I'm not completely sure of the difference between Urkrainian and Russian. All I can do is roll my R's... and that's it.

When I read the Russian text, I can't make any sense of it. I can't pronounce it because I have no known reference. No one has bothered to teach me where to begin.

Now, German I can read and pronounce to a certain extent because I was trained.

But reading and speaking a language is only the first step. In order to really understand a language and a culture, you need to be "born" into it, or at least start as a child, because you learn faster as a child.

Didn't you know that? Well - now you know it. So, have you visited Bulgaria? Some friends of mine have visited Russia and they were very excited - especially when they saw the Kremal and Leningrad.