ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Irina Kataeva (Mozelova): Brief Biography
Irina Kataeva (Mozelova) is the author of several Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) textbooks, including the Russian Souvenir and New Souvenir series (four parts), as well as the courses Surprise and Mozi Course. She is also the founder of the Mozi House project and a teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language.
Irina was born on March 19, 1988, in Moscow. In her childhood and teenage years, she trained professionally in biathlon. She graduated from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism, and later retrained as an English language teacher at the Moscow Institute of Linguistics. At the same time, she also completed specialized training in teaching Russian as a foreign language.
Since 2012, Irina has worked as an RFL teacher at Denis' School in Moscow.
In 2016, her first book Russian Souvenir 1 was published by “Russkiy Yazyk. Kursy” publishing house, followed by Russian Souvenir 2 in 2017. In 2018, Irina began self-publishing. Over the following years, she released:
In 2020, Irina began a PhD program at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), majoring in Russian language and teaching methodology. She successfully defended her dissertation in 2024.
Since 2023, Irina has worked as a teacher and methodology specialist at the Language Testing Center of Saint Petersburg State University.
She taught in Tanzania in 2023–2024 and in Brazil in 2024–2025.
In 2024, Irina developed a format for online books that allows clients to build their own personal library of Mozi House digital materials, making it possible to learn Russian effectively in a remote format.
Current Projects and Plans
While teaching abroad, Irina decided to improve the Surprise course to make it more accessible to learners outside the Russian-speaking environment. The new version will be published in three languages — English, Spanish, and Portuguese — under the name Mozi Course.
She is also working on an updated version of Russian Souvenir 2, which will be published as New Souvenir 2.
Future plans include continuing the Souvenir series with:
ORCID: orcid.org/0000−0002−9080−9035
Irina Kataeva (Mozelova) is the author of several Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) textbooks, including the Russian Souvenir and New Souvenir series (four parts), as well as the courses Surprise and Mozi Course. She is also the founder of the Mozi House project and a teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language.
Irina was born on March 19, 1988, in Moscow. In her childhood and teenage years, she trained professionally in biathlon. She graduated from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism, and later retrained as an English language teacher at the Moscow Institute of Linguistics. At the same time, she also completed specialized training in teaching Russian as a foreign language.
Since 2012, Irina has worked as an RFL teacher at Denis' School in Moscow.
In 2016, her first book Russian Souvenir 1 was published by “Russkiy Yazyk. Kursy” publishing house, followed by Russian Souvenir 2 in 2017. In 2018, Irina began self-publishing. Over the following years, she released:
- New Souvenir 3
- Surprise
- New Souvenir 4
In 2020, Irina began a PhD program at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), majoring in Russian language and teaching methodology. She successfully defended her dissertation in 2024.
Since 2023, Irina has worked as a teacher and methodology specialist at the Language Testing Center of Saint Petersburg State University.
She taught in Tanzania in 2023–2024 and in Brazil in 2024–2025.
In 2024, Irina developed a format for online books that allows clients to build their own personal library of Mozi House digital materials, making it possible to learn Russian effectively in a remote format.
Current Projects and Plans
While teaching abroad, Irina decided to improve the Surprise course to make it more accessible to learners outside the Russian-speaking environment. The new version will be published in three languages — English, Spanish, and Portuguese — under the name Mozi Course.
She is also working on an updated version of Russian Souvenir 2, which will be published as New Souvenir 2.
Future plans include continuing the Souvenir series with:
- New Souvenir 5 (C1 level)
- New Souvenir 6 (C2 level)
ORCID: orcid.org/0000−0002−9080−9035