Travel in the Russia

8/9/2019 Travel in the Russia

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Understand[edit]

Russia can't be understood by mind,

Nor measured by common yardstick.

She has of herself a unique build:

Russia can only be believed.

«Умом Россию не понять,

Аршином общим не измерить:

У ней особенная стать —

В Россию можно только верить.,

!yodor "yutchev, #$%%

Russia shares land borders &ith Nor&ay, !inland, stonia, (atvia, (ithuania, )oland, by

administerin* the+alinin*rad blast e-clave on the altic coast, elarus, and Ukraine to the

&est, /eor*ia 0includin* the dis1uted re*ions of 2bkha3ia and South ssetia4 and 23erbai5an to the

south&est, and +a3akhstan, 6hina, 7on*olia, North +orea to the east and much of the south.

History[edit]

An imperial power [edit]

Russian identity can be traced to the 7iddle 2*es, &ith its first state kno&n as +ievan Rus and its

reli*ion rooted in y3antine 6hristianity ado1ted from 6onstantino1le. 8o&ever, it &as not

considered 1art of mainstream uro1e until the rei*n of "sar )eter the /reat, &ho ruled until #9;.8e &as a dedicated uro1hile and the first "sar to visit 'uro1e 1ro1er'.

)eter established the Russian m1ire in #9#, althou*h the Romanov dynasty had been in 1o&er

since #%#


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a Fekaterinbur* manor house and buried in unmarked *raves &hich &ere found after 6ommunism

and reburied in the Saint )aul and )eter 6athedral in Saint )etersbur*.

Headquarters of Communism[edit]

?orld ?ar > strained >m1erial Russia's *overnmental and social institutions to the breakin* 1oint of

Revolution in #@#9. !ollo&in* a brief interim *overnment headed by social democrat 2le-ander+erensky, the olshevik faction of the 6ommunist )arty under 7ar-ist Dladimir (enin sei3ed 1o&er,

&ithdre& Russia from the &ar, and launched a 1ur*e of clerics, 1olitical dissidents, aristocrats, the

bour*eoise, and the kulak class of &ealthy inde1endent farmin* classes. 2 brutal civil &ar bet&een

the =Red 2rmy= of the communist leadershi1 and the =?hite 2rmy= of the nobility and middle classes

lasted until late #@G. >n his years in 1o&er, (enin used the Red 2rmy, the internal security

a11aratus, and the 6ommunist )arty leadershi1 to arrest and e-ecute many o11onents of the

nascent re*ime, and redistribute land that have lon* been o&ned by the nobility to 1easants &ho

&ork in it 06ollectivisation of a*riculture &ould not take 1lace until #@$4. 2fter the 6ivil ?ar, (enin

ado1ted a Ne& conomic )olicy, &hich allo&ed certain sectors to be denationali3ed, as &ell as

cancellin* the 1ractice of *rain requisitionin* that &as &idely used in &artime, as &ell as a loosenin*of 1olitical and cultural controls.

"he revolutionary state &as not directly ruled by the officials in titular control of the *overnment,

&hich &as established in the name of the Union of Soviet Socialist Re1ublics 0USSR4. "he

*overnment in the commonly understood sense &as lar*ely irrelevant both in fact and in 6ommunist

theory throu*hout the years of 6ommunist control. >n a manner akin to the "sarist re*ime, the real

1o&er lay in the leadershi1 of the 6ommunist )arty, the Red 2rmy, and the internal security

a11aratus 0secret 1olice4.

!ollo&in* (enin's death in #@H, a 1o&er stru**le amon* the olshevik leadershi1 ensued, &ith

Iosef Stalin emer*in* as the ne& leader of the 6ommunist )arty and dictator of the USSR. Stalin's

brutal rule 0#@$E;n addition to forced collectivi3ation of a*riculture and

renationalisation of industries, Stalin introduced a ruthlessly centrali3ed economic system 0=socialism

in one country=4 that ra1idly industriali3ed the USSR. Stalin's rivals to succeed (enin, as &ell as

critics arisin* thereafter, ty1ically ended u1 as victims of the 1ur*es. 2lthou*h seen as less of an

idealist than (enin or "rotsky, Stalin did relentlessly 1ursue international revolution throu*h the

RussiaEbased =6omintern= control over the communist 1arties of forei*n countries, and forei*n

es1iona*e.

