How to drive in Russia

So, you are coming to the Russian Federation and you want to drive car here to be independent and avoid of crowded public transport. No problems, there are few tips for you which will help you understand some specific rules and traditions.
The first question that usually a foreigner has when he`s going to drive a car in the other country is "Does my driver license fit for this country?". For Russia it`s usually "Yes". Based on this answer published on the official site of GIBDD (Main Directorate for Road Traffic Safety - Traffic Police) your Driver Licence (DL) is valid in the RF if your country accept Russian DL. Also, you have to have a paper with translation in Russian of your DL in case your DL is not written in Latin letters or doesn`t has a translation in Latin on it (hope, it`s clear).

It`s valid in Russia

So, you`ve got a valid DL. Now you need a car. I suppose you`re going to rent a car so there are plenty of car rental companies. For example, now Hertz has offices in Moscow, St Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Kazan and in 14 cities more.

Tolls

You don`t need a transponder in Russia because on every toll road you could use credit card or cash.

Navigation

So, you get a car. What else do you need to drive well? You need a navigator. You could rent it in a car rental company or use very popular app on your smartphone instead. The app called Yandex Navigator (Yandex`s products and services are very popular here. I mentioned Yandex Metro app before in the post about Moscow Metro). Here you could download for free or try  to find it in you app store.

Icon of the app

Yandex Navigator can speak En

In my opinion it`s much better than the Google`s one (maybe I`m just used to it) and more popular than Waze (so, system gets less information about traffic). It shows you traffic jams, gas stations, accidents ahead and recently it was updated with a really useful feature - now it could show you parkings and tell you is it free or not.

Parking

In general in Moscow we have 3 tipes of parking lots on the streets: free, paid and for disabled. Be sure that you`re not parking on the last one because usually a tow track is somewhere close. Sometimes there is no sign "in the air" (right image) so you should look carefully on the ground for it (left image).

Be sure that you`re not parking here

If parking is paid you will see an understandable sign.

You could pay using in few ways. Maybe your car rental agency will provide you with another way of paying but if not the info below could be useful. You could read the official information on the site of Moscow parking service (En). There are 3 of them which are the most convenient in my view:

• Using credit card. On the pavement near the parking lot you`ll find a box size as ATM. Just follow the instructions on it.
• Using you mobile phone. You should find a sign with the number of the parking lot (usually it`s the same for the few lots) and send a text message on the specific number which you will find on the same sign. Read more detailed info by the link above. 

The sign

• Using the app. I prefer this way. Just download the Moscow parking app here or find it in your app store.

Icon of the app

Oh, don`t forget, it`s free on Sunday and during the public holidays.

Tradition and politeness

In USSR it was difficult to buy a car. Now its much easier and almost everyone can buy a car and everyone want to have a car. Here it`s a way to show others how much you`re wealthy. People love their cars. So, you can`t park here like in Paris when you`re bumping other cars trying to do parallel parking. 

It`s very common when someone block your car. Usually each driver has a paper or a plate with his phone number. Drop him a text message like "Вы заблокировали мою машину" or use Google Translate if you want to create your own message for this jerk. 

Some of the driver aren`t polite and brake rules turning from a wrong lane or driving in a shoulders. Just keep calm and stay cool. 

Hope these tips will help you to have a pleasant driving experience in Russia.

Cheers