Russian language expert, tutor, and content creator
I offer Russian lessons, create courses and learning materials, and also do copywriting, translations, and text editing in Russian.

Always open to new projects, ideas, and collaborations.


Throughout my career, I’ve been lucky to get experience and expert knowledge in three areas:
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
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Associate Professor of Russian (доцент)
Moscow State Linguistic University – 1990–2012
  • Taught a wide range of Russian language courses to international students (Conversation & Composition, Phonetics, The language of the mass media, Introduction to Russian Literary Readings, Russian folk tales).
  • Delivered RFL methodology lectures to students and visiting professors.
  • Collaborated with international universities to design and deliver intensive summer language programs.
  • Reviewed scholarly work and created teaching materials for Russian language instruction.
Visiting Russian Instructor
Summer Language Institute, University of Pittsburgh – 2007, 2012, 2017
  • Taught Russian to Heritage Learners and 1st – through 4th year students in intensive 5- and 8-week courses.
  • Guided students in developing final projects that integrated both cultural and linguistic content.
  • Engaged in extracurricular activities – participated in and occasionally led singing and cooking classes, introduced films at SLI movie days, and assisted with student performances at program closing events.
  • Taught at Russian courses in Moscow for University of Pittsburgh student groups (2005–2007).
University of Iowa – Summer 1997, Fall 2003
  • Served as the lead instructor of an intensive beginner-level summer program designed for students from underrepresented backgrounds in Russian language studies, including African American and Latinx students, who had received special grants to participate (1997).
  • Instructed intermediate-level students in Russian (2003)
Director, Russian Language Program
CRADIE Language Courses, Moscow – 1992–2000
  • Designed study-abroad language immersion programs in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands.
  • Created educational, informational, and reference materials for a two-week program that integrated 40 hours of coordinated classroom instruction with 20 hours of cultural excursions
  • Provided training and managed the coordination of a multidisciplinary team of instructors and tour guides engaged in the project.
Private Russian Tutor (Freelance & Projects)
1990–present
  • Provided tailored Russian instruction to international professionals, students, and diplomats.
  • Specialized in test prep and job-specific language needs.
  • Deliver personalized Russian language instruction to a diverse range of learners, including bilingual children, heritage speakers, and newly arrived immigrant or relocated children.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING EXPERIENCE
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Chief Editor, Travel Guides Department
ABBYY Press – 2007–2013
  • Oversaw translation, localization, and marketing of Michelin Travel Guides for the Russian market.
  • Built and supervised a team of in-house and freelance translators.
  • Coordinated international editorial collaborations.
  • Managed task distribution across departments, including editorial, proofreading, design, marketing, and sales.

Editor / Manager (HR, PR, Operations
Rubricon Encyclopedic Internet Project – 2000–2003
• Managed PR, HR, and office operations while contributing to content development for Russia’s
first online encyclopedia.


CREATIVE & ADVERTISING WORK
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Head of Creative / Senior Copywriter
Palmer Agency – 2013–2022
  • Led creative concepting and copywriting for integrated marketing campaigns (print, digital, TV, radio, social media, point-of-sale, and outdoor channels).
  • Wrote copy, slogans, and advertising narratives for brand platforms and product launches.
  • Produced and edited content for brochures, catalogs, manuals, and guidelines.
  • Wrote scripts for audio and video ads.
  • Worked on UX writing and testing for websites and mobile apps, with attention to usability, SEO .
  • Created corporate e-learning courses.
  • Managed localization and multilingual content projects, including Russian translation and cultural adaptation of ad campaigns, brochures, websites, and radio spots.
  • Coordinated cross-functional teams and ensured alignment with client strategy.
Clients: Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Michelin, BASF, MKB-Bank, and others.
MY EDUCATION
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Ph.D. in Linguistics
Moscow State Lomonosov University, Faculty of Philology, 1993–1998
Dissertation: The Russian Language Spoken by Emigrés in the U.S.
Graduate Studies in General and Comparative Linguistics, 1993–1996

B.A. and M.A. (Specialist degree) in Russian Language and Literature
Moscow State Lomonosov University, Faculty of Philology, 1985–1990
Thesis: British and American Accents in the Russian Language
Specialization: Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language

Diploma in Professional Training, Media and Communications Design
Moscow State Lomonosov University, Faculty of Journalism, 2000–2001
Thesis: Russian Textbook Communicative Design

Diploma in Conceptual Thinking and Idea Development
MADS (Moscow Advertising School), 2018

