Russian Address: What to Write and What the Courier Needs
A Russian address names the city first and then narrows down: street, house number, building (korpus, stroenie or litera) and flat, with a six-digit postcode for the post. A typical example reads Saint Petersburg, ulitsa Marata, 10, litera A, kv. 7. To hand over flowers, a courier also needs the entrance number, the floor, the intercom or gate code and the recipient's phone.
Our shops in Saint Petersburg have been taking orders since 2011, and a good share of them come from abroad. The same questions about addresses come up again and again, so this guide answers them in the order customers usually ask, with examples from Petersburg, where old courtyards and lettered buildings make addresses trickier than almost anywhere else in Russia.
The five things we ask for with every order
When someone orders by phone, we ask for the same set of details every time: city, street with its type, house number with any building or letter, flat number, and the recipient's mobile. Those five elements are enough to deliver in most Russian cities. The postcode is welcome but optional, because couriers find buildings by street and number, not by post office index.
The street type is not decoration. Ulitsa is a street, prospekt an avenue, pereulok a lane, naberezhnaya an embankment, shosse a highway and liniya a line, and a city can have a street and a lane with the same name in different districts. Leave out the type and you leave the courier to guess, which on a busy day can cost an hour.
The flat number is the detail most often missing from orders placed abroad. People copy a postal address from an old envelope and forget that letters go to a mailbox downstairs, while flowers have to go up to the door. If you only have a house number, add the recipient's phone: the courier calls about 15 minutes before arrival and can get the rest then.
Korpus, stroenie and litera: one house, several buildings
A Russian house number can cover more than one building. Korpus (k.) marks separate blocks that share a number, so dom 73, k. 2 is the second block of number 73. Stroenie (str.) is another structure on the same plot, common in Moscow and in office complexes. None of these is a flat number, and confusing them is a classic mistake: k. 3 and kv. 3 lead to very different doors.
In Saint Petersburg you will see litera, a letter added to the house number in official records, such as dom 15, litera A. In the historic centre, a single address often hides a front building on the street and one or two courtyard buildings behind it, and the letter tells them apart. If the recipient writes litera B or mentions a courtyard wing (fligel), copy that into the order exactly.
Corner houses sometimes carry a double number such as 5/2, meaning number 5 on one street and number 2 on the other. Couriers look for the entrance on the street named first, so keep the order the recipient uses. When in doubt, ask them which street their entrance actually faces.
Bouquets we can deliver
Saint Petersburg specifics: lines, courtyards and shared flats
On Vasilievsky Island many streets are called lines, numbered 1st to 27th, and each side of a street has its own line number. The 6th and 7th lines are opposite sides of one avenue, so house 20 on the 6th line and house 20 on the 7th line face each other. Always include the line number in full, not just the name of the island.
The old centre is full of courtyards reached through an arch from the street, and many arches now have gates with a code or an intercom. Write the gate code separately from the entrance code, and say which arch to use if there are several. A note like arch from the street, second courtyard, entrance on the left saves the courier more time than any postcode.
Communal flats (kommunalka) still exist in central Petersburg: several households share one flat with one front door and a row of doorbells. For such an address add the recipient's surname and, if they know it, how many times to ring. Without it the courier will be left choosing between six buttons with faded labels.
Writing the address in English letters
You can send us a Russian address in Latin script; there is no need to type Cyrillic. Transliteration varies widely: ulitsa may appear as ulica or ul., Vasilievsky as Vasilyevsky or Vasilevskiy, and all of them are understood. We explain common spellings in Russian address in English.
Do not translate street names into English meaning. Nevsky prospekt should stay Nevsky prospekt rather than Neva Avenue, and Sadovaya should not become Garden Street, because the courier will be searching a map for the Russian name. Numbers, the street type and the letter or building index matter far more than perfect spelling.
The most reliable source is the recipient. Ask them to send the address exactly as they would give it to a taxi app, including entrance, floor and codes, and paste it into your order unchanged. Our guide on how to confirm the recipient's address before ordering suggests ways to do this without spoiling a surprise.
Hotels, offices and hospitals
For a hotel, the street address alone is not enough: give the hotel's name, the guest's name as it appears on the booking and, if possible, the room number. Hotels usually accept flowers at reception and pass them on. See flowers to a Russian hotel room for what to check before ordering.
Office addresses need the company name, the floor and the building's opening hours, because many business centres in Russia require a pass and close the entrance at night. A morning time window is usually best. If the recipient works in a business centre, ask whether flowers are handed over at the reception desk or collected at the turnstiles.
Hospitals and maternity wards have their own rules on visitors and gifts, and some do not accept flowers on the ward at all. Check with the recipient or their family first, and give an address where someone can actually receive the bouquet, such as the reception of the building or a relative's home.
Ordering flowers to a Russian address from Pyat Tsvetov
Choose a bouquet in our catalogue and enter the address, the recipient's name and phone and your card text; the card is free. City delivery costs 500 RUB, and for remote districts and suburbs the operator confirms the price when confirming the order. You can pay on the site by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay, and foreign bank cards are accepted through Robokassa. Details are on the delivery page.
In large cities we deliver within 1-2 hours of confirming the order, at an exact time (plus or minus 30 minutes), in a window of 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21, or on a date 1-30 days ahead. In Saint Petersburg delivery runs around the clock. The courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival and does not name the sender unless you ask.
If nobody is at home, we agree a second delivery the same day or, with your consent, leave the flowers with a neighbour or a concierge. If you are unsure about any part of the address, call us on 8 (812) 507-67-05 before placing the order and we will go through it with you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the correct order of a Russian address?
Officially the post uses name, street, house, flat, city, region and postcode. In practice people often start with the city. For a flower order the order matters less than having every element: street type, house, building or letter, flat and phone.
What does litera mean in a Saint Petersburg address?
Litera is a letter attached to a house number in official records, for example dom 15, litera A. It distinguishes buildings that share one number, such as a street block and its courtyard wings.
Do I need to write a Russian address in Cyrillic?
No. A transliterated address works fine. Keep street names in their Russian form rather than translating them, and make sure all numbers are correct.
What is the difference between korpus and kvartira?
Korpus is a separate building that shares a house number with others, while kvartira is the flat. Writing k. 3 instead of kv. 3 sends the courier to a different building.
Can flowers be delivered without a flat number?
Yes, if you give the recipient's mobile number. The courier calls about 15 minutes before arrival and can find out the flat, entrance and codes then.
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