Pre-arrival Guide
CLIMATE IN SAINT PETERSBURG
In St. Petersburg, a city located in northwestern Russia, the climate is continental, with freezing winters and pleasantly warm summers. In winter, snowfalls are frequent, as well as rainfall in summer. The wind often blows, although it calms down a bit in summer.
Here are the average temperatures.
AVERIGE TEMPERATURES (www.climatestotravel.com)
|
St Petersburg |
J |
F |
M |
A |
M |
J |
J |
A |
O |
N |
D |
|
|
Min (°C) |
-8 |
-8 |
-4 |
2 |
7 |
12 |
15 |
13 |
9 |
4 |
-2 |
-6 |
|
Max (°C) |
-3 |
-3 |
2 |
9 |
16 |
20 |
23 |
21 |
15 |
9 |
2 |
-2 |
|
Min (°F) |
18 |
18 |
25 |
36 |
45 |
54 |
59 |
55 |
48 |
39 |
28 |
21 |
|
Max (°F) |
27 |
27 |
36 |
48 |
61 |
68 |
73 |
70 |
59 |
48 |
36 |
28 |
STUDENTS‘ LIFE
HOUSING
University provides housing facilities to SPSFTU students and staff. Student residence is composed of fully furnished double and triple rooms of various comfort level.
Each residence provides rest room and laundry. Some of them have a gym. All buildings are located in close proximity to public transport, shopping centers and SPSFTU campus.
When settling in you are to sign a living agreement and get acquainted with certain rules to be followed. To find out more about the university’s dormitories, please check the link below: http://en.spbftu.ru/campus/
STUDENT CARD AND DORMITORY PASS
A student card is a document that proves your status as a student of SPSFTU. It gives students the access to the university libraries, sport facilities and discounts in some museums and shops of the city.
Upon arrival at the dormitory, you will be given a dormitory pass. Accommodated students will be let in only if they show their dormitory pass.
It is compulsory for students to carry their student card and dormitory pass with them at all times in order to access services provided by or through the University.
HEALTHCARE AND INSURANCE
It is strongly recommended that all students have medical insurance for the period of studying (mostly for one year, later they prolong its validity). It allows to save money and get medical assistance in public medical institutions of Saint-Petersburg. This policy contains a memo with emergency phone numbers in case of insurance event (illness, injury, etc.) and a list of medical institutions where you can get medical assistance free of charge.
REMEMBER! You will not get free medical help without the insurance policy.
BANKING AND FINANCE
The official currency in Russia is the Ruble (Ruble), which is abbreviated as RUB. Each ruble is divided into 100 kopecks (copecks). There are the following banknotes: 10 rubles (also a coin), 50 rubles, 100 rubles, 500 rubles, 1000 rubles, 2000 rubles and 5000 rubles.
ATMs are widely available. Therefore you may withdraw rubles from a Russian ATM using your foreign bank card.
The documents needed to open a bank account in Russia are passport, visa, and registration paper which provide your residency information
The exchange rates are available on Bank of Russia’s website: www.cbr.ru.
In Russia, it not advisable to carry much cash, so we recommend that you open a bank account and obtain a payment card. It will allow you to use cash dispensers (ATMs). You could also use traveler’s cheques.
We caution you against changing money with strangers on the street. The safe option is to change money only in banks or official exchange points
USEFUL TO KNOW
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
As any other city in Europe, St. Petersburg has a well-developed system of public transport, with buses, trolleybuses and trams linking all parts of the city. Please learn the public transport routes beforehand.
Public transport stops only in authorized places. As a rule, there are special plates (with letter “A” for buses and “T” for trolleybuses and trams) that have numbers of routes. Public transport is available from 5.30 a.m. to midnight.
It is very convenient to use the underground railway system (metro) which has five major lines. There are also suburban trains operating from 5.45 a.m. to 0.40 a.m. The metro closes for entrance at 0.30 a.m. Please note that junction stations have two names—one for each line.
The public transport fare:
o metro—60 rubles;
o buses, trolleybuses, trams—50 rubles.
You can also purchase an electronic monthly ticket (smart card) for one or more types of transport.
CATERING
There are over 3 canteens and cafes at SPbSFTU’s premises that serve full-fledged lunches. The city also has a variety of bistros, cafes and restaurants where you can enjoy national cuisines, including Russian.
o Lunch at university cafetery — 150 rubles;
o Coffe at university cafetery – 70 rubles
o BigMac in Macdonalds—135 rubles.
BRIDGES
- Petersburg is often informally called Northern Venice, since the city is located on over 30 islands linked to each other by over 300 bridges. The period of summer navigation is from late April to November, and drawing bridges are one of the most spectacular attractions for St. Petersburg visitors.
The timetable of bridge openings:
o Aleksandra Nevskogo—2:20 to 5:10 a.m.
o Birzhevoy (Exchange Bridge)—2:00 to 4:55 a.m.
o Blagoveshchensky (Annunciation Bridge) —1:25 to 2:45 and 3:10 to 5:00 a.m.
o Bolsheokhtinsky—2:00 to 5:00 a.m.
o Volodarsky—2:00 to 3:45 and 4:15 to 5:45 a.m.
o Dvortsovy (Palace Bridge) —1:25 to 2:50 and 3:10 to 4:55 a.m.
o Liteyny—1:40 to 4:45 a.m.
o Troitsky (Trinity Bridge) —1:35 to 4:50 a.m.
o Tuchkov—2:00 до 2:55 and 3:35 to 4:55 a.m.
HOLIDAYS
The state holidays are time off from studies for schoolchildren and students. Banks, business centers and some shops might be closed.
Public holidays:
o 1–10 January—New Year
o 7 January—Orthodox Christmas
o 23 February—Defender of the Fatherland Day
o 8 March—International Women’s Day
o 1 May—International Workers’ Day
o 9 May—Victory Day
o 12 June—Russia Day
o 4 November—National Unity Day
SPSFTU students especially love the following unofficial holidays:
o 19 September — Forester’s Day
o 25 January — Russian Student Day (Tatiana Day)
27 May — St. Petersburg Foundation Da