Living expenses.
Living in Russia is rather cheap. Below you find an example of a feasible budget for one month in Russian roubles.
| Items |
The cost per month |
| Food |
4000 |
| Accommodation |
8000-15000 |
| Telephone, TV, newspapers |
300 |
| Local travel |
1000 |
| Medical insurance |
200 |
Money.
The currency is the Russian rouble (1 rouble = 100 kopecks). You can buy roubles in exchange offices and in banks. You will always get a receipt when exchanging money officially (it is not necessary to keep a receipt) Notes in circulation are: 5000, 1000, 500, 100, 50 roubles. Coins in circulation are 10, 5, 2, 1 roubles, and 50, 10, 5, 1 kopecks. According to Russian legislation, all payments in Russia must be made in roubles.
Credit cards: most major cards can be used here, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and others. A lot of shops, clubs, bars and hotels (but not all) receive credit cards. There are many bank machines in the town. Dollars are obtainable on these cards in Moscow and in St Petersburg in a few selected places such as hotels and large central banks. In other places you may only withdraw roubles. As with all foreign currency transactions, a commission sum will also be taken. If you cannot find a bank machine, it is worth going into the bank with your card and asking if you may withdraw money over the counter with it. There are a lot of banks in Petrozavodsk, where you can change money and open an account.
Insurance.
All our Students must have medical insurance. Students, who come to all-year programs, can get insurance in Petrozavodsk. We cooperate with varios insurance companies, which help our students to get the insurance. Other students get insurance in there own countries.
Cost of medical insurance is 60 dollars USA per one year.
How to prepare yourself to your staying in Karelia?
We recommend to take warm clothes, especially you will need winter clothes from October/November to March, a pair of boots with good protectors, bathing suits, sports suits, antimosquitoe protection means, video and photo cameras, fishing tackles, medicines. You are going to need that, especially if you like travelling. Even if you are lazy and prefer staying indoors, you won't escape being invited by some Russian friend of yours to come over and visit his/her dacha, to go to the sauna, to go fishing in the lake nearby. Our people are famous for their hospitality.
Weather.
We suggest that visiting our site from time to time (the more often the better!) you check the following link - http://wmc.meteoinfo.ru/ . On the site you will get the information concerning the weather for tomorrow in Petrozavodsk and the region.
On the whole, our weather is changeable. Temperature may be -30°C at winter and +40°C at summer. But so not very often and if lucky smiles to you, famous Russian “moroz” wouldn't be knowing by you.
How to get to Petrozavodsk?
It's easy to get to Karelia, even if you live on the other side of the globe. Our "side of the globe", Karelia, with its capital Petrozavodsk is located in the European North of Russia, at the intersection of major transportation routes (http://eng.rzd.ru/).
There is an airport in Petrozavodsk - Besovets. It's not large, but quite comfortable. The most convenient routes to Karelia 
are via two Russian major cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. But if you are looking for a fresh solution, you can fly via Helsinki.
And now, when you are absolutely sure that you want to study nowhere but in Petrozavodsk, take a plane, a train, or a coach, and proceed to one of these cities. Then, with the help of our comprehensive scheme, you will set off for an exciting trip and easily find Petrozavodsk.
Cultural activities.
Practically all genres of music, painting, choreography are honored here. We have something to be proud of.
First, Petrozavodsk is a theatre city. There are four professional theatres (Russian Music Drama Theatre, National Theater of Karelia, Tvorcheskaya Masterskaya Theatre (Art Workshop), and The Puppet Theatre). Besides, every small Karelian town has its own amateur theatre.
Second, the republic has many various professional music orchestras - a symphony orchestra, Russian folk music orchestra, chamber ensembles. Theatre and music festivals attract people from all over the world. Numerous folk music and dance groups preserve Karelian cultural traditions.
Karelia is also rich in various folk music festivals. They are held not only in Petrozavodsk. Little town and even villages of Karelia are famous for their folk festivities.
All kinds of people crowd the discos of Petrozavodsk at night. There are a lot of clubs in our town.
More "respectable" people usually go to restaurants. In Petrozavodsk restaurants you'll find genuine Karelian delicacies.
The Onego lake embankment is a place where people often walk and meet each other. Among numerous Petrozavodsk museums, soon there will be another one opened on the bank, the "Museum on Water". It will be a floating dock serving as the museum of our Marine Centre and the "Polar Odysseus" club. Boats-replicas of old Russian and Pomor vessels will be moored here. These are the boats that have travelled thousands of miles along the ancient sea routes. The boats will be also used as tour vessels.
In Petrozavodsk there are many different types of sporting events. Quiet kind of sport, such as chess, checkers, bridge, and go are very popular here. Among other popular sports are pool, table tennis, soccer, floor ball, volleyball, basketball, cycling, boxing, judo, karate, u-shu, athletics, weight lifting, figure skating, hockey, and skiing. You can find stadiums, gyms, sport clubs, skating rinks, and skiing tracks.
Karelia attracts tourists from all over the country and from abroad. You can go canoeing down the rivers; you can go walking or horse riding. It's a paradise for those who like picnicking on the bank of a lake or a small river, those who like walking tours, mushrooms, berries, fishing...
In addition, you can go in for some other, more exotic kinds of sport in Petrozavodsk.
You can find out the information about cultural and other events in Petrozavodsk on the site http://komart.karelia.ru/
