Facts about Saint-Petersburg
Area: 605.8 sq. km.
5 million people (2014 )
Saint-Petersburg is a cultural capital of the Russian Federation and an important economical, industrial, tourist and scientific center of the country. Saint-Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in May 1703, when the first fortress in honor of Saint Peter was built. From 1712 till 1918 the city was the capital of Russian empire and residence of Russian imperators.
From its first days Saint-Petersburg became a multicultural city. There are a lot of different nationalities and basic world religions.
Saint-Petersburg is located in the northwest of Russian Federation
in a moderate climate zone, on the Neva-river at the east end of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic sea. It leads to the warm humid climate with a long snow winter. In winter mean air temperature is -10°C. Rainy, windy weather prevails during winter period.
Transport
There is an airport in Saint-Petersburg Pulkovo for domesic and international flights that is located outside of the city.
There are 5 railway stations: Baltic Station, Vitebsk Station, Finlyand Station, Moscow Station, Ladozhsky Station. All of them are located in the center and are easy to access.
Metro has been working from November 1955.
Saint-Petersburg has relatively extensive and growing systems of buses, trolleybuses and trams. There is an abundance of taxis especially along the major thoroughfares.
To reach the Main building of the University from Dormitory №2, one may use Underground (from station "Dybenko" to station "Novocherkasskaya", bus № 191, tram № 23 or minibus № 83).
Purchases
It is not recommended to have much cash with you. It is better to open an account and use a credit card.
Monthly travel card (metro, bus, trolleybus and tram) can be bought at any metro station. For student it costs 670 rubles. Single ticket for tram, bus, trolleybus costs 28 rubles, metro ticket costs 31 rubles; for mini-bus – 35 rubles. Mini-busses have lately become very popular. This means of transport are privately run and therefore more expensive than the state public transport.
There is a great choice of places to eat in Saint-Petersburg, where dinner costs 300—500 rubles. Many universities have cafeterias where students can eat much cheaper, but tasty. The average price for a lunch in the RSHU's cafeteria is 150 rubles.
Dear applicants, please note, that winter air temperatire in Saint-petersburg sometimes can reach -20 C. So, there is a need of buying warm clothes.
Leisure
The city is home to exiting galleries, museums, theatres, global mix of restaurants, cafe, pubs and clubs.
In 1990 historical centre of the city and countryside palaces and parks were included into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO. There are more then 200 museums and their branches in the Saint-Petersburg: Hermitage, Russian museum, Central Naval museum, Applied Art museum, Ethnographic Museum, Scientific Center, many scientific-research institutions. There are more than 70 theatres in the city.
Student card, which obtain every student after applying university, give you a reduction for visiting museums, parks, cinemas. Visiting of Hermitage is free of charge for all students. You can also use ISIC student card and visit theatres, cafes, shops with a discount. ISIC card can be adjusted at the university or at ISIC offices in Saint-Petersburg.
If you go in for sports you will find a lot of gyms, swimming-pools, tennis-courts or you can take part in a walking-tour. Skiing resorts are open in the suburbs for people who like Alpine skiing. If you like sailing, you can take part in annual regatta at Gulf of Finland.
You also have an opportunity to enjoy the night life of Saint-Petersburg. There are a lot of night clubs, where in informal and friendly atmosphere you can meet and communicate with students of other Saint-Petersburg universities, as it is a real student city.