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Useful
facts about Russia - practical advice.
contents:
electricity
• national
holidays • photography • time
and open hours • travel guides
• video & audio • weights,
measures, and numbers
Electricity. Everywhere
in Russia 220 Volt and 50 Hz AC current supplies are used. Most
of
the sockets are standard European-size for double round-pin plugs,
the same as in France or Germany.
Appliances from the US, Canada, Britain will need adaptors
(it's better to buy them in your own country, as it's very hard
to find them in Russia).
Power cuts and
not very common, but the electricity
current is not as quality as in Europe (power surges), so if you
have a sensitive device it's better to get a stabilizer for it,
especially if you are traveling.
Most trains have electricity sockets where you can change your
mobile telephones or plug in a shaver, but it is not recommended
to use them for sensitive devices (such as laptops) without a
stabilizer.
National Holidays.
31st of
December- 1 of January - New Year's Day, which is the main
holiday in Russia, everybody’s happy because people wait for
the great new life in the new year and give each other the presents.
There’s no Father Christmas, there’s Father Frost in Russia.
He comes on new year’s eve and gives presents. Traditionally
people gather with family or friends.
7th and 8th of January - Orthodox Christmas. In Russia,
contrary to many western countries, Christmas is being celebrated
not on 25th December but on 7th January, because it’s orthodox’ Christmas.
And the New Year is much more celebrated than christmas.
8th of March - Women's Day. Flowers are sold for doubled
prices, and men suddenly realize the importance of women.
1st and 2nd of May - May Day & the Day of Spring.
In the Soviet times they called it The Day of Labor, but it was
a holiday for all. Now it’s just May Day - another free day
to meet friends.
9th of May - Victory Day. The day of victory in World
War II
12th of June - Independence Day Still not everybody
knows exactly why this date was chosen, but we reckon that this
is sthe day when the first president of the Russian Federation was
selected. .
7th of November - Day of Reconciliation and Harmony. After
1917 until 1992 that was the Day of the Great October Revolution
(1917). It’s a wise decision to rename the day when the civil
war began to the Day of harmony of the whole society.
12th of December - Constitution Day.
Photography.
The Films. The 35mm photo films are readily available
everywhere in Russia, especially Kodak Gold (100, 200, 400)
brands.
If you need a professional or a slide film, either bring it with
you, or buy them in Moscow or St. Petersburg (the price is usually
the same as in other countries). See Practicalities section in
city guides on our site for professional photo shops addresses.
Processing.
The film processing labs can be found everywhere - even in the
smallest provincial towns and it usually costs about $0.3 to develop
a film
and $0.1
for one 10x15 photo and takes 24 hours.
There are also digital photo labs in major cities.
If you're after good quality, it's better to develop your films
at a professional photo lab either in Moscow or St. Petersburg
(the price is around $0.8-$1 for a film and $0.2 for a 10x15 photo).
Taking the
pictures. No, it's not forbidden to take pictures at
the Red Square, but it's forbidden to do it in some museums (using
a flash) and they don't tolerate it in churches. People at the
streets are OK if you take their picture, just be careful not to "shoot" a
mafia guy, a cop or a politician.
You can also ask people if they agree to have their
photo taken, but most likely they will refuse (because Russians
are very humble :). You can try to push your way by proposing to
send the photo by post later.
The
Lonely Planet vs. the Russian KGB
I don't know if it is true, but I was told this story
by a guy who worked a bit for the Lonely Planet. So,
once
the Lonely Planet writer was going along the Trans-Siberian
railway through Siberia writing the guide to Russia.
He came out of his train at one of the smaller stops
to
take
a picture
of
a weird
Soviet style
building he saw through the window of his compartment.
He made a few shots and was just about to go back to
his
train
(which
was
leaving)
when
two
policemen
suddendly appeared out of nowhere and asked him to stay
with them. The train left with all his stuff, and he
was brought to a local FSB (former KGB) headquaters,
detained
for
a
few
hours,
and
asked
a lot
of questions. Basically the police thought he was a spy
and the building he was taking the photos of was actually
the local FSB building. Nobody knows what would have
happened if the LP writer had not had the telephone number
of some high rank Moscow tourism department minister.
He gave this number to FSB to prove that he was not a
spy. The officers contacted the minister, learned that
the guy is quite an important person, and were told to
be nice and to help him board his train
.
In the best Soviet traditions the FSB office contacted
the train (which was already somewhere near Irkutsk)
and ordered it to stop and wait as long as it takes to
deliver this very important person (the LP writer) back
to his compartment. At the same time, the local FSB
offices in Irkutsk got in the stopped train, took everybody
out of the LP guy's compartment and very carefully checked
if all his stuff were at place, cleaned the cabin, and
prepared everything for his comfortable stay. It took
a few days to get the guy delivered back to the train
(well, we're talking about a few thousand kilometers),
and finally he got back to his compartment and the train
was allowed to continue its way.
So, the moral of the story is to never take photos in
Russia if you are not sure about the consequences. (just
joking)
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Time
& Open Hours.
The Time in the European part
of Russia is 3 hours more than Greenwich meridian
time or two hours more than central European part. (+3 GMT or +2
CET). During summer daylight saving time, Russia's time is + 4
hours to Greenwich.
So if in London it’s
10.00 in Moscow it’s
13.00 (in Russia the 24-hour system is used).
