Hotel occupancy rates in St. Petersburg are down 20 percent on last year, as the clash between Russia and the West over Ukraine has prompted foreign tourists to avoid Russia’s northern capital, a local newspaper reported. As the high tourist … Read More
Category Archives: Saint Petersburg
Supermarket shelves in St. Petersburg empty of imported goods
A week after Russian authorities banned the import of certain types of products from the United States, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway, St. Petersburg supermarkets that stock a large share of imported goods are showing the impact the ban is … Read More
St. Petersburg Metro to equire passport details to access free Wi-Fi
St. Petersburg authorities said that passport or driver’s license information will be required to access Wi-Fi on the city metro and on other public Internet networks under a new government decree that public network operators require user identification, the government’s … Read More
Norway’s Wealth Fund considers reducing Russia assets
Norway’s colossal sovereign wealth fund is considering reducing its $7.6 billion portfolio of Russian investments as Russia stares down the barrel of tougher EU sanctions, Bloomberg has reported. EU ambassadors has met to discuss sanctions drawn up by the European … Read More
St. Petersburg gets bike-sharing system
A ceremony launching the first automated bike-sharing system in St. Petersburg was held at Gostiny Dvor yesterday, Fontanka.ru reports. The system now operates 28 rental points which may be expanded throughout the summer according to a representative of the Bank … Read More
Crisis hits Russian tourism
Moscow’s interference in Ukraine has caused a sharp drop in foreign tourism to Russia, with scores of travel cancelations for political and security reasons coming ahead of the summer holiday season, an industry newsletter said. Most Russian tour operators have reported a significant drop in sales, with cancellations coming in from around … Read More
Tourists turn away from Saint Petersburg
Although local companies are ready to greet tourists, the situation in Crimea is deterring many. While spring weather has melted the ice on the River Neva, leading to both early start dates for bridge openings and the sighting of seals … Read More
Finland builds facilities to ease border crossing
Despite a recent drop in the number of Russian tourists visiting Finland following the abrupt rise in the euro exchange rate, Finland continues to make its border more accessible and the crossing more convenient for its closest neighbors. As a … Read More
Group fights to save wooden buildings
Seven historic wooden buildings have been torn down in Pushkin over the last two years. New initiative may save vulnerable wooden buildings. St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko has spoken with activists advocating preservation of the city’s architectural heritage at a … Read More
Russian companies go green
Compared to other industrialized economies, Russia is only now beginning to develop green strategies for business. Led by large international corporations, Russian businesses have begun to realize the necessity of maintaining ecological standards and developing technologies that reduce the harmful … Read More
Over 5,000 foreigners sent packing from St. Petersburg
In a bid to crack down in visa violations, over 15,000 inspections were carried out in 2013 in the St. Petersburg and Leningrad region. As a result of the inspections, 5,385 foreigners were found to be illegally living in the … Read More
Russian households boast bigger bank balances than businesses
The southern Karelia branch of Osuuspankki currently has about 800 Russian customers. According to the Bank of Finland, Russian households represent the second largest group of foreign banking customers in Finland. Russian consumers have become an increasingly significant customer group … Read More
Estonian company lights up St Petersburg’s Christmas tree
Estonian company Adam Decolight won the right to adorn the official Christmas tree of the city of St Petersburg, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht writes. “Our solution has over 30,000 little lamp lights, in addition to that, decorations in Russian style that resemble … Read More
Proposed law to instate curfew for young people in bars
The conservative St. Petersburg lawmakers who first passed the anti-gay propaganda law now notorious in the West are at work on a law that would create a state-enforced curfew for minors while banning them from bars and sex shops. A … Read More
2 million stolen passwords discovered on Russian website
Two million stolen passwords for popular websites, including Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter and Google, have been discovered on a Russian language website by a US online security company. Researchers for SpiderLabs, a division of Trustwave, found the stolen information while investigating … Read More
Russian homes use 100% more energy
Russian homes are using up to two times more energy than those in climatically similar regions of Europe and the United States, and now the national housing authority wants to tackle the problem by working with the Energy Ministry to build energy-efficient housing. Many residential buildings in Russia have been constructed … Read More
Tobacco advertising ban begins today
New strict rules on tobacco advertising. A ban goes into effect today, prohibiting cigarette commercials on television, the Internet and in newspapers and barring tobacco companies from sponsoring public events. Violations carry a fine ranging from 3,000 to 600,000 rubles … Read More
Russia cracks down on smoking and drinking
The St. Petersburg government has passed legislation banning the sale of alcohol between the hours of 10 p.m. and 11 a.m. The law passed its third and final reading last week. The federal law that regulates the sale of alcohol … Read More
Visa-free visits for airline transit passengers to Russia
Acquiring a Russian visa is a complicated process that often causes tourists to rethink their journey.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved new legislation that will allow tourists to stay in Russia for up to 72 hours without a visa, a policy estimated … Read More
Foreign business invest billions in St. Petersburg
According to the state statistics agency Petrostat, foreign investors have pumped $6.03 billion into the St. Petersburg economy in the first half of 2013, 28 percent more than in the same period in 2012, reported Vedomosti. However, direct investments were … Read More