Russia

Population: 146,001,176

Literacy rate: 98%

Life expectancy at birth: male – 61.95 yrs, female – 72.69 yrs

Infant mortality rate: 20.33 deaths/1,000 live births

Population growth rate: -0.38%

GDP growth rate: 3.2%

GDP per capita: £2,800

Unemployment: 12.4% plus considerable underemployment

Inflation: 86%

Ti index: 2.1

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along the Arctic coast.

Time:

Kaliningrad: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Moscow, St Petersburg, Astrakhan: GMT + 3 (GMT + 4 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Izhevsk and Samara: GMT + 4 (GMT + 5 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Perm – Nizhnevartovsk: GMT + 5 (GMT + 6 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Omsk and Novosibirsk: GMT + 6 (GMT + 7 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Norilsk, Kyzyl: GMT + 7 (GMT + 8 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Bratsk – Ulan Ude: GMT + 8 (GMT + 9 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Chita, Yakutsk: GMT + 9 (GMT + 10 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Khabarovsk, Vladivostok: GMT + 10 (GMT + 11 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Magadan, Yuzhno Sakhalinsk: GMT + 11 (GMT + 12 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Petropavlosk: GMT + 12 (GMT + 13 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Websites:

The Moscow Times site is good for current news http://www.moscowtimes.ru/

The official guide to Russia is at http://www.interknowledge.com/russia

Country Guide

This great country seems to from one crisis to another. The crime problem means that one should take a little care in the big cities - don’t walk about displaying your jewellery or your Walkman.

If all else fails, take the Siberian express all the way to Yokohama and go see Japan. The train ride is magnificent.

The IMF has made some loans, but that is not going to fix anything. Big business is increasingly controlled by mafia-type gangs and cronyism. One BBC correspondent has compared Russia to some counties in post-colonial Africa – rapidly going to the dogs and no-one making any effort to do anything about it except to save their own skins. The population is also decreasing due to ill-health and lack of interest in having children.

That gloomy scenario apart, try reading the column in “The Independent” from a journalist living in Russia. She gives you the genuine flavour of daily life.

Food and drink can be good. Vodka seems to fuel everything; it is a medium of exchange, a tranquilliser, a lubricant (in official dealings), and a good gift when visiting.

Entry requirements

It is easy to get a tourist visa.

Vaccinations

Nothing special. Enough vodka will kill anything.

Tax and Insurance

If paid in hard currency – 40%. Get health insurance. UK nationals have access to state hospitals.

Gap Year Programmes

Click here to find gap year programmes and placements in Russia

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Russia