Russian Without Borders: Sverdlovsk Region Creates a Digital Language Platform
The Slovo za slovom (Word by Word) educational system helps foreigners learn Russian. Testing of the AI-powered platform will soon begin in Kyrgyzstan.
Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov once wrote: “The greatest wealth of a people is its language! For thousands of years, countless treasures of human thought and experience have accumulated and lived forever in words.” A new digital language platform offers users a way to explore that treasure trove of the Russian language. Slovo za slovom analyzes a learner’s proficiency level and identifies common mistakes. It also selects exercises that can genuinely help the learner make progress. This approach changes how people learn. Instead of simply repeating material, students are guided by a digital tutor.
The project is being developed by the Dialog kultur (Dialogue of Cultures) autonomous nonprofit organization with support from the regional government. The Ural State University of Economics is responsible for the project’s methodological framework.
A Historical and Cultural Foundation
The app is available in eight foreign languages. The platform has a multilingual interface, and learners can start studying Russian at any level. What makes it particularly distinctive is that the lessons are built around history and culture. Slovo za slovom therefore goes beyond grammar, also introducing learners to history, traditions and ways of thinking.
Learning is built around game mechanics and gamification. The platform also uses personalized learning scenarios, allowing each person to study at their own pace, along with intelligent analytics. These tools help the system spot where learners begin to struggle and identify where they need more practice. This format can make learners less afraid of making mistakes and make the learning process more lively and natural. That is especially important for people studying Russian as a foreign language.
Taking Russian as Far as Sri Lanka
In September, students at Kyrgyz National University named after J. Balasagyn will begin testing Slovo za slovom. The relevant agreement has already been signed. Vyacheslav Yarin, minister of international and foreign economic relations of the Sverdlovsk Region, said this is another step in developing the region’s international humanitarian ties and a sign of trust in the expertise of Ural professionals. Testing the platform internationally in Kyrgyzstan will provide feedback, help assess the effectiveness of its teaching methods and allow the system to be adapted to the needs of foreign learners.
Notably, a similar agreement was signed the previous day with Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University in Kazakhstan. With support from the regional government, three Ural universities have opened Russian language and culture centers in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Tajikistan. In addition, more than 3,000 volumes of educational and literary books have been provided to foreign partners over the past three years. Projects like these could become successful digital products for export, aimed primarily at countries interested in the Russian language, Russian education and cultural programs.
The Difficulties of Translation
One of the first notable Russian solutions for learning the language was Privet, Rossiya! (Hello, Russia!). The training app for foreigners was launched in 2022. It recognizes speech, checks pronunciation and immediately shows users what they need to correct.
In 2023, learning became much more personalized. Virtual assistants, automated assignment checks and individual learning paths became part of the process.
In 2024, the Prosveshchenie Group of Companies introduced the Elman app. It is an AI assistant for school students learning Russian. It works through guiding questions, offering hints and helping students arrive at the correct answer themselves.
In 2025, Yandex expanded its services with generative AI features. The updated Alice introduced a conversational English trainer. Users can talk with it, review grammar rules and correct mistakes. Yandex Translate also added a dialogue mode with a neural network, helping users better capture nuances in translation.
A Humanitarian Turn
Slovo za slovom is a good example of how artificial intelligence is moving beyond factories and banks to support the humanities. Russian developers are creating solutions that can improve the quality of education at home while opening a new export market for IT products.
AI is entering the learning process faster as a full-fledged tool. In the past, learning a language required textbooks, dictionaries and plenty of persistence. Now, all it takes is opening an app and simply starting to speak. Word by word.
