A good way to learn a new language is to dive head-first into media and literature, and in case of Russia, you can easily immerse yourself without getting up from your computer.
Russia has one of the largest internet communities, and some of the leading tech companies in the world are making sure that one can easily live a lifetime without the need to ever use a site in English.
Most Russians will start their day at VK, not FB, and check their e-mail at mail.ru, not Outlook, then go on to search on Yandex, not Google. And if that wasn’t enough, they can do all that and more through the Yandex Browser while chatting on the now Russian-owned ICQ and blogging on the now Russian-owned LiveJournal.
If you’re ready to get a taste of some of these Russian internet services, and improve your proficiency when you’re at it, check out the list below for some of the best alternatives to mainstream social networks and other portals:
| Type | International leader | Russian alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Social network | VK, Odnoklassniki | |
| Search | Yandex | |
| Gmail, Outlook | Yandex Mail, Mail.ru | |
| Video | YouTube, Vimeo | Rutube |
| Maps | Google Maps, Bing Maps | Yandex Maps |
| Translation | Google translate | Yandex Translate |
| Dictionaries | Dictionary, Thesaurus | Academic |
| Professional networking | Professionali | |
| Location-based network | Foursquare | AlterGeo |
| Payments, e-wallets | PayPal | Webmoney, Yandex Money |
| Price comparison | Google Shopping | Price.ru, Yandex Market |
| Coupons, daily deals | Groupon | KupiKupon |
| Flight & train search | Kayak, Hipmunk, Momondo | Aviakassa, Aviasales, Jizo |
| E-commerce | Amazon | Ozon |
| High fashion | Gilt | KupiVIP |
| Movies & tv-shows | Hulu, Netflix | ivi |
| Satire | Uncyclopedia | Lurkmore |
