Which cases do prepositions take?

[jiback7]

привет!
I'm new to this forum and this language.

I've read there are some prepositions that can take multiple cases, like:
в + accusative or prepositional
на + accusative or prepositional
за + accusative or instrumental
с + genitive or instrumental
(etc.)

So if I want to use a preposition, does it matter which case I choose?
Does "в России" have a different meaning/usage from "в Россию"
If not, do I just flip a coin?

спасибо!

[Babelfish]

It matters very much which case you choose You can find a detailed list here.
I'm not a native speaker, but from what I know, most prepositions which take more than one case are locative in nature and take the accusative and one other case. That other case is used for simply stating a location, while the accusative expresses motion to that location. So for example:
Ездить в Россию (acc.) = Travel to Russia
Ездить в России (prep.) = Travel in Russia
Кот спит под столом (inst.) = The cat is sleeping under the table
Кот бежат под стол (acc.) = The cat is running (to) under the table

(I hope my Russian sentences are correct...)

[vijayjohn]

Yeah, I get the same impression. I think you use the accusative with the preposition when you're talking about motion towards something, and locative when you're talking about where something is. It's like German.

[linguoboy]

It's like German.

(Which is of little use if you are unfamiliar with German, which jiback7 is.)

[jiback7]

Wow, thanks everybody. This is the answer I was looking for!