Do not take this class if you are looking for an easy language.

Kudyma is the one and only professor you want to teach you Russian. She is incredibly knowledgeable in the Russian language and it shows in her teaching. If you grew up speaking Russian at home (but never took Russian courses until UCLA), her class is at the perfect difficulty level to keep you entertained and learning while not feeling overwhelmed. She speaks in simple, understandable Russian, so even if you do not have an extensive Russian vocabulary, you can keep up. Homework twice a week which is easy but can be long at times (so don't fall behind), lecture twice a week mandatory attendance, one or two midterms that are fair, a final presentation, and one news presentation per quarter. Kudyma really wants you to succeed no matter and will modify your homework to make it better for your learning if you ask.

This class is great! Polina, the TA that taught this class, was absolutely amazing. Would take again.

The TA that actually taught this class was Polina. She is an absolute angel and I loved this course. I actually learned a lot and had so much fun. Small class size and you meet a lot of cool people from similar backgrounds.

Dr. Kudyma is an excellent teacher who is clearly very passionate about teaching students Russian language and culture. My impression of this class is that it is very easy for native speakers and moderately difficult for those not quite yet fluent in Russian, but Dr. Kudyma makes an effort to grade each student on the basis of their individual skill level. The assignments and exams strike a good balance between teaching new information about art history to speakers who are already native, and teaching both information and Russian speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills to speakers who are not native. All in all, Dr. Kudyma is the best language teacher I have ever learned from, and her dedication and compassion is partly why I continue with the eternal struggle that is learning Russian.

Amazing teacher! Always such a pleasure taking classes with Professor Kudyma! I love learning new things with her in such a welcoming and friendly environment!

Professor Kudyma is by far one of the best professors I have had at UCLA. She is truly so dedicated to helping her students succeed and always comes up with interesting material for us to study. Not only does she try to always keep us engaged, but she also always corrects our speaking skills to make everyone fluent speakers. I am currently pursuing a Russian language minor here, and I look forward to taking more classes with her. You will learn so much in her class and enjoy your time as well! Also, it's always a pleasure to attend the quarterly events she puts on for the department! She honestly doesn't have any weaknesses I can think of! Take her if you can!

Selling the required textbook (which is used in every class) almost as good as new at a discounted price.

Find me on Instagram, soniuh.

The department is full of passionate teachers. The class is great but it does go pretty fast.

Phenomenal instructor. Admittedly, I chose this seemingly random language since everything else was full, but I am totally engaged in Russia and I changed my major to Russian Studies after this class. At the end of a single quarter I am able to converse and write detailed blog entries about my life, and I learned more than I did taking four years of another language in high school. I am definitely continuing beyond the university requirement and will take all her available classes. She teaches most Russian classes, and is also a Ukrainian teacher.

Grading is almost a non-issue, because you will know the material so well it's impossible to get a bad grade.

Russian is actually her second language, yet she got a MA in it. Amazing.

THIS IS FOR RUSSIAN 1 and 2:

I am currently taking Russian with Naya Lekht, and she is amazing. Probably one of the best teachers I've had here at ucla thus far.

If you're looking for a foreign language requirement, and can't get into spanish cause of sucky enrollement times, this would be the class. It's easy as the class stresses more of participation and showing up to class rather than tests and quizzes. I got an A+ in Russian 1 and probably will get an A in Russian 2.
This is for Naya Lekht as I couldn't find her on here. Take Russian with Naya if you can!