go to that country!

As for Mandarin, just prepare to spend time on it. Seriously. Two or three hours every day. Perseverance pays back. After two or three years you will start to speak and to understand. But perfection is unreachable, unless you are a genius. If you are a beginner, a good entry course is a must. Find someone who will guide you through the phonetics and basic grammar. It is very important, especially the pronunciation -- many people haven't paid enough attention to it during the early stages, and getting back to the basics once you've already started to use the language is very painful. To put it simply, at the early stages, a good teacher equals to 70% or so of your success. That is the case with Mandarin, but somehow I suspect that Russian might not be totally different. Ah, maybe you shall also find this article interesting: http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html

Begin to listen and repeat words and phrases. Step by step, add the grammar. The devil is not so fearful as he is painted. :)) Russian: Не так страшен чёрт, как его малюют

Nobody knows exactly! Just learning grammar, reading, writing and chatting. I guess first steps you have to do with teacher and then work yourself. For me it’s very useful to read interesting books on history US or GB or any funny stories. On English, of course. And latter you can chatting. They say it needs about 200 words to speak with friends. Good luck! Удачи! = Успехов!