Russian School in St. Petersburg
General Russian School Information
Our Russian centre in St. Petersburg is located just off Nevsky Prospekt, beside the Russian Museum and very close to besutiful parks. The area offers some of the finest examples of St.Petersburg architecture and is close to the Fontanka and Neva rivers. The closest metro station is a five minute walk away. A huge choice of shops, bars, cafés and restaurants and are available within walking distance..
Our school is situated on the second floor of a historic 19th century building.
The school features:
- 13 spacious and bright classrooms, suitable for group or mini-group classes and equipped with modern wall-mounted TV/DVD sets.
- Free WiFi and a self-access centre
- small refectory at the disposal of our students
Students should arrive on a weekend as all courses start on a Monday. If a student is staying with a Russian family, his/her accommodation is paid from Sunday to Sunday. Extra days are charged additionally. All students are met at the airport/railway terminal and driven straight to their host family/ hotel/apartment. Lessons usually start at 10:00 a.m. (sometimes 09:00 a.m.). Each lesson lasts 50 minutes and is followed by a short break. Free time between or after lessons may be used to work in our small library or on the school's computers or to have lunch or some snacks in the school cafeteria.
The first day
It is important that students arrive on time on their first day at the school (normally a Monday), so that placement in groups can proceed promptly. Any delay will affect the whole day and interrupt the normal tuition schedule. Everyone, including complete beginners and students who have booked individual tuition, should be present for group placement. The schedule is as follows:
Monday, 8:30 Written placement test
Monday, 9:00 Orientation, get to know staff
Monday, 9:30 Provision group placement and oral test
Monday, 10:00 Courses start
Tuesday, 15:00 City tour for all new students
Free Russian Visa for all Students from Schengen countries
The Liden & Denz Language Centres are delighted to report that all students from Schengen states (including non-EU countries Norway and Switzerland) will be exempted from Russian visa fees when studying at our Russian language centres in Saint-Petersburg or Moscow. The exemption works only for student visas and for a maximum duration of 3 months.
Students from eligible countries staying at Liden & Denz for 3 months or less will automatically receive a student visa invitation letter by airmail, which will allow them to apply for their free student visa.
Teaching materials
Textbooks and copies are included in the course fee. Audio teaching material can be purchased directly at the school.
Certificate
All participants receive a graded certificate (in Russian) issued by the school at the end of their course and stating course type, number of hours and level of Russian.
Cafeteria
Our in-house cafeteria is usually open from 09:00 a.m. till 09:00 p.m. (05:00 pm during summer and on Fridays). It provides our students with hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, salads and hot lunch consisting of three courses (the soup, the main course, tea or coffee with cookies, biscuits etc). Each course can be purchased separately. Prices are moderate.
No smoking
The school is a non-smoking area. However, there is a smoking corner at the staircase.
Communication
In order to maintain contact with family or friends at home, the school provides Internet and e-mail facilities, which are free of charge for all students. Notebook users can connect to our network provided they have a network card. Our classrooms and the library have RJ45 sockets. Faxes may be received free of charge. Upon arrival all our students are provided (for free) with a prepaid international IP calling card. More IP calling cards are available at the school reception. We have a WiFi-zone for student's who bring thir own notebooks, as well as students' computers with internet connection.
Student cards
In order to issue an International Student Card (ISIC), which will give our students cheaper access to some museums, discounts in restaurants, cinemas and free access to some nightclubs, we require a passport-sized photograph. We also issue our own student card, which gives students some additional reductions, in particular in a nearby sport-centre.
What money to bring
Roubles, € , USD and Credit cards
The course fee covers already many expenses (with the exception of cultural activities). It is not necessary therefore to bring large sums of money. On average our students require between € 100-300 pocket-money weekly for their individual expenses.
Public holidays
Our Language Centres are closed on the following public holidays: JAN 1, 2, 7; FEB 23; MAR 8; MAY 1; JUN 12; NOV 4. No lessons are held on these days. Compensation is only provided for one-to-one courses.
Medical Care
In Russia basic medical care is guaranteed by the State free of charge. In principle, this includes visitors who suffer a medical emergency. However, both foreigners and Russians tend to avoid state institutions, if they can afford it. Private clinics are more inviting and generally provide a service that is at least as good as state provision.
