Russian 3
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course is aimed at third-year BA students of the degree course in Foreign Languages and Literature. It is divided into theoretical lessons, held by the course lecturer and aimed at providing students with the notions of Russian language and linguistics, and practical language classes, held by linguistic collaborators and aimed at acquiring practical skills in the Russian language. Year-long, the course supposes the acquisition of written and oral communication skills, with the related syntactic, morphological and lexical knowledge, corresponding to the third level (B1) of the official standard established by the Council of Europe for knowledge of foreign languages.
Expected learning outcomes
The knowledge that the course intends to offer mainly concerns the syntax of the Russian sentence: the student must be able to recognize at first sight the structure of any sentence, analyze and explain the functioning of the morphological categories therein. In particular, students will be provided with the concepts necessary for the analysis of the communicative structure of the statement and highlighted the main mechanisms for the expression of the communicative structure in Russian: the information structure and intonative constructions, the relationship between the communicative structure, the syntactic one and the word order. The knowledge of the structure of the actants of the verb and of the correspondence between the semantic roles, the syntactic ones and the morphological cases will be deepened. Then the complex sentence will be addressed: the criteria and types of subordination will be exposed, and the most frequent models in written and spoken Russian (constructions) will be analyzed. Furthermore, the tools of textual cohesion in the written and spoken Russian text will be analyzed: the discursive words, the collocations, the typical syntactic strategies adopted in Russian texts. Finally, a part of the course will be dedicated to the consolidation of translation skills, especially where there is no correspondence between Russian and Italian syntactic structures, and therefore to the practice of translation from Italian into Russian.
Lesson period: year
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The course is entitled "The syntax of the simple and complex sentence in Russian" and lasts 60 hours. It provides 9 CFU; it is not possible to acquire only 6 CFU. For this reason, students will stick to the whole syllabus. The programme is valid until the end of September 2027.
The course has a MyAriel website, to which students are required to refer for all teaching and learning materials and official communications: Course: Russian Language 3 (LT) (a.y. 2025/26) | myAriel
The course is the final part of a three-year, unified, and coherent programme that aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the morphology and syntax of simple and complex sentences in Russian. It is designed to enable students to achieve a level of communication equivalent to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. All the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous two years contribute to forming the skills necessary to tackle the content presented in the third year successfully.
The first part of the course (module A) will be devoted to perfecting nominal and verbal morphology knowledge:
· Numeral declension and collective numerals.
· Gerund. Verbal and adverbial characteristics of the gerund. Formation and use of imperfective and perfective aspect gerunds. Syntactic synonymy: gerund constructs and subordinate clauses.
· Active and passive participles. Verbal and adjectival characteristics of the participle. Formation and use of the active participle (present and past). Formation and use of the passive participle (present and past). Formation of the passive past participle in long form and short form.
· The participial construct. Replacement of relative subordinates introduced by kotoryj with participial constructs.
· The passive forms.
We will then move on to the study of syntax, which will be organised as follows:
SIMPLE CLAUSE (Module B)
· The structure of the simple clause: its primary and secondary members; the means of expression of the subject and predicate; the concordance between subject and predicate.
· The object (direct and indirect). The attribute (with agreement and without agreement). Adverbial modifiers.
· The different types of simple clauses.
· The personal (indefinite and generalised) and impersonal sentences. Sentences with no predicate.
COMPLEX SENTENCES (Module C)
· Coordination. Compound sentences with copulative, disjunctive and adversative conjunctions.
· Subordination. Explanatory clauses. Use of the demonstrative pronoun 'TO' in main clauses. Direct and indirect speech.
· Attributive clauses introduced by gde, kuda, otkuda, kogda, čej, kakoj, začem.
· Adverbial clauses of time.
· Adverbial causal clauses.
· Adverbial clauses of purpose.
· Adverbial conditional clauses.
· Adverbial clauses of concession.
· Adverbial clauses of manner, measure and degree, and comparative sentences.
Warnings
The final version of the syllabus will be available on the course's MyAriel website. All students are required to consult it before taking the exam.
The syllabus for non-attending students is unchanged from that for attending students. Non-attending students should contact the lecturer as soon as possible to clarify doubts about the syllabus and exam procedures.
Russian-speaking students who wish to do so may replace the bibliography in Italian with materials in Russian. In this case, they are requested to contact the lecturer as soon as possible to arrange a replacement bibliography.
