Hazards

Theft: The majority of auto-related criminal activity in St. Petersburg involves part theft or malicious damage rather than the theft of the entire vehicle, but the latter is by no means unknown. All cars from flashy Mercedes to boxy Zaporozhets are targets.

Remove any valuables (and anything that might be considered valuable: sunglasses, jackets, radios, and even external speakers) from your car when parking, even if it's only for a few minutes. Also remove your windshield wiper blades: once there was a perpetual shortage of them in Russia, now it's just habit, but if you forget to remove them, someone else undoubtedly will remember. Try to park your car in a guarded lot or where there are a lot of people around.

Accidents: If you're in an accident you are supposed to stop the car immediately and wait for the GAI guys to come and start taking money from everyone involved, even if you're in the middle of a major intersection. Don't expect the other driver's insurance to pick up your bill because the chances are he doesn't have any.