Uchites

Uchites is the Russian language learning supplement to Russian Life magazine. Begun with support from the Russkiy Mir Foundation, its intent is to tie language learning exercises and readings into material that is published in each issue of the magazine. As each issue is published, a PDF copy of the Uchites supplement will be posted here, so that teachers can easily print out extra copies for students. Or so students can mark up these copies of Uchites, rather than their copies of Russian Life.

If you have comments or feedback on the Uchites supplements (for example, how you are using them, corrections, etc.), please send us a comment and we will post them on this page, to share with other teachers.

Uchites 01
Uchites 01

Lyceum Day, Pushkin ~ Sep/Oct 2008

Uchites 02
Uchites 02

Christmas Eve, Gogol ~ March/April 2009

Uchites 03
Uchites 03

Plagiarism in Russia ~ May/June 2009

Uchites 04
Uchites 04

Russian Television ~ July/Aug 2009

Uchites 05
Uchites 05

The Return, Platonov ~ Sep/Oct 2009

Uchites 06
Uchites 06

Lighthouse keeper: solve the mystery ~ Nov/Dec 2009

Uchites 07
Uchites 07

Children stories, Tolstoy ~ Jan/Feb 2010

Uchites 07 - Audio
Uchites 07 - Audio

Lev Tolstoy: "The Pit"

Uchites 07 - Audio2
Uchites 07 - Audio2

Lev Tolstoy: "The Squirrel and the Wolf"

Uchites 07 - Audio3
Uchites 07 - Audio3

Lev Tolstoy: "The Tsar and the Shirt"

Uchites 08
Uchites 08

Esenin: biography and poems ~ Sep/Oct 2010

Uchites 08 - Audio
Uchites 08 - Audio

Sergei Yesenin: "Letter to Mother"

Uchites 08 - Audio2
Uchites 08 - Audio2

Sergei Yesenin: "Goodbye"

Uchites 09
Uchites 09

Russian Art: Itinerants ~ Nov/Dec 2010

Uchites 09 - Audio
Uchites 09 - Audio

Description of a Repin painting

Uchites 10
Uchites 10

Anna Akhmatova and Amedeo Modigliani ~ Jan/Feb 2011

Uchites 10 - Audio
Uchites 10 - Audio

Akhmatova: Szhala ruki

Uchites 10 - Audio2
Uchites 10 - Audio2

Akhmatova: Dvadsat pervoe

Uchites 11
Uchites 11

Travelling across Russia by bike ~ Mar/Apr 2011

Uchites 11 - Audio
Uchites 11 - Audio

Part One: Sentences

 

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A Few of Our Books

Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 

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