This year-long course is designed to teach students to read the mysterious looking Cyrillic script, write the unique Russian cursive, construct sentences and express themselves in Russian. Students will immerse themselves in the colorful cultural and historical context provided by authentic text, film, music, and visual arts. Exploring selected works by such literary masters as A. Pushkin, L. Tolstoy, and A. Chekhov, to name a few, students will be able to understand not only the specifics of Russian grammar and vocabulary but also the complexities of Russian character and the Russian way of thinking as documented and preserved by outstanding Russian authors.