Saint Petersburg Local Custom Tips by sophiebeans

On more than one occasion, I saw people on Nevsky trying to sell pets. Cats, dogs, snakes - you name it! It kind of made me sad. I hope that these animals will be loved and taken care of, but I'm not counting on it.

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Being naive about a country I had never been to, I believed some pretty silly things I had heard or read about Russia from various sources. Somewhere I had heard that some Russian people keep bears as pets. When I told this to my Russian friends they laughed at me rolled their eyes as if to say, "Stupid American!" Well, the very next day we went out and sure enough, there was a lady with a bear on a leash standing by the Hermitage! Now, I realize this was not really her "pet," and I know I shouldn't have contributed to this mild form of animal cruelty, but it was just such a funny coincidence! I paid the lady five rubles to get my picture taken with the bear cub.

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All over St. Petersburg, you can see billboard signs advertising various concerts and performances to go to. The first day in St. Petersburg, I saw this poster for Dio, which is one of my husband's favorite heavy metal bands. It made me feel at home to see it!

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Here are some more concerts and performances that were going on during the time I was in St. Petersburg.

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Russians sure can put away a lot of vodka! I consider myself to be a pretty heavy drinker, but on my first night in St. Petersburg, Babushka made a toast to my arrival, and when I drank whatever was in the glass, I started to cough and wheeze! Potent stuff! Pictured here is my young friend, Val teaching me to correct way to drink a shot of vodka: with a pickle chaser! Nas Dorov'ya, Val!

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Pictured here is an nice collection of antique samovars a restaurant had on display. Samovars are very important to Russian culture because so many meals involve drinking tea, (or "chai" as it is called in Russia). At the home I stayed at, they used an electric samovar to make tea, but they had a few older ones that were mainly used as decoration - family heirlooms. I understand that old, antique samovars are no longer allowed out of the country, but I know that people can find beautiful reproductions to buy and take back with them.

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This is a table set up at a restaurant we visited. Doesn't it look inviting? The waitress was getting ready to serve a large group of people some after-dinner tea. The round cookies are classic Russian and are very hard. You are supposed to soften them up with the tea, much like we in the U.S. might dip biscotti into coffee.

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Here is an example of some old, soviet-era propaganda posters. I saw these hanging up in a restaurant. They are kistchy and fun, and it's kind of nice to see that the Russian people can have a sense of humor about the past. You can find reproductions of many of these posters in bookstores around town. They make great, inexpensive souveniers for your friends back home!

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I remember hearing in the early '90s about young Russian women trying to meet American men so that they could marry them and move to the United States. I don't know if that kind of thing still happens or if this sign is advertising that kind of service, but we thought it was funny, because when I first met my friend Val, I couldn't remember her name, so I kept calling her "Svetlana" - one of the only Russian names I knew. I saw this sign outside a building when we were walking around and said to Val, "Hey, Svetlana! Why not pose by this sign for me!" I guess it's kind of our little inside joke, but doesn't she look like a cute Russian princess in this picture?

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This guy was standing around Palace Square charging people a couple of rubles to pose with his snake. No thank you!

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