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Table of Contents

1. Introduction…………..…3 2. Some Facts about…

Russia……………………....4 Saint-Petersburg…….…6

3. Useful Facts About everything……..9 Getting Around….……11 Prices…………………..…12 General recom-mendations…………….13

4. Russian Phrasebook..14 5. LC SPUEF in Faces……15 6. Don’t Forget…………...18

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INTRODUCTION

Congratulations! You are finally a trainee of AIESEC!!! Now you are going to spend unforgettable and incredible time in our mysterious country! What are the first things that come to your mind when you think about Russia? Let us guess... cold weather, bears and vodka?

Exactly! That’s what you can see in the movies. But don’t you want to know a bit more about us? Do you prefer to listen to an eye-witness or be a one yourself? Are you dreaming about adventures or experiencing them? Are you one step behind or one step ahead? It’s up to you! We admit that Russia is weird sometimes, but that’s what makes it different! Aren’t you excit-ed? Yes? Then this booklet is for YOU! And we are all looking forward to having you here with us soon!

AIESEC SPUEF

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SOME FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA

Russia or the Russian Federation is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. It is a semi-presidential republic comprising 83 federal subjects. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 140 million people, it is the ninth largest by population.

You have to know Russia is very big and very different!!!

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Some Facts from The CIA World Fact Book

Country name: conventional long form: Russian Federation conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya

Government type: federation

Capital: name: Moscow The most popululated city in Europe and the 7th largest city in the world.

Executive branch: chief of state: President Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV (since 7 May 2008) head of government: Premier Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 8 May 2008)

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SAINT-PETERSBURG NORTHERN VENICE or THE CITY OF WHITE NIGHTS

It’s is the second main city of the Russian Federa-tion (although the people in St. Petersburg won't agree with that:). It takes the space of more than 600 sq. km and there are about 4.73million peo-ple living officially. St. Petersburg is the most northern city in the world with population more than 4 millions people. It was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great as the «Window on the West». It’s in the North-West of Russia, 2 hours by car from Finland or Estonia, and about 4 to 8 hours by train from Moscow. St.-Petersburg is located at the seashore of Baltic Sea, that's why the climate here is damp and rainy. It's cool there in winter and warm in sum-mer, the weather is changing often. Probably, the most interesting period is the "White Nights", lasting from May 25-26 till July 16-17, when there is no darkness in the night & the sky is light. It is very beautiful, but be prepared: there are no special night movements over the city, just the same nightclubs, so it's more about witnessing a natural miracle, calm walking and thinking, rather than street energy. The Neva River is the city's main waterway. The city is called the Northern Venice because there are 65 rivers, arms and canals there with artisti-cally decorated bridges.

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The city is situated on the banks and islands of Neva River and Gulf of Finland. The abundance of islands has led to the construction of a multitude of bridges. Of these, nowadays there are 308 within the city proper, and 534 if suburbs are included. 22 of the bridges are drawbridges. City center is well organized, all the streets are perpendicular. As it was built after the model of Amsterdam, it reminds it slightly, though the streets are bigger. The main and the oldest street in St. Petersburg is called Nevsky Prospect. There are many museums, beautiful sights, little cozy cafes and restaurants, and hotels. Vasilievski Island, which is to the west of Nevsky Prospekt, is a quiet residential area. It is the big-gest one in St. Petersburg. There are a lot of his-torical places there.

There are three things that you should know to be able to make your way in St. Petersburg:

1) Learn Russian alphabet to be able to read street names; 2) All streets numbering starts from Nevsky Prospekt; 3) The odd numbers are on the right-hand side of the street, the even numbers are on the left-hand side of the street.

St. Petersburg is wonderful city: at every turn there’s something to catch your eye. The Winter Palace, the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Peter-and-Paul Fortress, the Admiralty building attract thousands of tourists from every corner of the world.

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USEFUL LINKS ABOUT ST. PETERSBURG http://petersburgcity.com/city/generalinfor

mation/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-

Petersburg http://www.saint-petersburg.com/ http://russia-travel.ws/regions/Petersburg http://www.myworldshots.com/Russia/St-

Petersburg

Average weather in Piter (celsius): January -8 February -8 March -4 April +4 May +9 June +15 July +17 August +16 September +11 October +5 November -1 December -5 St. Petersburg weather stations have data from 1722. The high-est temperature reported in St. Petersburg for the whole ob-servation period, 37,1 ° C , and the lowest -35,9 ° C. So, welcome to St. Petersburg, a marvelous city on the Baltic Sea, which is ready to unveil its treasures before you…

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USEFUL FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING Money

The local currency is Russian Rouble. It is the only cur-rency used in Russia for all cash transactions. There are coins in 1, 5, 10, 50 kopeika & 1, 2, 5, 10 rouble. Bills come in the amount of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000.

