Russian Post

Russian Post is the country's national postal operator, an Aktsionernoye Obschestvo (AO, private limited company). The company is in charge of postal delivery in Russia as well as the issuance of postage stamps. In 2012, the Russian Post delivered over 2.4 billion pieces of mail, over 54 million parcels, and over $100 million in remittances. The Russian Post was included to a list of so-called key industries in March 2013 by a presidential decree signed by President Vladimir Putin. Russian Post's 42,000 offices provide all traditional mail services. It also sells lottery, rail, airplane, and theater tickets, as well as cashing payment cards, accepting utility payments, executing cash transfers, receiving and repaying consumer loans. It also sells a variety of items such as phone cards, envelopes, and, of course, stamps. The Russian Post began sending SMS notifications for internal shipments in October 2012, and since December 2013, Moscow subscribers of the Russian Post have been receiving free SMS notifications on items arriving from abroad as part of a test program. A notice will warn customers about the admittance of international mail at the point of issuance, according to the postal operator, and will supplement traditional paper notices. Russian Post has 13 customs clearance sites for mail commodities. Until 2013, the Moscow MMPO handled up to 80% of all incoming international packages to Russia, putting the Russian Post under a lot of strain. The Russian Post has launched two new international postal exchange terminals in Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk to reduce the time it takes to deliver international shipments. With a floor space of more than 2,000 square meters, the latter can handle up to two thousand international EMS departures every day. The international postal exchange point in Yekaterinburg Koltsovo is the Urals Federal District's first international postal exchange. The 3,700m facility can handle up to 20,000 shipments and small packets every day.