I once studied Russian. And German. I have taken to watching Russian language films and programs on YouTube. There are usually no subtitles, which is fine with me. My interest in Russia and the Russian language is being rekindled. So for 2019, I will reopen this long-blocked channel.
What needs to be said is the profound admiration and respect I have for Russian culture and the Russian people. I also resent making Russia the scapegoat for all that is wrong with the world today. Believe me, the world could do a lot worse than having to deal with Vladimir Putin. Can you say “Stalin”?
Dispatches From Dystopia 
Are you able to understand what is being said? For example, I can read French at an elementary level, but can hardly understand a word when the language is spoken at a normal speed.
I understand very little, I could grasp more if I did some vocabulary review as an adjunct, which I will do so. I need to know how to turn my Latin alphabet keyboard into a Cyrillic alphabet keyboard.