Russia Country & Tourist Information

Location
Eastern Europe/Asia.

Area
17,075,400 sq km (6,592,850 sq miles).

Population
141.4 million (UN 2007).

Population Density
8.4 per sq km.

Capital
Moscow.
Population: 12.6 million (2007 estimate).

Government
Republic since 1991.

Language
Russian is the official language, although there are over 100 other languages. English is widely spoken by younger people as well as some educated older people.

Religion
Mainly Christian with the Russian Orthodox Church being the largest Christian community. Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish minorities also exist.

Time
The Russian Federation is divided into 11 time zones.
Kaliningrad: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Moscow, St Petersburg, Astrakhan: GMT + 3 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Izhevsk and Samara: GMT + 4 (GMT + 5 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Perm, Ekaterinburg, Surgut: GMT + 5 (GMT + 6 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Omsk and Novosibirsk: GMT + 6 (GMT + 7 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Abakan, Norilsk, Tura: GMT + 7 (GMT + 8 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Bratsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude: GMT + 8 (GMT + 9 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Mirnyy, Tynda, Yakutsk: GMT + 9 (GMT + 10 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk: GMT + 10 (GMT + 11 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Magadan, Chirskiy: GMT + 11 (GMT + 12 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Anadyr, Petropavlosk-Kamchatskiy: GMT + 12 (GMT + 13 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz; Russia uses a standard two-pin European plug.

Head of Government
Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov since 2007.

Head of State
President Dmitry Medvedev since 2008.

Recent History
Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin’s chosen successor, won a landslide victory in March 2008. 

President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in December 2007, which Western critics described as neither free nor democratic.

Vladimir Putin was elected to a second term as Russian president in March 2004. His tenure in power has been marked by a clear step back towards Soviet authoritarianism and government control of the press after the liberal years of Boris Yeltsin.

Putin will also be remembered for tackling any oligarchs who have failed to stay out of politics: many now live abroad for their own safety after Yukos billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to nine years’ hard labor in what many saw as a politically motivated prosecution for tax fraud, after Khodorkovsky financed opposition political parties. Putin has also overseen the resurgence of Russia on the world stage as an energy superpower, although the profits from the country’s vast mineral wealth remain in the hands of the privileged few.

Telephone
Country code: 7. When dialing the Russian Federation from abroad, the 0 of the area code must not be omitted. Most Moscow hotels have telephone booths with IDD. For long-distance calls within the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), dial 8 then wait for the dial tone before proceeding with the call. Collect calls, calls placed using credit cards and calls from direct dial telephones in hotels can be extremely expensive. International calls can be made from phones in the street and phonecards are available from many shops and kiosks in the street. The emergency services can be reached as follows: fire - 01; police - 02; ambulance - 03. For enquiries regarding Moscow private telephone numbers, dial 09; for businesses, 927 0009.

Mobile Telephone
Roaming agreements exist with international mobile phone companies. All major cities are covered by at least one operator. Handsets can be hired from some companies and local SIM cards are easily purchased for use within Russia.

Internet
Public access is available in hotels in larger cities and in Internet cafes.

Media
The arrival of Putin in 2000 saw a new era of central press control for Russia after a decade of unprecedented freedom. There is currently no independently owned national TV network, and most of the mainstream press is uncritical of the Kremlin.

Post
Airmail to Western Europe takes over 10 days. There are postboxes and post offices in every hotel. Inland surface mail is often slow.

Post office hours: 0900-1900.

Press
• The main quality dailies in the Russian Federation are Izvestiya, Kommersant  and Vedomosti, all published in Moscow.
• Big circulation tabloids include Argumenti I Fakti and Komosmolskaya Pravda.
• The daily Moscow Times and semi-weekly St Petersburg Times are published in English.

Radio
• Radio Russia and Radio Mayak are state-run networks.
• Russkoye Radio and Eko Moskvy are privately run.
• Voice of Russia operates programs in English and other languages.

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2009-December 2010 period.

2009
1-6 Jan New Year.
7 Jan Russian Orthodox Christmas Day.
23 Feb Day of the Defenders of the Motherland.
8 Mar International Women's Day. 
1-2 May Spring and Labor Day.
9 May Victory in Europe Day.
12 Jun Russia Day.
4 Nov National Unity Day.
12 Dec Constitution Day.

2010
1-6 Jan New Year.
7 Jan Russian Orthodox Christmas Day.
22 Feb Day of the Defenders of the Motherland.
8 Mar International Women's Day. 
1-2 May Spring and Labor Day.
9 May Victory in Europe Day.
12 Jun Russia Day.
4 Nov National Unity Day.
12 Dec Constitution Day.

Contact Information:

Embassy of the Russian Federation in the UK
6/7 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 4QP, UK
Tel: (020) 7229 3628.
Website: www.great-britain.mid.ru
Consular section: 5 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 4QS, UK
Tel: (020) 7499 1029.
Website: www.rusemblon.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1200 (visa section).

Russian National Tourist Office in the UK
70 Piccadilly, London W1J 8HP, UK
Tel: (020) 7495 7570.
Website: www.visitrussia.org.uk

Embassy of the Russian Federation in the USA
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA
Tel: (202) 298 5700.
Website: www.russianembassy.org
Consular section: 2641 Tunlaw Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA
Tel: (202) 939 8907.

Russian National Group in the USA
224 West 30th Street, Suite 701, New York, NY 10001, USA
Tel: (646) 473 2233 or 1 877 221 7120.
Website: www.russia-travel.com


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