7+ Best Russian Textbooks for levels B1 - B2, intermediate

I have compiled a list of some of the best Russian textbooks for Intermediate learners of Russian language. If your level A1-A2, welcome to our huge list of textbooks for learning Russian from scratch.


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1. A Comprehensive Russian Grammar

  • a better reference grammar, very impressive, great book;
  • contains all the fundamental points of Russian grammar from beginner to intermediate level;
  • beat every other learning system hands down for developing an understanding of the basic mechanics of the Russian language;
  • a great reference for translations and basic to very advanced grammar at a glance​;
  • A go-to reference for more detailed or technical questions about Russian grammar;
  • each example in Russian has a full English translation;
  • every part of speech gets its own chapter that explains its usage in detail;
  • a must have for learning Russian grammar.

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2. Russian Motion Verbs for Intermediate Students

  •  a comprehensive and not-overly-complicated explanation of how Russian verbs work grammatically with coherent examples;
  • wonderful illustration that make comprehending the complicated (in comparison with English) Russian verb system accessible;
  • easy work sheets;
  • especially useful when combined with "501 Russian Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses Alphabetically Arranged (501 Verbs Series)" by Thomas R., Jr. Beyer;
  • an immense help and provides a very strong base for learning the logic of Russian verbs of motion;
  • clear and thorough explanation of the puzzle of Russian verbs of motion;
  • a truly great book.

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3. Modern Russian Grammar: A Practical Guide (Modern Grammars)

  • a fantastic Russian grammar book;
  • The best book in English I've seen on this subject;
  • It's even better than Terrence Wade's "A Comprehensive Russian Grammar";
  • one of the authors is Russian. Russian grammars written solely by English native speakers always have problems, even if they are supposedly proofed by Russian native speakers; it seems the Russians that participate in the editorial process never carefully proof the texts.

Modern Russian Grammar Workbook (Modern Grammar Workbooks)

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4. Animation for Russian Conversation

Animation for Russian Conversation draws on the best known Russian works of animation --Cheburashka, Karlson, the Hedgehog, and Vinni Pukh. 

"The book is very creative and fills a substantial void in our profession. The manuscript . . . constitutes creative and important work. It has many pedagogical features that represent the latest thinking on foreign language teaching."
     —Benjamin Rifkin, Temple University

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5. V Puti Value Pack (includes Reference Grammar for V Puti, Student Activities Manual and Oxford New Russian Dictionary)

This package has the very useful combination:

  • the textbook (lots of new words and phrases before every chapter),
  • the workbook,
  • a grammar guide (contains all six cases (nominative, prepositional, accusative, genitive, dative, and instrumental), with all the endings for nouns and adjectives),
  • a dictionary.

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6. Panorama: Intermediate Russian Language and Culture, Student Bundle: Book + Electronic Workbook Access Card Bilingual

  • an excellent balance of Russian concepts mixed with English explanations of various principles of the Russian language; 
  • focusing on a lot of topics: city life, public transportation, religion, social media;
  • interactive online homework to test your knowledge in quia.com (very useful and relate back to the text);
  • includes both the student textbook and access to the Electronic Workbook;
  • includes comprehensive in-class vocabulary and grammar exercises and discussion topics as well as reading texts (for work in class and at home), summative oral and written exercises, and compelling color photos.

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7. Intermediate Russian: A Grammar and Workbook (Grammar Workbooks)

  • an excellent guide to the Intermediate Russian; 
  • well-considered structure of the exercises and the revision of difficult concepts; 
  • an invaluable handbook;
  • a lot of useful information for the intermediate student of Russian; 
  • plenty of exercises and an answer key;
  • promises to teach you intermediate grammatical principles of Russian and it does that. 

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8. Russian Through Art: For Intermediate to Advanced Students

  • culturally immersive language learning via Russian museums, collections, painting, architecture, music, ballet, opera, and theater;
  • accessible to students with different skill levels and interests (modular design); 
  • a 5-11 minute lecture by Elena Skudskaia of the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg with clear articulation and at a reasonable pace with transcripts of her talks (available on the website);
  • with authentic video clips (no transcripts), denser reading passages, and oral and written exercises; 
  • plenty of suggestions for presentational speaking, with Ms. Skudskaia’s lectures providing models of speech organization (opening and closing statements) as well as practice with dates and numbers. 

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