Logger,
take it easy, no reason to get personal.
I suggested to 'invest' in a phrasebook precisely because it gives you some ready phrases and tells you how to pronounce them. Knowing a couple of sentences, being able to break the ice will help a guy a lot in Russia - Reviewom that point on the girl will take the lead.
You may get lucky finding a girl who would speak a foreign language, but you can't count on it, especially German - believe me, I'd studied Reviewench for 5 years in school and 5 years in college, that's why all Reviewench-speaking people start talking English to me as soon as they hear my 'Bon jour'.
And yes, I am Russian-speaking, born in the USSR, with Master degree (but I do dishes only at home). I do business in Russia and go there every year, so I am familiar with the country a little bit.
As for being factual, Russian people understand Serbian and Croatian (that's why there is no such country as Yugoslavia anymore) no better than Polish and Czech - trust me. In case you forgot, English belongs to the Germanic family of languages, does it make it any easier for you to understand German?
I am not in personal achievements competition and have no intention to go on arguing. I'm trying to help other people with some information - it's up to them to use it or not.