This study examined the efficiency of teaching Russian as a foreign language (L2) in two groups of students–the first benefited from the e-learning platform’s capabilities (experimental), and the second underwent a traditional in-class course. Students learning Russian as L2 at People’s Friendship University of Russia (Moscow, Russia) were enrolled in the experiment. The research sample comprised 75 individuals distributed to three experimental groups and 33 individuals allocated to three control groups. All data obtained as a result of the study were statistically analyzed. In order to study the overall effect of using the iSpring platform, the research outcomes were combined by Stouffer’s Z-score method. Together with this, at each examination stage, repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. Students’ progress in learning Russian was evaluated by way of pre- and post-testing. After the experiment finished, all respondents were surveyed to analyze their perception of the effectiveness, convenience, and satisfaction of the chosen learning mode. The study found that students from experimental groups spent significantly more time for learning, demonstrating better performance. It was remarked that iSpring’s adaptive learning features contribute to improving students’ performance by encouraging them to learn better and faster. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.