International or Erasmus incoming students are required to contact the course lecturer as soon as possible.
Alternative assessment methods for SEN and disabled students will have to be arranged with the course lecturer and the University Disability Office.
The course has a MyAriel website, to which students are required to refer for all teaching and learning materials and official communications: Course: Russian Language 3 (LT) (a.y. 2025/26) | myAriel
The course is the final part of a three-year, unified, and coherent programme that aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the morphology and syntax of simple and complex sentences in Russian. It is designed to enable students to achieve a level of communication equivalent to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. All the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous two years contribute to forming the skills necessary to tackle the content presented in the third year successfully.
The first part of the course (module A) will be devoted to perfecting nominal and verbal morphology knowledge:
· Numeral declension and collective numerals.
· Gerund. Verbal and adverbial characteristics of the gerund. Formation and use of imperfective and perfective aspect gerunds. Syntactic synonymy: gerund constructs and subordinate clauses.
· Active and passive participles. Verbal and adjectival characteristics of the participle. Formation and use of the active participle (present and past). Formation and use of the passive participle (present and past). Formation of the passive past participle in long form and short form.
· The participial construct. Replacement of relative subordinates introduced by kotoryj with participial constructs.
· The passive forms.
We will then move on to the study of syntax, which will be organised as follows:
SIMPLE CLAUSE (Module B)
· The structure of the simple clause: its primary and secondary members; the means of expression of the subject and predicate; the concordance between subject and predicate.
· The object (direct and indirect). The attribute (with agreement and without agreement). Adverbial modifiers.
· The different types of simple clauses.
· The personal (indefinite and generalised) and impersonal sentences. Sentences with no predicate.
COMPLEX SENTENCES (Module C)
· Coordination. Compound sentences with copulative, disjunctive and adversative conjunctions.
· Subordination. Explanatory clauses. Use of the demonstrative pronoun 'TO' in main clauses. Direct and indirect speech.
· Attributive clauses introduced by gde, kuda, otkuda, kogda, čej, kakoj, začem.
· Adverbial clauses of time.
· Adverbial causal clauses.
· Adverbial clauses of purpose.
· Adverbial conditional clauses.
· Adverbial clauses of concession.
· Adverbial clauses of manner, measure and degree, and comparative sentences.
Warnings
The final version of the syllabus will be available on the course's MyAriel website. All students are required to consult it before taking the exam.
The syllabus for non-attending students is unchanged from that for attending students. Non-attending students should contact the lecturer as soon as possible to clarify doubts about the syllabus and exam procedures.
Russian-speaking students who wish to do so may replace the bibliography in Italian with materials in Russian. In this case, they are requested to contact the lecturer as soon as possible to arrange a replacement bibliography.
International or Erasmus incoming students are required to contact the course lecturer as soon as possible.
Alternative assessment methods for SEN and disabled students will have to be arranged with the course lecturer and the University Disability Office.
Prerequisites for admission
Lectures are delivered mainly in Russian. The teaching and learning materials require an A2 level of proficiency.
Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 are prerequisites for Russian Language 3. Students who have not passed the Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 exams cannot take any of the Russian Language 3 assessments.
Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 are prerequisites for Russian Language 3. Students who have not passed the Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 exams cannot take any of the Russian Language 3 assessments.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures, exercises and tasks, reading, and text analysis.
Topics will be addressed theoretically, supported by examples, and analysed within texts. Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, sentence transformation, translation, and production tasks will be offered.
The course will be held mainly in Russian.
In addition, the course is supplemented by practical language classes, for which please refer to the appropriate page: Linguistic exercises - Russian language | University of Milan State University.
Topics will be addressed theoretically, supported by examples, and analysed within texts. Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, sentence transformation, translation, and production tasks will be offered.
The course will be held mainly in Russian.
In addition, the course is supplemented by practical language classes, for which please refer to the appropriate page: Linguistic exercises - Russian language | University of Milan State University.
Teaching Resources
Lectures (corso monografico)
1. All uploaded materials on the MyAriel website.
2. O. Bejenari, F. Legittimo, D. Magnati, Davajte! Comunicare in russo 3: corso di lingua e cultura russa. Hoepli, Milano, 2020. Limited to the following parts:
· Lesson 1: pp. 8-18.
· Lesson 2: pp. 70-73.
