Is this intelligible?

[spamsink]

The Russian blogosphere is making fun of the Russian Minister of Sports Vitaliy Mutko regarding his FIFA World Cup bid. It is alleged that his proficiency in English is so low that he had to read from a Cyrillic transcription.

My question is, how intelligible is his speech? Do you agree with the claim that an average English-speaking person will

Comments

[yamx]

I understand almost every word. He has a strong accent, but it's intelligible.

[spamsink]

Russian speakers are naturally biased and are excluded from the poll. :)

[5x6]

American are generally very tolerant to foreign accents. this is especially true in the regions with high immigration (California, East Cost), and professionals who deal with foreign accents on the daily basis (science, international commerce). So there is really nothing spectacular in this fellow's accent, even though it's so heavy.

[mapmakerscolors]

He has a very heavy Russian accent--so strong it's almost comical--BUT I definitely understand everything he's saying.

[tom_mouse]

+1 so strong it sounds a bit fake, you know what I mean?

[purelystephanie]

I agree completely.

[mapmakerscolors]

yes, exactly what I thought--it reminded me of a bad Cold War era spy movie!

[lyrenna]

I didn't understand maybe 6 words throughout. I did have to actively listen to understand him though, since his accent was so strong.

[quaere]

It's reasonably intelligible to me (native English speaker from the northeast U.S.), and I'm not generally good with accents. If he is reading from a transcription, he's doing a pretty good job.