All cash operations in Russia are maintained in rubles. You can change your money in practically any bank, but be prepared to be asked to show your passport in order to make the change.

1 US$ = 30,8 roubles 1 EURO = 42,2 roubles 1 UK Pound = 49,7 roubles PS: You’d better keep in mind that these numbers change everyday

Electricity 220 VOLTS. Plugs are in English standards.

Entry requirements You need a visa to enter Russian Federation, AIESEC provides its interns with culture visa,

with this visa you can stay up to 3 months in the country. After you entered the country you need to register your visa within 3 working days. AIESEC also takes care about the registration process.

Language

The official language in Russia is Russian. Many people, specially students, speak English.

Telephone The international area code of Saint-Petersburg is +7 812. 8 383 works just as well inside the

country, that is why many Russians often write phone numbers this way. Incoming calls are free in Russia since 2006, which means that all the calls are paid by the calling person with the only excep-tion of those made from roaming mobiles.

24 HOURS

One of the good things about Russia is that it is never difficult to find a place to get food or drink, even in the middle of the night, whether it is a sample shop or an expensive nightclub. If you see the 24-sign (or 25-sign), it means this place is open around the clock. Even experienced global-travelers are astonished at the number of supermarkets and kiosks open all night long.

Alcohol

Stereotypes about Russian drinking habits are mostly true, so if you somehow find yourself enmeshed in a vodka session with locals, don’t try to keep up. They’ve had way more practice =). Vodka is cheap and there are oodles of dif-ferent brands with cool labels to choose from. Russky Standart, Diplomat and Flagman are pretty good. Russian beer (pivo) is good stuff, with is why Russians consume more beer than any other alcoholic drink. Locally brewed Nevskoe, Bal-

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tika and Bochkarev are the mainstay for most Petersburgers. Or try Sovietskoe Shampanskoe (‘Soviet Champagne’), the ordinary party drink – it comes in five varieties ranging from very sweet (sladkoe) to dry (sukhoe) and very dry (brut).

Floors

The Russian floor-numbering system is American style, which means there is no ground floor. When you’re on the ground floor, you’re actually on the first floor. Go up one and you’re on the se-cond and so on.

Habits No shoes in the house! When entering a Russian household, remember to take your shoes off

as soon as you get inside. Usually your host will offer you slippers – every Russian owns at least one pair. Now you can experience true Russian hospitality, you can’t beat it =). In terms of greetings and introductions, of you’re a woman and you hold you hand out to a man, expect to be kissed and not shaken. We think it’s good to encourage shaking hands (it comes with equality), so keep on shaking! Chivalry isn’t dead... it’s true! Here in Russia, men still kiss women’s hands, open doors, take coats, pull back chairs, pour drinks, pay bills, put on coats, carry bags, help women over pud-dles... For many women this is heaven, although for feminists it may be hell. The courtesy might ex-plain why some Russian women are so hard to please!

Health & Safety St. Petersburg is no more dangerous than any average European city. Russian drivers are your

biggest danger, so cross the road carefully and don’t assume cars will stop just because you’re on zebra crossing. Other dangers include dodgy electrical fittings, temperamental gas stoves, uncovered manholes and absinthe. The city’s weather is treated with chlorine to clean it from bacteria, parasites and heavy metals, so you can use it to brush your teeth or wash fruit. For drinking or to make tea, it is better to stick bottled water, or clean the tap water with a filter and give it a good boil first.

Market values

Petersburg may be ranked as one of the expensive cities in the world for expatriates, of you look at the Economist’s Big Mac index, it isn’t so bad (a Big Mac costs a little more than 1 euro). For Westerners, public transport is cheap, for 700Rbl you can travel 600 km to Moscow by train. You can also buy some red or black caviar for 5-15 euro per tin, not to mention vodka for 3-5 euro a bottle. Dining out is relatively cheap and of you do have to pay Western prices the quality of food is often better than at home.

Tipping isn’t expected in bars, but it is the norm in top-notch

restaurants. Ten percent is average, but it’s up to your discre-tion. Some restaurants automatically add on a 10% service-charge, so check your bill first.

