R 231107Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2671
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG

UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000010 
 
 
DS/DSS/ICI, DS/ICI/CAS, DS/ICI/PSS, DS/CIS/PSP, DS/PSP/FPD, 
DS/PSP/PSSD, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/AO/PMD, DS/IP/FPO, DSERCC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC KSAC
SUBJECT: 2009 OSAC CRIME AND SAFETY REPORT - ST. PETERSBURG 
 
OSAC CRIME AND SAFETY REPORT 2009 - ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 
 
Overall Crime and Safety 
 
As in many large cities, street crimes such as pick-pocketing, 
mugging and auto theft are fairly common in St. Petersburg.  The 
incidence of violent hate crimes has risen during the last 
several years and continues to constitute a serious threat for 
racial, ethnic, religious and sexual minorities.  Organized 
crime and corruption also remain significant issues for foreign 
businesses and tourists in the city.  The threat of terrorism 
remains a concern despite a lack of significant terrorist 
activity in recent years.  Police corruption hinders the city's 
efforts to increase the general level of safety. 
 
General Crime 
 
There have been no significant changes in the level of street 
crime in St. Petersburg during the past year. 
 
Americans, like most foreigners in St. Petersburg, are easily 
recognized as such and have been the victims of robberies and 
assaults in both tourist areas and residential neighborhoods. 
Many attacks occurred during daylight hours and in 
well-populated areas.  Bystanders rarely came to the aid of 
victims.  The use of edged weapons is more common than the use 
of firearms in the commission of such crimes, although firearms 
remain accessible to criminals in St. Petersburg.  A popular 
tactic of criminals is to file down the edge of a Russian coin 
to razor-sharpness, which allows the coin to be used as an edged 
weapon while still providing the criminal with a pretext for its 
possession if apprehended by police. 
 
 Criminals are attracted to areas frequented by foreign tourists 
and business travelers.  Nevsky Prospect, Peter and Paul 
Fortress, the Hermitage, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Church on the 
Spilt Blood, Artists' Square and the Mariinsky Theater are all 
targeted by pickpockets and other petty criminals.  Petty 
criminals also target the public transport system.  The Gostiny 
Dvor subway station, in particular, is the site of a spate of 
pick-pocketings and muggings.  Recently, the criminals have 
carefully targeted their victims, pursuing those with expensive, 
high-end cameras.  It is believed that the Gostiny Dvor 
pick-pocketing ring is backed by the Russian police in an 
arrangement known as a "roof" (krisha) protection racket. 
Nevertheless, the subway, trolley and bus systems remain the 
safest and best regulated of St. Petersburg's public transport 
options.  Unlicensed taxis, or "gypsy cabs," and minibuses 
(marshrutki) are considered to be more dangerous both in terms 
of the likelihood of crime and traffic safety. 
 
Some areas of St. Petersburg, while historically important and 
popular with some tourists, remain even more dangerous than 
mainstream tourist attractions.  Sennaya Square and Apraksin 
Dvor are two such locations.  Both areas are characterized by 
poor lighting, transient populations, and low-end businesses. 
 
"Gypsy crime" or "Roma crime" is a specific kind of street crime 
common to St. Petersburg.  It involves large groups of Roma (an 
ethnic minority pejoratively referred to as "gypsies") who 
aggressively swarm and distract their intended victims with 
various artifices in order to grab purses, wallets and other 
valuables.  One notable technique, the "baby drop," involves 
pushing an infant into a victim's arms and then fleecing the 
victim's pockets as the victim holds on to the infant.  While 
these crimes are not necessarily violent, resistance by victims 
can result in the use of violent force by assailants.  Roma 
crime groups usually operate with "muscle" hidden around corners 
or in nearby crowds. 
 
Drink druggings are still a source of concern in St. Petersburg. 
 These crimes usually involve the surreptitious placement of an 
incapacitating drug in a victim's drink.  The victim may be 
distracted by a co-conspirator, such as an attractive woman, 
while the drugs are surreptitiously introduced into the victim's 
drink.  The co-conspirator then suggests that the victim 
accompany her (or him) to a car or hotel room, where the victim 
succumbs to the drugs and is robbed.  Such drugging usually 
occur at bars and nightclubs frequented by tourists.  While most 
druggings occur in low-end establishments, some incidents have 
been recorded in the city's best bars and nightclubs.  It is 
advisable to order only bottled drinks, ensure the drinks are 
opened in one's own presence, and maintain control of the drinks 
at all times in order to minimize the risk of being drugged.  In 
the event of a drugging, the victim should seek immediate 
medical attention.  Criminals constantly experiment with the 
chemicals used in the drinks, and new variations with different 
side-effects may appear. 
 
