A Structural Approach to the Study of Russian, Slavic & More
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For those who are focused on the study of Russian, get access to the library of 1) handouts explaining particularly troublesome grammatical topics (verbs in -ся, verbs of motion, verbal aspect etc.) 2) interactive video and audio content that checks your comprehension as you follow along 3) annotated readings 4) book, film and other learning material recommendations and more. All materials continuously updated. Abilities to submit questions and leave feedback included. Join here.
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For those who want to expand their knowledge of the Slavic languages beyond Russian, you get access to everything in the Russian Studies Program in addition to 1) learning how to read West Slavic (like Polish and Czech), South Slavic (Like BCMS and Bulgarian) and other Slavic languages and how their sound systems differ from Russian 2) annotated readings and more. All materials continuously updated. Abilities to submit questions and leave feedback included.
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For those who are ready to branch out beyond the Slavic languages, this program gives you access to all of my language study materials, including, but not limited to Spanish, Hungarian, Albanian and more. All materials continuously updated. Abilities to submit questions and leave feedback included.
Private Lessons and Consulting
Interested in private meetings online (via Google, Microsoft etc.)? Fill out the form, tell me a little bit about yourself and the type and frequency of lesson you are interested in and we will get to work!
I have taught:
Russian language at all levels and Russian literature with readings in English or Russian
Introduction to spoken Polish and Polish literature in English or Polish
Introduction to Spoken Czech and Czech literature in English or Czech
Introduction to theoretical linguistics
Want to get started with BCMS (formerly Serbo-Croatian), Bulgarian, Slovak, Macedonian, Old Church Slavonic, German, Hungarian or anything else? Message me to see if I can help!
About Me
My entrance into the world of Slavdom began with courses in Polish (2013) and Russian (2014). Between 2014-2020 I spent three years in Russia (Vladivostok, Moscow, St. Petersburg) studying, traveling (including the Trans-Siberian Railway and Kamchatka), and teaching. I completed my masters in Slavic Languages and Literatures in 2019 and my PhD with a dissertation on abstract event expression in Modern Russian in 2023 at UVA. In 2023-24 I spent a year in Prague studying Czech and have traveled throughout the Balkans and spent several months in Poland. I began teaching professionally in 2017 and have taught all levels of Russian, as well as introductions to Linguistics, Polish, and Czech. In addition to learning languages, about them and how they work, I enjoy literature, film and music.
I am a proud contributor at Russian Readers.
What My Students Say
“I came to Alex as an A2-level Russian student, and he helped me unlock the next level of fluency with patience, humor, and deep cultural insight. He expanded my vocabulary, taught me fun sayings and colloquial expressions, and guided me through complex topics like verbs of motion, cases (including tricky number cases), and conversational fluency. Our lessons were never boring — Alex has an incredibly funny and engaging personality, and I found myself laughing constantly while learning. Every session was a mix of practical grammar, real Russian conversation, and cultural insight from his life in Russia. For science, I even secretly recorded snippets of our conversations (so sorry Alex!) and played them for my Russian friends — all of whom confirmed that he speaks nearly accent-free! They were extremely impressed. If you're looking for a tutor who will not only teach you Russian but also keep you thoroughly entertained and motivated, I can't recommend Alex enough. Спасибо большое, Алекс!” (2025)
Class with Alex feels like hanging out with your insanely smart, funny, and patient friend who has the answers to every obscure question you can think of and doesn't get annoyed when you ask the same thing a million times. He's done the heavy lifting of understanding and synthesizing tons of knowledge and can package it into digestible pieces, specifically referencing the skills and vocab you're confident with to give context to the unknown. If you're looking for a teacher who can tell you what a textbook cannot (who also has great Russian movie and music recs), Alex is your match. (2025)
I have been taking lesson with Alex for a few months now. He is a wicked smart guy, good sense of humor and very flexible as well. It is refreshing to have grammar explained logically rather than going through drills or accepting ambiguous answers from natives. We have gone through many convoluted Russian texts, listening practices and difficult grammar concepts together . He is always happy to help, answer questions promptly and effectively . I also appreciate that he remembers material we covered in previous lessons Класс! (2024)
Alex is an amazing teacher. I have been learning with him for a couple of months and have gotten much better at understanding grammar rules and general speaking/listening. Alex has helped me much more than videos and online websites especially when learning to speak. I recommend Alex for anyone who wants to learn Russian. (2023)
“I've been taking classes with Alex for little over 3 months, after a year of DuoLinguo - and the progress is night and day in terms of learning and satisfaction. If you're looking to learn in a logical, progressive, and thorough way - Alex is the person you're looking for. He's passionate, adaptable, academic - if you truly enjoy learning, this is the tutor you need. As a sidedish, you also get to benefit from his top notch subtle comedy quite often, which also broadens your understanding of the nuances of Russian language and culture! Большое спасибо Алекс!.” (2025)
“I have been working with Alex for several months and highly recommend him. His expertise in grammar, language in context, and shades of meaning in various Russian topics like imperfective/perfective or verbs of motion is well worth the higher price.” (2025)
I have studied Russian with Alex for a couple of months now. He’s professional, patient, and passionate about all things Russian language. It’s important to note Alex is different than many other tutors on Preply because he is actually a professionally-trained scholar of Russian language and literature with actual Russian language teaching experience at research universities. As such, his knowledge of Russian language and especially Russian grammar is top-notch. But he never comes across as pedantic - he is down-to-earth and more than willing to tailor his approach to the student’s plans. For example, I am learning Russian primarily for reading and research purposes - eg, to be able to read historical texts in the original Russian. Alex came up with a plan and recommended a textbook tailored to my needs (eg, focusing more on grammar and analyzing texts). Lessons with Alex are also punctuated with discussions of Russian history, literature, and culture, which I appreciate (Alex in particular has good recommendations of Soviet-era films and he has a graduate degree in Russian literature, so he has many interesting stories about Russian authors). And my advice — don’t be put off by the fact that Alex is not a native speaker of Russian. In fact, one reason I ended up deciding to learn Russian from Alex was precisely because he is not a native speaker: he understands the struggles of learning Russian as a foreign language and that empathy manifests itself in his teaching; he is able to share helpful tips and substantive analytical strategies for learning Russian as a foreign language; and he is able to actually explain the logic behind how and why Russian grammatical concepts are the way they are (and he does not just say things like “oh, that’s how it is, memorize it”). I look forward to continuing my Russian language studies with Alex and recommend him enthusiastically. (2024)