Other than its iconic customer service, Russia's food and convenience stores seem to be governed by a whole set of unique rules. With this guide you don’t have to be (as) confused when you want to pop into the shop for some gum or other necessities. Remember to stay calm.

General tips:

Whether you’re shopping at a market, convenience store, or real supermarket, you should keep these basic rules in mind:

Learn some Russian – don’t expect anyone – and I mean anyone – to be able to understand you. Russian stores generally don’t expect that tourists will bother with food shopping, so they don’t bother staffing their stores with English-speaking personnel. As such, you should know at least the basic Russian words and phrases to be able to make yourself understood (and understand a bit of what’s going on around you).

Do what everyone else is doing – when in doubt, just follow the majority. If you’re not sure what to do with your cart, or where to line up, or what to do with your produce – just spend some time observing everyone else and do what they’re doing. Even if it’s not what you’re “supposed” to do, at least you won’t stick out.

Don’t cut in line - Russians can be rude and, unfortunately, sometimes they do cut in line and pretend to ignore the people behind them. However, trying this trick yourself is a good way to get into a fight. Just don’t.

Bring small bills – don’t expect anyone to be able to break that 5000 – or even 1000 ruble bill, unless your purchase amounts to more than half the amount of the bill.

Always make sure you have smaller denominations with you to save yourself a headache. Even if the cashier has plenty of change, they will often look very ticked off with you for handing them a big bill. I don’t know why this happens.

Supermarkets:

Check your bag at the door (sometimes) – if you walk into the supermarket and see a wall full of lockers (look around) – use them. Otherwise you may be subjected to a rather unceremonious bag search on your way out of the store – and believe me, demanding a warrant will only get you in trouble with the police.

Weigh your produce – it’s standard procedure in Russia to put your fruits & vegetables into a plastic bag and weigh them at one of the available scales within the produce section. The appropriate number will be written on the price tag. Punch the number into the numberpad of the scale, press the equivalent of “OK”, whatever it may be (the big button), take the sticker that pops out and stick it on the plastic bag. The same goes for buying any sort of bulk food. Always weigh it.

Don’t pay with a credit card – While some supermarkets do accept credit cards, I can almost guarantee you that paying with one is going to be a huge hassle including ID checks and several signatures. Just bring cash.

Corner stores/small shops:

Ask for what you want – be prepared to “order” whatever it is that you want, as most of these shops have glass cases full of display items and the items themselves stocked elsewhere in the back of the store. At least know how to point and say “this one”.

Pay first, take later – when buying refrigerated drinks or anything that you have to take yourself, make sure to express what you want to the cashier, pay for it, and only then take it. Most refrigerators will be locked anyway and can only be opened with a push of a button by the cashier.