I have wanted to learn the Russian language for quite some time now. I have been unable to decide wether I should use the Pimsleur program or the Rosetta Stone one.

I recently got the rosetta stone program for Russian, and was quite excited to use it. Me and my fans think Russia is awesome, and wanted to learn some Russian and take a trip there. Unfortunately, it seems that you have to be quite fluent in the Cyrillic alphabet to use the program. I was wondering if I am right in this, and if so, if anyone can give me any pointers in learning the cyrillic alphabet/Russian in general.
спасибо! (Thank you)

Rosetta Stone offers Russian, but not Ukrainian. I had some Ukrainian lessons as a child and want to continue to learn it now. Will the Russian Rosetta Stone mess me up or provide me with a good base for conversational Ukrainian?

I have heard about a language course called The Rosetta Stone that teaches you foreign languages, and from what I have heard, the State Department uses this course to teach their young diplomats foreign languages, and was wondering if there are any Russians on this site that can tell me if this program is good or should I seek out another program to learn Russian?

Thanks
stephane: I also heard that Rice spoke such bad Russian that it made President Putin wince whenever she began speaking to him in what she thinks is Russian.

what is a good, but cheap way to learn the Russian language with a narrator telling you how to pronounce the words.

Note: i looked in on the Rosetta Stone program and it was way to much for me. so...any ideas??

thanks alot!

I'll be going to college next year and taking a language and history class, but if anyone knows any other opportunities to learn Russian faster (I hear the Rosetta Stone programs are good) and especially to visit Russia, please let me know. Are there any summer camps where I could work, or internships for Americans? I won't begin learning the language until January, so I certainly won't be that good.