People of Russia

Most of the roughly 150 million Russians derive from the Eastern Slavic family of peoples, whose original homeland was probably present-day Poland. Russian is the official language of Russia and an official language in the United Nations. As the language of writers such as Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekov, and Solzhenitsyn, it has great importance in world literature.

Russia's educational system has produced nearly 100% literacy. About 3 million students attend Russia's 519 institutions of higher education and 48 universities. As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is generally of a high order. The number of doctors in relation to the population is high by American standards, although medical care in Russia, even in major cities, is far below Western standards.

The Russian labor force is undergoing tremendous changes. Although well-educated and skilled, it is largely mismatched to the rapidly changing needs of the Russian economy.

Millions of Russian workers are underemployed. Unemployment is highest among women and young people. Many Russian workers compensate by working other part-time jobs. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic dislocation it engendered, the standard of living fell dramatically. The standard of living has been on the rise since 1999, but almost one-third of the population still does not meet the minimum subsistence level for money income. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade estimates that the percentage of people under the subsistence level will gradually decrease by 23%-25% in the period up to 2005.

Rosetta Stone Russian Level 1 & 2 Set

Our Level 1 & 2 Set offers Beginner through Advanced instruction with over 8000 real-life images and phrases in 210 lessons. Russian Levels 1 & 2 provide up to 550 hours of mastery instruction in Listening Comprehension, Reading, Speaking and Writing. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists and drills. Previews, exercises and tests accompany every lesson with automated tutorials throughout the program. Some of the covered topics include Greetings and Conversation; People and Talking; Travel, Transportation and Transactions; Directions; Food, Eating and Drinking; Family Relationships; Telling Time; Numbers to One Hundred; Clothing and Dress; Vehicles, Furniture and Instruments; Shopping and Dining Out; Common Social Conventions; Calendar Conventions; A Complete Reference Section of Commonly Used Terms; Russian Level 1 & 2 Set, Personal Edition set comes complete with illustrated User's Guides and Curriculum Text books.

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Russia Travel & Culture Information

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» Russia Geography
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» Russian People

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