· Lesson 3: pp. 118-123.
· Lesson 4: pp. 149-153, 157-162.
· Lesson 5: pp. 188-196.
3. G. Cevese, Ju. Dobrovolskaja, Sintassi russa. Teoria ed esercizi. Milano, Hoepli, 2005.
4. F. Fici Giusti, L. Gebert, S. Signorini, "Il sintagma nominale. La frase semplice" in La lingua russa. Storia, struttura, tipologia. Roma, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1991, pp.111-233.
5. V. Kovalev, Il Kovalev. Dizionario russo-italiano, italiano-russo. Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020.
Exercises (see also the relevant web page): Linguistic exercises - Russian language | University of Milan Statale
1. N. Nikitina, Eserciziario di russo. Livello B1+. Hoepli, Milano 2020 (Seconda edizione). Limited to the following part:
Capitolo 1: Uso dei numerali.
Capitolo 5: L'indicazione del tempo con e senza preposizioni.
Capitolo 9: Il participio. Livello base.
Capitolo 10: Come esprimere il passivo.
Capitolo 11: I participi attivi e passivi. Livello intermedio.
Capitolo 12: Il gerundio.
2. O. Bejenari, F. Legittimo, D. Magnati, Davajte! Comunicare in russo 3: corso di lingua e cultura russa. Hoepli, Milano, 2020. Limited to the following parts:
Lesson 1: pp. 2-8; 28; 32-33; 36-38.
Lesson 2: pp. 40-49; 67-70; 73-74.
Lesson 3: pp. 86-93; 116-117;123-125;128-130;131-134.
Lesson 4: pp. 142-148; 155-156; 166; 167-168; 171-178.
Lesson 5: pp. 180-188; 199-201; 203-204; 205.
3. All uploaded materials on the MyAriel website.
1. All uploaded materials on the MyAriel website.
2. O. Bejenari, F. Legittimo, D. Magnati, Davajte! Comunicare in russo 3: corso di lingua e cultura russa. Hoepli, Milano, 2020. Limited to the following parts:
· Lesson 1: pp. 8-18.
· Lesson 2: pp. 70-73.
· Lesson 3: pp. 118-123.
· Lesson 4: pp. 149-153, 157-162.
· Lesson 5: pp. 188-196.
3. G. Cevese, Ju. Dobrovolskaja, Sintassi russa. Teoria ed esercizi. Milano, Hoepli, 2005.
4. F. Fici Giusti, L. Gebert, S. Signorini, "Il sintagma nominale. La frase semplice" in La lingua russa. Storia, struttura, tipologia. Roma, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1991, pp.111-233.
5. V. Kovalev, Il Kovalev. Dizionario russo-italiano, italiano-russo. Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020.
Exercises (see also the relevant web page): Linguistic exercises - Russian language | University of Milan Statale
1. N. Nikitina, Eserciziario di russo. Livello B1+. Hoepli, Milano 2020 (Seconda edizione). Limited to the following part:
Capitolo 1: Uso dei numerali.
Capitolo 5: L'indicazione del tempo con e senza preposizioni.
Capitolo 9: Il participio. Livello base.
Capitolo 10: Come esprimere il passivo.
Capitolo 11: I participi attivi e passivi. Livello intermedio.
Capitolo 12: Il gerundio.
2. O. Bejenari, F. Legittimo, D. Magnati, Davajte! Comunicare in russo 3: corso di lingua e cultura russa. Hoepli, Milano, 2020. Limited to the following parts:
Lesson 1: pp. 2-8; 28; 32-33; 36-38.
Lesson 2: pp. 40-49; 67-70; 73-74.
Lesson 3: pp. 86-93; 116-117;123-125;128-130;131-134.
Lesson 4: pp. 142-148; 155-156; 166; 167-168; 171-178.
Lesson 5: pp. 180-188; 199-201; 203-204; 205.
3. All uploaded materials on the MyAriel website.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The lecturer will assess the following:
· Grammatical and lexical knowledge.
· Written production.
· Oral production.
The exam consists of a written test and an oral test. Both tests will be graded from 18/30 (pass) to 30/30 (excellent). The final grade is the average of the two assessments. The final grade can only be recorded when students have passed both the written and oral tests.
Please note that you cannot take any Russian Language 3 exams if the Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 exams have not been recorded.
