10.01.2008
Post and Phones in Russia
Mobiles, Shipping, Payphones, etc.Mail Services Post Office
Every urban center in Russia has a Central Post Office (Glavpochtamt), which also sells stamps and envelopes, and usually fax services, Internet time, and telegraph services too. Your SRAS Student Guide will tell you where yours is and list one close to campus. Moscow: 26 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russia. Tel: (495) 925-8623 or 924-6597. Fax: (495) 975-2421 or 924-7503 St. Petersburg: 9 Pochtamtskaya Ul., St. Petersburg, 190000, Russia. Tel: (812) 312 8302. Fax: (812) 312-60-29
Private Mail Services
There are several in Russia including DHL (www.dhl.ru tel: 7-095-916-1000) and FedEx (www.fedex.com/ru/ tel: 7-095-787-5555). There are also some less expensive ones established mainly for expats – usually they advertise in English-language papers. If you will be in Russia for several months and need to receive important documents it is worth opening an account. Otherwise, it’s not, given the easy access to email these days. For sending postcards and letters, the Russian post is slow but acceptable, but know that packages sent from America sometimes still get "lost." Find any postal code in Russia! www.russianpost.ru Calling to Russia
In Russia, city codes can be three or four digits long (see the brief list below) and numbers are usually writen in the following format: 7-(111)-222-33-44 or 7-(1111)-22-33-44. So, to call from the US, the following format is used: 011-7-(city code)-(Russian number). If you expect that friends or family will be calling you regularly, we advise seeking out one of several programs offering much better rates to Russia – as low as 5 cents per minute! If you would like information about some of these programs, contact SRAS. Some City Codes: Note: Some mobile phones may have different codes like 921, 916, 905, etc. These are "federal" numbers allocated to the mobile system.
Moscow: (495); St. Petersburg: (812); Sochi: (8622); Irkutsk: (3952); Nizhny Novgorod: (8312).
There are several inexpensive options for calling to Russia. Here we list a few that we have come across.
http://www.enjoyprepaid.com
http://www.paytone.com/p/info.php/Champion
http://speedypin.com/phone/cards/Russia Calling from Russia
We recommend cards from "Matrix" for the cheapest rate and ease of use (around 7-9 cents per minute). These cards can be bought at small kiosks which dot most Russian cities. You may also place Internet calls very cheaply, if not for free. Visit http://www.skype.com for details, and see below for information on using the Internet in Russia. Using Payphones
Payphones are everywhere in Russia (payphone is "taksofon" in Russian), but you will find that they generally require two phone cards for long distance calls. Both cards may be purchased from innumerable kiosks scattered throughout any Russian city. The first has a built-in microchip; this one will make the phone operate when inserted. Then, you can use your calling card number (on the second card) and follow the directions thereon. These directions can be quirky, and are probably printed in Russian, so be prepared to try a few variations to get it right. On some phones, you will need to press the star key (or another) to begin speaking once your party has answered. Calling home using a calling card Moscow access numbers
AT&T access: 755-5052
MCI access: 747-3322 and 747-3320
Sprint access: 155-6133 | St Pete access numbers
AT&T access: 325-5042
MCI access: 346-8022
Sprint access: 8-10800-497-7255 |
Access numbers elsewhere
AT&T access: 8-10800-497-7211
MCI access: no general number
Sprint access: 8-10800-497-7255 Cell Phones
After an initial fee of approximately $130 for a phone, simcard, and an account, you pay for only the calls you make by purchasing pre-paid calling cards. BeeLine seems to carry the strongest signal in Moscow, and have the happiest customers. MTS is fairly inexpensive and decently reliable (but doesn’t service Volgograd, for some strange reason). MegaFon is likely the most visible, but is not noted for consistent, reliable service. Cell phones are an excellent boon to one’s social life, and it is always reassuring to know that you can always call the embassy from anywhere in the event of an emergency.
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