Do you want to communicate with your Russian-speaking family members, colleagues or friends? Or maybe you want to read blogs and journals in Russian? Are you preparing for university studies or an exciting trip to one of the Russian-speaking countries? The purpose of this book is to give you a head start for your Russian language journey, as it covers reading rules, essential grammar, and basic vocabulary – everything you need to get on your feet fast when learning Russian for business or for pleasure. In short, this book explains how the Russian language functions and gives plenty of examples with English translations for each rule explained. Even if you already speak some Russian, this book will give you an abridged program of the beginner level in Russian. Keep it handy and refer to it later when you need to refresh your knowledge. The 1st part of this e-book features the Russian alphabet including handwritten letters; pronunciation rules, including cases when vowels and consonants change their sound. The 2nd part covers essential topics of Russian grammar, such as genders, plurals, cases, conjugations of verbs, and tenses. This will help you “unlock” the Russian sentence structure – you will be able to understand/translate phrases you see or hear and construct your own. The 3rd part - the phrasebook - features the most common Russian words and phrases for daily speaking (organized by topics). All words and phrases are given with stress marks, transcription, and English translation. Start learning Russian the simple way!