Information on business customs, travel advisory, visa requirements, currency, language, acceptable business etiquette, dress, business cards, and personal safety.

Business customs

Establishing a personal relationship with business partners is a critical factor in successfully negotiating major projects, government procurement or in developing long-term business relationships. Scheduling meetings with potential Russian business partners can be challenging. It may take weeks to get a response to an e-mail, fax, or a telephone request for a meeting. Once contact has been established, patience may still be required to confirm a date and time to meet. U.S. business visitors to Moscow or St. Petersburg are advised to factor traffic into scheduling.

Russian language ability is a must, and an interpreter should be hired if necessary. An increasing number of Russian businesspeople speak a courtesy level of English; however, many prefer to conduct business discussions in Russian. The U.S. Commercial Service can arrange for the services of qualified interpreters.

Business cards are important and are exchanged freely. Cards should have regular contact information and an e-mail address and a website, if available. Most foreign businesspeople in Russia carry bilingual English/Russian business cards (one side English, the other Russian).

Russian language promotional materials are an important tool for creating interest in a company’s products in the Russian market. It is very important that the translation be accurate and of high quality, and utilizing professional translation services is often required. Many companies interested in the Russian market have used online translation platforms, only to learn that the translation did not appropriately convey the U.S. firm’s message or conform to professional standards. The Commercial Service has started identifying business service providers in Russia in different categories that are known by the U.S. companies in the market.

Hotels

While world-class tourist and business facilities exist in Moscow and St. Petersburg, they are under-developed in much of Russia, and many goods and services taken for granted in other countries are not yet widely available. Western-style hotels are present in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhnevartovsk, Perm, Samara, Perm, Sochi, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Vladivostok, though they are often priced at a premium in comparison to similar accommodations in other countries. Outside major cities, traditional Russian hotels offer modest accommodations at modest rates, and some regional hotels raise rates for foreign guests. It is possible to find well-appointed hotels in some small towns; it is equally possible to be temporarily without water or electricity when visiting some regions of Russia, during seasonal maintenance outages, for example.

Clothing

Russian businessmen and women predominately wear business suits. For women, dresses, skirts or pants are acceptable. Winters can be extremely cold in Russia with occasional temperatures in the minus-20 Fahrenheit range in northern and Siberian cities; Moscow and St. Petersburg can be quite cold as well, with temperatures in the teens. Winter clothes may be needed as early as October or as late as May. Travelers are advised to bring boots or other protective footwear, as streets and sidewalks in the winter are frequently slushy or icy. Summers, while brief, can be surprisingly hot, and air conditioning is still rare outside big-city hotels and offices.

Food

The recent ruble depreciation has made dining out in Moscow and St. Petersburg more affordable, in line with major U.S. cities. Russian food can be bland to American tastes, while many visitors find Caucasian, Georgian, and Uzbek cuisines an interesting contrast. Asian food is becoming increasingly popular, and sushi restaurants are pervasive. Regardless of the city or hotel, bottled water served with no ice is recommended. Tips are generally 10 percent of the bill for good service.

Personal security

Deterioration in the U.S.-Russian bilateral relationship has not dramatically affected the security environment for U.S. travelers to Russia. Although anti-American and anti-Western sentiment increased since the latter half of 2014, there have not been widespread reports of overt aggression against or harassment of Westerners because of their nationality. 

Media reports highlighting incidents of discrimination against those who are not ethnically Russian portray that aggression is directed more towards individuals from the North Caucasus and Central Asia rather than Westerners who happen to be darker-skinned.

Travelers should be aware that certain activities that would be normal business activities in the United States and other countries are either illegal under the Russian legal code or are considered cause for investigation by the Federal Security Service (FSB). U.S. citizens should be particularly aware of potential risks involved in any commercial activity with the Russian military-industrial complex, including research institutes, design bureaus, production facilities or other high technology, government-related institutions. Any misunderstanding or dispute in such transactions can attract the involvement of the security services and lead to investigation or prosecution for espionage. Rules governing the treatment of such violations remain poorly defined.