?orld ?ar , from a Soviet 1ers1ective, be*an &ith Stalin abru1tly enterin* into a NonE2**ression

)act &ith Na3i /ermany. "he "reaty, &hich shook ?estern *overnments to their core and stunned

the (eft in uro1e and 2merica, *uaranteed 8itler a free hand to launch &ar a*ainst )oland, !rance,

and n*land. "he )act also *ranted the USSR itself leave to invade and conquer neutral !inland and

take over altic States and all of astern )oland after the /erman invasion in #@


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1olitical dissent. >n 2sia, it also hel1ed to install communist *overnments in 6hina, North Dietnam and

North +orea. ?estern critics came to describe the USSR and its uro1ean and 2sian =satellites= as

tra11ed behind an =>ron 6urtain= of ruthless totalitarianism and command economies. Fu*oslavia's

6ommunist )arty rifted from 7osco& in #@H$, but similar attem1ts in 8un*ary 0#@;%4 and

63echoslovakia 0#@%$4 &ere ruthlessly crushed.

2fter Stalin's death in #@;n ctober #@;9

the USSR became the first country to launch an artificial satellite into s1ace. "his &as follo&ed by

sendin* the first human 0Furi /a*arin4 into s1ace in #@%#. "he Soviet Union reached its military,

di1lomatic, and economic 1eak durin* the closin* years of (eonid re3hnev 0#@%HE#@$4. ut

increasin* corru1tion and a slo&do&n in economic *ro&th marched ine-orably to a crisis that

eventually led /eneral Secretary 7ikhail /orbachev 0#@$;E@#4 to introduce *lasnost 0o1enness4 and

1erestroika 0limited economic freedom E literally: rebuildin*4. 8is initiatives inadvertently released

forces that &ent beyond his control, tri**erin* 1olitical movements that eventually consumed the

Soviet Union itself in Aecember #@@#.

A Nascent Democracy[edit]

Nov*orod memorial to the Dikin* Ryurik and the ensuin* #,GGG years of Russian history

"he Russian !ederation emer*ed from the Soviet Union, accom1anied by a storm of 1roblems

follo&ed. "he first leader of the ne&ly formed nation &as oris Feltsin, &ho rose to 1o&er by

standin* u1 to an attem1ted 1utsch by the +/. Feltsin lar*ely succeeded in transferrin* control over

the country from the old Soviet elite to his o&n oli*archical a11aratus. Feltsin &as a charismatic

leader &idely su11orted by the ?est, but his *overnment 1roved to be unstable. 2 &ave of economic

hardshi1 1ut Russia's economy in ruins and left the military underfunded and undisci1lined. Aurin*

this time, Russian or*ani3ed crime and its relationshi1 &ith the *overnment, no& universally

reco*ni3ed as corru1t and incom1etent, assumed *reater control over the nation, even as 1olitical

reforms &ere takin* 1lace. >ronically, before he came to 1o&er Feltsin had labelled Russia as the

=bi**est mafia state in the &orld=.

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Russia &as also at &ar &ith 6hechen se1aratists, &hich had devastatin* consequences for the

already &eak Russian economy. ?ides1read corru1tion, 1overty, and lar*eEscale 1olitical and social

1roblems, eventually forced to Feltsin resi*n, and Dladimir )utin filled his remainin* term 0Ianuary E

21ril GGG4 as )resident. 2n e-E+/ officer under the 6ommunist re*ime, and head of the revived

Russian s1y service under Feltsin, )utin im1osed his o&n 1ersonality and &ill on the unruly and

criminal quarters of the country, but has been much condemned for his authoritarian behavior.

8avin* served his constitutionally limited terms 0GGGEGG$4, )utin titularly ste11ed do&n as

)resident but continued to control the *overnment throu*h his anointed successor, Amitry 7edvedev.

"o no one's sur1rise, )utin resumed the 1residency &hen eli*ible a*ain in G#.

Since GGG, under )utin's direct and indirect rule, the economy has bounced back from crisis, thanks

in no small 1art to fiveEfold increases in the 1rices of ra& materials Russia has in abundance.

>nflation has dro11ed do&n from the tri1le di*its into sin*le units, 1overty has been reduced, and

Russia has reEemer*ed as a dominant re*ional economic, 1olitical and military 1o&er. "his

1erformance has often been called the =Russian 7iracle.=

"oday, the modern Russia still has to fully recover from the doldrums that have hit the country inrecent years, &ith inflation drivin* u1 1rices, an increasin*ly unsto11able burden to combat 1ervasive

corru1tion, an underEcom1etitive 1olitical system, conflict in the North 6aucasus, a demo*ra1hic

crisis, and decreasin* economic com1etition. Russians also a11ear to be facin* u1 to the 1roblem of

reconcilin* )utin's successes &ith his totalitarian and selfEa**randi3in* im1ulses. Nonetheless,

Russians have achieved a much hi*her standard of livin* since the fall of the USSR.