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GETTING AROUND

As long as it’s not rush hour, it’s easy to get around St. Petersburg. Rush hour is between 8:00-10:00 and 17:00-19:30. Public transport The most efficient and fastest are the metro and marshrutka (mini bus). On above-ground transportation you can buy tickets on board from the conductor or the driver (20 Rbl for bus, tram & trolley). It all works from around 06:00 to just after midnight. Bus Most buses are from the Stone Age, but are slowly being replaced by modern ones. There are nor-mal and commercial buses (tickets up to 27 Rbl). The cost of the monthly normal bus ticket is 600 Rbl.

Marshrutka – middle-class transport. The mini bus follows a fixed route and along this route you can hail it and get out wherever you want. Prices vary depending on the route (27 Rbl). Tram According to the Guinness Book of World Records St. Petersburg has the most extensive tram system in the world. Think of that with some re-spect when old, rusty tram is rocking and shaking you all over. Trolley bus – The trolley network is 525 km long and has more than 45 trolleybuses routes.

Metro is well over 100 km long & is the deepest in the world. It’s fast and efficient and during peak time you won’t need to wait more than 2 minutes for a train. Petersburg has 4 color-coded, numbered metro lines. You’ll need to buy a token (zheton) for 20 Rbl from the window labeled kassa. You can

also buy plastic cards for more rides which you can use for a fixed period. The metro works from 06:00 to 00:30.

Taxi – the most expensive transport. The cost usually depends on the situa tion (can be from 200rbl up to 2000rbl). Electrichka (local train) – The cheapest option if you want to visit one of the suburbs or villages outside St. Petersburg. This is real Russian life and during your trip sellers badger you with whatever they are selling: ice-

cream, maps, shoestrings and so on. No toilets!

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PRICES

name of goods price(in roubles) 1. Bread 25-40 2. Butter (200 g) 40-50 3. rice( 1 kg) 35-60 4. buckwheat(1 kg) 30-40 5. flour (1 kg) 25-35 6. sugar ( 900 g) 25 7. eggs (10) 30-40 8. cornflakes 30-80 9. cheese(1 kg) 200 10. sausage( 1kg) 200 11. yogurt (0,5 lit ) 30-40 12. milk (1 lit) 30-40 13. curd ( 0,25 kg) 30-40 14. pasta (400 g ) 20-60 15. beef (1 kg) 200 16. potatoes (1 kg) 25-30 17. Mars bar 20 18. McDonald’s Big Mac 80 19. Vodka (1/2 liter) 100-250 20. bottle of local beer (1/2 liter) 25-40 21. coffee (100 g) 110 22. tea (50 g ) 40 23. juice ( 1 lit) 30-50 24. chocolate( 100 g) 25-50 25. washing powder( 250 g) 20-40 26. shampoo (400 ml) 70-190 27. soap 10-25 28. metro/bus ticket 22/20

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General recommendations

Don’t put legs on the table In Russian companies there is system of seniority You can do everything, but no one must know about it Don’t hope that laws will help you It’s usually much more expensive for the foreigners than for Russians It’s OK if you’ll be late less than 10 minutes It’s impossible to be late for business meetings If you invite women somewhere you ought to pay for her Sex before marriage is normal You can go to the movie’s with friends It isn’t necessary to drink if you don’t want If you are going to some friend’s place, you should bring a little present with yourself

(cake, for example) There is an allocation of works and responsibilities in man and woman in the family It’s better not to have problems with the police It’s better to know laws and prices for not being cheated You should carry with you your passport and visa Don’t carry much money with yourself, it’s better not to show your “fat” purse to any-

body Traffic laws are usually not followed by drivers, so be careful Men usually let women have a sit, and young people do it for old people First you should choose what to buy, then go to cash desk and pay for it in some stores Young people usually drink beer When meet somebody, friend usually kiss each other on the cheeks 1 time, men shake

their hands, men always only nod his head to women (if it isn’t a business meeting) If there are friends they can pay for themselves Men always feel humble if women offer to pay for them There is a woman who makes a budget in the family Policemen don’t speak foreign languages Book offices for the foreigners are apart Don’t discuss national problems There is a heavy negative opinion about military service

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RUSSIAN PHRASEBOOK Yes Da No Niet Please Pazhalujsta Thanks Spasiba Hello Privet Good evening Dobryj vecher Good morning Dobrae utra Good night Dobraj nochi Bye Bye Paka-paka Where is..? Gde…? How are you? Kak dela? My name is… Menya zavut… How much Skol’ka How many Skol’ka A lot Mnoga A little Mala Very Expensive Ochen’ dorago Why?/Because Pachemu?/Patamu chto I am thirsty Ya hachu pit’ I am hungry Ya hachu est’ I don't understand Ya ne panimau I love you Ya lyublyu tebya I need help Pamagite The easiest way to survive in a foreign country is to learn these three sentences: Menya zovut My name is Ya ne ponimau Russkij I don’t understand Russian Ya tebya lyublyu I love you

