Online textbooks?

[msmiss.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know where I can find  a free online textbook for a Beginner-Intermediate course for Russian? Thanks a bunch!

(no subject)

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Why is it that the word for 'a Russian' or 'Russians' is русский/русские, whereas virtually all if not all other nationalities have a noun form in Russian and do not employ the adjective as a noun (e.g., украинец, китаец, американец)? Is there any historical or linguistic explanation for this?