Accelerated portfolio course for advertising and creative professionals

PUBLICATIONS
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Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
  • “Walking the Internet: Some Simple Ways of Using the Internet in Teaching and Learning the Russian Language.” Mir russkogo slova (The World of Russian Word), no. 1 (2000): 76–80. (in Russian)
  • “‘Golosa’ in the Internet: On the Experience of Creating an Internet Application for a Russian Language Course for Beginners.” Mir russkogo slova (The World of Russian Word), no. 2 (2000): 103–108. (in Russian)
  • “Sketches Toward a Linguistic Portrait of Russian Americans.” Russkiy yazyk za rubezhom (Russian Language Abroad), no. 2 (2001): 95–102. (in Russian)
  • “Internet Resources for RFL: Achievements and Early Growing Pains.” Russkiy yazyk za rubezhom (Russian Language Abroad), no. 1 (2004). (in Russian)

Conference Presentations, Papers and Other Academic Publications
  • “Phonetic Peculiarities of Russian Speech of Russian Immigrants in the USA.” In Phonetics in the Language System, Theses of the II International Symposium of MAPRYAL, 65. Moscow: Unicum- Center, 1996. (in Russian)
  • “Lexical Peculiarities of Russian Speech of Russian Immigrants in the USA.” In Theory and Practice of Russian Studies in the World Context, International Scientific Conference devoted to the 30th Anniversary of MAPRYAL, 375–76. Moscow: RUDN, 1997. (in Russian)
  • “On Russian Speech of Russian Immigrants in the USA.” In Slovo - II, Collection of Scientific Works, 96–106. Tambov, 1997. (in Russian)
  • “Russian Speech in the USA.” Abstract of the Dissertation for the Degree of Candidate of Philological Sciences. Moscow: Dialog-MSU, 1998. (in Russian)
  • “Teaching Russian Language to Children of Russian Immigrants.” AATSEEL '99, Program of the Annual Meeting, Chicago, 1999, 144. (in English)
  • “A Course of Russian Military History through Movies as a Means of Linguistic Competence Growth, Background Knowledge Enlargement, and Increase of Learning Incentive.” AATSEEL'00, Program of the Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2000, 158–59. (in English)
  • “Use of the Internet in Teaching and Learning Russian as a Foreign Language.” In Russian Language in the Circle of World Languages Conference. Moscow: MGLU, 2001. (in Russian)
  • “Practical Issues of Using the Internet in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language.” In Proceedings of the XII International Conference “Information Technologies in Education” (ITE-2002), Part III - Information Technologies in the Educational Process, 75–77. Moscow: MEPhI, 2002. (in Russian)
  • “Reflection of Specific Problems of Students with Russian Language Heritage in the Materials of Written Lexical Test.” In Teaching Russian Language in the Russian Federation and Foreign Countries, International Conference, October 26–28, 2005, vol. 2, 106–09. Moscow: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Center for International Education, 2005. (in Russian)
  • “Tensions in the Motivation of Russian Heritage Learners: Observation during Language Teaching in Moscow.” AATSEEL Newsletter 49, no. 4 (December 2006): 23. (in English)
  • “Teaching Russian to Students with Russian Linguistic Heritage from the USA (Phonetic Aspect).” In Theory and Practice of Sounding Speech, Collection of Scientific Articles Dedicated to the Anniversary of E. A. Bryzgunova. Vilnius: Vilnius University Press, 2007. (in Russian)
Russian Language Textbooks
  • Perspectiva. The main part. Issue 4. Manual for foreign students of short-term Russian language courses. St. Petersburg: Zlatoust, 1998. (Co-authored, in Russian).
  • Perspectiva. The main part. Issue 5. Manual for foreign listeners of short-term courses of the Russian language. St. Petersburg: Zlatoust, 2000. (Co-authored, in Russian).
TRANSLATIONS / EDITORIAL WORK
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Travel Guides (Lead Editor and/or Translator)
  • Michelin Amsterdam. Nota bene. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2011.
  • Michelin Rome. Nota bene. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2011.
  • Michelin Istanbul. Nota bene. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2013.
  • Michelin Florence. Nota bene. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2011.
  • Michelin Berlin. Nota bene. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2013.
  • Michelin Barcelona and the coast of Catalonia. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2011.
  • Michelin Bordeaux and surroundings. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2010.
  • Michelin Nice, Monaco and surroundings. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2010.
  • Michelin Paris. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2013.
  • Michelin Paris with Children. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2010.
  • Michelin Prague. Moscow: ABBYY Press, 2013
Books (Translator)
  • Howard Zinn, People's History of the United States. Moscow: Ves Mir, 2006.
  • Pauline Beaumont, Bread Therapy: The Art of Conscious Baking of Bread. Moscow: Azbuka-Atticus, 2022.
  • Shannon Sarna, Modern Jewish Home Cooking. Moscow: Azbuka-Atticus, 2022.
Read an excerpt from the book Bread Therapy


My TPT Store
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  • I also have a store on Teachers Pay Teachers called 36 CARDS & more, where I sell a variety of engaging materials for language learners — flashcards, worksheets, conversation starters, games, and more. Feel free to check out my store at this link:
Get in Touch!
Have a question? Want to learn more or book a free trial lesson? Here are a few easy ways to get in touch:
russianclass @ icloud.com
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