travel tips ► RUSSIAN POST

►Post and Telegraph in St. Petersburg
►Express Post Services in St. Petersburg
►Post and Telegraph in Moscow
►Express Post Services in Moscow

The Russian postal service still stinks but it is getting better. Today, it takes approximately 2 weeks for letters to reach the outside world vs. 2 months or never during Soviet times. The key here is to send letters or packages of very little value (such as books, which are still remarkably inexpensive here) through the regular mail because there is still a lot of theft by those great Russian postmen. You can buy stamps and send packages and letters from most of the post offices that you see around the city - the postal sign is a funny yellow horn on a blue background. For large packages, it is best to go to the central post offices, which are more used to dealing with stuff like that. Remember to make sure that you use stamps printed after 1998. For more valuable packages and documents, it is best to use a Western courier such as DHL, FEDEX or EMS.

Postal rates - letters and postcards (in roubles)
Inside of Russia 3.5-4.7R
N. America & Europe 10-14R

Post and Telegraph in St. Petersburg

Express Post Services in St. Petersburg

Post and Telegraph in Moscow

Express Post Services in Moscow