Visiting Moscow:
an advice for international visitors

How to get to HSE math department:

• The most convenient way to go from and to Moscow airports is by trains. They run from 6am till midnight to Moscow metro stations (nonstop): from Sheremet'evo (SVO) to metro Belorusskaya (Green and Circular line) from Domodedovo (DME) to metro Paveletskaya (Green and Circular line) from Vnukovo (VKO) to metro Kievskaya (Blue and Circular line). It costs 500 roubles. There are electronic kiosks to buy tickets in the Aeroexpress area and there is a much shorter line to buy a ticket at the kiosk than from a person (but check that the kiosk has an English language option). Getting through the turnstiles to reach the Aeroexpress train requires some kind of bar code swipe with the ticket.
• Department of mathematics is located in Usacheva st, 6, 800 meters from the entrance to the Frunzenskaya subway station, 1km from the Sportivnaya subway station and 1,1km from Luzhniki station of Moscow Circle Cycle. Walkway path from Frunzenskaya: map
• Kievskaya metro station is in 15 minutes walk.

How to get to Department of mathematics from HSE Guesthouse:
• line 14 from Ploshad' Gagarina to Luzhniki station, then by Metro from Sportivnaya to Frunzenskaya.
• by metro: from Leninskiy Prospekt station to Frunzenskaya.
• by foot: 40 minutes walk through Neskuchnyi Sad and by the foot-bridge across the Moskva-river to Frunzenskaya station.
Hotel at HSE:
• All rooms are equipped with shower, WC, TV, refrigerator, electric kettle, and the cable Internet. There is no facilities for breakfast at HSE; we thus recommend to buy food in advance.
• Wi-fi network in Hotel is named "Vavilova", and password is written in reception desk.
• There are phones in the hotel rooms. However, there are included in local HSE network so ask reception if you want use phones.
• There is a plenty of small grocery stores near the Leninsky Prospekt metro station (cash only; prices reasonable).
• In a short walk distance, on Leninsky Prospekt (one of the main Moscow streets), you'll find a choice of restaurants.
  • Cafeteria on a 10th floor (from 10 up to 20 o'clock).
  • Auschan megastore (across the street). A lot of Restaurants (Il'Patio, TGI Friday's) and fast food services so on.
  • One of the feature one is located across the third Transport Ring (underneath the boulevard, direction to the center) -- the "Taras Boulba Korchma" (Ukrainian and Russian food, dinner with vodka appr. 30 Euro).
  • Small restaurants along Leninskiy prospekt.
• There are ironing boards available, and an iron, upon request of the maid staff. The ironing boards are out in the hallway and the maids should have the iron in their room marked something like ``Maid Services'' (in English) on each floor. Making a hand motion to the maids with some clothes as if you're ironing will make it clear what you're requesting. (Or give people a card with the word ``υΤΐΗ'' on it.) The maids may even do the ironing for you.
• Visitors are expected to give the security guard at HSE the room key when leaving the hotel and then you get it back when you return. Visitors are given some kind of document when they first arrive at the hotel which they apparently are required to provide the guard upon returning in order to get the room key.

To walk around:
• The Moscow center (Kremlin, Red Square) is marked by red star on Metro map. It is 30 minutes from HSE by metro. Look for "Biblioteka imeni Lenina" (red line), "Teatralnaya" (green line), "Okhotny Ryad" (red line).
• Main museums are Pushkinskiy (antic art, a lot of exhibitions) and Tret'yakovskaya Gallery (classic Russian artists (XVIII-XIX century), Avangaurde artists (Malevich, Kandinsky)).
  • Web-site of Pushkinskiy Museum, "Kropotkinskaya" metro station.
  • Web-site of Tret'yakovskaya Gallery, "Tretyakovskaya" metro station for classic Russian artists (XVIII-XIX century) and "Park Kultury" or "Oktyabrskayaa" for Avangaurde artists. Tret'yakovskaya Gallery is listed in top-50 most visited museums in a world.
• Neskuchnuy sad (30 minutes walk from HSE) and Sparrow Hills (35 minutes walk) are part of Gorky Park (15-20 minutes walk). Green park with a lot of attractions along Moskva-river (from "Vorobyovy Gory" metro station to "Oktyabrskaya" metro station). Web-site of Gorky Park.
• Contemporary art: Garage Museum at Gorky Park, MMOMA (modern art museum), several buildings in center, MAMM (multimedia-art museum: photo, art) between Park Kultury and Kropotkinskaya stations.
• Krutitsy Metochion, one of oldest buildings outside of Kremlin
• Novodevichy Convent, 10 minutes walk from Math.Department of HSE, great place to walk. It has remained virtually intact since the 17th century. UNESCO heritage site.
Some helpful tips
• In all three airports (Domodedovo, Sherementievo, Vnukovo) you can find cash machines once you pass the customs. Taking roubles from cash machines gives you better exchange rate comparing to any other option. In Moscow you can find cash machines, for example, at the entrance of majority of metro stations.τhe rough exchange rate: 1 USD = 60 roubles, and 1 EUR = 72 roubles, 1 British pound = 90 roubles. This is not exact but is a useful rule of thumb.

• There are no litter bins in the metro. The police removed them so terrorists can't hide bombs there. So if you take wrapped food into the metro prepare to hold the wrapper until you leave. There won't be a good place to throw it away on the trains or in the stations.

• In small shops, street-shops and so on, there might be no possibility to pay by card.

• Cashiers seem to really have a thing for consumers making it easier for the cashier to give back change. We advice you to have some coins (1, 2, 5, 10 roubles) with you. Also it might be impossible to pay with 1000 and 5000 roubles in small shops.

• Watch where you walk! Obstacles that are easy to trip over may appear on a sidewalk or door passage without warning. Construction projects do not necessarily have a big fence separating the workers from where the public passes by. Door entrances to stores may have unexpected stairs or bars to step over. Note in particular the chain across the path towards the entrance to HSE.

• For the transport the most convenient way is to put some money on renewable card.

• In the central corridor of Metro stations there is a red and blue post marked ιξζο/INFO with a metro map on it. Normally this is well-placed, but in at least one station it was hidden near a wall.
Some helpful words to remember list (in capital letters) of some words and phrases you may meet on signs and doors, with translations:
• δα (Yes)
• ξετ (No)
• χθοδ (Entrance)
• ξετ χθοδα (No Entrance)
• χωθοδ (Exit; note it differs from Entrance in one letter, ω)
• χωθοδ χ ηοςοδ (Exit to City, which is in many Metro stations).
• πεςεθοδ (Transfer route, e.g., in Metro to switch lines)
• ξετ πεςεθοδα (No transfer this way)
• ξα σεβρ (Towards You = Pull)
• οτ σεβρ (From You = Push)
• οτλςωτο (open)
• ϊαλςωτο (closed)
• χξιναξιε! (Attention! Walk carefully if you notice this sign.)
• ςασπισαξιε (schedule, e.g., in a store or at a train station)
• ςεφιν ςαβοτω (hours of operation)
• λαζε (cafe)
• ςεστοςαξ (restaurant)
• απτελα (pharmacy)
• ιξτεςξετ (internet)
• λασσα (cashier)
• βαξλ (bank)
• βαξλονατ (ATM machine)
• συχεξιςω (souvenirs)
• ποδαςλι (gifts)

Laboratory of Algebraic Geometry and its Applications