Our school has checked out a number of clinics and recommends the nearby International Clinic, Dostoevsky St. 19/21, Tel. 320 38 70. This is a 24-hour outpatients' clinic with English-speaking personnel on hand for emergencies and modern equipment. Some of the doctors also speak German. The clinic accepts most travel insurance policies, but may occasionally wish to check with your individual insurer. Students with an ISIC card receive a 25% reduction on all services. More information in English and Russian is available in a leaflet produced by the clinic. The school also maintains full information on the clinic's services and prices.
Liden & Denz on TV
Swiss-French National TV's Channel TSR1 run a feature about our school on the 24th March 2000 during their prime-time main news program.Russian Channel 5 ran an eight minute feature on the school for the popular program My Russia at the end of October 1997 which can be viewed in its entirety online (in Russian).You need a RealPlayer to watch this feature if your browser does not include one already. Swiss National TV’s Channel 1 (SF DRS) produced a one hour documentary movie on two Swiss companies in St.Petersburg (one of them being our school) which which was shown on several occasions between October 1998 and February 1999 in Switzerland, Austria and Germany.Our news page has more information.
School L&D on Press
Liden & Denz provide an information package for students that explains the ins-and-outs of St. Petersburg safety. They give you the phone numbers of safe cab companies and the closing time of the bridges. Closing time of bridges? That’s right. Take notes just like language class. St. Petersburg is built on a series of islands. From May to November, all the bridges are raised during the night to allow the passage of large ocean going vessels. Around 3 AM until 3:15 the Palace Bridge is lowered briefly for foot and car traffic to cross --- if you don’t make it across then, you’re stuck until dawn...Excellant Russian Adventure, (Suite101.com, Diane Goldberg, 6.02.2001)
My teacher in Liden & Denz gives me pieces of Russian culture disguised as language lessons: tiny glittering jewels illuminating an enigmatic world. Russians do not ask what your name is; they ask what you are called. During a time lost in antiquity Russians believed that revealing your real name gave people power over you. Certain Native American tribes believe the same thing. Russian scholars are researching the Chasia, a people who may have made the trans-Siberian trek through Alaska and become the people we know as Native Americans. Language and blinis (SFBG.com, Diane Goldberg, 02.21.2001)
Anyone who would consider a schooling vacation probably has a pretty strong bookworm-geek streak, and I am here to tell you that such people will be in heaven. The classes moved quickly, teachers were engaging, and best of all, my language skills improved palpably-my years of confusion about complicated Russian verbs of motion vanished in a week. Denz explains that the school designed its own curriculum to teach as much as possible in a short time. All fellow students I talked to concurred that their teachers were outstanding and that they were learning at a rapid clip. If you're looking for academia lite, however, this won't be for you. Everyone, teachers and students alike, takes the schooling seriously. (So to speak, Time Out New York, 20.07.2000)
Former Liden & Denz students express their opinion: class of 2002 - 2001
- Sehr interessante und schone Stadt, nette Gastfamilie, Lehrer, Studenten. Spannender Aufenthalt". Straub Kathrin, Switzerland, group course 3 weeks, 2002, vkg.straub@bluewin.ch.
- "Die Schule macht einen sehr kompetenten Eindruck. Die Atmosphare in der Schule ist sehr angenehm". Brigitte Jurgen, Germany, group course 2 weeks, 2002.
- "A very efficiently run and friendly place which does it's best to satisfy all levels and abilities". Eleanor Childs, England, group course 3 weeks, March, eleanorchilds@hotmail.com.
- "Es schien eine angenehme Atmosphare zu sein - ein Gemisch aus Gemutlichkeit und grosser Aktivitat". Thomas Krebs, Switzerland, one-to-one course 1 week, April, thomas.krebs@liebfeld.ch.
- "Sehr freundliche Atmosphare, gute Lage, Verpflegungsmoglichkeit sehr hilfreich. Gute Moglichkeit zum Russischlernen". Ruth Dinger, Germany, group course 2 weeks, April, ruth.dinger@cibasc.com.
- "My landlady was wonderful - I love her like a family! My teacher was incredibly good - fantastic, I have learned more than I ever could have imagined! The atmosphere at school is very pleasant".(Anna SPANNING, Sweden, Graduate Student, 14 weeks group & individual course, 2002 A_Spanning@hotmail.com)
- "J'ai bien aime l'ecole et j'ai bien aime la ville. Je me suis presque toujours senti tres a l'aise ici. Personnel souriant, chaleureux, disponible, et efficace. Tout le monde a ete tres sympathique et agreable".(Bernard LHOEST, Belgium, The ICRC Delegate, 12 week individual course, 2002bernard_lhoest@hotmail.com ).
