What $100 Buys in St. Petersburg

Tuesday, Mar 24, 2009, 12:00 AM | Subscribe to the magazine

Source Article: St. Petersburg

$6 Key chain Lighting up is a national pastime: Russia ranks fourth in the world in per capita cigarette consumption. The shop at the State Museum-Reserve Peterhof sells this handy key chain that stores butts for later disposal. peterhofmuseum.ru. (Levi Brown)
$17 Cup Painting gold floral-and-berry motifs on wooden utensils is a craft that originated in the village of Khokhloma in the 1600s. Nevsky Souvenir carries an assortment of lacquered tableware. nevskysouvenir.com. (Levi Brown)
$4 Cards It was only a matter of time before Soviet-era propaganda made its way onto postcards, memorializing such slogans as "In time of work, plow through the night!" DVK, House of Military Books, 011-7/812-312-4936. (Levi Brown)
$22 Vodka Shopping emporium Passage stocks an extensive selection of grain alcohol from across the country. This Russian Standard vodka, a 115-year-old recipe, is distilled in St. Petersburg. passage.spb.ru. (Levi Brown)
$11 Flask For those bone-chilling Siberian winters, nothing warms the soul like a swig of 80-proof vodka. This flask from Voentorg is emblazoned with a Russian Navy insignia. armygoods.ru. (Levi Brown)
$18 Anthology Keep up-to-date on your Russian lit with translated stories, including such titles as Jews and Strangers and Soviet Grotesque, sold at St. Petersburg House of Books. spbdk.ru. (Levi Brown)
$11 Nesting dolls The handicraft known as matryoshka has gone political—instead of peasants, these dolls have presidential faces, such as ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin's. Vernisazh, 011-7/812-572-1551. (Levi Brown)