Russia hikes tariffs on postal services

New tariffs on universal postal services (i.e. sending postal cards, letters and parcels) take effect in Russia today. From now on, sending a postal card will cost RUR3.15 (about $0.1), an ordinary letter RUR4.25 ($0.14), a registered letter RUR6.3 ($0.21) and a parcel RUR7.4 ($0.24).

The tariffs jumped 14.6 percent on average, which is virtually equal to the Russian 2003 Consumer Price Index for industrial goods. Meanwhile, new tariffs will allow for compensating only actual expenses for rendering universal postal services at the federal level, a source in the Russian Anti-Monopoly Ministry reported.