Are there telephone books in Moscow?
TMT: Nope. In the Soviet period there were little stands by metro stations where you could get information about phone numbers and addresses of organizations and individuals for five kopeks. Now there is the same service, only it's by phone and it costs a bit more. But if you've ever found yourself without an Internet connection, or thrown your phone across the street when you realized the Internet listing for that chic cafe was five years out of date — this is a real time saver.
The number is 009. If you call it from a landline, it costs 49 rubles a minute. If you call from a mobile phone, the provider sets the fee, which is usually a bit more (on MTS it's 66.50 rubles a minute). It operates 24/ 7 and the nice men and women will answer just about any question. Where's the nearest all-night pharmacy? When is that new museum open? What's the phone number of a restaurant, city government office, or acquaintance? There's just one possible drawback: They only speak Russian. But otherwise, they are close to perfect.
