Anyone tried Rosetta Stone for Russian?

A good free translation service is stars21.com. As long as you keep the sentences simple it is really accurate.

Before spending money on an expensive program try some of the free resources on the Internet. YouTube has several comprehensive learning programs for Russian. I have been using a couple in particular that have proven to be very useful. I spend perhaps 30 minutes or so each evening, and I'm making good progress.

"BabelYak" - While not flawless, this series is very strong, comprehensive, and is the best I have found. Words and phrases are shown in both English and Russian and are spoken. The lessons build on each other as your vocabulary increases and complexity of sentence structure builds. It teaches a formal version of the language. At first I was a little intimidated with the speed of the speaker - Russian is a real tongue twister to native English speakers with the multiple consonants that are invariably strung together, but like anything else it becomes easier with practice. This series will not make you fluent, but will provide a solid base in which to build your vocabulary upon.

"RL" (Russian Language 101, 102, etc) - The Russian man in these videos is obviously a professional linguist, and he has a unique style of teaching. In some parts I feel like I am in school as he explains differences in formal and informal speech (very important, you don't want to offend anyone), and singular, plural, and third person variants. He also has a dry sense of humor that cracks me up and he even sings at the end of his lessons. The major drawback of his lessons is that he shows words only in Russian with no English equivalent, and he has a tendency to ramble. I find myself stopping and rewinding a lot, but the information provided is strong. I recommend using this series after going through the BabelYak series.

There are a plethora of videos that teach individual words and short phrases, but they are generally useful only after you have learned the basics.