Ф is for feya

This letter is pronounced like an English "F." It looks like the Greek letter phi, too! It looks like Фф

in handwriting.

Фея ("feya") is a fairy! As in, I like to imagine I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy when I listen to Tchaikovsky.

У is for uchitel

Don't confuse this vowel with the English "Y" -- it is actually pronounced "oo." In handwriting, it appears as Уу, with the loop of the little у connecting to the next letter.

Учитель (uchitel) is a teacher! In hedgehog school, we apparently learn calculus very early. That, or the author is recycling a drawing she did of her roommate's Russian math professor...Oh no, can't stop the meta-commentary!

Т is for Tolstoy

This one is quite similar to the English "T." There is a trick when you write it, though -- it looks more like an English cursive "M": Тт.

Лев Николаевич Толстой/Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, often Anglicized as "Leo" (1828-1910) was a hugely influential and revered writer of the nineteenth century. His most famous works are the novels Anna Karenina (remember the first letter?) and War and Peace.

С is for samovar

This letter is equivalent to the English soft "S." It is written just as the English "C:" Сс.

Самовар (samovar) is an implement found in many Russian households. It heats water that can be used to make tea (чай).