St. Petersburg - Post Report Question and Answers
How much of the local language do you need for daily living? Are local language classes/tutors available and affordable?
Knowledge of Russian is definitely helpful. St. Petersburg seems to have more English speakers than other parts of Russia due to the amount of foreign tourists who visit the city. Many local restaurants have menus in English. The younger the person, the more likely they know some English. When shopping and out and about, it is quite useful to at least know how to read the Cyrillic alphabet. - Apr 2017
Most tourist friendly places will speak some English, but the basics will come in handy everywhere else. Once you get outside of the center bubble, there's little patience for bad grammar. - Feb 2016
Your quality of life will be much better if you have a basic Russian course (i.e. Russian 'Fast'). Without this, you can't read anything! Some people come to post without Russian and Russian classes are available at work but life is much better if you can read Cyrillic. - Aug 2011
