Alphabet

Russian has a standardised print alphabet of 33 characters, or 32 if you don't count 'yo' (e with an umlaut) as a separate character. This alphabet closely resembles the Greek one, with some additions and changes of sound value. There is also a script alphabet, which is not standardised. Several letters in script can be written in two or three different ways - often by the same person. This is also Greek-based, but not so clearly. The letters of the Russian alphabet don't have names like their Greek counterparts: they are called out more or less as they sound in a word, with the exception of two letters that have no sound of their own. These are known as 'hard sign' and 'soft sign'. The first is now used only for the sake of spelling the words correctly, having no real value. The second functions like a silent 'e', but it can fall anywhere in a word. The Russian alphabets are known as Cyrillic, and are traditionally said to have been designed by Saint Cyril.

Grammar

Russian is a highly structured language. It has six cases², compared to an equal number in Latin and five in Greek, and three genders of noun (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Each gender has several different types, which are declined slightly differently. The adjective must agree with the noun, so it has to be declined, too, along with the pronoun.

The verb has an imperfective and a perfective aspect, the difference being whether you are initiating an action or describing it in general (I want to drink tea), or completing it (I want to drink my entire cup of tea). It sounds a bit sloppy in English, but it works in Russian³. There are six conjugations for each type in the future tense. The same goes for the present imperfective - you can't have a present perfective. There are two classes, which are conjugated differently. Past and conditional tenses are arranged somewhat more simply.

Another thing to be noted about Russian verbs is that 'to be' is seldom used in the present tense, and hardly ever in conversation. That is why you will often hear a native Russian speaker who is learning English say things like 'I mechanic'. Because everything is laid out so carefully through declined noun and adjective and thoroughly conjugated verb, Russian does not feel the need for articles (a, an, the). 'I mechanic' is a complete sentence.

Learning Issues

Due mainly to its radically different alphabet and complex grammatical sturcture, English speakers generally find Russian difficult to learn. It can also be difficult to distinguish between three different soft 'i' sounds, and to master the gently rolling 'r'. Syllables are combined in ways unheard of in English, as in 'vcyeobshchee' ('universal'). However, it is well worth the effort. It's a beautiful language.

Russian is widely spoken in the former USSR, because of both the need for a lingua franca and the insistence of the former Soviet government. Aside from Russia, at least two republics (Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan) have it as their second official language. It is also spoken in countries like Poland, where the previous generation learned it in school, and Finland, where it is still taught. About 165 million people speak the language natively, and 275 million worldwide claim some level of fluency⁴.