Some years ago, my husband and I decided to learn Russian as an acknowledgement of a Russian ancestor in his family tree. We nearly gave up at the first word (Здравствуйте) but continued for some time before life intervened and we moved onto other interests. When the opportunity came up for me to find the best Russian online courses, I jumped at the chance. I had a great time revisiting “Hello”, remembering other words, and learning new ones as I explored a range of courses and compiled this Best Courses Guide (BCG) to learn the Russian language.
Shortcuts
Why Learn Russian?
Learning foreign languages enhances our critical thinking, empathy, and cognitive abilities. Beyond professional opportunities and travel experiences, it can deepen our understanding and tolerance of others and their cultures.
Russian is spoken by more than 250 million people worldwide, particularly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As well as easier travel and business opportunities, knowing Russian opens doors to exploring Russian culture and history, and reading classic literature.
Chances are, you already know some Russian words. Who has heard of the Space station Mir, that was in orbit from 1986 to 2001? Mir (written Мир in the Cyrillic alphabet) literally means “world” or “peace”. Or balaclava (Балаклава), tundra (тундра), and mammoth (ма́монт)? Many more words are similar in Russian and English.
Why Should You Trust Us and This Guide?
Class Central is a one-stop shop for online education. We make it easier to discover the right courses without having to jump across multiple platforms. With over 250,000 courses in our catalog, we’ve already helped more than 100 million learners find their next course. And we’re online learners ourselves.
I’ve taken more than 200 online courses and continue to enjoy improving my knowledge of cultures and languages around the world. I investigated Russian courses both in the catalog and elsewhere on the internet to find the best courses for you.
Best Russian Courses
Best Free Short Course for Beginners (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.8 (3.3K)
- Duration: 4 hours
- Cost: Free
- Certificate: Not available
Mark Thomson starts off by teaching us 11 words in the first 16-minute video of Russian Made Easy – Accelerated Learning for Russian. But don’t be scared, eight of those words are cognates: words that sound similar to and have similar meanings in English. Mark and the Mastery Group team use modern language learning techniques (contextual learning, construction branching, and pattern recognition) to prepare us to start thinking in Russian.
Learn 85 Russian words and phrases, all six grammatical cases, and all six basic verb conjugations.
Why I Like it
It’s free, and starts off with simple words. The pacing is just right for beginners.
Drawbacks
As an introductory course, you will need to follow up this course with others to truly converse in Russian.
Who it’s for
Absolute beginners, even if you don’t know the Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet.
Most Comprehensive Russian Course (Babbel)
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Rating: 4.4 (Trustpilot)
- Duration: 35 hours
- Cost: Paid
- Certificate: Available
Learn Russian at your own pace with real-time feedback, progress trackers, helpful grammar tips, and visualizations. Pick up the Russian language more easily by exploring culture, history, people, and places as you go, then learn, review, and retain the language in your long-term memory. Master the 33 characters of the Cyrillic alphabet, starting with those similar to Latin script. Learn how to order in restaurants, ask for directions, discuss work and living situations, express preferences, and handle social interactions.
Babbel uses a variety of tools to develop your Russian reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. You will listen to native speakers for correct pronunciation, and you can have interactive dialogues with an AI partner to build your conversation skills.
Why I Like it
The variety of learning tools keeps the lessons interesting, plus free access to videos, podcasts, and the Babbel magazine.
Drawbacks
Free access is limited to just the first lesson in every language, but if you’re serious about learning, you’ll find a yearly or lifetime subscription excellent value.
Who it’s for
Absolute beginners to intermediate learners.
Best Comprehensive Course with Pronunciation Feedback (Rosetta Stone)
- Level: Beginner to advanced
- Duration: N/A
- Cost: Paid
- Certificate: Available
If you like image-based learning, Rosetta Stone’s Learn Russian will be right up your street. The learning path can be adapted for career purposes, education, or personal interest. Start building communication skills right away.
Learn greetings, practical phrases, essential verbs and verb tenses, ask simple questions, understand directions, menus, and everyday situations. Build up to holding short conversations and writing simple messages then progress to complex grammar. Use advanced sentence structures to express emotions, opinions, and abstract ideas, then finally move on to Russian literature, news, and films.
