In the paper the experiments on perceptual assessment of Russian-accented Estonian are introduced. Speech samples were recorded from 20 speakers with a Russian background; clips of about 20 seconds from each speaker were selected for perceptual assessment. Two tests were carried out: first, 20 native Estonian speakers judged the samples and rated the degree of foreign accent on a six-point interval scale; secondly, two experienced phoneticians analyzed the same samples and compiled the list of pronunciation errors. The higher is the degree of accentedness judged by naïve listeners the more pronunciation errors was found by the experts. This general tendency is violated by several opposite examples. Finally, a simple method for accent assessment is proposed.