Terrain[edit]

"he terrain consists of broad 1lains &ith lo& hills &est of the UralsB vast coniferous forest and tundra

in SiberiaB u1lands and mountains alon* southern border re*ionsB mountainous and volcanic

throu*hout much of the Russian !ar ast.

Climate[edit]

Russia is a cold country, but there are al&ays shades in the *rey. "he contrast of tundra's

1ermafrost, &hich occu1ies %;J of Russian land and e-otic lack sea coast has in bet&een the

continental climate, &hich is the most inhabited 3one of uro1ean Russia, southern re*ions of

Siberia and the Russian !ar ast. >ts summers are al&ays &arm &ith a *ood 1ortion of hot days

enablin* outdoor s&immin* in many of rivers, lakes and the seas.

Holidays[edit]

Siberian birch forest near Novosibirsk

Russia's list of holidays is divided into federally and re*ionally established, ethnic, historical,

1rofessional and reli*ious. "he first t&o ty1es are allEcountry dayEoff and should be taken intoaccount &hile 1lannin* a tri1. "hese are official holidays in Russian !ederation:

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#. /ettin* an invitation and

. 211lyin* for the visa.

Fou may arrive at any time on or after the start date of your visa's validity and may de1art at any time

on or before its e-1iry date. Normally, an e-it visa is included in transit, 1rivate visitLhomestay, tourist,

and business visas so lon* as the visa is still valid. ther classes, such as student visas, still require

a se1arate e-it visa that can take u1 to three &eeks to 1rocess.

-it and reEentry durin* the validity 1eriod of your visa requires 1ermits. /ettin* these 1ermits is a

+afkaesque bureaucratic ni*htmare that is best avoided entirely by *ettin* a doubleE or multi1leEentry

visa in the first 1lace.

>f you're in Russia and have lost your 1ass1ort, your s1onsor, not your embassy, must a11ly to the

!ederal 7i*ration Service to transfer your visa to your re1lacement 1ass1ort. 8avin* a co1y of your

old visa hel1s &ith this, but is not sufficient to let you de1art.

Note: Ne& rules for visas have recently been instituted for US citi3ens 1er a visa facilitation

a*reement &hich entered into force on @ Se1tember G#.

! "etting an invitation[edit]

Russia's most strikin* border crossin*Kthe !riendshi1 rid*e bet&een the castles of Narva and >van*orod

#rocedures for $% citi&ens

2 visa facilitation a*reement that entered into force on @

Se1tember G# has chan*ed the requirements for US citi3ens

to obtain Russian visas 0and, for that matter, viceEversa4, &hich

chan*es several of the as1ects of the 1rocedure. "he main

1oints are:

• U.S. 6iti3ens no lon*er need formal, a11roved

invitations or vouchers for business, tourist, or

1rivateLhomestay visas, but they &ill need a letter of

s1onsorshi1 from their invitin* a*ency 0hotel or business

contact 1erson4. 2dditional information may be required by

the consulate.

• Disas may no& 1ermit a ma-imum stay of si' months

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0rather than @G days4 and may no& be valid for multi1le

entries over u1 to three years.

• Disa fees are no& set at USA#HG for sin*leEentry,

USA#;G for doubleEentry, and M#%G for multi1leEentry visas.

-1ress 1rocessin* is a uniform USA;G 0< business

days4.

ther as1ects of the re*imen &ere accordin*ly chan*edB due to

this, it's &ise to contact the nearest Russian consular a*ency for

further information.

"he invitation ty1e determines the visa. 2 tourist invitation results in a tourist visa, a 1rivate visit

invitation results in a 1rivate visit visa etc. -ce1t for tourist visas, invitations are official documents

issued by Russian *overnment a*encies and must be a11lied for by the 1erson or or*ani3ation

invitin* you. "he invitation &ill include the intended dates of travel and the number of entries requires

0#, or multi1le4. "he dates on the invitation determine the 1eriod of the ensuin* visa's validity. >f in

doubt of dates, ensure that the invitation covers a 1eriod lon*er than the intended stay: a tourist visa

valid for 9 days costs the same as one valid for n the likely situation you have to buy your invitation, sho1 around *lobally: all invitations come from

Russia and the com1any that *ets it for you &ill have a base in Russia. >t doesn't make a difference

&hether its &ebsite is based in /ermany, U+, US2 or S&a3iland. 7any embassies and consulates

only require a co1y of the invitation, ho&ever this is not al&ays the case so check &ith the embassy

or consulate beforehand. >f the ori*inal invitation is required it &ill have to be flo&n from Russia

any&ay. >t is only a11lyin* for the visa itself that *enerally requires the a11lication to be made in the

a11licant's homeland.

