Russian is a language that requires a lot of practice. For native English speakers, Russian requires a lot of practice. You’ll need a lot of grammar practice, a lot of input, and a lot of tools. Fortunately, there are a lot of Russian resources on the internet.
I also have some articles on my website to help with language learning that can be useful for your Russian learning.
Here are some of my favorite Russian resources that I use:
Grammar & Fundamentals
The Everything Learning Russian Book
ISBN: 978-1598693874
A good curriculum for total beginners. You get grammar and exercises with one book. You can go from zero knowledge to knowing 95% of the important grammars with this one book. This is part of a major language series, but it is still very tailored to Russian, giving stress for every word.
Master the Basics Russian
ISBN: 978-0812091649
A good supplemental textbook for beginners or main textbook for people who already know the basics but want to get more in depth. This is not organized by level; it’s organized by topic. For absolute beginners, other sources could be better.
501 Russian Verbs
ISBN: 978-0764137433
A conjugation book for the most common verbs including the partner verb, possible forms, stresses, and very useful for Russian learning.
russianlessons.net
Every major russian grammar point with lots of examples
learnrussianstepbystep.com
All the grammar you need plus audio recordings of the examples
Live Fluent
Some Russian grammar points
Learn Russian by RT
Good source of basic grammar explanations (good as a supplement, not as a main source)
russianforfree.com
Supplemental grammar with quizzes and readings
Smartool
A collection of the 3000 most common Russian words
uTalk
(Disclosure: You can get this deal because of my affiliate status)
Get 30% off any purchase from uTalk. This is a good source of basic vocab. If you don’t want to find the critical vocab on your own through trial and error, uTalk can just give you all the vocab for a certain topic with memorization exercises, games, etc.
Glossika
(Disclosure: You can get this deal because of my affiliate status)
Get a 7-day free trial with my link. This is a AI generated language learning platform that can introduce you to sentences that expose you to grammar and vocab.
Sources of Input
cinema.mosfilm
A collection of mostly Soviet (some post-Soviet) films
pilgrim.fund
A collection of independent Russian films
YouTube: Real Russian Club
Channel in English that provide good grammar and vocab explanations
YouTube: Cafe Russian
English-speaking channel with grammar and vocab explanations
YouTube: Russian with Dasha
Channel in simple Russian for A2/B1 learners about Dasha’s daily life
YouTube: LearnRussianTV
YouTube channel in English to help you with Russian vocab
Russian Learning Tools
openrussian.org
Russian dictionary specially designed for Russian, including primary stress, animate/inanimate, declension, partner verbs (perfective/imperfective) in addition to the standard audio, examples, and gender.
Reverso
Dictionary using examples on the internet for content. Also available with iOS and Android apps.
Cooljugator (Nouns / Adjectives / Verbs)
Look up conjugations for Russian Verbs or declensions for Russian Nouns or Adjectives
Surfshark VPN
(Disclosure: You can get this deal because of my affiliate status)
Get 82% off a Surfshark plan plus 2 months free with my link. Very useful for accessing Russian resources and content on streaming platforms or some geolocked content.
italki
(Disclosure: You can get this deal because of my affiliate status)
Get $10 in italki credits after spending $20. italki is a fantastic platform to find Russian tutors based on your needs. You can find a professional teacher with a strict curriculum, a casual teacher with whom you can have comfortable conversations, or a non-native teacher that can explain the fundamentals in your native language.