ABOUT RUSSIA

HISTORY

Russia, no doubt, is a country with a rich history. There are many glorious and heroic events. Of course there are disputable moments too.

First the centre of Russia was a city Kiev which is now the capital of Ukraine. That is why the state was called Kiev Russia and was founded in 862. That year variag prince Riurik subordinating all Russian lands later was invited to rule in Novgorod.

There are lots of versions why the state was called “Rus”. Some people consider that the word “Rus” formed from the name of the river Ros where Slavonic tribes polians lived. Other interesting version is that “Rus” comes from “rusiy” – the way they call light-haired people here.

To know more read article

TERRITORY AND TIME ZONES

Russian territory is devided into 8 Federal districts

9 time zones - from UTC + 3 till UTC +12

TEMPERATURES AND SEASONS

All seasons in Russia are very visible

Here you can find average aproximate winter and summer temperatures in Russia. If you want to know how it will be during your internship contact your hosting LC.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

* Plese make sure you are arriving in warm clothes during winter. If you have troubles finding it in your country - try sport wear departments.

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

Official language - Russian

Please keep in mind that English is not commonly spoken in Russia and you have to prepare yourself a little, at least by acknowledging yourself with Cyrillic alphabet.

You can find a free course of basic Russian here.

Also you can find here a short list of common Russian phrases.

Please, read and write down phrases that you'd need on the way to the city of your internship.

MONEY AND COMMUNICATION

You can check the currrent course of Russian Ruble on the website of a Central Bank of Russia.

Only Rubles are accepted in Russian shops, restaurants, transport, etc.

If you want to exchange money in Russia, better come with dollars or euro. Exchange money only in banks. Better avoid exchanging in street offices and never exchange money with unknown people.

1 euro

49 rub

1 dollar

35 rub

As well we recommend you to use international Visa & Masrercard, which are widely accepted in supermarkets and department stores.

ATMs can be easily found, through you will be charged extra fee for using ATMs of different banks from yours.

Top Russian banks

Sberbank

Gasprombank

Alpha - Bank

Average prices in Russia (in RUB)

Communication

Free wi-fi almost everywhear in the city areas.

Internet access in almost every house.

Average cost of USB-modem - 1.300 rubls + monthly payment.

Major national mobiles operators

MOVING AROUND RUSSIA

Russia is a biggest country in the world so it has rich transportation opportunities both nationally and internationally.

You can find a list of international airports in Russia here.

You can check airline companies and prices on this website.

You can check tickets and prices for trains on a website of the Russian Railway Company.

To know the best route from your home country to the city of internship contact your hosting Local Committee.

RAILWAY

If you are planning on travelling around during or after your internship you can as well use trains.

In Russian trains there are 4 kinds of compartment. The cheapest are sitting places which are ok for about 8 hours rides. More comfortable are open compartments with 4 berths in a compartment and 2 on the side, called plazkart (плацкарт).

More expensive are closed compartments with 4 berths, which are called coupe (купе).

LOCAL TRANSPORT