Stories, audio, and videos can all help you learn Russian when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from Russian you can mostly understand. Russian adds one small hurdle for readers, because it is hard to tell which syllable of a word to stress, and everyday Russian text does not mark it. Stress marks appear in dictionaries, children's books, and materials for learners, so Russian written for learners is easier to read aloud at first.
These apps help you find Russian at your level, or add meanings to the Russian you choose. For courses, speaking practice, and tutors, see our Russian app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Learn Russian with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you. Bubblegum also has news and stories, so you can read and listen to a mix of Russian about music, food, family, or daily life.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for your level, interests, and goals. If a sentence is hard to follow, just ask her to explain the words or the grammar.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help you read Russian you found yourself. For a book, an article, or a show you already picked, the apps in Read and Watch Russian You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Ask Poppy for help as you read.
- Lessons and audio are made with AI, so pair them with recordings of Russian speakers, like the stories and videos below.
- You cannot bring in your own books or articles.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Cyrillic
Mobile
Read and Listen to Stories for Learners
Russian Readers
Russian Readers is a library of stories written for Russian learners of all ages and levels, and new books are added over time. It suits beginners who want to hear every word while they read along.
- Russian speakers and professional storytellers read every story in slow Russian.
- Each word lights up as the narrator reads it.
- Every Russian word has an English translation, and you can hide the translation when you want a challenge.
Mobile
Read and Watch Russian You Choose
These tools help you learn from shows, videos, books, and web pages you pick yourself. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
LingQ
LingQ lets you read and listen to Russian from its library or bring in videos, books, and articles. Its Russian library starts with Mini Stories, a beginner course of 62 lessons, and includes courses from learner channels such as Russian from Afar.
- Read and listen to Russian from a library, or import your own.
- New words and words you are learning are highlighted, and words you know are left plain.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
Language Reactor shows Russian subtitles beside a translation while you watch. It also works on YouTube, so you can use it with the learner channels below. It is free to install, with paid extras.
- See Russian subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube.
- Look up words in a pop-up dictionary.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
- Doesn't teach Cyrillic
Browser extension
Readlang
Readlang helps you read Russian on the web. Tap a word or short phrase to see what it means, then review those words with flashcards later.
- Tap a word or short phrase on a web page to see what it means.
- Read texts from its Russian library, or upload your own.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Cyrillic
WebBrowser extension
Read Two Languages Side by Side
Beelinguapp
Beelinguapp puts Russian beside a language you know. Read the Russian first, then check the translation when you need help. It suits learners who like to listen and read at the same time.
- Read Russian beside a language you know, and check the other side when you get stuck.
- Russian speakers read each story aloud, and the text moves along with the audio.
- Stories, news articles, and children's books from beginner to advanced.
- Flashcards
Mobile
Free Videos and Podcasts for Learners
Russian has many free YouTube channels made for learners. Comprehensible Russian and Random Russian have videos for complete beginners, and Comprehensible Russian also sorts its videos by level on its website. Sergey Storyteller tells easy stories in Russian and has a free course for absolute beginners.
Once you know the basics, try Russian with Max. His Comprehensible Russian Podcast has more than 400 episodes from A2 level up, with free episodes and a paid membership for transcripts. Russian Progress and the Russian Radio Show also make videos and podcasts for learners, and Easy Russian interviews people on the street.
For reading, Lingua.com has Russian texts with audio written by teachers, and 18 of them are free. We found no news site that rewrites the news in easy Russian. When you can follow native speech, BBC News Russian and DW in Russian post free news every day.
Learn Russian in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, except Language Reactor (Chrome Web Store) and Readlang (its help forum). Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Russian Readers | 1 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
| Readlang | 1 | Full list |
| Beelinguapp | 22 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (7)
- MishkaStory-based lessons made by a certified Russian tutor, with more than 230 stories from A1 to C1, recorded audio, and words you can tap to translate. A new course starts from the alphabet. It is new and growing.
- LingopieRussian TV shows and movies with dual subtitles you can tap, plus short stories, audiobooks, and podcasts.
- FluentURussian movie clips, music videos, and cartoons with clickable Cyrillic and English captions, grammar notes, and quizzes.
- ReadlineShort articles about science, culture, and history at four levels, written and recorded by Russian speakers, with stress marks you can turn on.
- Luna ReaderRussian audio stories from A1 to C2, with words you can tap and the translation beside the text. It is new and growing.
- Short Stories in RussianOlly Richards' graded readers from Teach Yourself, with eight stories in each book for beginners and intermediate learners. You can read them in print or in the Teach Yourself readers app.
- AnkiA free flashcard app that many Russian learners use to review words from what they read and watch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to learn Cyrillic first?
It helps a lot. The Russian alphabet has 33 letters, and some look like English letters but stand for different sounds. Bubblegum's free Russian Cyrillic course teaches all of them in nine short chapters, right in your browser. You can watch videos for complete beginners while you learn the letters.
How do I know which syllable to stress?
Check a dictionary until you get a feel for it. Stress can move between forms of the same word, and it can change the meaning: за́мок means castle, and замо́к means lock. OpenRussian shows the stress on every word, and Russiangram adds stress marks to Russian text you paste in.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
The Russian Cyrillic course and Russian guides on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Russian alphabet
- Russian With Max: Comprehensible Russian Podcast episodes by level
- Comprehensible Russian: video library by level
- Sergey Storyteller on YouTube
- Lingua.com: Russian texts for beginners
- OpenRussian: About
- Russiangram: Russian stress-marking tool
- Bubblegum
- Russian Readers
- LingQ
- Language Reactor
- Readlang
- Beelinguapp
Checked on October 8, 2026 against each app's own pages.
