St. Petersburg is Russia’s second biggest city located in the Neva River delta on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Finland. It covers 1,439 square kilometers and as of 2015, the city is home to 5.2 million people. It was founded in 1703 and has played a crucial role in Russian history since then.
St. Petersburg has all the good stuff for a memorable travel experience: superb architecture, high art, wild nightlife, rich cultural traditions and a unique history. The city charms in every season, from the eerie White Nights to world-class opera and ballet productions.
There is no official red-light district in St. Petersburg, but there are several areas in the city that appear to be preferred by call girls, hookers, and escorts - although not necessarily exclusively so. The sex hot spots are spread across the metropolis and not confined in a single area. In most bars and clubs, you’ll have a good chance of finding a lady involved in prostitution or some other forms of the sex trade.
The bars and hotel lobbies provide hangouts for women engaged in the adult entertainment industry. In fact, the management of the hotels seems to overlook the ladies’ obvious presence because of a mutual 'agreement'. Some of the hotels even have girls who are ‘semi-based’ to cater to the needs of their guests.
Prostitution in the city is advertised in local newspapers under the guise of saunas, massage parlors, and escort services. Some of the locals even tout sex services openly on the streets. Others go further and set up clearly organized brothels. However, visitors may find it difficult to find these bordellos, but just like in other major cities, the taxi drivers hold the key and will instinctively figure out exactly what tourists are looking for.
Street Prostitution
Finding streetwalkers in St. Petersburg isn’t easy, but you can try your luck and search for women hanging around the Lli café on Nevsky Prospect 54, particularly during weekends. Lli is a chic and fashionable cafe that draws a young crowd. It is located near the famous Gostiny Dvor shopping arcade.
Swinger Clubs
Prostitution is illegal in St. Petersburg, but it is not considered a serious crime. In fact, formal prostitution is regarded as an ‘administrative offense’, just like speeding or drinking in public. In general, organizing and operating a prostitution business is a criminal act punishable by a prison term, while offering sexual services in exchange for money is deemed a lesser administrative offense.
There is no reference to prostitution in the Russian constitution but the Administrative Code states that an individual who sells sexual services is subject to a fine of 1,500 to 2,000 rubles. That’s about $21-$29 or 30-40 euros. The penalty is merely symbolic because it is lower than what many prostitutes earn for one hour of work by Russian standards. Moreover, this is likely one of the reasons why the sex trade and sex tourism is widespread and so barefaced in St. Petersburg and other major Russian cities.
St. Petersburg holds the distinction as the first Russian city to adopt club culture during the late 1980s. The club movement kicked off with art centers and underground rock clubs and expanded in the beginning of the 90s to include rave clubs.
However, it was only during the mid-90s when the club culture really took off and it was then when the most popular clubs like FishFabrique, Mama, and Moloko began to draw lots of attention.
Today, St. Petersburg features all the nightlife revelry you’d expect from a European capital. It is the place to go if you enjoy jazz, alternative and rock concerts where you can have some booze and meet lots of people in one evening.
Depending on your preference, you can also dress up for the opera, ballet, or get whisked away to imperial Russia in a grand Chekhov play.
Here are some of the bars and clubs in St. Petersburg:
St. Petersburg has been perceived as socially conservative when it comes to the issue of homosexuality, with recent polls showing that majority of the public are against homosexuality and have expressed support for legislations discriminating against homosexuals.
General Attitude Towards Gays
A survey conducted in July 2010 revealed that the Russian society is largely homophobic. The proponents of the survey drew such conclusion based on the following findings: 74 percent of the respondents consider gays as immoral or psychologically disturbed; while 39 percent believe that gays should be forcibly treated or isolated from society.
Only 15 percent of the respondents consider homosexuality as lawful as traditional sexual orientation. The survey also found that the aforementioned views vary in different groups of society. Homophobia is most frequently encountered among men, older people (over 55), and those with low income and an average level of education. Women, the youth (18-39), and well-educated individuals showed more tolerance for gays.
St. Petersburg remains conservative and it even made headlines for its new laws banning 'gay propaganda' aimed at minors. This helps in explaining why the gay and lesbian scene is smaller and more discreet than what you’d expect for a metropolis of nearly five million people.
Gay Prostitution in St. Petersburg
Gay prostitution is largely in the form of male escorts, call boys, rent men, models and porn stars who advertise their services online. There are lots of websites with all types of attractive men looking to hookup in St. Petersburg.
Transsexual Prostitutes
Finding transsexual prostitutes can be a bit tricky. Your best bet would be to sign up for a dating site so you can find exactly what you are looking for. Take advantage of features such as live chat so you can start flirting before arranging your hookup. Note that the tranny scene in St. Petersburg is not big. You can find shemales in gay-friendly nightclubs, and there are kiosks selling magazines with escort advertisements. The majority of shemale escorts also advertise their services online.
6.483 Escorts
Independent (8)
Agencies (29)
Clubs (1)
