practice
- LangCorrect: Unlimited, Free Writing Practice With Feedback
- Langu Mini Review: A Quality-Focused italki Alternative
- Language Reactor Mini-Review: Easy to Use
- Learn WIth Oliver Mini-Review: Simple With Lots of Content
- Learn101 Mini-Review: A Re-Formatted Version of iLanguages
- Lexilogos Mini-Review: A Resource Bank For Dictionaries and Books
- Linglass Mini Review: Learn From Netflix and YouTube
- Lingo Mastery Conversational Dialogues Mini Review: Dual-text
- Lingo Mastery Short Stories Mini-Review: Lots of Unique Words
- LingoHut Mini-Review: Good Intentions, So-So Follow Through
- Lingopie Mini-Review: Learn Language from Actual TV Shows and Movies
- Lingua Boost Mini-Review: Use Pimsleur Instead
- Linguee Mini-Review: Best Dictionary for Formal Language
- Loecsen Mini Review: Immersive Resource to Help Strengthen Your Language Skills
- Magic Lingua Mini-Review: Pricey But Potentially Worth It
- Master Any Language Mini-Review: No Words To Describe the Nope
- Morpheem Mini Review: Improve Your Language Skills With Detailed Explanations
- MOSAlingua Mini-Review: Memorize Phrases and Words
- My Language Exchange Mini-Review: Millions of Active Users
- OkyDoky App Mini Review: Interactive Lessons with Lots of Speaking Practice
- OPLingo Mini Review: Community Driven, Non-Profit
- Optilingo Mini-Review: Use if You Absolutely Love Slideshows
- OwnSlides Mini Review: Learn, Practice, and Chat With an AI Tutor
- Polly Lingual Mini-Review: Phrasebook With Simple Games
- Quilingo Mini Review: Learn Languages Naturally Through Stories
- Readlang Mini-Review: A Must-Have For Language Lovers
- Reverso Translation Mini-Review: Best for French learners
- Russian With Max Mini-Review: Engaging For Intermediate+
- Scripts Mini-Review: Flashy and Fast-Paced
- Simply Learn Mini-Review: Spaced Repetition Phrases For Travelers
- Slova Mini Review: A Russian Grammar and Vocabulary Trainer
- Speakly Mini-Review: Speaking, Listening, and Writing Practice
- Speekoo Mini-Review: Dip Your Toes in a Language and Culture
- Squanto Mini Review: Word by Word Translation Insight
- StoryLearning Olly Richards 101 Conversations Mini Review: Practical
- StoryLearning Olly Richards Short Stories Mini Review: Practical
- Strokes International Mini Review: Pricy but Comprehensive
- Sublearning Mini-Review: There Are Better Uses For Your Time
- SuperMemo Mini-Review: Not to Be Confused With Super-Memo
- Tatoeba Mini-Review: A Community Writing Sentences in Context
- Verbix Mini-Review: Adequate for Less-Studied Languages
- Vocabulearn Mini Review: Unlikely to Teach You a Language
- Vocly Mini-Review: Expand Your Vocabulary in Less Common Languages
- Wlingua Mini-Review: A Clear Learning Path
- Wordbit Mini-Review: Innovative Flashcards for Short Term Use
- WordReference Mini-Review: Thorough and Professionally Translated
- Write It! Mini-Review: Simple and Straight-Forward
- Write Me Mini-Review: Learn Basic Scripts
- Yapr Mini Review: Practice Speaking Languages With AI
- YouGlish Mini-Review: Thousands of Words in Context From YouTube