I was a mature student and joined Valya's evening class in around 1980. Our кружок would have gone on for ever but Valya had eventually to retire. Because of her diligence none of us had any trouble with Russian verbs of motion. I still remember the joy of discovering that not all Russian texts were written under Soviet influence, when we read Bulgakov describing how Berlioz's severed head rolled along a Moscow tram track. Valentina Ivanovna conducted her classes and hospitality in Russian and this former student  admits to taking his wife on later Valya visits to escape the full Russian immersion. David Atkinson May 2021