I speak Bulgarian, which is somewhat similar to Russian and boughht this book in hopes that it would give me a concise version of the essential grammar as well as a few basic phrases. In this it delivered magnificently. If you just want to learn a little Russian for your trip then this is a great book to have. It is also an excellent source for basic grammer charts that can help you on a serious study. If you want to really learn Russian, this book will help but is by no means the only book you will need. Russian is a difficult language which will require a lot more serious and percise books than this. However, this is a good book to start with and really easy and clear to understand.