Why I Like it
With your microphone enabled, you get instant feedback on your own pronunciation right from the first lesson.
Drawbacks
There’s no free trial, but Rosetta Stone offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.
Who it’s for
Beginners to advanced learners.
Best Course for Learning Russian Quickly (YouTube)
- Level: Beginner
- Duration: 9 hours
- Cost: Free
- Certificate: Paid (via the website)
Yula speaks five languages and knows all the shortcuts for learning a language quickly. Learn the Russian alphabet and 1000 Russian words including scenarios such as the airport and restaurants in Learn Russian the easy way: The COMPLETE Russian course for beginners. Even learn the Russian for “my battery died”! Each lesson has a dialogue or story, a rule, and practice.
Access Yula’s course for free on YouTube or sign up for a three-day free trial on her website. Her paid course includes 90 pages of PDFs, interactive games and exercises.
Why I Like it
Yula’s memory prompts make it easy to remember the unusual letters and words.
Drawbacks
The free YouTube video doesn’t include interactive features.
Who it’s for
Beginners who don’t know the Cyrillic alphabet or any Russian words.
Best Tutor-Based Russian Lessons (Preply)
- Level: Absolute beginners to advanced
- Tutors: 800+ Russian tutors
- Rating: 4.8 (on the app store)
- Cost: Paid
- Certificate: Not available
With personalized lessons from an individual tutor via Preply, reach your goals and improve your fluency more quickly than following a standard course. Choose your preferred tutor by watching their video clip, reading their bio, and student reviews. And with the lesson insights feature, see how much you spoke during each lesson, review key grammar and vocabulary, and receive guidance on what to focus on next.
Why I Like it
I love the personal connection with the tutor, and you can try a few different tutors until you find the right one.
Drawbacks
Can be more expensive than pre-made courses.
Who it’s for
Learners at any stage. Choose a tutor and receive lessons to suit your Russian level.
Best Course from a University Professor (Zero to Fluency)
- Level: Intermediate
- Rating: 5.0
- Cost: Paid
- Certificate: Not available
With a wide range of topics, phrases, and vocabulary, From Zero to Fluency also offers personalized support if you need extra help. Learn from videos, audios, mini-stories, interactive online exercises, downloadable homework sheets, and tests after every module. Plus join the community to ask questions and discuss issues. Immerse into Russian culture. Daria has been teaching Russian since 2010.
Why I Like it
It’s arranged step-by-step right from the basics and gradually challenges you more as you go along.
Drawbacks
There’s no free trial, but Daria offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.
Who it’s for
Beginners. Or if you already know some Russian, you can start with From Zero to Fluency Level 2 or Level 3.
Also Great Comprehensive Course (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner/Intermediate
- Rating: 4.6 (3.0K)
- Duration: 27 hours plus practical activities
- Cost: Paid
- Certificate: Available
Yelena Zhivkovich’s The Complete Russian Language Course covers grammar and 3000 words and phrases from A1, A2 and B1 levels. Learn how to cope in Russian in everyday situations including meeting people, family, home, the neighbourhood, daily routines, going to the restaurant, going on a trip, beauty, and health.
Why I Like it
When you purchase the course, you get lifetime access to all of the materials including all future updates.
Drawbacks
No free trial, but there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.
Who it’s for
Beginners to intermediate learners.
More Free Resources
Join 200K+ weekly visitors in the Reddit r/russian community for discussions and to have your questions answered.
Videos are ideal for language learning, and YouTube is an excellent resource. Here are some Russian channels and videos to consider. They also have websites with more resources, both free and paid.
- Planning to learn Russian? Watch this first! (7 mins) by Fedor on Be Fluent in Russian
- Russian Alphabet for Beginners – Easy guide! (5 mins) also by Fedor. Learn the 33 letters of the Cyrillic alphabet starting with those most similar to English letters.
- How to learn Russian fast? 10 ways to improve your learning routine (12 mins) by Daria Mikhay
- RussianPod101 plus the website RussianPod101.com
Did this guide help? We’ve got 200+ more for you. Check our Best Courses Guides to find your next course!
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