Russia Travel Guide

Country Facts

Location

Eastern Europe/Asia.

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.

Area

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

Time Zone

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.

Population

140 million (2009 estimate).

Population Density

8.3 per sq km.

Capital City

Moscow. Population: 12.6 million (2009 estimate).

Government

Republic since its independence from the USSR in 1991.

Head of Government

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin since 2008.

Head of State

President Dmitry Medvedev since 2008.

Religion

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

Recent History

When former President Vladimir Putin stood down from the presidency in 2008 due to a constitutional limit on holding the office for more than two consecutive terms, his anointed successor and long-time protégé, Dmitry Medvedev won a landslide victory, becoming Russia's third president and appointing Putin as his Prime Minister shortly afterwards.

While many political commentators initially saw Medvedev as a loyal servant of Putin, expecting the Prime Minister to hold the presidency in all but name, the world financial crisis has rather upset the political applecart in Moscow, with Medvedev publicly criticising Putin's running of the economy as Prime Minister and the two men's rival power bases increasingly believed to be working against each other.

The economic crisis has exposed serious flaws in Russia's once-booming economy as oil and gas prices have dropped and the lack of infrastructure, investment and financial reform has become gruesomely exposed to the outside world. While the Russian government still has impressive financial reserves as a result of vast oil and gas revenue over the past few years, much of this has gone on propping up the weakening Rouble.

Communications

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 if you have an unlocked GSM handset.

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 unofficial government press control for Russia, which appears to be continuing under President Medvedev. There is currently no independently owned national TV network, and most of the mainstream press is uncritical of the Kremlin. The main quality dailies in Russia are Izvestiya and the business-oriented Kommersant and Vedomosti, all published in Moscow. Big circulation tabloids include Argumenty I Fakti and Komosmolskaya Pravda. The daily Moscow Times and twice-weekly St Petersburg Times are published in English. VGTRK is a state-owned national TV network. NTV is a national network owned by the gas company, Gazprom. Russia Today is an international English news channel run by a state-owned agency. Other networks include STS, TNT, MTV Russia and REN TV.

Post

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

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2010
12 Dec Constitution Day

2011
1 Jan - 10 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 May Spring and Labor Day
9 May Victory in Europe Day
12 Jun Russia Day
4 Nov National Unity Day
12 Dec Constitution Day

2012
1 Jan - 10 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 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 6412.
Website: www.great-britain.mid.ru
Consular section: 5 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 4QS, UK
Tel: 0845 868 1199.
Website: www.rusemblon.org
Opening hours: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 0900-1200 (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