About Rodnik Publishing Company

RODNIK (pronounced “rahd-NEEK”) is the anglicized spelling of the Russian word Rodnik, meaning “spring: a source of a body of water; an issue of water from the earth: a natural fountain; a source of something; esp: a hidden or ultimate source.” (from Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1968.)

Rodnik Publishing Company was established in November 1994 in Seattle, Washington, by its current owner and director, Robert Powers.

After a brief endeavor to publish a Russian-language newspaper ("Kl[h k Rossii") in 1995, the company turned first to book-selling and then, in 1996, to book publishing.

Since 1996 the focus of Rodnik Publishing has been on developing, publishing and marketing dictionaries, foreign language phrasebooks and language-learning materials for various languages.

Owner Biography

The owner of Rodnik Publishing, Robert Powers, has been involved with languages since his childhood in a Finnish-American foster family.

During a 22-year Army career he studied Russian, Vietnamese, Persian, and German, and served as a linguist in all of them.

After retiring from the Army and completing a BA degree in Slavic Languages at the University of Washington, Robert taught ESL, German and Russian at community colleges.

Having traveled to and lived in many countries, he has a broad familiarity with the cultures and customs of other lands, as well as extensive experience in communicating in different languages.