Every year the clock goes 1 hour forward in the last Sunday of
March and back 1 hour in the last Sunday of October.
There are 11 time zones in Russia - so when it’s evening in
Moscow, it’s morning of the next day in Vladivostok (a Russian
port on the Pacific Ocean).
Open Hours. One great thing about Russia is that all shops
are opened even on Sunday. The food shops are usually opened from
8.00 to 20.00 except on sundays from 8.00 to 18.00, however many
of them are opened 24 hours a day,
even in small villages.
Big department stores, clothing stores, supermarkets are opened all week long
from 9.00-10.00 to 9.00-10.00.
State institutions, offices, companies are usually
opened from 9.00 or
10.00 to 18.00
or 19.00
and do
not
work on Saturday,
Sundays and public holidays.
Most banks are opened 9.00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday, some are
opened on Saturday as well. The major banks, such as Sberbank,
AlfaBank, Guta Bank are opened Monday to Friday 9.00 to 20.00,
and 10.00 to 18.00 on Saturdays. Self-service ATMs operate 24 hours
a day usually.
There are many currency exchange offices in the big cities (Moscow,
St. Petersburg) working until late night and sometimes 24 hours
a day.
On public holidays all banks, offices, museums and some shops are
closed. However big department stores, food stoes, supermarkets
are all opened.
Travel Guides to Russia: Printed
Guidebooks
Price:
16.99£
Issued: April, 2004 |
Lonely
Planet: Russia, Ukraine & Belarus
The only printed
travel guide that covers the whole Russia: from Kaliningrad
region to Far East. The information in this guides is quite
reliable, however some parts are outdated already, especially
for Moscow and St. Petersburg.
There are many area and city maps, and interesting inserts on
various sides of life in Russia.
Although the book is quite thick, they do not provide too much
information about "off the beaten track" destinations
and places.
Update (2004): a new edition was published recently
Buy this
book online for 13.59£ at Amazon
UK
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Price:
12.99£
Issued: June, 2002
|
Lonely
Planet: Trans-Siberian Railway
The most recent LP
guidebook about Russia and Trans-Siberian railway.
Very detailed and practical information about the Trans-Siberian
railway, however some of it is taken from the old guidebook
to Russia. Interesting inserts on Russian nature, traditions,
and stories, related to TransSib.
There are also guides to the main stops along the Trans-Siberian
road, however not so much information about more remote places.
Buy
this book online for 10.39£ at Amazon
UK
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Price:
13£
Issued: Dec, 2000
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Trans-Siberian
Handbook
Quite popular guide book about the Trans-Siberian provides all
the basic information about the route as well as some cultural
and historic background.
It's better to buy the new LP guide, as it is more updated,
however, if you want as much information as possible, this book
might be helpful as well.
Buy
this book online for 10.50£ at Amazon
UK
|
Price:
10£
Issued:
July, 2000
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The
'Time Out' Guide to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Although this guide is very old already, it seems to
be the very interesting.
There's a lot of information about the main sights, as well
as accommodation and entertainment in the both cities. Also,
there are many inserts on interesting aspects of life in Russia
and in the both capitals.
Buy
this book online for 7.99£ at Amazon
UK
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Video & Audio.
Video system.
The Russian TV system is Secam, but modern TV-sets work with
Pal and NTSC formats as well. Video cassetes (MiniDV, Hi 8,
VHS)
are available in most shops (supermarkets, music & video stalls),
but if you're traveling to the countryside or small towns,
it's better to buy a stock in a big city.
Normally, a
MiniDV casette costs about $7, and a VHS casette can cost about
$2-$3, depending on the brand you buy.
A new DV video camera costs less than in Europe: you can get
a good digital one for about $700 in major electronic chains
(such as Tehnosila, M-Video, Eldorado) or at a huge market
Gorbushka in Moscow (metro Bagrationovskaya).
If your video camera broke down, you can find a service center
of almost any producer in Moscow.
Audio casettes. Available everywhere. Price: about $0.7 for
one.
CDs & CDRs. Available in bigger cities.
Price: about $1 for one.
Minidisks. Available in the big cities. Mostly sold in big
department and music stores. Price: about $2.5-$3 for one.
Weights, Measures & Numbers. The
Russian system of weights and measures is similar to the one
used in Continental Europe. Russians use kilometers, meters
and centimeters
to measure the length, and kilograms and liters to measure the
weight.
| 1
inch |
1
foot |
1
yard |
1
mile |
1
acre |
1
pound |
1
gallon |
| 2,54
cm |
0,304
m |
0,914
m |
1,609
km |
0,405
hectars |
0,454
kg |
4,546
liters |
Also, decimal numbers
are separated with a comma, not with a dot (e.g. two thousand two
hundred ninety nine is 2,200.99 in the USA, and is 2 200,99 in Russia).
The celsius temperature scale is used in Russia. 0 degrees
celsius equals 32 degrees fahrenheit. To calculate the temperature,
the following rule can be applied: T(celsius) = 5/9 * [T(farhenheit)
- 32] or
T(fahrenheit) = 9/5 * T(celsius) + 32. So, for example, 20 C degrees
in Russia equals 9/5 * 20 + 32 = 68 F degrees.
What
do You Think?
If
you have any additions or corrections to this section, please,
leave your question or message in our Russia
Talk Lounge Forums.
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