Russian Through Propaganda
Click on the images for daily video lessons, worksheets, and other materials…
Day 1
the alphabet and basic pronunciation: stress, vowels, consonants, and the basics of pronunciation
Day 2
pronunciation in detail: more on vowel purity, stress, vowel reduction, and devoicing and softening of consonants
Day 3
more on pronunciation: special situations and exceptions to the general rules; practicing our chapter vocabulary
Day 4
handwriting: the Russian cursive alphabet; general handwriting principles; forming “tails,” “hooks” and “humps”
Day 5
learning names & getting acquainted: Russian names; introductions; more handwriting practice; overview of classroom Russian; introduction to word endings
Day 6
nouns and the nominative case: greetings; nouns and gender; pronouns; the nominative case and the “pointing word” это; possession articles; negation with не
Day 7
adjectives: talking about names; adjectives in the nominative singular; end-stressed adjectives; the question word какой; omitting the verb “is”
Day 8
adverbs, conjunctions, and the verb “to be”: tenses; infinitives in -ть; past and future forms of the verb быть; adverbs of degree; conjunctions and comparisons
Day 9
possessive pronouns: possessive pronouns and the question word чей; two ways of expressing possession; two ways of saying “now”
Day 10
demonstrative pronouns: этот and тот; this, that and it; the (right) one, the wrong one; the relative pronoun который; the same one, a different one
Day 11
the genitive case: animate nouns; genitive endings; mobile vowels; uses of the genitive case; adjectives that can stand alone as nouns; end-stressed masculine nouns
Day 12
existence and non-existence: existence with the nominative; non-existence with the genitive; masculine nouns ending in -a or -я
Day 13
verb conjugation - verb types with ë endings: verb types; the ë endings; verb structure; stress patterns; introduction to imperative forms; АЙ and А verbs
Day 14
more verb types with ë endings: the verb types ОВА, НУ, ЕЙ; introduction to non-suffixed verb types; всё (everything) and все (everyone)
Day 15
verb types with и endings; stress patterns in verbs, revisited; the и endings; И verbs and Е verbs
Day 16
the accusative case and animacy: the accusative, direct objects, and animacy; verbs with prepositions; prepositions that take the accusative; pronouns in the accusative
Day 17
verbal aspect and tense: introduction to aspect; aspect and tense; forming the present, past, and future tenses; a summary of all verb forms
Day 18
aspectual pairs and aspectual “red flags”: aspectual pairs; basic pairs with prefixed perfectives; pairs with derived imperfectives; other special aspectual forms; “red flags”
Day 19
using multiple verbs and infinitives: aspect with multiple verbs; verbs followed by an infinitive; the irregular verb хотеть; choosing aspect with infinitives; using the verb мочь
Day 20
subordinate clauses: question words in direct questions; forming indirect questions; why and because; the relative pronoun который
Day 21
the dative case and indirect objects: indirect objects; dative case endings; pronouns in the dative; subjectless constructions with the dative; predicate and modal adverbs used with infinitives
Day 22
focus on non-suffixed verb types: in-depth description of non-suffixed verbs; the types ОЙ, Ь, /Н, and n/sA; overview of irregular verbs
Day 23
verbs with the dative: verbs with indirect objects in the dative; АВАЙ verbs like давать; verbs of giving; helping and believing; advising and recommending; making phonecalls
Day 24
everything & everyone; short-form adjectives: saying “all” and “entire” with всё and целый; всё and всe; telling how you feel with short-form adjectives; saying you need something with нужен
Day 25
prepositions with the dative: prepositions with the dative; opinions with по; verbs followed by dative prepositions; predicate adjectives and adverbs; obligation with должен
Day 26
reflexive verbs: the reflexive particle ся; overview of the meanings of reflexive verbs; reflexive and passive meanings; saying “to study for”; focus on passive meanings
Day 27
notes on transitivity; saying “to like”: reflexive verbs and transitivity; beginning and ending; reciprocity and spontaneity with reflexive verbs; the subjectless verb хотеться
Day 28
passive constructions; the third-plural “passive”; verbs that always include the reflexive particle; liking with нравиться / понравиться; saying “I like you”; verbs for “trying”
Day 29
giving commands with the imperative: forming the imperative using the “step-by-step” system; exceptions
Day 30
more on the imperative: aspect with the imperative; forming the imperative of reflexive verbs; first-person suggestions with давай(те); third-person suggestions with пусть
Day 31
the prepositional case: location with the prepositional case; prepositional endings; reminders concerning pronunciation; choosing between в and на
Day 32
more on the prepositional: the mobile vowel and во; adjectival place names; declining foreign place names; the alternate “locative” prepositional ending
Day 33
time expressions: time expressions with the accusative; time expressions with the genitive; days of the week; this, last and next
Day 34
