Started learning Russian? So, when will you be able to read Russian literature?
You can start trying to read already at the early stages of learning the language. But, you definitely should not jump straight into ‘War and Peace’!
“If you are beginning to study Russian, the main thing is to choose the right approach. When you read, do not translate every unfamiliar word. Learn to understand the meaning from the context: look at the structure of the sentence, the neighboring words and the logic of the plot. You will start to understand more if you do not constantly look things up in the dictionary,” says Alexei Yashchenko, a teacher of additional education in Russian as a foreign language at the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language of the State Pushkin Russian Language Institute.
“Choose short stories, blogs and social media posts where the vocabulary is simple and repetitive. It’s also useful to listen to an audio version (if available) while reading the text. This helps you keep the pace, better perceive intonation and understand the general meaning, even if not all the words are familiar. Before reading, look through the titles, subtitles and illustrations and write down 5–7 key words on the topic. Such “semantic anchors” will help you tackle the text more easily.
At a higher level, you can already try reading simple original works: Pushkin’s prose and poetry, Chekhov’s stories, the works of Boris Zakhoder, drama and contemporary literature with a clear plot. At the same time, like mentioned above, don’t immediately take on Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ – it’s not an easy read, even for native Russian speakers! It’s much more effective to progress gradually, combining reading with discussion of what you have read, keeping a vocabulary notebook of new words and retelling the text out loud.
At an advanced level, full-fledged classical literature begins to become accessible: the works of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Bulgakov and Nabokov. However, even at this stage, it’s useful to use commentaries, dictionaries and supplementary materials that can help you better understand the historical and cultural context of the works.
Practical tips to make reading more effective:
1. Read what interests you: detective stories, science fiction, blogs – motivation is more important than the “required reading list”.
2. Use the ‘reading with benefit’ method: don’t write down all unfamiliar words, but only 5–7 new words or expressions from each text.
3. Reread the text: the first reading is for the general meaning, the second is for understanding details and language.
“Remember: reading is not the finish line, but part of the journey. Every paragraph you read brings you closer not only to fluency in Russian, but also to an understanding of Russian culture, mentality and way of thinking. The main thing is regularity and enjoyment of the process,” says Alexei Yashchenko.