Russian alphabet

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LC SPUEF IN FACES Our executive board

Anikieva Nadin VP ICX non-cor 8 951 658 3703 anikieva.nadin@gmail.com Kechedzhi Stella VP OGX 8 911 745 1706 stella.kechedzhi@gmail.com Korotchenko Lena VP TM 8 904 517 6558 elenkorotchenko@gmail.com Kuvshinov Pasha VP ER 8 904 616 8477 pavel.kuvshinov@gmail.com Porotova Masha VP ICX cor 8 951 684 3746 masha.porotova@gmail.com Sokolnikov Slava VP Fin 8 904 630 8168 vyacheslav.sokolnikov@aiesec.net Yakovleva Dina VP Com 8 904 608 1980 dina.yakovleva@gmail.com Nepomniashaya Katya LCP 8 951 642 8298 ekaterina.nepomniaschaya@gmail.com

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These people you have to know by sight…

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Contact information, feel free to call these people at any time you have a problem

Contact Person Position Cell Phone E-mail

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Anikieva Nadin VP ICX non-cor 8 951 658 37 03 anikieva.nadin@gmail.com Porotova Masha VP ICX cor 8 951 684 37 46 masha.porotova@gmail.com Kechedzhi Stella VP OGX 8 911 745 17 06 stella.kechedzhi@gmail.com Sokolnikov Slava VP Fin 8 904 630 81 68 vyacheslav.sokolnikov@aiesec.net Korotchenko Lena VP TM 8 904 517 65 58 elenkorotchenko@gmail.com Yakovleva Dina VP Com 8 904 608 19 80 dina.yakovleva@gmail.com Kuvshinov Pasha VP ER 8 904 616 84 77 pavel.kuvshinov@gmail.com Nepomniashaya Katya

LCP 8 951 642 82 98 ekateri-na.nepomniaschaya@gmail.com

MANAGERS & COORDINATORS

Elizabeth Zolotaryova Non-Cor RM 8 921 340 76 94 elizabeth.zolotaryova@gmail.com

Tamara Kravchenko Cor RM 8 950 022 70 57 tamara.kravchenko@gmail.com Maria Petrova PRM 8 906 276 75 03 maria.petrova10@gmail.com

ОСP-projects

Ivan Titov FLY 8 950 041 81 33 ivan.titov90@gmail.com Anna Krivoshekova YANA 8 911 713 43 22 anna.krivoshekova@gmail.com Alisa Taiturova OY 8 952 233 60 52 alisa.taiturova@gmail.com Daria Antyufeeva FAIRY TALE 8 921 925 71 27 daria.antyufeeva@gmail.com Roman Tikhonov HUMAN RIGHTS 8 905 265 89 27 roman.tikhonov1@gmail.com Sergey Yugai IT literacy 8 981 812 29 49 sergey.yugai@gmail.com Novikova Tanya Start Up 8 911 739 66 10 novikovatanyaale@gmail.com

FLY project

Ivan Titov OCP 8 950 041 81 33 ivan.titov90@gmail.com

Oleg Vasiliev OC VP ER 8 951 660 72 40 oleg.vasiliev@aiesec.net

Elena Grishchenko OC EVENT 8 952 372 07 05 elena.grishchenko@aiesec.net

Natasha Orlova OC VP COM 8 904 614 30 89 natasha.orlova@aiesec.net

Shalva Abramishvili OC PR 8 951 655 11 01 shalva.abramishvili@aiesec.net

Wladimir Neelov OC VP ICX 8 921 375 31 94 wladimir.neelov@aiesec.net

Luba Kudryavtseva OC matching 8 921 969 80 38 luba.kudryavtseva@aiesec.net

Anastasia Porshneva OC interns coord. 8 953 362 49 14 anastasia.porshneva@aiesec.net

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DO NOT FORGET! Passport (with visa) Money, credit cards, checks Special Medicines Your Student Card (from the university) ISIC (International Student Identity Card) if you have one Formal dress-work and other appropriate clothes (especially warm

clothes)

A bit more money to pay for your first month expenses Special things from your country All necessary telephone numbers-addresses of AIESECers National drink =)))

WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU HERE!