September 18, 2021

Calling Everyone Whose Russian Pronunciation Stinks


Calling Everyone Whose Russian Pronunciation Stinks
"Kira" on Zoom. Welcome to her home! Amanda Shirnina

A "national experiment" is afoot to fix Americans' often terrible Russian pronunciation.

"Kira," the Russian pronunciation expert who did an interview for the Russian Life blog back in March, has declared September 19–23 Russian Pronunciation Week. All students and teachers of any level of Russian are invited to join for free on Zoom for five nights in a row. The sessions will only be 15 minutes long.

Learn what a default mouth position is and why you need to switch yours to speak a foreign language properly. Discover how our "sound-identities" affect how we move through the world in a foreign language. Practice the most challenging Russian sounds for most Americans to produce.

"Kira," whose real name is Kimberly DiMattia, stresses that seeing how the mouth is supposed to move in Russian is especially important in our era of masking up to go to class.

Register here for meetings from 8:30–8:45 pm Eastern U.S. Time during the week of September 19–23, 2021. If you are unavailable at 8:30 pm, the sessions will be recorded and available to everyone who registers.

You Might Also Like

Dealing with Stress
  • March 01, 2021

Dealing with Stress

How a little bit of stress in the wrong place and turn writing into urination.
Russian Grammar Wars
  • May 20, 2019

Russian Grammar Wars

Tough time learning Russian? It’s not just you. Russians themselves frequently struggle to determine what is “correct.” 
The Hunt for Movie Russian
  • September 14, 2020

The Hunt for Movie Russian

"Kakov nipudt pakaru!" The classic 1990 movie Hunt for Red October had a $30 million budget. Apparently none of that went towards Russian language coaches.
Change Your Default Mouth Position
  • March 28, 2021

Change Your Default Mouth Position

Dr. Kimberly DiMattia, known to her Russian students as Kira, has a range of offerings for anyone who wants to "move the needle" on their pronunciation.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955