more time expressions; saying “for”: months; asking questions about time; summary of useful adverbs; prepositions meaning “for”
Day 35
prepositions and locations: where, where to, and where from; где / куда / откуда with в nouns; introducing verbs of motion; где / куда / откуда with на nouns
Day 36
introduction to verbs of motion: verbs with three infinitives; translating versus “unpacking”; indeterminate, determinate and perfective motion verbs; “breakdowns”
Day 37
indeterminate verbs of motion: going “around”; five basic kinds of motion; taking vehicles and going by foot; round trips; moving within a space
Day 38
determinate verbs of motion: being underway; being underway along a path; conjugating determinate verbs; an ongoing one-way trip; repeated determinate motion
Day 39
perfective verbs of motion: conjugating perfective verbs; setting out; assumed arrival and one-way trips; describing single future trips; perfective sequences; summary
Day 40
other verbs used with где / куда / откуда: other verbs describing motion; other verbs used with где / куда / откуда phrases; adverbs of place; imperative forms of motion verbs
Day 41
the instrumental case: the instrumental case; instrumental of accompaniment with c; instrumental case endings; reflexive verbs with the instrumental
Day 42
more uses of the instrumental: verbs for “studying”; talking about interests, sports and instruments; professions; prepositions with the instrumental; three nouns used with за
Day 43
predicate nouns and adjectives: the instrumental with predicate nouns and adjectives; becoming; seeming; turning out to be; being; the nominative and instrumental; “you and I” phrases
Day 44
case usage review: the nominative and the instrumental; the nominative and the genitive; the accusative and the genitive; the dative and the nominative
Day 45
review of prepositions: prepositions with the prepositional, instrumental, dative, genitive, and accusative; prepositions with more than one case
Day 46
case endings by noun type: feminine nouns; masculine nouns; neuter nouns; special soft nouns; short-form adjectives
Day 47
declining names: Russian names; end-stressed last names; adjectival last names; other male and female names; casual short forms of first names
Day 48
pronouns and special modifiers: third-person pronouns; first- and second-person pronouns; the special modifiers весь, один, чей; forms of possessive pronouns
Day 49
reflexive pronouns: the reflexive pronoun свой; omitting possessive pronouns; reflexive pronouns; doing things “all by yourself”; reciprocity with друг друга
Day 50
uses of the infinitive and new clause types: more uses of the infinitive; чтобы; punctuation tips; review of clause types; clauses with так and так что; indirect questions with ли; clauses with если
Day 51
review of pronunciation: the finer points of pronunciation; vowel purity; vowel reduction; consonant devoicing and assimilation; hard and soft consonants
Day 52
verb review: ë endings: review of aspect and tense; review of stress and mutation patterns; non-suffixed verb types; non-syllabic verb types
Day 53
verb review: и endings: overview of И and Е verbs; review of some common irregular verbs; review of irregularities in the past tense
Day 54
verb review with health-related verbs: introduction to feminine и-nouns; review of aspect and tense; semelfactive perfectives; review of reflexive verbs; subjectless verbs
Day 55
the nominative plural: masculine and feminine nouns in the plural; neuter nouns in the plural; stress patterns and irregularities; plural adjectival forms
Day 56
soft nouns and adjectives: ordinary soft nouns; special soft nouns; feminine и-nouns; forming nouns using -ость; hard and soft adjectives; word order
Day 57
irregular nouns and short-form adjectives: nouns with irregular plural forms; reviewing short-form adjectives; resemblances; being glad; statements such as “that’s interesting”
Day 58
cardinal numbers: cardinal numbers; addresses; telephone numbers; introducing nouns after numbers; telling age; telling temperature
Day 59
ordinal numbers: ordinal numbers; reviewing months; stating the date; telling “when” with dates
Day 60
years and dates: this, last and next in time expressions; in what year?; giving full dates; decades; centuries; talking about “times” with раз
Day 61
clothes, colors & sizes: plural-only nouns; colors; size and weight; describing appearance; putting on, wearing, and taking off clothes
Day 62
the genitive plural: masculine nouns; adjectives; feminine and neuter nouns; mobile vowels and the zero ending; special soft nouns; the ending -ей
Day 63
review of existence & non-existence: summary of the genitive plural; words used in the plural only; count and non-count nouns; existence and non-existence
Day 64
animacy and the accusative plural: animate nouns in the accusative; animals and plants; wishes and demands; irregular nouns; summary of all accusative endings
Day 65
quantity and the genitive: expressions of quantity; comparing and qualifying quantity; containers, portions & measurements; saying “some”
Day 66
combining nouns and numbers: nouns with numbers; notes on verb agreement with numbers; using adjectives with numbers; stand-alone adjectives
Day 67
telling time: stating time on the hour; specifying the time of day; time in the first half of the hour; genitive forms of numbers; time in the second half of the hour
