Russian Reader.

Russian looks forbidding until the stories are familiar. These twenty-one narratives, from the Creation to the Empty Tomb, use plots you already know so that the Cyrillic, the cases and the rhythms of Russian get your full attention.

The text is the classic 1876 Synodal Translation — the standard for Russian speakers — in plain, dignified prose that suits learners perfectly. Every word carries a stress mark, the essential pronunciation support Russian print usually omits, and a word-by-word English gloss runs beneath each line. Doré's engravings complete the volume.