St. Petersburg is rare in its way. The history of St. Petersburg begins since 27th May 1703, the day of the foundation of the Peter and Paul Fortress in the mouth of the Neva by tsar Peter the Great, and thus the birthday of the city. Within a short period of time the work of thousands of serfs driven here from all parts of Russia, the skill of architects and sculptors and the talents of scholars from Italy, France, Germany and Holland turned St. Petersburg into one of the most attractive cities in Europe, and a very great scientific and cultural center of world importance. Indeed the city of Peter is an outstanding creation both of Russia as a whole and of Europe as a whole.
And despite the fact that one of the symbols of our city is the "Bronze Horseman", a monument to a tsar and an autocrat, the main thing with the people of St. Petersburg was and is a spirit of openness, free-thinking and a love of liberty.
Do not miss an opportunity to enjoy masterpieces of architecture of world importance. Click here to view the St. Petersburg Pictures Gallery.

The National Organizing Committee of the NPT'98 as well as the local organizers are doing their best to combine your professional activities with pleasure during the Conference period. A number of cultural and social events will be offered for the participants and accompanying persons. We are sure that your meting with St. Petersburg and its citizens will leave you with life-long impressions of the best and warmest kind.

• via St. Petersburg International Airport (Pulkovo II), St. Petersburg is directly connected to most of the European capitals.
• via St. Petersburg Domestic Airport (Pulkovo I), St. Petersburg is 50 minutes flight from Moscow. In Moscow
• you can get to the domestic airport Sheremetevo I by the bus ## 517, 518 and the shuttle (from the subway station "Rechnoy Vokzal"), by the shuttle from the subway station "Airport" or by the shuttle from the Moscow International Airport Sheremetevo II.

• St. Petersburg is 8 hours from Moscow by train from the railway station "Leningradskiy Vokzal" (a night train is the most comfortable choice). In Moscow you can reach the railway station "Leningradskiy Vokzal" by subway (get off at "Komsomolskaya" stop).

On this scheme you can see the nearest environs of the SREC with two metro-station "Pionerskaya" and "Chernaya Rechka" are shown. Also you can see a general view of the SREC. This is a red building on the photo. The address of the SREC is Aerodromnaya ulitsa (street), 4.

If you decide to use metro station "Pionerskaya" you are recommended to walk alone Kolomyazhsky prospect up to Aerodromnaya ulitsa. It takes about 10 minutes (600 m.). In the case you wish to use metro-station "Chernaya Rechka" you are recommended to walk alone "Naberezhnaya Chernoy Rechki" (Chernaya River Embankment) up to railway-station "Novaya Derevnya" and further you should cross the railway and after walk alone Kolomyazhsky prospect up to Aerodromnaya ulitsa. It takes about 20 minutes (1.3 km). You can take bus number 122 from metro station "Pionerskaya" and "Chernaya Rechka" also.

It is highly recommended to use metro as a preferable kind of transportation being in St.-Petersburg. In connecting with it pay your attention to the special working regime of metro-station "Pionerskaya": it is closed for exit from 7:00am till 9:00am and for entrance from 5:00pm till 7:00pm. Metro-station "Chernaya Rechka" work in normal regime (i.e. from 5:45am till 12:00pm both for entrance and exit).

Survey bus tour of St. Petersburg will be organized for the Workshop participants and accompanying persons.
Survey bus tour are included into the conference fee. Tours over suburbs are not included into conference fee and should be paid on arrival (US$ 20-30) at the registration desk.

Participants from most countries will need a visa to enter Russia As a host institution the Institute for Problems of Mechanical Engineering will handle this issue through formal invitation letter. To send an invitation letter we need the following details from every person wishing to attend the Workshop :

Full name

• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Citizenship
• Affiliation
• Dates of arrival to and departure from Russia
• Passport number

To secure your visa, please contact your nearest Russian Embassy or Consulate as soon as possible. In some cases it might take longer for the visa to be issued. If this is the case please do not hesitate to contact the NPT'98 Secretariat.

The climate in St. Petersburg is moderate and humid. In August it is fairly warm with occasional rainfalls, the temperature ranging from 18 to 20 C.
Click here to know today Weather in Russia. No matter what you see visiting St. Petersburg do not forget to take your umbrella.

The present Russian legislation does not impose restrictions as to the amount of foreign currency brought in. Currency excange services are offered in any bank and in most hotels.

Prof. S.A. Kukushkin
The Institute for Problems of Mechanical Engineering
61 Bolshoy, V.O. 199178, St.Petersburg, RUSSIA

Tel: +7(812)321-47-84,
Fax: +7(812)321-47-71 (no manuscripts)
E-mail: npt98@ipme.ru

This page is constructed by D. Grigoriev. Last Updated: November 6, 1997. All comments are welcome.