Learn Russian: Не так уж это и трудно.

Уж is an emphatic particle that strengthens the word before it. The phrase не так уж is a very common expression meaning "not all that" or "not so". Here, it emphasizes that the difficulty is significantly less than someone might expect.

Why is the word и used before трудно? Doesn't it usually mean "and"?

While и usually means "and", here it acts as an emphatic particle. In the structure не так уж [subject] и [adjective/adverb], it doesn't translate to a specific word in English but works together with уж to strongly emphasize the statement, giving the flavor of "really not that hard."

Why is the subject это placed in the middle of the sentence instead of at the beginning?

Russian word order uses placement to show emphasis. Putting the core emphatic phrase Не так уж at the very beginning gives it maximum impact. You could completely safely say Это не так уж и трудно, but moving это to the middle makes the sentence sound more natural and conversational.

Could I just say Это не так трудно without the extra particles?

Yes, Это не так трудно is perfectly correct and simply means "It is not that hard." Adding the particles уж and и doesn't change the core meaning, but it changes the tone, making the sentence much more expressive and reassuring.