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 (495) 956-1000) and FedEx (www.fedex.com/ru/ tel: 7 (495) 788-8881). 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."

For finding postal codes for the Russian federation, try www.addressdoctor.com. You can search in Russian or English (cyrilic or latin) for any address in Russia (and lots of other places too).

Calling to Russia
In Russia, area codes can be three or four digits long (see the brief list below) and numbers are usually written 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).

• Some Area Codes:  Moscow: (495); Moscow (outskirts): 499; St. Petersburg: (812); Sochi: (8622); Irkutsk: (3952); Nizhny Novgorod: (8312). Numbers to mobile phones usually begin with "9" (e.g. 921, 916, 905, 903).

There are several inexpensive options for calling to Russia offered by companies such as Skype.com (recomended), EnjoyPrepaid.com, PayTone.com, and SpeedyPin.com

Calling from Russia
We recommend cards from "Arktel" 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. To call the US from Russia, you must dial 8-10-1-area code-number.

You may also place Internet calls very cheaply, if not for free. Visit Skype.com for details, and see our 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 and is called a "karta taksafona;" this one will make the phone operate when inserted. Then, you can use your calling card number (on the second card, usually called a "telefonaya karta") and follow the directions thereon. Most brands will offer upwards of two hours' talking time (Russia-US) for about 150 RUR ($6) These directions on the telekarta 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

Access numbers elsewhere
AT&T access:  8-10-800-110-1011
MCI access:    7-812-747-3322 (call to Moscow, Russian long distance rates apply)
Sprint access: 8-10-800-110-2011

Cell Phones
After an initial fee of approximately $130 for a (cheap) phone, simcard, and an account, you pay for only the calls you make. Local calls are paid for by way of electronic terminals available throughout most Russian cities, or by purchasing special cards and activitating them through the phone. Long distance can be purchased as well via cards purchased from cell phone stores (we recomend the Evroset-branded card, available in Evroset stores, Russia largest cell phone store chain). Students on SRAS programs in some locations are issued a cell phone free of charge. For those who will need to chose their own service provider, BeeLine seems to carry the strongest signal in Moscow, and have the happiest customers. MTS is inexpensive and reliable (but doesn't service Volgograd, for some strange reason). MegaFon is likely the most visible carrier, with advertisements everywhere. However, MegaFon  is noted for inconsistent, unreliable 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.