Travel Information

Arriving by plane

St. Petersburg is easy to reach via many daily convenient flight connections from main European and American cities.
All the flights are opereted by the New Terminal of Pulkovo Airport.
Pulkovo Airport is within 15 km from the centre of Saint-Petersburg.

Arriving by train

There are 3 main international railway stations in St. Petersburg: Moscovsky railway station, Ladozhsky, Vitebsky. All the stations, besides Ladozhsky, are located in the center of the city. The Moscovsky Station receives trains from Moscow, the south of Russia and the Baltic States. Trains from the Baltic States, Kiev and Odessa arrive at the Vitebsky Station, while trains from Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Vologda, Vorkuta, Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk arrive at the Ladozhsky station, as well as through trains from Moscow.

Arriving by Sea

Cruise ships arrive in the St. Petersburg Sea Harbour located in the Gavan at the west-end of Vasilievsky Island. The Silja Line runs two regular ferry services connecting the city with Europe: Petersburg-Helsinki and Petersburg-Tallin-Rostok. The services are seasonal, with the ferries operating from the end of April to the end of September. The Sea Port receives other cruise ships though they are not operating within regular services.

Sea Harbour

As a rule, tourists arriving at the Sea Station are met by buses provided by the receiving company, though the station is also well served by public transport and it is not difficult to reach the center of the city from there –trolleybus, bus or route taxi can take you to the "Vasileostrovskaya", "Primorskaya" or "Nevsky Prospect" metro stations.

Arriving by Bus

Regular and tourist buses arrive in St. Petersburg every day from European and Russian cities. Many of the buses coming from Germany, Finland and Sweden stop by the Oktyabrskaya Hotel located on Ploshad Vosstania. From the square in front of Baltiisky railway station (the Baltiiskaya metro station), the Eurolines buses head for the Baltic States, Scandinavia, France, Germany and other European countries.
However, the travel by bus takes quite much time. Even from the nearest Finland it is possible to reach St. Petersburg only in 6 - 7 hours.

Public transportation in St. Petersburg

The main part of interurban and local passenger carriage is fulfilled by public transport which is:

• — metro (Saint-Petersburg metro has 4 lines with 58 stations). Metro operates from 5.45 till 24.00. Metro fare is 28 roubles.
• — overland electrical transport - trams and trolley buses. Fare for one trip in overland municipal transport is 25 roubles.
• — buses - public and commercial routes.
• — local trains.

Overland transport operates from 6.00 till 24.00.
The system of minibuses is well developed.

Time

St.Petersburg is situated in the Moscow standard time zone (MST), which differs from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). MST = GMT + 4 hrs.

Currency exchange

The national Russian currency is ruble. All payments for goods and services throughout Russia must be done in rubles, or by major credit cards.
Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks or currency exchange offices at the airport, hotels or in the city. Exchange rates are always posted.

Electricity

220 V plugs are standard continental European type. British and North-American appliances need an adapter.

Emergency

01 — fire
02 — police
03 — ambulance
04 — gas accidents

Can be dialed direct from payphones, with no codes. If you are calling from a mobile phone, add the code +7 812 or 8 812.
However, it is easier to use the special emergency number for mobile-phone users — 112 — which will connect you with the emergency number of your service provider.
If your operator does not provide this service or if your roaming agreement does not include it, you will be given the correct number to dial the city emergency services.

Metro map

Hotel Accommodation

Monomax company helps us in organising the Conference. You will find the information on hotel accomodation and transfer at the Conference web site http://onlinereg.ru/psi2014.

PSI participants staying at the university hostel (Building 13) can see the map of the campus here.

Location

The conference will be held in Peterhof (also known as Petrodvorets), a suburb of St. Petersburg located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The town is one of St. Petersburg's most famous and popular visitor attractions thanks to its palaces, fountains and parks. Founded as a summer residence of Peter the Great, the area is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is often referred to as "the Russian Versaille". For more information see http://www.saint-petersburg.com/peterhof.

Peterhof has been chosen for holding the conference because it hosts one of the two campuses of Saint Petersburg State University. The Department of Mathematics and Mechanics, reputed for its strong team of programmers, is based here.

Weather and "White Nights"

By Köppen climate classification Saint Petersburg is classified as Dfb, a humid continental climate. Distinct moderating influence of the Baltic Sea cyclones result in warm, humid and short summers and long, cold wet winters.

The average daily temperature in July is +22 °C (72 °F); a maximum temperature of +37 °C (99 °F) occurred during the 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat wave. A winter minimum of −35.9 °C (−32.6 °F) was recorded in 1883. The average annual temperature is +5.4 °C (41.72 °F). The Neva River within the city limits usually freezes up in November–December and break-up occurs in April. From December to March there are 123 days average with snow cover, which reaches the average of 24 centimeters (9.4 in) by February. The frost-free period in the city lasts on average for about 135 days. The city has a climate slightly warmer than its suburbs. Weather conditions are quite variable all year round.[36][37]

Average annual precipitation varies across the city, averaging 600 millimeters (24 in) per year and reaching maximum in late summer. Soil moisture is almost always high because of lower evapotranspiration due to the cool climate. Air humidity is 78% on average, while overcast is 165 days a year on average.

