Russia Survival Guide

By Alexander Rodionov and Maya Krivchenia

The goal of this book is to help people understand Russia better and to have a better experience while they are here. We wanted to write something that would help people fall in love with Russia, as much as we have, by sharing our experiences and funny stories about our life as an expat in St. Petersburg (Maya Krivchenia) and travel professional organizer (Alexander Rodionov).

Russia is an exciting, interesting, and dynamic country, but sometimes the differences that people come across are extremely frustrating and confusing. Our goal is to explain some of Russias unique qualities so that our friends, clients, tourist, and all others can appreciate this amazing country. Hopefully this will help answer some of the many questions you already have about Russia while planning your trip. By traveling to Russia you will certainly have a unique experience and hopefully by reading this you will get to experience Russia to the fullest!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493125722

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Alexander Rodionov & Maya Krivchenia.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 12/26/2013

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Contents

Preface: Why are we writing this?

Introduction: Russian People and Its History

Chapter 1: Planning Your Trip

—Moscow vs. Saint Petersburg

Architecture: Eclectic vs. Imperial Style

Role in History: Ancient Russia vs. Communist vs. Czar’s Empire

Culture and Education

Speed of Life

Other Russian Cities

Chapter 2: Arriving in Russia—Your Visas and Passing Through Customs

Visa Regime for Those Who Arrive by Sea

Upon Arrival

Chapter 3: Traffic and Transportation

Traffic in Russia

Taxi

Other Forms of Transport: Bus, Metro, Trams, Trolleybus, and Taxi Bus

Using Trains in Russia

Traveling between Moscow and Saint Petersburg

Chapter 4: Russian Guides

Chapter 5: Art

Museums

Literature

Tips for Visitors

Theater

Chapter 6: Money and Shopping

Savings and Financial Planning

Crazy Shopping

Your Look

Chapter 7: Russian Men and Women

Why Do Russian Women Always Wear High Heels and Full Makeup?

Why Do Russian Men Look So Ugly?

Why Are Russian Women So Popular Abroad as a Wife?

Chapter 8: Living Situation and Hotels in Russia

Facts about Hotels

Chapter 9: Restaurants and Nightclubs

Restaurants

Fast Food in Russia

Bar Culture in Russia

Tea Culture in Russia

Russian Restaurants and Russian Cuisine

Russian Etiquette and Specifics

Facts about restaurants

Wine Culture

Nightclubs in Russia

Chapter 10: People

Why Do Russian People Look So Unhappy and Angry?

People and Religion in Russia

Russian People and Politics

Telephone and E-mail Culture in Russia

Toilets in Russia

Chapter 11: Holidays, Customs, and Traditions

Russian Holidays

Russian Customs and Superstitions

Russian Tradition of Visiting Someone’s Home

Alcohol Habits in Russia

About Authors

PREFACE

Why are we writing this?

When my dear friend Alexander approached me about helping him write a book to help people understand Russia better and to have a better experience while they are here, I jumped at the opportunity. I myself had wanted to write something that would help people fall in love with Russia, as much as I have, by sharing my experiences and funny stories about my life as an expat in St. Petersburg.

Russia is an exciting, interesting, and dynamic country, but sometimes the differences that people come across are extremely frustrating and confusing. Our goal is to explain some of Russia’s unique qualities so that our friends, clients, tourist, and all others can appreciate this amazing country. Hopefully this will help answer some of the many questions you already have about Russia while planning your trip. By traveling to Russia you will certainly have a unique experience and hopefully by reading this your will get to experience Russia to the fullest!

This book is not a guide book in the normal sense of the phrase. This book is meant to give insight into the lives and minds of people living in Russia. We are not trying to tell you what you should and shouldn’t see, or where to go and what to do, but to answer questions about why things are a certain way here. We don’t want to give you a history lesson, but answer some of those burning questions you may have about Russia that you can’t find the answers to anywhere.

Russia like many cultures has its own unique qualities. We hope to explain some of the traditions so that you aren’t ever made to feel foolish by breaking some unspoken unknown taboo. Also having a basic understanding of these things you will be able to enjoy Russia at a deeper level.

Alexander told me that his clients always ask similar questions about money, women, homosexuality, facial expressions, hotels, cars ect… when they come to Russia, so he wants to give people a basic knowledge of life here so they may ask deeper questions if they want to. These questions and answers often can’t be found in history books or guide books, and a stranger on the street will probably be unwilling to give you a straight answer. We hope that by giving this information it can prevent unforeseen problems before they ever happen!

