No comments about Moscow: At a Glance Self-folding City Map.

No comments about House of the Station Supervisor (in Russian).

No comments about Travellers Moscow & St Petersburg (Travellers - Thomas Cook).

1 comments about Russian Diary.

1. Charlotte Salisbury regularly accompanied her writer husband Harrison ("The 900 Days -- The Siege of Leningrad") to the former USSR. An accomplished author in her own right, she had a number of Russian friends, and it was for them that she published her candid impressions. "Russian Diary" comes from the perspective of a post-War American tourist who dearly loved Russia and her people, but was critical of the bureaucracy and xenophobia of the Soviet system. In those days, visitors' accomodations and activities were closely regulated by the frustratingly oppressive Intourist. Their comings and goings were monitored, not so clandestinely, by the KGB. And Soviet citizens who associated with Westerners did so at risk to themselves. Mrs. Salizar's independently-minded friends occasionally found themselves summoned and questioned about their conversations and correspondence. But the author's interest was more in everyday life rather than the workings of the government. Her diary describes family relationships, housing, shopping, fashion, dining, transportation, education, and careers, with particular regard to the Soviet concept of Women's Equality. "Russian Diary" provides an interesting contrast to modern conditions for citizens and visitors alike. Russia is one of a few countries which still requires an entry visa, but after perfunctory registration with bored OVIR officials, foreign visitors may reside and travel where they wish. Russians are free to host and escort their American friends anywhere, and to exchange correspondence with them. This book is out-of-print, but worth acquiring from Amazon's affiliates.

No comments about Nations in Darkness--China, Russia, and America.

No comments about Communing with communism;: A narrative of impressions of soviet Russia,.

No comments about In Siberia (BBC Radio 4).

5 comments about Ukrainian Phrasebook (Lonely Planet).

1. I bought this to give to a friend. However, at work I was working with some Ukrainian ladies who didn't speak English. I brought this in, and it was very useful.



2. This pocket guide to Ukrainian was indispensible to me during my two week visit to this country. I carried it with me everywhere I went and consulted it almost constantly. In all that time it was always helpful and accurate. The only time it let me down was in drawing a distinction between a wild rabbit and a domestic one. Each word is given in the Ukrainian Cyrillic spelling and then in a phonetic transliteration with accented syllables in bold. Each section has an introductory piece that gives general background information. Useful phrases and sentences followed by a list of major relevant words complete each section. The end of the book has an English-Ukrainian vocabulary. A Ukrainian-English vocabulary would also have been useful, but would have repeated the vocabularies in each section. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Truly invaluable to the clueless traveler.



3. My trip to Ukraine wouldn't have been the same without this wonderful little book. And Ukrainians were flattered that a foreigner tried speaking Ukrainian to them instead of Russian. It contains the phrases you need and easy to understand pronounciation guide. It really helped break the language barrier and I made new friends in a new country. The entire Lonely Planet series is the best among travel guides, and I've travelled a lot using various guides.



4. This little book is terrific for anyone interested in the Ukrainian language. It has very good explanations of the alphabet and grammatical rules of Ukrainian. It also teaches MANY useful phrases and words for the traveler, and it gives phonetic pronunciations of every word and phrase (as well as the actual Cyrillic spelling).
   I have a close friend in Ukraine who has told me that my pronunciation of the Ukrainian words (as they appear in this book) are perfect.
   However, be certain of your purpose for using this book. If you want to learn to speak the Ukrainian language somewhat fluently, it will take a lot more than this book (but this book is an excellent starting point).
   If you are simply planning to travel to one of the major Ukrainian cities (Kiev, Odessa, etc.) in the near future, you would probably be better off with the Russian version of this book instead of Ukrainian. Everybody in the major cities still speaks Russian as their primary language. Most of them understand Ukrainian, but Russian is still the first language for most people. I understand that this is slowly changing (universities, etc. are changing EVERYTHING over to Ukrainian). And if you plan to visit a small town in Ukraine, many of them speak ONLY Ukrainian. My suggestion is to get both the Ukrainian and the Russian versions, so you will be able to communicate clearly no matter where you are.



5. I visited Kiev were they really only speak Russian. They do speak Ukranian but only in the area that is furthest away from the Russian border. Other than that the book was very good and I really enjoyed the tidbits of information in the book.

No comments about Open Lands: Travels Through Russia's Once Forbidden Places.

No comments about To Russia with love.(People to People Ambassador Programs, art teacher's travel to Russia)(Travel narrative): An article from: Arts & Activities.