How Can I Send Flowers to Someone in Russia?

To send flowers to someone in Russia, choose a bouquet in our bouquets catalogue, enter the recipient's address, phone number and your card text, pick a delivery time and pay online by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay. We deliver across Russia ourselves: city delivery costs 500 RUB, and in large cities an express order arrives 1-2 hours after it is confirmed.

That is the short answer. The longer one is about getting the details right, because a bouquet sent from another country has no second chance if the address is vague or the recipient is away. Below I walk you through it the way I would explain it to a customer at the counter: what information to collect before you order, how to time the delivery, which flowers travel well through Russian seasons, and what to write on the card so it sounds like you.

What to collect before you place the order

Most problems with deliveries from abroad start with an address copied from an old message. A Russian address has more layers than many people expect: city, street, building number, sometimes a korpus (block) or stroenie (structure) number, then the entrance (podezd), floor and flat. In new residential districts there may be several buildings with the same street number and different block numbers, so ask for all of it. If there is a door code or intercom number, include that too.

The recipient's mobile phone number matters just as much as the address. Our courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival, which is how the flowers find their way through a closed courtyard gate or into an office building with a security desk. A Russian number starting with +7 is ideal. If you only have a work landline, mention it in the order comment and add the name of a colleague who can come down to reception.

Finally, think about where the person will actually be. A bouquet sent to a home address at 11 in the morning on a weekday often meets a locked door. If you are not sure, ask a mutual friend or a relative, or simply choose a late time window when people are usually back from work.

Timing: express, exact time or booked ahead

You have three ways to time a delivery. In large cities an express order arrives 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, which is useful when you remember a birthday on the day itself. You can also choose an exact time, delivered within plus or minus 30 minutes, or a time window: 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21.

For important dates I recommend booking ahead. Orders can be placed 1-30 days in advance, and that is the calm way to handle March 8, New Year, Teachers' Day or a birthday you already know about. On March 8 in particular, demand in every Russian city peaks over the same few hours, and an order booked a week earlier gets planned into the route without any rush. If that date is on your mind, our guide to March 8 flowers in Russia explains what people traditionally give.

Keep the time difference in mind. Russia spans eleven time zones, so 9 am in Moscow is already afternoon in Krasnoyarsk and evening in Vladivostok. The time slot you choose is local time in the recipient's city, not yours. Check it before you pay, especially if you want the flowers to arrive before breakfast or right after work.

Bouquets we can deliver

Bouquet of 1 yellow sunflowers

$12

Bouquet of 1 pink lilies

$18

Bouquet of 3 red gerberas

$20

Bouquet of 3 red roses, 60 cm

$21

Choosing flowers that suit the person and the season

Russian flower etiquette has a few rules that surprise people abroad. For a living person, give an odd number of stems in a small bouquet: 5, 7, 9 or 11 roses. Even numbers are traditionally reserved for funerals and remembrance. In large bouquets of 25 stems or more the rule matters less, but if your recipient is an older relative, stick to odd numbers anyway. Yellow flowers were once read as a sign of separation; younger people rarely care, but a grandmother might.

Think about the weather on the recipient's side. From November to March many Russian cities sit well below zero, and the short walk from the car to the door is the hardest part of the journey. Roses, chrysanthemums, alstroemeria and carnations cope well with winter handling, while very delicate flowers such as sweet peas or garden-style ranunculus are better in late spring and summer. In summer, peonies in June and bright mixed bouquets are the obvious favourites.

Match the bouquet to the occasion rather than to a budget figure. A neat compact arrangement is right for a colleague or a teacher, a generous bouquet of roses for a partner or a mother's birthday, and a soft pastel composition for a new baby. If you are unsure how big is appropriate, our article on how much to spend on flowers for someone in Russia covers what people consider normal for different occasions.

Writing the card and keeping it a surprise

A card with your text is free, and it is the part of the order that the recipient keeps after the flowers fade. Write it in the language the person reads most comfortably. If you are writing in Russian, check the spelling of the name and use the form the person actually uses: a close friend may be Masha, while a colleague of your mother is Maria Ivanovna. Two or three sentences are enough. Sign it clearly, because the courier will not tell them who sent the flowers.

Delivery is anonymous by default: the courier does not name the sender. This works in your favour when you want a surprise, but it also means a card without a signature can leave someone puzzled for days. If you want to stay a secret admirer, that is fine; just be sure that is the intention and not an oversight.

For a surprise, think about the courier's call. The recipient will get a phone call about 15 minutes before arrival, so they will know something is coming, but not what or from whom. If the call itself would spoil the moment, for example when a partner is arranging a proposal, write a comment in the order or agree the details with our manager on WhatsApp beforehand.

Paying from abroad and what happens on delivery day

Payment is online on the site, by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay. City delivery costs 500 RUB. For remote districts and suburbs, the operator confirms the delivery price when confirming the order, so you know the full amount before anything is sent. Your order is confirmed first, and timings such as the 1-2 hour express window count from that confirmation.

Before the courier leaves, you can ask the manager on WhatsApp for a photo of the bouquet. Customers abroad find this especially reassuring, because they cannot walk past the shop and check. On the day, the courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes ahead. If nobody is home, we agree a second delivery the same day, or, with your consent, hand the flowers to a neighbour or the concierge.

Once the flowers arrive, a little care makes them last. Ask the recipient to trim the stems by a centimetre or two at an angle, put them in cool clean water and keep the vase away from radiators, which in Russian flats run hot all winter. Changing the water every day or two adds several days to most bouquets.

Occasions people most often send flowers for

Birthdays are the most common reason, followed by March 8, International Women's Day, which in Russia is one of the biggest flower days of the year and is celebrated by mothers, grandmothers, colleagues and partners alike. September 1 and Teachers' Day in early October are flower days too, and New Year is increasingly one: see our note on Russian New Year flowers for ideas that suit a January delivery.

Family moments matter as much as holidays. Flowers for a new mother on the day she leaves the maternity hospital are a strong tradition, and so are flowers for anniversaries, graduations and housewarmings. When you live far away, a bouquet on an ordinary Tuesday with a short note can mean just as much as one on a public holiday, sometimes more, because nobody expects it. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.