Telecommunications

[Dialing From a Landline Phone] [Using Public Pay Phones] [Area Codes]
[Direct Dialing Access Numbers] [Telephone Directory]
[Using Mobile Phones]

Dialing From a Landline Phone

Local calls are free, but that may change soon. Not all phones can make long-distance calls, but for those that do, dialing 8 will get you a long-distance line. Thus, to dial another region of Russia, dial 8, wait for the new dial tone, and then dial your number.

For international calls, dial 8, wait for the tone, then dial 10, then the country code and your number.  

For example, to call the U.S. number (404)-827-0099 from Russia, you would dial 8-(wait for dial done)-10-1-404-827-0099.

Using Public Pay Phones

Public telephones are widespread on the streets of most Russian cities. There are still the old token phones as well as different types of card-accepting phones. Mind, when buying cards (from the kiosks of metro stations) as different phones take different type of cards. Plus, some pay phones don't allow international or even long distance calls.

Area Codes

Note: When you are calling to Moscow or other regions of Russia where the area code starts with a "0", you do not drop zero when dialing from outside Russia. For example, to call the Moscow number (095)-123-4567 from U.S. you would dial 011-7-095-123-4567.

Long distance Providers Direct Dialing Access Numbers

AT&T
755-5042
325-5042

MCI
To call using Rostelcom: 747-3322
For a Russian speaking operator: 747-3320
To call using Sovintel from Moscow: 960-2222
To call using Sovintel from St. Petersburg: 346-8022
To call from Sakhalin Islands: 1616-1

BT Direct
8-10-80-01-10-10-44

Canada Direct
755-50-45 or 747-33-25

Telephone Directory

The Moscow Business Telephone guide is available for free in most hotels. Two good online resource is:

• Moscow Yellow Pages

Moscow also has a directory assistance service, which can be reached by dialing 09 (Russian only)

Using Mobile Phones

The best way to find out if your phone will work on Russian networks is to contact your local service provider, which probably has a roaming agreement with one of the Russian operators. In general, GSM subscribers (AT&T, T-Mobile) should not have trouble roaming in major Russian cities. Please, contact your cell phone provider in advance to ensure you will be able to roam internationally.

In addition to GSM 900/1800, a common European standard which is widely avaiable throughout Russia, CDMA has just been introduced in St. Petersburg. GSM 400/1800 will soon be available in selected regions. There are also two main analog standards supported in Russia, D-AMPS and NMT-450.

In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other areas, coverage on both GSM and analog standards is usually very good. The networks are expanding into smaller regions.

Renting Cell Phones
In addition to the companies listed below, some hotels can arrange mobile phone rentals.

Shercomservice
Sheremetevo Airport
Terminal 2
Arrivals Hall
Fax/Telephone: 956-46-80

East-West Company
Maly Cherkasski Perelulok 1
Phone: 921-6159
Fax: 921-8290