Available in a 2-volume format, Nachalo is the most exciting text available for beginning Russian courses. Written by a respected team of Russian scholars and linguists, Nachalo presents grammar functionally and teaches students the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing within the context of a wealth of cultural information. The abundant practice material in Nachalo ranges from focused and controlled to open-ended and communicative. Nachalo features an on-going story set in Russia with a cast of Russian and American characters, exposing students to new vocabulary and structures in authentic situations. Most exciting of all, Nachalo includes the most extensive package of support materials for any beginning Russian text on the market, including a video tied specifically to the text, shot on location in Moscow. The Second Edition is even more powerful with a text-specific Website and an all new student CD-ROM .