Political Russian: An Intermediate Course in Russian Language for International Relations, National Security and Socio-Economics

This is an excellent textbook. Assuming you are already at the intermediate level, it provides a solid grammar review that utilizes vocabulary relevant to political topics. The vocab and grammar build through the book, and the exercises reinforce both. The texts are actual articles, unedited, but picked so that they highlight the grammar and vocab for that lesson. The book is broken into intermediate and advanced levels that proceed concurrently (i.e. - each addresses the same topic at the same time, just in different depths). If you are already pretty strong (or have a lot of time on your hands) you can do both at once. If you are still a little weak, you can just do one, saving the second for later. The only problems I found were the following: The layout is sometimes confusing, particularly in the vocabulary sections, which are poorly formatted. Additionally, there appears to be no index, making it hard to find prior topics if you can't remember where they were located. Finally, the audio portions are now only available on-line. If you are going to be using the book in a place with poor internet service, you should download the files before you leave. Other than those minor issues, this is a solid book that is worth every penny.

I love this book. This was EXACTLY what I was looking for and I am very glad I bought it. It was definitely worth my money.

Rarely do you find a book that is EXACTLY what you're looking for and EXACTLY what it claims to be. This is a superb book for intermediate Russian students who want to focus their study on Politics and International Relations. I treasure this book.