My (recycled) advice: In terms of a dictionary I like to use the Ultralingua app both on my phone and laptop. To begin with you should listen a lot to Russian even if you don't understand anything as this will help you to get used to the sounds and rhythm of the language. In turn this will make comprehension and pronunciation a lot easier too. You can easily find plenty of Russian internet radio stations. Personally I find Radio Mayak to be quite good. In terms of learning resources you could start with the free online course: http://learnrussian.rt.com. Alternatively you could use a text book. "Russian Grammar You Really Need To Know" (from the Teach Yourself series) and "The New Penguin Russian Course" are both good options. "Schaum's Outline of Russian Grammar" is a nice halfway house between a textbook and a reference book. I would also say it's essential to take lessons. Probably once a week would be ok. That way you can get feedback and direction from an experienced teacher. If your goal is to be able to converse, then a teacher can help support and develop your conversation skills even if your Russian is limited. They can also help you with correcting your pronunciation which is important to get right at the beginning.

Whatever textbook you'll come across surfing the Net, ( of course designed for beginners ) But I strongly recommend listening to audio lessons in Podcasts. Download it on your cellphone and spend as much time as you can listening to basic lessons .

Try Mangolanguages.com Russian course . it's not free, but will guide you though the basics if grammar using a natural method. I would use in conjunction with a grammar reference and

Oxford russian dictionary. Paid application, about $ 20. Trial.

There is a course of Russian for English speakers on Duolingo.com.