I am deciding on a destination for 6 weeks this summer to learn russian. I am deciding between Kyiv, Odesa, and St Petersburg. Ive been tilting to Ukraine since the visa requirements seem more manageable compared to Russia. After the course ends I would probably explore more of the country for 2 weeks or so. Any thoughts?

Ithacles, I would definitely advise on St Pete. First if learning Russian is your goal- go to Russia. Moscow will probably have the best classes- like any language every city has dialects. If you want to learn the "proper" Russian- Moscow is the place.

In adddition, St Pete has been renovated for the 300th Birthday Celebration a couple of years ago. It is GORGEOUS. Moscow is unlike any city in the world. It is distinclty Eastern European and a beauty!

Life in Kiev and Odessa is far below the standards in Moscow and St Pete- if you are lookign for Western quality of life then I would definitely advise for you to travel to Moscow and St. Pete.

Regarding the visa, many travel agencies will take care of it for you for a small fee- even if you do not do any bookings through them.

Hope this helps.
Happy Travels!

Saint Petersburg State University has a Russian language program. I took classes through them. At the time it was only $90 a week and the dormitory was a total bargain. And, I made friends with people from around the world who were also studying Russian.

There are for-profit institutions that offer courses in Saint Petersburg too, and I saw that they charged much more.

Center Of Russian Language And Culture at Saint Petersburg State University.

Are you aware that Ukranian and Russian are 2 different languages and they don't speak Russian in Kyiv?

By the way, Kyiv is the Ukranian spelling of the city's name, not Russian. In Russian it would be Kiev. And different pronunciation.

Odessa - maybe, they do speak russian there, but a jargon (slang) mostly.

This leaves St Pete. Or Moscow.

There are certainly more Russian speakers in Kiev/Kyiv than Ukrainian speakers. Anywhere in Ukraine east of Kiev it will be difficult to find Ukrainian speakers. I travelled there recently with a useless Ukrainian phrase book, which I ended up giving away to an English-speaking Ukrainian who wanted it to learn some Ukrainian.

Kiev is a beautiful city but I support the recommendations to learn Russian in St Petersburg, unless cost is an issue. Kiev is much cheaper.

Kiev or Kyiv is a beautiful European city with Western quality of life. But of course, Moscow or S.Pete are more expensive for the same standards! Honore de Balzac, the famous French novelist, wrote: "Petersburg is a young city, Moscow is an ancient city, but Kyiv is the eternal city. It is a Northern Rome."
There are plenty of great schools in Ukraine which offer courses for learning Russian language.. As maytraveller said and it's right, there are more people speaking Russian in Kiev, sadly....

Maybe my message is too late, but if you decide to visit Ukraine check this site out for more info: BestOfUkraine.com

Hi ithacles- I am wondering, are you a student? I would contact US schools to see about locations which offer credits first...

I have studied in Moscow, Piter, and Kharkiv... all are so different! I know for a fact that St.P offers some summer programs though...

If you are from the USA or a Schengen country there are no Visa requirements for Ukraine, just grab your passport and go ...which makes it much easier than Russia.

Along with Odesa, you could also find courses at Sevastopol or Simferopol Crimea, near Yalta and the Black Sea (Chornoye More).

In any case, look to rent a flat for 6 weeks because it will be cheaper than a hotel.

This may help:
http://www.brama.com/travel/travelboard.html

Oh well. Considering you originally posted in March 2005, why not tell us how you faired last summer? Did you make the trip?

Just a side - I grew up in an area of Canada with a very large Ukranian population. In 1990 a group of high school kids from a local Ukranian laguage school travelled to the Ukraine, and were shocked to find that they could not communicate with others their age - they were only able to speak with the elderly. The Russians did a very good job of wiping out the Ukranian language for many years.