Written test
Students can take the written test starting from May 2025 and the oral test from June 2025. The written test is not preparatory to the oral test; it is possible to take the oral test before the written test. A pass must be achieved in all parts for the written test to be passed. The written test will be evaluated according to the following criteria: accuracy of morphology and syntax, lexis, cohesion, coherence, and use of appropriate register.
The written test is made up of the following sections:
1. Grammar test: multiple choice, cloze, sentence transformation, and theoretical questions.
2. Text comprehension (8-10 multiple-choice questions + 1 open-ended question).
3. Text translation from Italian into Russian using a bilingual dictionary: ONLY the paper edition dictionary is allowed.
4. Writing the summary of a text read by the teacher (without a dictionary).
Attending students
Students actively participating in at least 80% of the Lectures and the Practical Language Classes may have access to two mid-term assessments instead of the final written test (mid-term assessments take place at the end of the first and second semesters). In this case, the grade in the written test is given by the average of the mid-term assessments. To take the second mid-term assessment, it is necessary:
· To attend at least 80% of the second semester's lectures and practical language classes.
· To pass the first mid-term assessment.
If failing one of the two mid-term assessments, students must sit the final written test during the official sessions (May, September, January). The grade for the mid-term assessments may be refused; in this case, students will take the final written test during the official sessions.
The first mid-term assessment is made up of the following sections:
1. A grammar test related to the topics of the first semester: multiple-choice, cloze, sentence transformation, and theoretical questions.
2. Text comprehension (8-10 multiple-choice questions + 1 open-ended question).
The second mid-term assessment is made up of the following sections:
1. A grammar test related to the topics of the second semester: multiple-choice, cloze, sentence transformation and theoretical questions.
2. Text translation from Italian into Russian using a bilingual dictionary (only paper dictionaries are allowed).
3. Writing the summary of a text read by the teacher (without using a dictionary).
Oral test
The oral test assesses the student's theoretical knowledge and communication skills relating to the topics covered during the lectures and practical language classes. All materials published in MyAriel and indicated in the bibliography may be examined. The oral exam will consist of the following:
1. Conversation in Russian on a topic covered during the exercises. Students must demonstrate their ability to describe places and people, recount events and express opinions using the vocabulary and morphosyntactic structures studied in the course.
2. Assignment assessment. Students must work independently on some texts assigned at the beginning of the year. The evaluation, entirely in Russian, will consist of:
· Summary of a text. The lecturer will choose from among those assigned.
· Reading of an extract chosen by the teacher: Students must prove that they can read fluently and correctly place accents. Severe reading difficulties will result in failure.
· Translation into Italian.
· Syntactic analysis on the example of the work done in class.
3. Theoretical questions relating to the topics studied during the course and the compulsory bibliographical materials (this part may be conducted in Italian for Italian and Russian for Russian-language materials).
Oral continuous assessment
Students who attend at least 80% of the practical language classes may replace only point 1 above (conversation) with an oral continuous assessment that will take place throughout the year. During the practical language classes, students must actively participate in classroom conversations and prepare and present homework assigned by the teacher. The work in the classroom and at home will be constantly assessed with a grade (fail, pass, fair, good, excellent), contributing to determining the final exam grade.
Students will be notified of the continuous oral assessment at the end of the semester. It may be refused; in this case, the student must take the conversation part (point 1) according to tehe procedures outlined in the following paragraph. In the case of an "unsatisfactory" continuous assessment, the student will have to do the conversation test (point 1) according to the procedures outlined in the following paragraph.
Students who have not received their oral assessment during the course will be required to take the conversation test with the native speaker teacher (point 1) according to a schedule that will be communicated at the beginning of the course. To take this test, students must register at least one week before the scheduled date by emailing the course lecturer (francesca.volpi@unimi.it) and specifying the day (as indicated by the lecturer) and the course for which they intend to take the exam. In case of withdrawal, students must notify the lecturer at least 24 hours in advance.
The conversation test can only be taken in the same session as the oral test for the monographic course. If the monographic part of the exam is not passed in the same session, the conversation part must also be retaken.
All students will take points 2 and 3 in the regular exam sessions (June-July, September and January-February).
· Grammatical and lexical knowledge.
· Written production.
· Oral production.
The exam consists of a written test and an oral test. Both tests will be graded from 18/30 (pass) to 30/30 (excellent). The final grade is the average of the two assessments. The final grade can only be recorded when students have passed both the written and oral tests.
