Whether you are coming to Russia for a short visit or planning to stay here for long, keeping in mind some of its basic rules will be good for you. Is it ok to smoke or drink alcohol in public places? Can you get fined for jaywalking? And can a foreigner get away with not paying a fine, if he or she faces one? Find out in our brief guide!

Like any other country, Russia has a legal system which punishes a person if he or she fails to follow its laws. Apart from serious crimes, it also provides for minor offenses and the subsequent punishment is usually in the form of paying an administrative fine.

According to Dmitry Lesnyak, head of GR-practice at BMS Law Firm, failure to pay the fine leads to further administrative action in Russia — one will have to pay twice as much, risk arrest or undergo compulsory public work. For instance, improper behavior in public, which clearly indicates a person’s disrespect for others (like using obscene language or harming another person’s property), might lead to an administrative fine of 500 to 1,000 rubles ($8-16) or an administrative arrest for up to 15 days.

If you are a driver, you might also face a range of different fines if you fail to meet Russia’s traffic laws. For example, if you drive a car without having proof of insurance (so called“OSAGO”), you’ll have to pay a fine of 800 rubles ($12.6). Or one can face a fine of 5,000-15,000 rubles ($79-238) if one gets caught driving a car without a driving license or even 30,000 rubles ($476) (and/or 15 days arrest) if a person already had his/her driving license suspended before.