For me, Kristina’s pre-intermediate readers are a wonderful method for learning and retaining new Russian vocabulary. This has been my major challenge while trying to learn Russian. Previously I had been working through text books with their associated audio but Kristina’s readers are much more interesting and so much more inspiring! Their simplified texts with accompanying ‘slow’ Russian audio paradoxically have accelerated my rate of acquiring new vocabulary and renewed my interest in mastering this complex language. I highly recommend the readers to anyone learning Russian as well as Kristina’s other online materials.