both a nice non-typical gift and inexpensive way to get used to spoken foreign language
If you ever wondered how to help your lady to understand spoken English, world band receiver might be long forgotten but cheap and efficient solution.
You can tune it into BBC wave (Voice of America, Deutsche Welle in English...you name it) and just leave it speaking at level of loudness you're comfortable with while you'll be doing your routine stuff at home (or at dacha - after all,plenty of FSU women spend their weekends at dachas).
So you are just leaving native English speech audible in background, and by so doing you'll gradually become more and more proficient in spoken - or it would be better to say, skilled in comprehending spoken English.
The problem is, cheap SW radios are almost impossible to obtain nowadays. FM prevails everywhere. Grands of world electronics - like Sony, Grundig, Philips - do produce SW receivers, but solely digital world band receivers, prices start at about $130 min.
This causes some - obscure maybe - problems, of social rather than technical origin.
There are 3 problems:
1 Russian women are known for unwillingness to accept expensive gifts. Digital SW Sony radio is by all means would be considered both pricey and sophisticated - given its almost spaceship equipment look.
2 Even if accepted, this kind of sophisticated device will be taken GREAT care of - I DO DOUBT an Russian woman could bring it down to dacha and leave it playing outdoor while doing some gardening. 3 This kind of sophisticated device - especially known as being obtained thru foreign friend of the lady in question - would generate envy of her female friends, which is no good. 
So, digital radios are not the the way to go.
Russian short-wave receivers - well-known and plenty in the past - are not being produced any more, be that analog or digital ones.
What remains is Asian (Chinese, Malaysian etc. el cheapo makes) radios.
They are:
- Usually small crappy soap-box types, short-wave (SW) band not often found implemented
- Even if SW bands available, quality of tuning and sound is pretty bad
- signal level would be weak and unsteady,
- it would be tricky to tune into
- and even more tricky to stay tuned.
- They are hard to find, too - consumer electronics stores (in Russia) absolutely do not carry them, or stock only tiny FM type ones.
Still, proper stuff could be found via tiny operations - for example, I got for myself a decent Chinese radio for use at my dacha - and have to say I'm pretty much satisfied with its operability and quality.
Its advantages:
- mighty amplifier
- big loudspeaker (about 4 inches diameter)
- it tunes in well and "sticks" to found wavelength pretty good - that is there is no fluctuations, I don't have to re-tune it now and then.
Quality of plastics - the shell, the buttons, everything - is top notch, and being about 1.5 years in operation the set didn't go malfunctioned not a single time.Now, this kind of SW radio lacks ALL disadvantages of digital Sonys:
1) it costs under $100
2) it looks pretty much ordinary
(black case with couple of pretty simple controls and familiar looking frequencies panel)- which eliminates all those social problems I mentioned above.
Besides, all other regular bandwidths are present as well - FM, LW and MW, so once tired with spoken English your lady might switch to ol' good Russian pop music :)
And it's easy to operate - few functions leave lesser space for mishandling it, and women, as you know, aren't that comfortable with consumer electronics. Especially women in provincial Russian towns.
The main problem is availability of quality inexpensive radios. By all means, an ordinary Russian woman won't be able to find this kind of radio in her town/city.
And this is where I see an opportunity for you - and for myself.
For you - to show what you do care about herself
For me - to run a small part time biz.
Having got contacts in the trade, I'm offering you for $70 total following: - to get an Asian world band receiver of high quality (analog one)
- to supply it with printed out list of radio frequencies and schedules for BBC and VOA broadcasts in Russian (+ I will also give the list of frequencies and schedules to you, so you and your lady could listen to the same broadcast -- maybe even while you are on the phone together)
- to provide pack of batteries and power supply (usually comes without these)
- hand deliver it in city of Izhevsk and vicinity
- or, well packed, mail it out to ANY location in Russia.
Delivery to
any former Soviet Union country is also possible -
for an extra fee of $9 (shipping charge).
I'd be delighted to answer any questions you might have.