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What you will see
310
years of vibrant history
800
bridges
70
theatres
5
people around
200
museums
1
unforgettable experience
Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Also known as “Second Capital”, “Northern Capital” and “Cultural Capital”.
City is located in the northwest of European part of Russia on Neva River and Gulf of Finland. Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great as a ”Window to Europe”. From 1712 until 1917, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Russian Empire.
During that period, the city grew rapidly in wealth and beauty, many European architects created their masterpieces here. After the Great October Revolution city was renamed to Leningrad. Historical name was returned after the crush of Soviet Union.
Traditionally, in Saint Petersburg there are a lot of opportunities for cultural leisure such as theaters (Mariinsky, Alexandriinsky), worldwide known museums (Hermitage, Russian Museum) and magnificently beautiful residences of Russian Emperors (Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, etc).
As to business life, nowadays, Saint Petersburg is a modern, dynamically developing city. Many Russian international companies such as Gazprom neft, Baltika, Vkontakte, Yota have headquarters here. Also many companies have offices and plants here: Big Four, Coca-Cola, Nissan, Unilever, Lukoil, Ford, Toyota, JTI etc.
Not decided upon the time of the year?
5
is average temperature in winter
10
is average temperature in spring and autumn
17
is average temperature in summer
How to get visa
- Most international students coming to the St. Petersburg University Graduate School of Management for exchange studies are required to have a student visa. In order to apply for the Russian visa, you need to have a passport valid at least for 18 months after the intended date of arrival at St. Petersburg. An invitation from GSOM is also required to obtain the visa. The invitation letter is issued by Russian Federal Migration Service and the process of the invitation issue takes on average 4-6 weeks. As soon as the GSOM International office receives invitation letters, their scans are sent to students by e-mail and the original document is sent to students’ home university or their home addresses.
- Once the letter of invitation is received, a student has to apply for a single entry 90 days visa. Upon the arrival at GSOM all students apply for a multiple entry visa for the whole period of exchange studies. The multiple entry visa issue takes on average 5 weeks, therefore you should not make any travelling plans during the first 1,5 months in St. Petersburg, as your passport will be taken for the whole period of visa issue. The state fee of a multiple visa is 1’000 RUR. The International office deals with all the paper work required for the multiple entry visa application and provides all the necessary visa support for international students throughout the whole study period.
- We strongly recommend you to contact a Russian Embassy/Consulate/Visa center where you are going to apply for the Russian visa in advance in order to find out the most recent requirements for Russian visa applicants. Be prepared to have a rather clear but very formal procedure.
- Please be informed that HIV test certificate and health insurance that is valid in Russia for the whole period of studies are required in most countries. It is necessary to keep all of your medical bills so that your insurer could reimburse you later.
Anastasiia Reusova
Local Events Department