The most alarming criminal trend in the St. Petersburg area has 
been the rise in reporting of pedophilia and sexual molestation 
of children cases.  While these crimes were limited to Russian 
residents of St. Petersburg and may not have a direct impact on 
foreign travel and business, Russian media gave considerable 
coverage to the growing threat of crimes against children. 
 
Contacts express concern that the global economic downturn will 
cause a rise in crime.  One result of the economic downturn has 
been a slowdown or halt of work in the construction sector. 
Many of those being turned out of work are young male immigrants 
from ex-Soviet Central Asia or the Caucasus, often without 
proper documentation and therefore with no access to any sort of 
social safety net.  While statistics have been scarce, it is 
feared that poverty and discrimination could lead the newly 
unemployed to resort to criminal activity. 
 
(II)    Terrorism 
 
In August of 2007, a high-speed train returning to St. 
Petersburg from Moscow derailed near Novgorod.  60 passengers 
were injured and 1 passenger was killed.  The Russian Federal 
Security Service (FSB) declared the derailment a terrorist act 
and took control of the investigation.  To date, no one has been 
prosecuted for the derailment, although several arrests have 
been made.  Doubts linger as to whether the derailment was 
actually a terrorist attack, or merely the result of poor track 
maintenance. 
 
FSB also investigated a reported threat to assassinate St. 
Petersburg governor Valentina Matvienko.  There have been no 
reports on the veracity of the threat and no subsequent media 
reports on the investigation's progress.  Recently all suspects 
were acquitted. 
 
In October of 2008, authorities reported that they were looking 
for a vehicle reportedly full of explosives near the mosque in 
St. Petersburg.  A thorough search of the city resulted in the 
vehicle, with the explosives, being located far from the 
intended target.  No additional information has been reported 
and the group behind this possible attack has not been 
identified. 
 
Aside from these incidents, there have been no major terrorist 
incidents, or suspected terrorist incidents, in recent years. 
However, St. Petersburg is home to many ethnic and religious 
minorities that may sympathize with terrorist groups in Russia's 
Caucasian region.  Tensions surrounding the loyalties and 
sympathies of St. Petersburg's 40,000 Muslims combine with 
Russian xenophobia to create an atmosphere of racial tension and 
suspicion.  This is particularly true in light of the 2008 
military conflict with Georgia, which spawned many incidents of 
discrimination locally. 
 
In reality, the few instances of low-level "terrorist" activity 
in St. Petersburg, such as pipe-bombings, have been revealed to 
be part of hate crimes or organized crime activity.  In October 
of 2007, a pipe bomb was thrown onto a stage during a concert at 
a local nightclub.  No one was injured, and several local 
skinheads were revealed to be behind the attack. 
 
(III)   Political Violence 
 
Police and government security agencies maintain tight control 
over dissident political groups and protests.  Dissident 
political groups must obtain city permits in order to march or 
assemble.  Police presence at such protests is overwhelming and 
includes hundreds of riot police, riot-control vehicles, and 
even helicopters.  The majority of protests are peaceful, 
however, a dissident march along Nevsky Prospekt in early 2007 
was violently dispersed by riot police. 
 
The US Consulate was the target of several peaceful political 
protests during 2008.  The majority of these protests occurred 
during the Russian/Georgian conflict and in some cases resulted 
in a "Flash Mob" - incidents when a demonstration occurs without 
apparent (or easily monitored) communication; such as through 
the use of SMS messaging.  To this date, these types of 
demonstrations attract smaller crowds and quickly disperse 
without incident. 
 
(IV)     Russian Organized Crime 
 
Although two children of a prominent real estate mogul were 
kidnapped and released without payment of ransom in 2007, 
kidnappings in Russia are rare, and likely associated with 
organized crime.  Hostile economic takeovers of local and 
foreign-owned businesses continue to constitute a major security 
issue in St. Petersburg. 
 
Organized crime groups continue to run protection rackets with 
impunity.  In fact, it is believed that Russian law enforcement 
agencies run their own protection rackets.  The 2007 arrest of 
Vladimir Barsukov, a/k/a Vladimir Kumarin, of the Tambov crime 
family, was handled by top-level FSB officials due to concerns 
 
about local police collusion with organized crime.  The Tambov, 
Kazan, and Malyshev crime families are the three major criminal 
organizations in St. Petersburg.  Organized criminal activity in 
St. Petersburg extends into business, banking, public services, 
natural resources, and even art and culture.  Virtually all 
businesses in St. Petersburg have a krisha (protection scheme, 
lit. "roof") provided by organized crime. 
 
