The article describes some changes in views on the role and acquisition of grammar as a set of forms and syntactic structures and as a system of rules and paradigms in foreign language teaching and learning. An essential part of the article is devoted to explaining key phases that are used when teaching and learning Russian grammar, mainly by presenting various exercises and
focusing on the function of forms and structures in communication. This process is presented based on the example of a textbook for Czech learners of the contemporary Russian language.