Dialing From a Private Russian Phone

At present local calls are free but there is already considerable talk in Moscow of introducing a per-minute charge system in the near future. Not all phones can make long-distance calls, but for those that do, dialling 8 will get you a long-distance line. Thus, to dial another region of Russia, dial 8, wait for the new dial tone, then dial the rest of your number.

For international dialing, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 10, then the country code and the rest of your number.

For example, to call the U.S. number (123)-456-7890 from Russia, you would dial 8-(wait for dial done)-10-1-123-456-7890.

Using Public Phones

Public telephones are widespread on the streets of most Russian cities. There are still the old token phones as well as different types of card-accepting phones. Be careful when buying cards (from the ticket booth of metro stations) as different phones take different cards. Plus, some pay phones don't allow international or even national calls.

Telephone Codes

Irkutsk - 3952
Kaliningrad - 0112
Krasnoyarsk - 3912
Magadan - 41322
Moscow - 495
Murmansk - 8152 / 81522
Nizhny Novogorod - 8312
Novorossisk - 86134
Novosobirsk - 3832
Samara - 8462
St. Petersburg - 812
Vologda - 81722
Vologograd - 8442
Vladivostok - 4232

Note: When you are calling to Moscow or other regions of Russia where the area code starts with a "0", you do not omit this first zero when dialing from outside Russia. For example, to call the Moscow number (495)-123-4567 from U.S. you would dial 011-7-495-123-4567.

Direct Dialing Access Numbers

When calling home, you can always dial directly from your hotel room but this may cost a bundle. I suggest that you use a calling card. If you card does not provide you with a local access number, here are some that you may use.

AT&T: 755-5042, 325-5042

MCI:
To call using Rostelcom: 747-3322
For a Russian speaking operator: 747-3320
To call using Sovintel from Moscow: 960-2222

BT Direct: 8-10-80-01-10-10-44

Canada Direct: 755-50-45 or 747-33-25

Finding Telephone Numbers

Finding telephone numbers in Russia can be enormously frustrating. If you need to find a phone number while in Moscow, there are a few good sources aside from asking your hotel staff for help.

Moscow Yellow Pages - www.infoservices.com/moscow/Moscow

Moscow Business Telephone Guide - www.mbtg.net

Interweb Telephone Directory - http://interweb.spb.ru/phone/go.asp?2

Moscow also has a directory assistance service, which can be reached by dialing 09 but this is of any use to you only if you speak Russian relatively well.

Mobile Phones

The best way to find out if your phone will work on Russian networks is to contact your local service provider, which probably has a roaming agreement with one of the Moscow operators. In general, GSM subscribers should not have any trouble roaming in major Russian cities. It may be harder for Americans and Asians to get service.

In addition to GSM 900/1800, a common European standard which is widely avaiable throughout Russia, CDMA has just been introduced in St. Petersburg. GSM 400/1800 will soon be available in selected regions. There are also two main analog standards supported in Russia, D-AMPS and NMT-450.

Staying in touch via the Internet is a lot more economical. There are plenty of Internet cafes and the speed and quality of connection is satisfactory. Thre are a few right in the center of the city and you can stop by and send out a few e-mails while resting from your sightseeing walks.

INTERNET ACCESS AND INTERNET CAFES IN MOSCOW

If you want to use the dialup internet, the easiest way to do it (if you have a computer and a modem) is to buy an internet card from one of the many Moscow providers. You can buy the card at any telecom store. Usually the cards are for $5, $10, $20, $50, you should login (as a guest) on the server of the provider and type in the serial number and the code of your card, and after that you can start using the internet.

Some good dialup internet providers are: MTU (http://dialup.mtu.ru/), you can buy their internet card (sold almost everywhere, a card for $5, $10 or $50), one hour costs from $0.3 to $1. Cityline (http://www.cityline.ru/) - you can also buy their card anywhere, and start using the net, about $1 an hour. Russia-on-Line (http://www.online.ru/) is also one of the biggest providers and you can buy their card everywhere, but it's always busy when you dial (1 hour $0.9).

Here's a list of the internet cafes in Moscow, listed by area. An hour costs from $1.7 up to $2.7.

