Being in Russia is like being in no other country in the world...duh...that's probably why you want to come here, right? It's the most amazing place to be, but it's hard. I won't lie to you. Now, I've been living in Moscow, so I'm not sure what to tell you St. Petersburg folk, and I certainly don't know what to tell you if you're heading elsewhere like Vladivostok or Kazan, but I can give you a basic estimate of what you might expect. Keep in mind that in August of 1998, the ruble crashed drastically and still hasn't recovered. The prices I list here are probably not accurate.
Times have changed in Russia, and things are surprisingly European. In terms of fashion, even on the coldest of days, there are still women wearing their tall black leather boots and short leather miniskirts with black stockings and a short little black leather jacket, sunglasses and plenty of leopard skin accessories in tow. These women, if you'll remember, are probably Russian (or prostitutes) and for that reason, are used to the cold. We, as lowly non-Russians, (unless you're from Scandinavia or Wisconsin), are not used to such cold weather, and therefore, trying to fit into the latest fashion is not really practical.
The standard outfit for most young people is black. I cannot stress the importance of wearing black. You will see young people wearing blue jeans, but never with sneakers or hiking boots. If they are wearing blue jeans, the women have on high heels or chunky heeled boots or platforms....yes, platforms. The best way to dress if you don't want to obviously look American or otherwise is to wear dark colors, fairly nice shoes, like chunky heeled boots (besides, they give you better traction in the ice than thick rubber soled hiking boots) and a dark colored coat, leather or wool, long or short, but women generally wear longer coats. Men typically wear thick-soled loafers or dress shoes also with fairly thick soles. Moscow men rarely wear blue jeans, sneakers or sweatshirts.
I know that your family will want you to buy all the heavy $300 North Face or Patagonia gear, but it's not necessary and it immediately points out that you're a foreigner. Spend your money on good long underwear, socks and a practical, very plain, but very heavy leather or wool coat. Russians do not wear big puffy ski jackets, and wearing such a coat also immediately screams the fact that you are not Russian.
Everyone wears a hat, usually the furry ones that you see typical of Russian attire, or wool or mohair berets. You can go
a little crazy with your hat style because pretty much anything goes. Most of the babushkas wear purple or pink mohair hats and scarves and gloves. Something about being old, I guess.
Gloves are generally not big and puffy, they tend to be leather or heavy knit and sleek.
Scarves are important, but actually, neck warmers are better. You can order these from L.L. Bean or probably find them in any outdoors store. Get a polar fleece one, and in a dark color, and you will thank me, I promise. They really keep the wind off of your face.
Now, if you're only coming to Russia for a short time, and you'll be staying in a hotel, you'll find most western type food nearby in kiosks or in the hotel. McDonald's is basically everywhere now, although it doesn't really come all that cheap. You'll pay about 10 rubles for a medium order of fries. There is also Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins. At least, this is the case in Moscow. In other cities, smaller cities and cities surrounding bigger cities, you will probably only find Russian cuisine, but I promise that it will be good, cheap and authentic.
If you're coming to Russia for a prolonged stay, such as with a host family or in an apartment, you'll be able to buy most western food products that you might long for from home. Host families, from my experience, have generally hosted students before, and therefore, know what they tend to like and not like. They will, of course, ask you what you want, and be honest with them. Don't try to suffer. If you want peanut butter and banana sandwiches for breakfast, by all means, TELL THEM.
If you're a vegetarian, you'll need to seek out fresh vegetables at the farmers' markets, but the prices are good, and the vegetables are usually of excellent quality. Russians don't understand why on earth people would never eat meat. The foundation of the Russian diet, aside from bread, cabbage and potatoes, is meat, and mainly sausages. Processed meat products are much more popular than just plain old ground beef. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions about your vegetarian ways.
Anytime you're in a Russian household, be prepared to be served food and lots of it. It is extremely rude to refuse food in a Russian home. You will be served more than you are able to eat, and when you are almost full, simply say you are full, and then they'll start serving you a little less. Russians typically do not drink anything with their meals. They wait until the end of the meal and then they drink tea and eat cookies or chocolate or pastries, so SAVE ROOM!
1. If you're a Reese's Cup fan, bring lots. I don't think Russians have quite caught on to the chocolate and peanut butter phenomenon.
