It comes easy that way - can vouch for the app. Advice from Canadians on the ground is to at least learn some polite phrases and the letters - politeness will get you everywhere - the hardest letters are what we Anglo-speakers call dipthongs - the combination of sounds.

Also, there are some good Russians on Youtube that can help with watching movies or whatever, so you can hear it spoken. I learn a lot from just watching that stuff, and hearing words I know, and slowly gaining vocab. I liked the first season of 'Silver Spoon'; and the movie 'Silver Skates' but also some of the darker military history movies, and Romantic seventies stuff featuring commie-blocks.

But really, my aim is to be able to hear what they are saying, not to move there. I am here.

I am very sorry, but multiple professional linguists discredit Duolingo as real learning for native speak. It is very weak in grammar and is designed as a product to keep you coming back