St Petersburg city and Russia info

Russia and St Petersburg are mysteries for most westerners who until less than a decade and a half ago were subject to intentional misinformation at best and no information at worst for 70 years.

Now that travel to Russia and St Petersburg in particular has become easier and safe, information has become readily available from books, web sites and personal reports from returning visitors. A lot of that information, instead of enlightening, confuses the reader because Russia probability more than any other country suffers from what has to be termed "bad press" in western media possibly due the the storehouse of past misinformation that formed most people's impression of Russia in absence of actual experience.

While those who have never been here are are sometimes negative, those of us who have invariably tell stories revealing a very different image. These pages which follow this introduction will present specific information that is useful for anyone who plans a visit to St Petersburg without the bias positive or negative found elsewhere.