2. In terms of gifts, don't bring chocolate or tea, those things could almost be used as currency here. Bring things you could only get at home, like Mentadent toothpaste, honey roasted peanuts, t-shirts from your hometown or school, postcards of your hometown or school.
3. Make sure you bring plenty of pictures of family and friends. This is often one of the first things you are asked about.
4. Money....depending on where you are....if you're coming to Moscow and you're planning on going out a lot, bring lots. It ain't cheap. If you won't be in one of the big cities, things are much cheaper. 60 rubles for dinner as opposed to 200 in Moscow. Yes! It's really that expensive. People tell you it's cheap, but that's only outside of the cities. Credit cards? Bring Visa or MasterCard definitely. American Express is accepted most places, but Visa and MC are ALWAYS accepted. Do not even bring Traveler's Cheques. It is so not worth the hassle you have to go through to get them cashed.
5. Lotion. This is very important, even for men. The cold weather really takes a toll on skin, dries it out something awful. Make sure you drink plenty of water and regularly lube up your hands with some sort of moisturizing cream.
6. By all means, if you're going to be in Russia for awhile, bring your CD's and tapes. If you'll be in one of the cities and you'll be doing most of your commuting by metro, it's a really good idea to bring a walkman to listen to. Tapes and CD's are very cheap, even in Moscow (unless you go to Dom Knigi or Melodia) and so, you'll be able to even boost your collection while you're here.
7. Envelopes, paper, pens, stationary...all of these things are relatively difficult to come by for some reason. If you're planning on writing lots of letters, or if you'll be studying and attending class, bring paper and pens from home. You'll be glad you did.
8. One of the things I most wish I had invested more in is food from home...Pop-Tarts, little packages of peanut butter crackers, chocolate covered pretzels...bring stuff that won't spoil, but bring things to munch on. You can easily spend a lot of money buying pirozhki at the kiosks, but is that really how you want to spend your money here?
9. Guide book. This is SO important. The best one out there, even though it's a little outdated, is the Lonely Planet Guide to Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Definitely get this book, and then enhance it with a guidebook of your choice that was written no earlier than the year before your journey.
Please write me if there is more you can think of to add to this list if you've studied in Russia or are currently doing so. Thanks!
For the first couple of weeks you're there, you'll frequent Tverskaya Street (accessible by many metro stops...Pushkinskaya, Okhotny Ryad, Tverskaya, Teatralnaya) because it's the easiest to find, it's near Red Square and it's the main drag. However, it is also the most expensive place to seek food and entertainment. For good food on Tverskaya (but, remember, it ain't cheap!) try Patio Pizza which is right by the Okhotny Ryad metro station, next to the Intourist Hotel. Vegetarians, they have a salad bar! Granted, you have to pick out the meat from most of the salads, but they have a salad bar! Also on Tverskaya, a pretty good little mexican place, La Cantina also near the Intourist Hotel, not far from Central Telegraph. Then of course, there's the Intourist Hotel which has probably the biggest plethora of food selection in one place in all of Moscow. Also on Tverskaya is a place called Mesto Vstrechi which is closer to Pushkinskaya metro, between TGI Friday's and Central Telegraph on the right side of the street if you're walking towards Red Square. It's cheap beer, they have Guinness and there's a coat check and right now there's an Anti-Crisis menu which pretty much kicks ass. Good food, cheap and pretty Russian for the most part. Near Tverskaya, down the street to the left of "La Cantina" is a little Irish pub called Silver's which is a chill, cool place just to go drink a quiet beer with a friend. It's kind of hard to find. It's just a door into the basement of a building. I watched Clinton go through that whole video camera interview thing about Monica at Silver's. They get CNN there.
Getting away from Tverskaya, one of my favorite haunts in Moscow is called Papa John's. At Papa's I won 4 fake orgasm contests, a sexy pickle eating contest AND a wet t-shirt contest. It's a great place. It's at metro Turgenevskaya or Chistye Prudy, on Ulitsa Myasnitskaya. I'm not sure which number, but it's in the basement of a pizzeria called Johnny Fat Boy's (which, when you're drunk and tired of dancing, is a great place to go to get some pizza and regroup). Papa's has by far the best DJs in Moscow. There's never been a night for me when the music has sucked. Sometimes they have a band play on Friday and Saturday nights, which can sometimes get boring, but they almost always put on club music by 1 am.
