This is one of the most unusual destinations I have visited so far. Below are some of the noteworthy facts you will appreciate knowing as a visitor.
To a large degree unspoiled by the Communist system, Russians (and other nationals of the former Soviet Union) have kept up with their tradition of hospitality. While service personnel may be unfriendly, people are generally friendly, caring and helpful on a personal level.
Culture in its original sense, not restricted to performing arts or architecture, and including culture of human relationships, is highly valued. It is truly a joy to get involved in a lively discussion with Russians about Art, Science or Politics, and feel the excitement and deep desire to find the fundamental truth. This alone makes an encounter with the Russian culture worth the trip.
With amazing accuracy, locals spot foreigners even before they open their mouth. By default, foreigners are assumed to be Americans.
Ownership of a car provides drivers with a license to kill. To a lesser degree, this also applies at pedestrian crosswalks, where car drivers exercise their right of way somewhat less aggressively.
The dualpricing system, where foreigners are charged a higher rate than locals for the same service, is an outgrowth of planned economy in desperate need for resources. More resources are believed to be generated using the wellestablished method to increase egg production by forcing chickens to lay several eggs a day, rather than acquiring more chickens.
This dualpricing system has recently reached a new level of absurdity. As an example, the beautiful state Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg charges foreigners 1520 times more than Russians.
Individual tourism is efficiently suppressed by linking visa requirements to a hotel reservation. This provides hotels with an effective monopoly on visa, and allowing for hotel rates, applied to foreigners, to be a multiple of those applied to locals. Individual tourists are often asked to pay the price of a western firstclass hotel accommodation for a room without running water or toilet paper.
One unusual exception from this rule is the Americanfounded Youth Hostel in St. Petersburg. It charges locals and visitors the same rate of US$ 19 per night per person (as of Summer 1997) in clean rooms with few beds. Showers and toilets are unusually clean by local hotel standards. There are no age restrictions. Most important, the hostel is run very efficiently by an inhouse travel agency that specializes in arranging visa. The hostel/travel agency runs a server on the internet and a very useful Web site. The staff are helpful and experienced, and routinely make use of their inhouse email and fax facilities.
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tomanek@pa.msu.edu
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