TERRITORY. The city of St-Petersburg is 606,8 sq. km. In 1993 a new political unit called “greater St-Petersburg” was established which increased the area to 1400 sq. km. with regions and towns including Kolpino, Kronstadt, lomonossov, Pavlovsk, Pushkin, Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk.
POPULATION. According to the last information the population of the city is about 4š750š000 people. Greater St-Petersburg has about five mln inhabitants.
TIME. St-Petersburg belongs to the Moscow standard time zone (MST), which differs from the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): summer MST=GMT + 4 hours. St-Petersburg goes on Daylight Saving (Summer) Time on the last Saturday of March and goes off Daylight Saving Time on the last Saturday of October.
LONGEST DAY. 17 hours, 31 minutes is June 21. The sun rises at 4:43 a.m. and sets at 22:20, but it never really gets dark. This time of the year is called the “White nights” and is the focus of music festivals. Shortest Day: 6 hours and 57 minutes is December 22nd. The sun rises at 9 and sets at 15:57.
CLIMATE. Winter lasts from about the 5th ofš December to the 16th ofš March. St-Petersburg is magnificent in its snowy mantle. Because of the fickle weather, severe frosts are sometimes followed by warm spells. Then the walls of massive buildings, park fences and bare black tree branches become covered with long (several centimeters) silver icicles. St-Petersburg looks like a genuine fairy-tale town. The temperature approximately from 0 degrees C to 25 degrees C below zero.Spring lasts from approximately the 17th of March to the 1st of June. The temperature is about -10 degrees C to + 15 degrees C. Autumn lasts from approximately September 12th to December 4th. In St-Petersburg it is very mild. But it gets much colder in October. Of course, it rains a lot, too. In autumn days grow shorter. The temperature is about + 15 degrees C to -5 degrees C. Summer lasts from June 2nd to September 11th. It seems these white nights of St-Petersburg were created just for connoisseurs of architecture. Summer lights of morning and evening almost seem to touch ends. The temperature is approximately + 15 degrees C to +25 degrees C.
ELECTRICITY. Home voltage is 220 V (AC), 50 Hz.
NATIONAL CURRENCY is Rbl 1 = 100 copecks.
CREDIT CARDS. The most widely accepted cards are American Express, Visa and Europay (Eurocard and Mastercard)
ETIQUETTE. šWhen visiting Russia there are a few simple rules of etiquette that can be useful. Check your coat, briefcase, or parcels at the front door of a restaurant, at theaters or any formal receptions. Dress for the theater, check you coat and any large bags at the cloak-room. Be on time. No photo, no video during the performance. In Russian Orthodox Churches women should wear a skirt and cover their heads with a scarf or hat. Men should bare their heads.
TRANSPORTATION. The public transport are metro, bus, trolley bus and tramway. October 1999 the Metro fee is 8 rubles, transport’s fees are 8 rubles per person per way, transport fares are subject to change.
TAXI Your hotel will book a taxi for you. If hailing a cab on the street, look for the official taxies – yellow with a checkered band on the door and on the roof. The taxi fare depends on distance, destination (airport, railway stations), and driving time.
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS: January 1 – The New Year Holiday. January 7 - Russian Orthodox Christmas. February 23 – Day of Russian Army. March 8 – Women’s Day. May 1 – The Day of Concord and Reconciliation. December 12 – The Day of the Constitution of Russia.
