How I Learned Russian

When I turned 30, I was already an experienced specialist and actively involved in building a new Beko home appliances factory from scratch. My job as a leading specialist in the IT department included regular interactions with major companies in Moscow, such as SAP, IBM, Siemens, HP, and many others.

Despite my professional success and ability to negotiate on technical topics, I faced a serious problem: I couldn't write competently in Russian. This deficiency became increasingly apparent and hindered my professional activities. Therefore, I decided to seek help from my colleague, Lena Ukhacheva, who was known for her high level of literacy and professionalism.

Every time before sending an important letter, I sent the text to Lena via email. She carefully checked it, corrected mistakes, and graded my work. In the beginning, my letters received low grades, ranging from -2 to 2. This was a serious blow to my self-esteem, but I understood that without this criticism, I wouldn't be able to improve my skills. Gradually, thanks to her help and persistence, my grades started to improve, and I began receiving 3s and 4s.

Realizing that just having my letters checked was not enough, Lena recommended that I start reading books in Russian. I followed her advice and began with Russian classics. My first choice was Chekhov's short stories, which, despite their brevity, turned out to be incredibly rich in content and language. Then I moved on to reading novellas and novels by various authors. One of the most striking experiences for me was reading Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment," which I managed to read twice. This novel made a strong psychological impact on me and made me look at many life issues in a new way.

After Dostoevsky, I continued my acquaintance with Russian literature by turning to the works of Varlam Shalamov and his stories about life in the camps, as well as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago." These books not only enriched my vocabulary but also gave me a deep understanding of Russian history and culture. I also read works by some contemporary Russian writers, which allowed me to better understand modern Russian language and its evolution.

Over time, my writing skills significantly improved. I became more confident and competent in expressing my thoughts in Russian. Whether I ever received a perfect score for my letters, I can't recall, but I can confidently say that my texts reached a solid four-level. This learning process was not only a professional challenge but also an exciting journey into the world of Russian literature and culture.