Русский язык в песнях is a downloadable resource from the Русский мир fund that allows users to interact with popular Russian songs. Each module includes song audio, lyrics, historical and linguistic commentary, and exercises focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Время говорить по-русски! is a Russian instructional site developed by the Centre for International Education at Moscow State University for learners seeking to pass the elementary level of the TORFL (Test of Russian as a Foreign Language). There are 10 levels, each containing subtitled claymation video introductions to the topic, grammatical explanations, cultural information, exercises, tests, and supplemental reading and audio texts.
Яндекс карты is the Russian answer to Google Maps. Moscow has the most detailed maps, which include live traffic, webcams, panoramic street view, public transport routes, local businesses, photos, map/satellite/hybrid views – even a layer that shows the path of Gagarin’s first flight into space, complete with a transcript of his transmissions. There’s also a link to a map of the Moscow metro, where you can find out how to get from one station to another, complete with the number of stops, transfers, and approximate travel time.
РЖД (Российские железные дороги) has created a very cool virtual tour of the “Россия” train. Read about the train’s passengers and employees as “Россия” makes its way from Moscow to Vladivostok over the course of six days. Click the pink circles on the map of the train at the bottom of the page to visit each interactive location on board.
The School of Russian and Asian Studies contains many excellent resources for students learning Russian and those who are interested in studying abroad in Russia and Eurasia. Their Russian Mini Lessons provide cultural background knowledge and vocabulary on a variety of topics: religion and folklore, politics and military, village life, business, love and friendship, birth, health and safety, science and technology, and others. The lessons introduce readers to key words, phrases, and idiomatic expressions related to the topic. Use this resource to add new vocabulary to your vocabulary log, or simply to beef up your knowledge on Russian culture.
Ералаш is a children’s comedy program that has been on air since 1975. The Ералаш YouTube channel hosts nearly 300 clips from the program. These segments are short and lend themselves well to listening practice, as they provide contextualized language use. Independent students can watch the videos as many times as needed to comprehend them, and teachers can use them to build lessons on pragmatics, humor, or other topics.
Russnet is home to 30 in-depth Russian language learning modules on various topics in history, literature, culture, and science. Modules include: texts and video on the topics; reading comprehension, grammatical, and lexical exercises; and writing prompts. They can be used by independent learners, or by teachers as a supplement to in-class work. Use of the modules requires a login but registration is free.
Made in USSR is a repository of photos of Soviet artifacts, including movie posters, art, postcards, toys, food, souvenirs, and other objects. This collections provides a wealth of Soviet-era realia that can be used by teachers for various activities in the classroom. Independent learners can also browse the pictures and study the language of the materials to acquire new vocabulary and improve reading skills.
Коммерсантъ developed a series of tests designed to assess immigrants’ level of Russian cultural knowledge. Test-takers fill in the blanks to complete proverbs, idiomatic expressions, quotes from music and films, and other phrases well-known to most native speakers of Russian. Try taking the test, then research the questions you answered incorrectly to learn more about their meanings and origins.
Communal Living in Russia: A Virtual Museum of Soviet Everyday Life is “an online ethnographic museum” exploring the Soviet коммуналка (communal apartment). This bilingual site contains video tours of communal apartments, audio clips of residents’ stories and conversations, essays, documents (notes, announcements, and letters), scenes from feature films, and book excerpts that are accompanied by summaries, transcripts with English translations, background information, and photographs. Independent learners can delve into the extensive resources available on this impressive virtual museum on their own; teachers can create “tours” using the site’s artifacts, or have their students do so for a class project.
Russian Portal 