The research objective includes developing a system of exercises for teaching the Russian phraseological units to foreign students-philologists at B1 level. Modern textbooks on the Russian phraseology for foreigners are analysed, students’ difficulties are revealed and the problem of choosing phraseological material is considered. The study is based on an educational experiment data and on the materials of students’ survey. Scientific originality of the research includes development and approbation of a system of exercises aimed to form learners’ communicative competence. Phraseological units semantization was carried out relying on the analysis of their inner form. The experiment results justify efficiency of the proposed set of exercises. Methodological recommendations on work with the Russian phraseological units in a foreign audience are proposed.