This is the third edition of a desk dictionary first published as a single volume in 1993; Oxford also offers a number of smaller and more basic dictionaries for less advanced learners of Russian.

The series is intended for English students, but this new edition has been made slightly more convenient for native Russian speakers by including more information in the Russian-English secion and, on the strength of this, it has been much advertised in the London-based Russian-language press.

However, the introduction on how to use the dictionary is given in English only and, while there is a brief appendix on Russian grammar, there is no corresponding one on English. But the British students for whom it is chiefly intended will find the dictionary up-to-date, clearly designed and generally helpful in their studies.