You can find the current temperature here: http://www.gismeteo.com/city/daily/4079/

In June, the weather is normally warm and humid, but not excessively so and evenings can be cooler even when the sun is still shining, so it's worth bringing at least one warm sweater.

St. Petersburg is the world's only metropolis where such a phenomenon as "White Nights" takes place every summer (from the end of May to mid-July). This seemingly endless twilight effects the very fabric of life in the city, and the whole town seems to be taking part in a two-month round-the-clock celebration. The streets are alive with people right through till morning, a motley flotilla of boats cruises the rivers and canals non-stop, and the city's nightlife is at its most active and exuberant, with a number of festivals and events, the most well-known of which is the White Nights Festival of classical ballet, opera and music.

Map of Petergof

Cultural programme

Bus City Tour

There is no other way to get an impression about the City of St.Petersburg, than to take a short ride on a bus with an expert guide. The tour includes picturesque sightseeing peculiarities that are most favored by tourists from all over the world. You will learn a lot about history and modern life of the city. The tour is quite cognitive and very spectacular.

The State Hermitage

Located in the heart of Saint Petersburg, the Hermitage occupies five historic buildings, which are the architectural monuments, including the Winter Palace, former residence of the Russian Tsars. The State Hermitage is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world. State Hermitage (Saint Petersburg) is famous for its numerous collections, which encompass world culture from prehistoric times to the present day. In 240 years of its existence the museum accumulated a collection of almost three million exhibits, including significant art collections of Ancient East, Ancient Greece and Rome, Islamic arts, Italian Renaissance, XIX—XX centuries paintings, etc. The Hermitage is also home for the art pieces from the Saint Petersburg imperial palaces, collections of Russian Emperors dating to XVIII—XIX centuries, as well as numerous art pieces created by request of the Tsars by famous artists of Europe.

The Italian collection of the Hermitage includes masterpieces by Giorgione, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian. A vast collection of French art includes pieces by such artists as Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso and Matisse. The Hermitage Arsenal collection represents many precious items of Russian, Western European and Oriental arms and armour from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century. The Oriental Art collection includes over 180,000 paintings, sculptures and items of applied art, covering the territories of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, Byzantium.

Excursion to Cathedrals of St.Petersburg

Built from 1818-1858, St. Isaac’ Cathedral is the largest Orthodox church is St. Petersburg. The gilded cupola of the Cathedral, which dominates the skyline of the city, stands 101.5 meters in the air making it the fifth highest cathedral in Europe. The collonade offers visitors the option of climbing the 300 stairs to the observation deck to see the breathtaking view of the city. The facades of the building are decorated with 112 monolithic columns made from Karelian granite. The outside of the building is covered in beautiful sculptures inculding 24 monumental bronze angels. Today, in addition to being open to the public as a museum, the cathedral continues to offer festive services.
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, was erected in memory of Tsar Alexander II. On March 1, 1881, the Tsar was assasinated by a terrorist (I. Grinevitskij) on the exact spot of the church’s current location. The church was designed by Alfred Parland and was built from 1883-1907 with money donated by the royal family as well as private donors. Both the inside and outside of the building are decorated with ornate mosaics designed by a group of prominent Russian artists. During the 1930s the church was closed due to the destruction taking place nationwide as the Bolsheviks stormed and ruined many churches. The Cathedral of the Resurrection was reopened in August of 1997 after almost 3 decades of careful restoration. Today the Cathedral is fully restored and remains open to visitors.
The Kazan Cathedral named after the supposedly miraculous Kazan icon. It is the main Cathedral of St. Petersburg, one of the largest cathedrals of Russia and the most magnificent temples of St. Petersburg (architect A. Voronihin). The main facade of the Cathedral is overlooking the Nevsky prospect. In the cathedral the remains of field-marshal M. Kutuzov, the great Russian general, are resting .

Contact Persons

Alexander Marchuk
Irina Virbitskaite,
IIS SB RAS, Novosibirsk
Tel. +7 3833307352 (off)
E-mail: iadrianova@iis.nsk.su

For all questions concerning scientific programme, please contact
Irina Adrianova,
secretary of the A.P. Ershov Informatics Conference
iadrianova@iis.nsk.su

Natalya Cheremnykh
Tel. +7-903-218-9053
chergeneral@gmail.com

For all questions connected with registration, hotel accommodation, payments, etc. please contact
Ms. Elizaveta Shur,
project manager, Monomax Congresses and Incentives
Phone: +7 (812) 335 20 55 ext. 130
Fax: +7 (812) 335 20 39
E-mail: psi2014@onlinereg.ru