Russian mail is a busy system that provides postal services for people of all Russian cities and villages. The ability of Russian mail service to process mail of the entire country on a daily basis is impressive, however, there are still some drawbacks that show that the system is still not perfect.

       It is much safer to send something out of Russia than to send something to Russia. Parcels can be opened by post office employees and sealed back again. Things can be stolen and in most cases it is hard to prove anything to look for compensation. So, do not send money or anything expensive to Russia in a simple letter. If you need to send an important document or something valuable, send it in a registered mail. It will take longer but they will arrive safer.

       There is another problem with Russian mail that many foreigners face when they want to send an expensive gift to their beloved ones in Russia. If the cost of the parcel sent to a single Russian address is more than 5,000 roubles (about $160), the receiver will have to pay a high tax (30%) to the Russian customs. The cost of the parcel may be determined either by the sender when he/she sends it or by a Russian customs' employee in Russia, which in this case may be much higher than it is in reality. Therefore, sending expensive cameras, laptops, other electrical devices, jewelry or designer clothes to Russia is sometimes unreasonable. If you evaluate your parcel for a less than 5,000 roubles, you risk to have it stolen and the post office will only pay you the low amount you evaluated it for. If you evaluate it for its real cost, the price of your gift + the taxes may be even higher than what you would pay if you simply bought that gift in Russia. Delivery of an expensive parcel can also be delayed because of the Russian customs inspection.

       Mailing parcels by DHL, FedEx and other express services may be faster, but because they follow the same rules as the regular Russian mail, they will have to follow the same regulations and undergo the same procedures.

       When you send something to Russia, the Russian address should preferably be in Russian. The way they write a Russian address on an envelope is different from how they do it in other countries. First they specify the receiver, then the country, the state, the city, the street, the number of the house, the number of the apartment, and the postal code/zip code.