Describes benefits of teaching a course on the Soviet press to Russian language students, including the opportunity to integrate practical considerations of reading and conversation skills with theoretical considerations of philosophy and principles of mass communication in the Soviet Union. (Author/BK)

Argues that the development of an explicit reading approach focusing on the comprehension of Russian expository prose is long overdue. Recommends and discusses "The Contextual Approach to Russian" by Plank and Daugherty as a textbook which outlines a pragmatic strategy for reading and comprehending Russian expository prose. (SED)