AREA: TVERSKAYA (Center)

TIME ONLINE INTERNET CAFE - 200 computers, right in the city center, next to the Kremlin & Red Square. They are open 24 hours a day. You can copy data to the disks, cdroms, zip drives, print out your things, scan pictures, take a photograph on digital camera, copy from a flash memory card to the web or cd rom. There's a cafe that sells coffee & healthy snacks. English speaking staff.
Prices: One hour costs 60 rubles ($2). Overnight rate is 100 roubles ($3.5) for 8 hours \(from 24.00 to 9.00). Student discount (-20%). Credit cards are accepted.
Address: "Manezh trade center" - Manezhnaya ploshchad. Phone: 363-0060. Internet: http://www.timeonline.ru. Area: Tverskaya, metro Okhotny Ryad (red line), just outside the exit in Manezh underground shopping mall, ground floor. Open: 24 hour a day

IMAGE RU INTERNET CAFE (ÈìèäæÐó) - my personal favourite. The second floor of a computer accessories shop, there are 67 computers and a small cafe. People: students and foreigners. An hour - 40 roubles ($1.3).
Address: Novoslobodskaya (Íîâîñëîáîäñêàÿ) #16, Area: Tverskaya, metro Mendeleevskaya (grey), just behind the metro exit. Open: daily 9.00-23.00.

INTERNET CAFE RGGU (Èíòåðíåò-êàôå ÐÃÃÓ) - RGGU is a famous humanitarian sciences university in Moscow. They have a huge building and an Internet-cafe inside. 10 computers usually occupied by foreigners and students. An hour - 30 roubles (1$).
It makes sense to go there only if you happen to be nearby.
Address: Chaynova (×àÿíîâà) #15, Phone: 250-6169, Area: Tverskaya, metro Novoslobodskaya (circle line). Open: mon-sun 10.00-20.00

AREA: ZAMOSKVORECHIE (South Center)

CAFEMAX INTERNET CAFE - It was opened in July 2001 and is even bigger than TimeOnline internet cafe (so, I suppose, this one is the biggest in Eastern Europe now). There are 300 computers, services (printouts, scanners, digital cameras, video cameras, CD-R and diskettes recording etc.), a conference hall, a game zone, and even a coffeshop with fair prices (ice cream - $0.5, juice - $0.8, coffee, tea for $1.5).
Prices: The price depends on how many people there are. Usually in peak-hours (17.00-22.00) when there are the most people, the price is around $2 an hour, and after 22.00 and the whole night it's $0.6 an hour. It's cheap in the morning too. Because the cafe works all night they have a special offer: whole night surfing (23.00-9.00) for 150 roubles ($5).
Address: #25, Pyatnitskaya (Ïÿòíèöêàÿ) ulitsa, Phone: 950-6050, Internet: http://www.cafemax.ru/ Area: Zamoskvorechie, metro Novokuznetskaya (green line). Open: 24 hours a day

AREA: KUZNETSKI MOST (Center)

KUZNETSKI MOST, 12 INTERNET CAFE (Êóçíåöêèé ìîñò) - 35 computers side by side and a bar, but don't eat there, better buy something in the nearby vegetarian cafe. The decoration is nothing special, but it's nice to look up at the mirror ceiling. An hour is for 60 roubles ($2). Oh, they also have a scanner there, so you can send the photos you made.
Address: Kuznetskiy most (Êóçíåöêèé ìîñò) #12, Phone: 924-2140, Area: Kuznetskiy most, metro Kuznetski Most (violet). Open: daily 10.00-0.00.

AREA: KITAI GOROD (south-east center)

THE BRITISH COUNCIL MOSCOW INTERNET ACCESS. This internet cafe is located in British Council library in Moscow. It's like a bite of Europe in Moscow - even the smell seems to be imported. There are always many people in this library, mostly students studying English language and reading The Financial Times.
There are just 4 computers and usualy they are occupied, so you have to wait. You can surf the British part of the internet for free, otherwise you have to pay 30 roubles ($1) for one hour. Printouts for 2 roubles, and recording on a floppy is 20 roubles (they use only their own discs).
Address: Nikoloyamskaya (Íèêîëîÿìñêàÿ) ulitsa #1. The Foreign Literature Library, left wing, first floor, tel.234-0201. Area: Taganka, metro Taganskaya (Òàãàíñêàÿ) (brown circle line).

INTERNET CAFE NEWMAIL. Newmail is a popular russian web-mail system. So they've opened the same brand cafe. 80 roubles (almost $3) for an hour - is the top result in Moscow.
An ISIC card yields 10% and discount.
Address: ulitsa Zabelina #3/1, tel. 923-0863, Area: Kitai Gorod, metro Kitai Gorod (orange or violet). Open: sun-thu 12.00 - 24.00, fri-sat 12.00 - 2.00.