Each year, many foreign businesses experience significant 
problems with organized crime including extortion, blackmail, 
and protection rackets.  Joint business ventures, in particular, 
can be targeted by Russian organized crime.  However, exact 
statistics on this issue are difficult to obtain.   It is 
advisable to exercise caution and diligence in establishing 
business activities in St. Petersburg.  Proactive security 
planning and thorough screening of prospective partners and 
employees are essential practices for foreign businesses in 
Russia. 
 
(V)     Russian Police (Militia) 
 
Police corruption in Russia remains a major problem.  While 
police coverage of the city is fairly comprehensive, with dozens 
of substations, and radio cars trolling almost every street, 
woefully poor pay, passivity and corruption greatly undermine 
the effectiveness of law enforcement in St. Petersburg. 
Motorists routinely bribe their way out of traffic violations, 
and victims of crime are likely to find themselves confronted by 
bureaucratic and unmotivated detectives. 
 
Russian police maintain a special police unit for crimes 
affecting foreigners, although this unit's operational 
capability is questionable.  Very few police officers speak 
English.  Russian police conduct frequent documents checks, 
especially of minorities and foreigners.  Foreigners are 
required to carry their passports, with valid visas and 
registration stamps, at all times.  Document problems are a 
frequent source of police harassment for foreigners and leave 
foreigners open to the solicitation of bribes by police officers. 
 
Crimes committed under color of authority, that is, crimes 
committed by police officers or those dressed as police 
officers, also continue to be a major problem in St. Petersburg. 
 
While foreigners should always comply with police document 
checks, it is advisable to note the names, badge numbers, and 
vehicle numbers of any police present.  There have been several 
instances where police, or individuals dressed as police, used 
document checks as a pretext for robbery.  In 2008, one American 
reported that while reporting an attempted pickpocketing, police 
made photocopies of credit cards. 
 
(VI)    If You Are the Victim of a Crime ~ 
 
The US Consulate General continues to advise that Americans 
report crimes immediately to the Russian police and the American 
Citizen Services section of the Consulate.  Russian police 
usually do render basic assistance.  It is recommended to file 
an official police report, especially when an American passport 
has been stolen.  Crimes can be reported to the nearest police 
precinct or by calling the "Militia Bureau for Crimes Committed 
By and Against Foreigners."  In instances of police inaction, 
detention or harassment, Americans should immediately contact 
the Consulate for assistance. 
 
St. Petersburg emergency numbers operate 24 hours day: 
 
Fire: 01 
Police: 02 
Ambulance: 03 
Militia (Police) Unit for Foreigners: 278-3014 
 
Medical Issues Related to Crime and Safety 
 
The Russian medical system is slowly recovering from a state of 
near collapse.  There are no government-run hospitals in 
St.Petersburg that provide full Western medical care, although 
several private clinics offer care comparable to Western 
standards.  These clinics also have English-speaking doctors and 
accept some US insurance, although patrons are advised to pay 
strict attention to the procedures conducted and billed. 
 
American Medical Clinic: 78 Moika nab., tel: 740-2090 
(www.amclinic.com) 
 
EuroMed: 60 Suvorovskiy pr., tel: 327-0301 (www.euromed.ru) 
 
MEDEM : 6 Marata ul., tel: 336-3333 (www.iscpb.com) 
 
These clinics can also arrange for medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) 
to Western Europe, however, this is very expensive.  The closest 
MEDEVAC point is Helsinki, Finland. 
 
The US Consulate advises travelers who have chronic illnesses or 
who are infirm to consider the standard of medical care and the 
costs of medical evacuation before traveling to St. Petersburg. 
The Consulate further recommends that all travelers to Russia 
obtain temporary traveler's medical insurance with coverage for 
medical evacuation. 
 
(VII)   Tips for Avoiding Crime~ 
 
-Be particularly alert to your surroundings and guard your 
belongings in restaurants, overcrowded public transportation, 
and other high-density tourist areas. In St. Petersburg, 
tourists should be particularly alert in the vicinity of 
Gostiniy Dvor, along Nevsky Prospect and its underground 
passages, Palace Square, Mars Field, surrounding areas of 
St.Isaac's Cathedral, the train and Metro stations, food 
markets, flea markets, and the Mariinsky and Mussorgsky theaters. 
 
-When walking about, leave hard-to-replace non-essential items 
such as credit cards, driver's licenses, association membership 
cards, and family pictures with hotel safe deposit boxes or at 
home. 
 
