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

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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.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

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.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

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. 

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

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.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

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.

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