Ultimate Russian: Basic - Intermediate

by Arkady Alexeev

Release Date: 07 April, 1998

Edition: Paperback

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Excellent Format for Serious Students, But Sloppy Editing

I already have a relatively good command of written and conversational Russian, but chose to start with the Beginner-Intermediate course in order to solidify my grasp of the language's very difficult grammar and learn up-to-date idioms.

This is definitely the best self-study course for those who are serious about wanting to achieve a high level of Russian ability. For once, the description on the package is not an exaggeration. The contents of the course really are "Equivalent to two full years of college-level study."

That said, it would really behoove the authors and editors of this course to re-edit it with the proverbial fine-tooth comb, as there are many mistakes and omissions, especially in the keys to the exercises. Sometimes entire parts of exercises are missing in the keys. And sometimes the exercises ask the student to translate phrases that are not presented until the following lesson. Especially vexing is the fact that the all-important stress on the proper syllable is often misplaced.

If these errors are corrected in future editions of the course, I would say that it would then fully deserve a "five-star" rating.

Personal Review

When I started Russian, I thought this was going to be a great book. I really loved the layout of the lessons, but I was very upset by the constant errors everywhere. The book would contradict itself in many places, and this is very confusing for anyone that is trying to understand the difficult grammar.