Andrew Kaufman - Russian for dummies

Russian For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Andrew Kaufman, PhD, and Serafima Gettys, PhD

Russian For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011945674

ISBN 978-1-118-12769-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-20638-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-20639-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-20640-9 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

Andrew Kaufman, PhD, is a Russian literature and culture scholar who has spent the last 15 years bringing alive the Russian classics to Americans young and old. An innovative, award-winning teacher of Russian language, literature, and culture, Dr. Kaufman holds a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Stanford University and currently lectures at the University of Virginia.

Author of Understanding Tolstoy, Dr. Kaufman has discussed Russian literature and culture on national and international TV and radio programs. Known as a passionate, down-to-earth, and inspirational speaker and workshop facilitator, he was a featured Tolstoy expert for Oprahs Book Club in 2004 and cowrote the Readers Guide to Tolstoys The Death of Ivan Ilyich for the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. He is currently at work on Give War and Peace a Chance, to be published by Free Press.

Fluent in Russian, Dr. Kaufman has lectured at the Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences and at the Leo Tolstoy Museum and Estate at Yasnaya Polyana. Having lived and studied extensively in Russia, he has also worked as an interpreter, translator, and management consultant.

Dr. Kaufman also trained and worked as a professional actor for close to a decade. He helps people appreciate the rich tradition of Russian literature and draws on his acting skills to create captivating and enlightening talks, as well as inspirational readings from the Russian classics. He is currently a Lecturer and an ACE Faculty Fellow at the University of Virginia, where he created and teaches a community-based literature course, Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature, and Community Leadership, in which students lead discussions about Russian literature with incarcerated youth at juvenile correctional and treatment centers in Virginia.

Serafima Gettys, PhD, earned her doctorate degree in Foreign Language Education from A.I. Hertzen State Pedagogical University, Leningrad, USSR. Before coming to the U.S. in 1990, Dr. Gettys taught English, American Studies, and Methodology of Teaching Foreign Language at A.I. Hertzen University of Education. In the U.S., she taught Russian at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. She is currently a Director of the Foreign Language Program at Lewis University, where she also teaches Russian. Dr. Gettys is also a member of a number of professional language associations. She is the author of more than 30 publications in the area of foreign language education.

The second edition of Russian For Dummies was prepared by Dr. Gettys.

Authors Acknowledgments

Andrew Kaufman: I would like to thank my colleague, former Stanford professor, and coauthor, Serafima Gettys, one of the most original and inspired Russian language teachers I know. Her grace, infectious love of Russian, and professionalism were instrumental in making this book happen and a joy to write.

A hearty thanks to Georgette Beatty at Wiley for her expert guidance and her encouragement throughout the writing process, and to Tracy Boggier at Wiley for her supervision and coordination, and for making this book possible. Id also like to thank Christy Pingleton, the copy editor, and Carol Apollonio and Natalia Rekhter, the technical reviewers, for helping to make sure that every sentence in the book is both accurate and readable.

A heartfelt thanks to my agent, Margot Maley-Hutchison of Waterside Productions, for her expert representation and skillful problem resolution throughout.

Thanks to all my colleagues and students at the University of Virginia for helping to create a supportive and stimulating environment in which to share our common passion for Russian literature and culture.

I am grateful to my former professors at Stanford University and Amherst College for their mentorship and for helping me to discover the fascinating world of Russian language, literature, and culture.