Please note that you cannot take any Russian Language 3 exams if the Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 exams have not been recorded.
Written test
Students can take the written test starting from May 2025 and the oral test from June 2025. The written test is not preparatory to the oral test; it is possible to take the oral test before the written test. A pass must be achieved in all parts for the written test to be passed. The written test will be evaluated according to the following criteria: accuracy of morphology and syntax, lexis, cohesion, coherence, and use of appropriate register.
The written test is made up of the following sections:
1. Grammar test: multiple choice, cloze, sentence transformation, and theoretical questions.
2. Text comprehension (8-10 multiple-choice questions + 1 open-ended question).
3. Text translation from Italian into Russian using a bilingual dictionary: ONLY the paper edition dictionary is allowed.
4. Writing the summary of a text read by the teacher (without a dictionary).
Attending students
Students actively participating in at least 80% of the Lectures and the Practical Language Classes may have access to two mid-term assessments instead of the final written test (mid-term assessments take place at the end of the first and second semesters). In this case, the grade in the written test is given by the average of the mid-term assessments. To take the second mid-term assessment, it is necessary:
· To attend at least 80% of the second semester's lectures and practical language classes.
· To pass the first mid-term assessment.
If failing one of the two mid-term assessments, students must sit the final written test during the official sessions (May, September, January). The grade for the mid-term assessments may be refused; in this case, students will take the final written test during the official sessions.
The first mid-term assessment is made up of the following sections:
1. A grammar test related to the topics of the first semester: multiple-choice, cloze, sentence transformation, and theoretical questions.
2. Text comprehension (8-10 multiple-choice questions + 1 open-ended question).
The second mid-term assessment is made up of the following sections:
1. A grammar test related to the topics of the second semester: multiple-choice, cloze, sentence transformation and theoretical questions.
2. Text translation from Italian into Russian using a bilingual dictionary (only paper dictionaries are allowed).
3. Writing the summary of a text read by the teacher (without using a dictionary).
Oral test
The oral test assesses the student's theoretical knowledge and communication skills relating to the topics covered during the lectures and practical language classes. All materials published in MyAriel and indicated in the bibliography may be examined. The oral exam will consist of the following:
1. Conversation in Russian on a topic covered during the exercises. Students must demonstrate their ability to describe places and people, recount events and express opinions using the vocabulary and morphosyntactic structures studied in the course.
2. Assignment assessment. Students must work independently on some texts assigned at the beginning of the year. The evaluation, entirely in Russian, will consist of:
· Summary of a text. The lecturer will choose from among those assigned.
· Reading of an extract chosen by the teacher: Students must prove that they can read fluently and correctly place accents. Severe reading difficulties will result in failure.
· Translation into Italian.
· Syntactic analysis on the example of the work done in class.
3. Theoretical questions relating to the topics studied during the course and the compulsory bibliographical materials (this part may be conducted in Italian for Italian and Russian for Russian-language materials).
Oral continuous assessment
Students who attend at least 80% of the practical language classes may replace only point 1 above (conversation) with an oral continuous assessment that will take place throughout the year. During the practical language classes, students must actively participate in classroom conversations and prepare and present homework assigned by the teacher. The work in the classroom and at home will be constantly assessed with a grade (fail, pass, fair, good, excellent), contributing to determining the final exam grade.
Students will be notified of the continuous oral assessment at the end of the semester. It may be refused; in this case, the student must take the conversation part (point 1) according to tehe procedures outlined in the following paragraph. In the case of an "unsatisfactory" continuous assessment, the student will have to do the conversation test (point 1) according to the procedures outlined in the following paragraph.
Students who have not received their oral assessment during the course will be required to take the conversation test with the native speaker teacher (point 1) according to a schedule that will be communicated at the beginning of the course. To take this test, students must register at least one week before the scheduled date by emailing the course lecturer (francesca.volpi@unimi.it) and specifying the day (as indicated by the lecturer) and the course for which they intend to take the exam. In case of withdrawal, students must notify the lecturer at least 24 hours in advance.
The conversation test can only be taken in the same session as the oral test for the monographic course. If the monographic part of the exam is not passed in the same session, the conversation part must also be retaken.
All students will take points 2 and 3 in the regular exam sessions (June-July, September and January-February).
Professor(s)