Local Information

Brief information about Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia after Moscow. Its population is about 5 million people. It is situated on the shore of Gulf of Finland along the Neva River. The history of the city dates back to 1703 when Emperor Peter the Great founded a new capital and first sea harbor of the Russian Empire and named it St. Petersburg. Gradually it became a leading scientific, educational and culture center of world’s importance. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia. It is famous for its white nights - a period in June-July when the sun can be seen 22 hours a day. Another wonder of St. Petersburg are the drawbridges across the Neva River.

Accommodation

The accommodation for the participants will be provided on the four deck cruise ship “Saint Petersburg” during the Conference (2-6 of July, 2007).

The Organizing Committee will also assist in hotel reservation to participants who wish to come to Saint Petersburg earlier and would like to leave city later then the Conference dates. In this case please take into consideration that June and July is a high season in Saint Petersburg and inform us about necessity of reservation ahead.

Please see the web-pages of hotels we would advise for stay:

• The five stars Hotel Astoria is situated opposite the beautiful St Isaac's Cathedral and is within walking distance of the Hermitage Museum.
• The Renaissance St. Petersburg Baltic Hotel is located right in the center within walking distance to main city attractions.
• The Oktiabrskaya Hotel is one of the oldest St. Petersburg Hotel located at the central part of the city where two main avenues Nevsky & Ligovsky meet just in front of Moskovsky Railway station.
• The modern and comfortable Hotel Moscow is situated opposite Alexander Nevsky Lavra on the corner of the Nevsky Prospekt in view of the river Neva.

For the students Organizing Committee can provide accommodation in the SUAI campus hostel (the cost rates from 15 - 20 euros for the room per night).

Registration

Dear participants!

This is very important information. Please find out a minute to consider it carefully. If you will have some questions – feel free to contact us.

In accordance with Russian legislation in order to visit Russia you should have the following documents:

• Passport - The date of passport's expiry must be later than date of your departure from Russia (minimum 3 extra months).
• Visa - In order to obtain visa in Russian Embassy or Consulate you should have the official invitation from the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Organizing committee will assist you in obtaining the official invitation.
  Please submit your completed registration form and a copy of the first page of your passport with following information: passport number, date of issue and your full name to the Organizing committee.
  Please take into account that it takes about one month to obtain the official invitation from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation. As soon as it will be ready, the organizing Committee send it to you by express mail so you could apply to the Russian Embassy or Consulate for visa. All these procedures can take at least 1,5 month. Dead-line for documents submition to Organizing Committee - May 1, 2007.
• Migration card. The blank of the migration card will be given to you in the airplane or at the airport. Please fill it in and keep.

For details, please contact: Oksana V. Mukhina ()
Address: 67, Bolshaya Morskaya, St. Peterburg, 190000, Russia.
Phone: +7 (812) 312-09-37, fax: +7 (812) 312-78-25

The participation cost

The participation cost amounts to 750 euro. This includes the registration contribution, speech thesis publishing, accommodation on board of the comfortable cruise ship, 3 meals a day, excursions and cultural activities during the cruise.

Payment information

Please note: all banking charges should by covered by payer.

Preliminary schedule of the cruise

Note that all times are written in local time zone, MSK, equal to GMT+3.

Things to Know & Things to Bring

This simple guide will help you prepare for your visit to Russia. Some of the items mentioned are suggestions to help you enjoy your staying in our country.

Saint Petersburg’s climate

You’ll arrive to Saint Petersburg in a wonderful time of a year. Saint Petersburg is famous for its beautiful white nights. During that time days lasts about 20 hours and nights about 4 hours. Usually it is very sunny in July, but rain is possible. Temperature in Russia are reported in Celsius degrees. Usually day temperature in Saint Petersburg is about 20-25 Celsius degrees in July so please do not forget sun glasses, sunscreen cream and a hat. At the same time, a sweater for the evening and umbrella just in case are certainly recommended.

On board of the ship a free dress-code is allowed. For participation in working sections, we recommend official style ("Business casual"). On the first and last day of the conference official ceremonies are planned; we recommend taking suitable clothes. Please take comfortable shoes and clothes for excursions during stops. On Valaam and Svirstroy excursions (during visiting churches, monasteries, etc.), visitors in shorts are not allowed. For ladies long skirt and covered head (kerchief or hat) are necessary. Also during the stops and on board you might need remedies against mosquitoes.

Airport Pick-Up

You will arrive to the international airport of Saint Petersburg Pulkovo-II. After you’ve passed through Passport Control, Customs and received your luggage you are picked-up by a SUAI representative with a conference sign in his/her hand. We would advise you to arrive not later than 4 hours before ship’s departure.

RF Currency

Russian currency consists of both coins and paper money. It is based on the ruble. There are 100 copeck in each rouble. Rouble bills come in the following denominations: 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000. One dollar is equal to approximately 27 rubles, and one Euro is equal to approximately 34 rubles. (http://www.rbcnews.com)

Please note that ATM machines are available and major credit cards are accepted for payments (Visa and Eurocard-mastercard, American express) in the city, but not on the cruise ship, where you will need rubles to pay for your additional expenses (cash bar, souvenirs) and during excursions. Euros can obviously be converted into rubles in St Petersburg.

Telephone calls in Russia

All telephone numbers in Russia consist of 3 digit area code and a 7 digit local number. When calling within an area code, you only need to use the local number.

• To call the other part of Russia outside your area code, you should dial: 8 + <area code> + <local number>
• To call outside Russia, you need to dial: 8 + 10 + <country code> + <area code> + <local number>

More Information

For the participants who will arrive earlier the Organizing Committee plans to organize a culture program in Saint Petersburg, we’ll be glad to discuss your suggestion ahead.

If you’ll have any questions, please contact us by phone 007 - 812-312-09-37 or by e-mail

We are looking forward to seeing you in Saint Petersburg!