Romanov's Russian/English Dictionary

This is a great all-around pocket dictionary for Russian and English. With its 35,000 entries, I found it adequate for most of my daily needs in Russian, although I occasionally needed something a little more specialized when reading heavy literature texts. Full pronunciation information is given for the English entries; Russian entries are marked for stress only. Additional features include a reference chart of the Russian alphabet, a short article on Russian pronunciation, lists of Russian, American, and British abbreviations, and a quick reference list of numbers, weights, and measures.

This book has been around since I began studying Russian in college 23 years ago and it is as good today as it was the first time I picked it up. I have since collected numerous Russian-language dictionaries from both here and abroad, yet for usefulness and convenience, this little dictionary cannot be beat.

I work for the US Peace Corps and speak fluent Russian. Many other volunteers have other dictionaries which don't compare. My Russian friends have been floored at some of the words which are included. I am reading Bulgakov in the original Russian and rarely have trouble finding a word. Because of the intelligent system used,(which you must spend time learning in order to get good use of the dictionary) much more information is in there than meets the eye even in the first year of use. It includes excellent stress pattern systems (rarely wrong) and great grammar references. A must for a student.

Most paperback pocketbook sized foreign language dictionaries contain only root words and words that the author feels are "common", which means about half of the words one is looking for. In contrast, Romanov's Russian English English Russian Dictionary is highly comprehensive, AND, for persons with even a simple understanding of Russian grammar, the grammar appendix is good enough to serve as a stand alone text for conjugation and declision. A must have for the serious student, and an excellent buy for the curious beginner or tourist.