I hope this book helps you to prepare for you journey, and maybe some of the stories bring a smile to your face. My biggest wish however, is that once you have visited Russia it will have made an unforgettable impression on you!

Happy Travels,

Maya Krivchenia

INTRODUCTION

Russian People and Its History

There is a lot of criticism and jokes about modern life in Russia, but foreigners forget that our modern reality is the result of events that took place in Russia during the last one hundred years. If you just recall tragedies that happened in Russia during this period and calculate the damages brought by it, you will be shocked. When you look at Russian history closer, you will understand us better and start to love and respect Russia.

Russian people respect and know their history very well. During secondary school, we study history quite deeply during those seven years. Plus, basically, all our holidays (like Victory Day, Independence Day, former revolution day, etc.) are connected with Russian history and well promoted by the government. So the Russian people are very proud of their history and culture, especially about the way the nation managed to survive all the historical events during the last century. Russians, in general, are very patriotic, even if sometimes it looks like they are not. Russians can complain about recent political or economic situations, but behind this façade and political bravado, you will find very strong and deep patriotic feelings. You should know that, while complaining to one another about the situation in Russia, Russians will never accept criticism from foreigners. For us, only people who went through all the tragedies we have had can judge us.

Did you know that almost two million Russians were killed and that almost three million more were injured during the First World War? What was the damage to Russian economy and culture brought on by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917? How many intelligent and progressive people were killed or were forced migrate during those years? How many people were killed in the gulag during Stalin’s regime of terror? (Almost twenty million were prisoners and almost three million were killed there.) What losses did we suffer during the Second World War? (Almost twenty-three million killed and nine million injured.)

Don’t forget that Russia managed to rise up after the Second World War to survive the perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union. And people who lived throughout the soviet regime, shut off from the world, managed to survive through the crazy nineties with its privatization and reconstruction. All of these people are our grandparents, mothers, and fathers who raised us, who remember all these horrible times. Of course, having such a background, modern Russians has become different from the US and Europe, who have suffered different and fewer tragedies.

Therefore, in order to understand Russian people and their strange form of patriotism, it is a good idea to learn more about our history and you will better understand what a huge amount of progress has happened in the country and inside of people’s minds in just twenty years. To help with a brief knowledge of history, I have included you a short list of important historical events that have taken place in Russia just in the twentieth century:

1905—National uprising against czarist rule, which came to be called the rehearsal of the 1917 revolution. It fastened the establishment of a national parliament (Duma) in 1906.

1914—World War I begins. It brought enormous losses, food shortages, and widespread unrest. Saint Petersburg was renamed Petrograd to sound less German.

1917—February revolution overthrows the czarist regime. Later, during the October uprisings the people overthrow the new provisional government, and the Bolshevik Party takes control.

1918—The Bolsheviks execute Czar Nicholas II and his family and spend the next four years fighting a devastating civil war.

1921—In response to the opposition, a less extreme economic policy is introduced, the New Economic Policy (NEP). Vladimir Lenin moves the capital back to Moscow.

1924—Lenin dies and Petrograd was renamed to Leningrad. Josef Stalin takes full control of the Soviet Union.

1934—Beginning of the worst period of Stalin’s terror that lasted until 1941. Millions of people were killed or sent to the gulag.

1941—Germany attacks Russia on June 22 that starts the Great Patriotic War. After sustaining heavy losses, Russia begins to push German forces back in 1943.

1945—Germany surrenders in May 1945.

1953—Stalin dies. In 1954, Khrushchev succeeds him.

1957—The first satellite (Sputnik) is launched. In 1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.

1962—The Cold War reaches its height with the Cuban missile crisis in October.

1985—Gorbachev becomes general secretary of the Communist Party and calls for reforms including perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness).

1991—Yeltsin becomes the first elected president of Russia in June. One by one, the Baltic states declare their independence, and in December, Yeltsin announces that the USSR no longer exists and proclaims the establishment of a new confederation called the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

CHAPTER 1

Planning Your Trip—

Moscow vs. Saint Petersburg

One of the largest arguments in the two biggest Russian cities is Which of the cities is better? There are lots of reasons for the never-ending debates as these two cities are completely different each