Safety |
Moscow is a dangerous place according to many of
the reports in western newspapers. This is, most
of the time, an exaggeration of the truth. Staying
in Moscow for business or tourism is as safe as
staying in any other big city of the world. Don't
go looking for trouble, avoid carrying a lot of
money with you and watch out for thieves or pickpockets.
Do not give your address or telephone number to
people you don't know and never share a taxi or
a private car with people you have never seen before.
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Money |
Most restaurants and big shops accept credit cards.
Paying in dollars is not permitted but you may change
money in banks. There are many small change offices
in the streets that are cheaper than banks; two
amounts are displayed on signs next to the change
offices, the lower one for changing euros and dollars
into roubles and the upper one for changing roubles
into dollars or euros. The rate in January 2003
was between 30 and 32 roubles per dollar.
Russians use 5-, 10-, 50-, 100- and 500- rouble
notes and there are 1, 5, 10 and 50 kopek and 1,
2 and 5 rouble coins.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…? |
· Russia covers 11 time zones
· Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the
world?
· Elbrus mountain (5642 meters) is the highest
peak in Europe
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History |
· Saint Petersburg - the Northern capital,
was built on marshes, Moscow - on seven hills
· Moscow was named after Moscva river
· Kiev was the oldest city of Russia, now
in a separate state of Ukraine
· Ancient Russian churches were built by
Byzantine architects
· Trans-Siberian railway is the longest in
the world?
· First man in space was Yuri Gagarin in
1961
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Culture |
· Moscow has the only state-owned circus
school in the world
· During Soviet times each city had a street
of Lenin
· The Church of Christ the Savior was an
open air swimming pool during much of the Communist
era
· Beer is set to outstrip vodka as Russia's
favorite tipple
· Russian do not have a word for aphrodisiac
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Facts |
· 1 kilo of caviar is 900 grams
· Moscow is the second most expensive city
in the world after Tokyo for expats
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