Day 68
time expressions by case: review of all time expressions; the instrumental, accusative, dative, and prepositional of time; summary of prepositions of time
Day 69
comparatives: some common comparatives; irregular comparatives; making comparisons; qualifying comparative forms; ellipsis in comparisons
Day 70
more comparatives and superlatives: compound comparatives; special comparative forms; comparatives with чем... тем... and всё; superlatives
Day 71
nationalities and languages: countries; nationalities; continents and regions; adjectives and languages; the Soviet anthem
Day 72
the prepositional plural: review of the prepositional singular; the prepositional plural; stress in plural forms; irregular plurals
Day 73
the dative plural: review of the dative singular; the dative plural; stress and irregular nouns; review of verbs and adverbs that take the dative
Day 74
the instrumental plural: review of uses of the instrumental; the instrumental singular and plural; summary of prounouns and special modifiers; declining много
Day 75
going places and visiting people: review of unprefixed motion verbs; review of “breakdowns” in usage; prepositions for visiting places, events, and people; being a guest
Day 76
verbs of conveyance: the meanings of verbs of conveyance; indeterminate, determinate, and perfective verbs of conveyance; being lucky
Day 77
introduction to prefixed verbs of motion: introduction to prefixes; prefixed verbs of motion; five basic prefixes; mobile vowels, hard signs, and stress; conjugating forms in -йти
Day 78
prefixed conveyance verbs & diminutives: creating and conjugating prefixed verbs of conveyance; translating; introduction to diminutives; common diminutive endings
Day 79
negation: creating negative forms; double negation in Russian; nothing and no one; negative adjectival forms; saying “there is” and “there is no”
Day 80
indefinites: creating indefinite forms; indefinite forms that decline; exceptions; indefinites in questions; expressing “any”
Day 81
greetings, courtesy, suggestions: greetings and goodbyes; how are things going?; being polite; wishes and congratulations; welcoming and parting ways; phone etiquette
Day 82
making acquaintances: introductions; getting acquainted; where are you from?; discussing your stay in Russia; travel within Russia; what do you do; studying Russian
Day 83
feelings, weather, likes & dislikes: telling how you feel; describing temperature and weather; likes & dislikes; trying something; your interests
Day 84
going to restaurants: interacting with waiters & waitresses; requests with можно; paying; discussing food & restaurants; having meals; for here or to go?
Day 85
visiting, dining, and drinking: a brief history of Russian apartments; polite imperatives; eating at home; the genitive with food; potent potables; making toasts
Day 86
schedules & daily routines: verbs for telling about daily activities; talking about sleep; sleeping and dreaming
Day 87
stores and theaters: at the supermarket; talking about lines; “to cost” and “to stand”; in the check-out line; buying tickets; talking about performances
Day 88
moving around town: stopping and being stopped; talking about distance; getting somewhere; giving street directions; giving building directions; let’s go!
Day 89
trains and the subway: trains and train tickets; stations and platforms; the subway; buying train tickets; subway announcements; navigating the subway
Day 90
everyday tasks: cleaning; everyday tools and appliances; using computers; using bank cards; making tea
Day 91
Symbolism: Blok & Gippius: Blok: “Night, a street, a streetlamp...” “The Vulture,” “Of valor...” Gippius: “Spiders,” “Memory,” “What is sin?”
Day 92
Futurism: Mayakovsky: “Could you?” “Listen up!” “But be that as it may,” “Our march”
Day 93
Tsvetaeva, Mandelshtam, Pasternak: Tsvetaeva: “I slit my veins...” “A prayer,” “Two,” “To my poems...” Mandelshtam: “Insomnia...” Pasternak: “Hamlet”
Day 94
Akhmatova: Requiem: In place of a foreword; “Dedication”; “Introduction”; “They were leading you away at dawn”
Day 95
Akhmatova: Requiem, continued: “Quietly flows the quiet Don...” “No, this isn’t me...” “I’d like to show you...” “I’ve screamed...” “The weightless weeks...” “The sentence”
Day 96
Requiem, finale: Lot’s Wife: “To death” “Already madness with its wing...” “Crucifixion” “Epilogue” “Lot’s wife”
Day 97
Zamyatin: We: in today’s excerpt from the classic dystopian science-fiction novel, we enter a society in which math and logic seem to have entirely obscured the notion of human individuality.
Day 98
Shalamov: Kolyma Tales: Today we read a bleak, powerful short story in its entirety — one from a collection of tales from the Soviet Gulag, where Shalamov spent seventeen years.
Day 99
Ginzburg: Blockade Diary: Before visiting St. Petersburg, it’s important to appreciate what the city endured during the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. Today’s text examines the psychology of those who lived through it.
Day 100
Erofeyev: Moscow-Pyetushki: An all-too-brief excerpt from a cult classic of Soviet samizdat literature, whose hero is an alcoholic who converses with angels as he tries to reach his private utopian idyll at the provincial station of Pyetushki.