My next favorite place is called Chesterfield's which is at metro station Kurskaya. Great dancing on weekends, and there's even a Latin dance night on Tuesdays. There's a 100 ruble cover, but you get a free drink slip.
For cheap drinking, find out about Marine parties at the American Embassy (metro Krasnopresnenskaya--take a right out of the station and keep heading right and eventually you'll see the north gate on your left). The Marines are awesome because they have lots of American alcohol, and you pay in American dollars. $2-3 for beer and $3 for shots and cocktails $1 soft drinks. If you want to get plastered for cheap, find a Marine party.
If you get the chance, and you're in Moscow when it's not so cold, like maybe from May until September, try to make a trek out to Vladimir or Suzdal. You can buy bus tickets for around $2.50 to either place at the Avtovokzal at the metro stop all the way at the end of the dark blue line in the northeast (the name escapes me, but it's a long way out). If you're tired of paying $6 for beer, head to Vladimir where two people can get really delicious lunch (salad, main dish, tea) for around 40 rubles ($6) at the Hotel Vladimir which is very easy to get to from the Avtovokzal in Vladimir. It's your best bet for a place to stay. Clean rooms, with black and white television and great pillows for around 106 rubles ($17) a night. The best thing about Vladimir or Suzdal alike, if that it's quiet! No car alarms going off at all hours of the night, no dogs barking, no police cars...after a few weeks in Moscow, it's heaven.
As for Suzdal, it's probably a better day trip than an overnight thing. Suzdal's claim to fame is its thirty some churches, which you can see in all of about 3 or 4 hours walking around the city. It's a very quiet, very non-touristy town. Make sure you see the wooden churches and windmills. They've been around since the late 1700's and they're magnificent. If you'd like to stay in Suzdal, I can highly recommend the decrepit monastery. If you have a Lonely Planet Guide, you'll find which one I'm talking about. I would highly recommend getting the Lonely Planet Guide if you haven't already. Don't go to Vladimir or Suzdal without it.
Another great thing to do is to go out to a dacha (country house). If you're going to be staying with a family, chances are they have a dacha. Some people have dachas less than an hour outside of the city and go there often, and some people have dachas way out in the middle of nowhere and only use them in the summertime. It's great fun for building a fire, drinking, and playing in the snow. Some dachas have saunas as well, which makes the snow very appealing.
The best place to go to get well-made, really cool Russian souvenirs, (matroshkas(stacking dolls), palekhi-laquer boxes, etc.) in Moscow is Izmailovsky Park. Take the metro on the dark blue line all the way to the Izmailovsky Park station. You'll walk for awhile, but you'll know where the market is by following the people. The time to go is Saturday and Sunday. The merchants can be pushy, but are usually very nice and willing to bargain. Be sure to go see a nice lady named Lyubov (translates as Love) who makes these incredible candlesticks out of wood that are gorgeous, colorful representations of flowers. They look like something Kandinsky would have created...maybe a little more sane, though. At Izmailovo, you can also get handpainted dishes from Uzbekistan, teasets from St. Petersburg, CD's, handknitted sweaters, hats, gloves, coats, antique military stuff, paintings, posters, just about anything you can imagine, it's there. Don't miss Izmailovo.
If you're in Moscow, tell me some other places I can suggest...I left off a bunch, these are just my favorites. Write me for suggestions!
1. Russians are not so fond of Americans - this is probably due to the bulk of greedy American businessmen and ex-pats who try to come in and make their money tax-free before returning to the states to live in a really nice suburb of Connecticut and have 2.5 children, a dog and a white picket fence.
2. Going to McDonald's is probably the closest thing left to standing in line for bread. It's a madhouse there.
3. Old women really are everywhere.
4. It's only cold if you're not used to sub-zero temperatures.
5. Russian begins to sound like a satanic tongue if you're around it long enough.
6. Russian children begin smoking at around age 9.
7. There are plenty of supermarkets and there's even PAMCTOP (Ramstore) which appears to be almost Wal-Mart like.
8. Everything is much more modern and westernized than one would expect.
9. If you're an American, it's obvious. I don't know how they know, but Russians do. Maybe they all have microchips in their heads. Who knows...
10. The food is good. No, really! It is. A little bland, but not so bad. Even if you're a vegetarian.
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