Compared to English pronunciation, which often has more exceptions than rules, Russian rules of pronunciation are fairly clear and consistent.

Your accent is not a problem, as long as you understand the phonetic nature of our language and stick to its phonics patterns.

Rule 1. Accenting the right vowels

Stress is important in Russian. 

In Russian, the stressed vowel is ‘given its full value’ (it is pronounced distinctly), whereas the unstressed vowel is passed over quickly, almost ‘thrown away’. This is heard most clearly with ‘o‘.

Stress in Russian is not fixed, each word has its own stress pattern. You begin to recognize some patterns as you learn more.

• Before learning a new Russian word, find out which vowel to stress. Look in a dictionary, which usually marks stress by putting the sign ´ over the stressed syllable.

Rule 2. Vowel Reduction in an unstressed position

Some Russian letters change their sound depending on whether they’re in a stressed or an unstressed syllable.

 

 

In particular, this concerns the vowels:

o   е    я

When stressed, they are pronounced in the usual way, but when they’re in an unstressed position, they go through a reduction. 

• O sounds like ah  or like a neutral uh if it appears in an unstressed syllable.

O	O  → [A]
До́брый (До́брый день!) о́чень (О́чень прия́тно) казино́ (Вот казино́) ко́фе (Ско́лько сто́ит ко́фе?) вхо́д (Где вход в метро́?)	Добры́ (Вы о́чень добры́) пока́ (До встре́чи) зову́т (Как вас зову́т?) спаси́бо (Большо́е спаси́бо) хорошо́, коне́чно вы́ход (Э́то вы́ход?)

• Е and Я sound more like ee (as in seek) in an unstressed syllable.

Е	Ε  → [И]
де́нь (день Рожде́ния) приве́т цве́т (э́то краси́вый цвет) музе́й (где музе́й?) Ле́нин нет	У меня́ е́сть Как дела́? цветы́ (это красивые цветы) метро́ (метро́ далеко́?) суперма́ркет (суперма́ркет недалеко́) револю́ция

Vowel Reduction Summary :

• If a word has only one syllable, the vowel is pronounced as it’s written.

• If a word has more than one syllable, the stressed vowel is pronounced as it’s written, while the unstressed o is reduced to a or neutral sound Ə (depending on the proximity to the stressed syllable: хорошо́ [khƏ rΛ shO].

• In the same way, unstressed e / я is reduced to и or a neutral sound Ə.

• This will also occur across word boundaries: assimilation of  prepositions  to  the  following  word

(до|dΛ| встре́чи, до|dƏ| свида́ния).

• ‘A’ always sounds like ‘a’ and is never reduced! 

 

ДЕВУШКА – miss, a young woman.

You commonly use ‘де́вушка‘ :

• when you want to address or get the attention of a lady you don’t know;
• ‘де́вушка‘ also means girlfriend  when it comes with a possessive pronoun (“my”, “his” etc.)

Она́ – моя́ де́вушка.

• ‘Де́вушка‘  without any possessive pronoun is just a girl/lady/young woman.

What’s the right way of addressing a person по–ру́сски?

Using the right title to address an unknown person is often a matter of discussion, especially when it concerns a woman,  as most such appellations mean that the person has made assumptions about her age and possible marital status based on her appearance.

While in many languages it can be impolite not to use this sort of appellation (in France or in Italy it’s usual and polite to address a woman indicating whether or not you think she is married), in Russian, it’s common to use appellations that call just gender (and age):

девочка→ девушка→  женщина,

мальчик→   молодой человек→  мужчина.

There is an interesting article showing some most commonly used appellations in modern Russian (including the famous and popular in Soviet times “това́рищ” (comrade).Link  

The most common term whatsoever to address a female is ДЕ́ВУШКА (a girl). Though, the proper sense of the word implies that the lady is young (and unmarried), in modern Russian it is increasingly used when calling to a woman, regardless of age. This might be intended to be flattering, like getting addressed as “young lady.”

A married lady, or a woman of a certain age can be addressed as ЖЕ́НЩИНА (a woman), however  using this title doesn’t sound very courteous and elegant…

With men, it seems a bit simpler. You can go by:

МОЛОДО́Й ЧЕЛОВЕ́К (young person) which sounds quite neutral, or МУЖЧИ́НА (man, adult male person).

To be on the safe side (at least until you have a good grasp on different forms, their implications and usage in Russian), when approaching a stranger you can just say:

ИЗВИНИ́ТЕ (excuse me, other forms: “прости́те” / “прошу́ проще́ния”).