-Never display large sums of money. Disperse your money 
throughout your garments. Remember the amounts in each location 
and when making purchases, retrieve only the amount of money 
needed for that purchase. 
 
-Beware of street vendors that seek to distract you. 
 
-Be alert for groups of teenagers or young street children who 
may quickly approach and assault you. 
 
-Exercise caution when visiting nightclubs and other late-night 
establishments. A number of establishments are owned and 
frequented by organized criminal syndicates. These include 
casinos and adult clubs. 
 
-At nightclubs and bars beware of strangers inviting you to 
drink at their table, particularly when they provide the alcohol. 
Never accept a beverage in an open container from a stranger or 
recent acquaintance. Keep an eye on your drink at all times. 
 
-Be cautious when considering purchase of an antique from a 
street vendor or any source. Failure to obtain export permission 
could result in confiscation of the item, detention and/or 
payment of a sizable fine. 
 
-Do not exchange money from street vendors, as legal currency 
exchange offices are widely available in St. Petersburg and 
northwest Russia. 
 
-Never lose sight of your credit card when paying for items or 
services. The employees of some establishments have been known 
to "double swipe" credit cards. 
 
-Avoid using ATM cards if possible. Each year, thousands of 
cases of ATM fraud are reported throughout Russia. 
 
-Women should be aware that sexual assaults are as commonplace 
in St. Petersburg as they are in most large urban areas in the U.S. 
 
-Russian authorities require that foreigners carry their 
passports and registered visas with them at all times.  Travelers 
should be aware that loss of a passport requires both a newly issued 
passport and a Russian exit visa in order to depart the country. 
 
-No traveler should seek to import or use GPS equipment in any 
manner unless it is properly and fully documented before arrival 
and is declared in full on a customs declaration at the point of 
entry to the Russian Federation. 
 
-All American citizens either visiting or residing in St. 
Petersburg and northwest Russia are encouraged to register at 
the American Consulate General. 
 
Transportation 
 
-Many people in St. Petersburg flag down private vehicles for 
rides and pay the driver to transport them to their destination. 
This is a high-risk form of transportation that should be 
avoided. 
 
-Motorists should also be aware that observance of posted 
traffic rules varies widely. 
 
-Motorists should avoid travel after dark in the countryside 
outside of St. Petersburg and throughout northwest Russia. 
 
-There is a no-tolerance policy for driving under the influence 
of alcohol or drugs. It is possible to be arrested for driving 
while intoxicated after only one drink. 
 
-Trains between St. Petersburg and Moscow continue to experience 
occasional robberies of compartments left unattended or not 
secured. When traveling on overnight trains, secure the door to 
your compartment to guard against unauthorized access. 
 
American Business Community 
 
-American businesses planning to operate in St. Petersburg 
should consider the full spectrum of security issues before 
establishing operations. This includes the possible hiring of 
guard services, installation of technical security systems, and 
systematic evaluation of the reliability of Russian business 
partners and associates. 
 
-Russian partners and locally hired staff should be selected 
only after detailed screening and background checks. American 
businesspeople may be held liable for the actions of their 
Russian business partners who later prove to be associated with, 
or have contacts with, organized crime. Additionally, American 
businesspeople should be alert to the danger of extortion 
threats (or worse) from their Russian business partners. 
 
-American businesses may need to consider hiring a local 
security firm to provide guards to protect premises and 
personnel. However, particular attention should be paid to the 
choice of a local security firm. The "License Unit" of the GUVD 
(St. Petersburg Police) is responsible for licensing all private 
security companies that operate in the city. 
 
-Installing technical security systems, especially intrusion 
alarm systems to protect office equipment and business 
information, should be considered. 
 
-American businesspeople should also take into account the 
vulnerability to eavesdropping devices and individuals with 
extensive training in human intelligence operations seeking trade 
secrets. 
 
-American businesspeople who utilize local services for banking, 
security, and medical treatment should limit the information 
provided to these institutions. 
 
(IIX)  For Further Information~ 
 
American Citizen Services 
US Consulate General 
Furshstatskaya ul. 15 
191028 St. Petersburg 
Tel: (812) 331-2600 
http:\\stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov 
E-mail:  StPetersburgACS@state.gov 
 
US Foreign Commercial Service 
25 Nevsky Prospect, 3rd Floor 
Tel: (812) 326-2560 
E-mail:  stpetersburg.office.box@mail.doc.gov 
stpetersburg.office.box@mail.doc.gov 
 
American Chamber of Commerce 
24 Yakubovicha Street 
Tel: +7 (812) 448-1646 
E-Mail:  all@spb.amcham.ru 
 
 
GWALTNEY