2 tourist invitation 0also called reservation confirmation4 is a letter of confirmation of bookin* and

1reE1ayment of accommodation and travel arran*ements in Russia. >t is accom1anied by a tourist

vouc(er . "hese t&o documents can be issued by =*overnment a11roved= tour o1erators, hotels,

online hotel bookin* services or Russian travel a*encies 0several Russian travel a*encies have

offices outside Russia and are ade1t at facilitatin* visa a11lications4. =/overnment a11roval= here

means that the or*ani3ation in question has a =consular reference= and has been re*istered &ith the

Russian 7inistry of !orei*n 2ffairs. nly hotels and travel a*encies that have a consular reference

can issue confirmations valid for visa 1ur1oses. An ordinary (otel boo)ing is not sufficient to

constitute an invitation! Some hotels char*e a fee to issue the invitation.

ookin* one ni*ht in a hotel &ill *et you an invitation valid for one day 0maybe t&o4 and hence the

resultin* visa &ill be valid for a very brief time. *or independent travellers planning to travel

around +ussia, it is best to get an invitation t(roug( an agency. "hese a*encies &ill issue a

confirmation for a fee 0a11ro-. M


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6onsider *ettin* a private-(omestay visa if you have friends or relatives in Russia 0they do not

necessarily have to be Russian4. "hey &ould need to seek an invitation throu*h their local )ass1ort

and Disa Aivision of the !ederal 7i*ration Service 0formerly D>R4. "hese invitations tend to take at

least a month to 1rocess. "he invitin* individual also becomes solely res1onsible for all your activities

&hile in Russia and can be 1enali3ed heavily if somethin* &ere to *o &ron*. ecause of this,

1ersonal invitations are usually not available for a fee throu*h the net.

.usiness invitations are issued by the *overnment. "hey are *enerally timeEconsumin* and costly

to acquire but they can be quickly arran*ed for e-orbitant fees. 2ny re*istered com1any in Russia

can a11ly for a business invitation. "ravel a*encies and visa s1ecialists can also *et them issued for

you. usiness visas have lon*er validity than tourist visas. ein* a tourist on a business

visa "* 1ermitted, so anyone &antin* more than a


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may acce1t 1ayment by card, they may insist on a money order. 6heck &ith the embassy or

consulate beforehand E in most cases it &ill be on their &ebsite.

Recently, visa a11lication centres have been o1ened in several countries, &here the a11lication form

can be handed in &ith no a11ointment needed. Note that &hile these offices are outsourced to

1rivate com1anies, they are fully official. >n fact, if there is one available in your re*ion, you &ill beredirected there by the embassy. Fou can check here if there is one nearby. 8o&ever, these

com1anies levy a further unavoidable application fee on to1 of the visa fees stated belo&. !or

a11lications made in the U+ 0by a citi3en of any country4 the a11lication fee is /)%.HG for

standard service and /)t is usually 1rinted in both Russian and n*lish thou*h other

lan*ua*es may be available. U1on leavin* Russia, a lost mi*ration card may be overlooked &ith the

hel1 of a nominal fine. elarus is a s1ecial case because Russia and elarus run a common borderand share the same mi*ration card.

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Usually, you &ill be 1ermitted to enter and remain in Russia for the term of your visa 0or the term

sti1ulated by visaEe-em1tion a*reement, if a11licable4. >mmi*ration officers are very unlikely to use

their 1o&er to decide other&ise.

"hose &ho enter Russia &ith valuable electronic items or musical instruments 0es1ecially violins that

look antique and e-1ensive4, antiques, lar*e amounts of currency, or other such items are required todeclare them on the customs entry card and must insist on havin* the card stam1ed by a customs

officer u1on arrival. ven if the customs officer claims that it is not necessary to declare such items,

insist on a stam1 on your declaration. 8avin* this stam1 may 1revent considerable hassle 0fines,

confiscation4 u1on de1arture from Russia should the customs a*ent at de1arture decide that an item

should have been declared u1on entry.

+egistration[edit]

Iust like in many uro1ean countries, u1on arrivin* in any ne& d&ellin*, you must

be registered &ithin 9 business days of arrivin*. Four host at that d&ellin* 0not necessarily the one

&ho issued the invitation4 is res1onsible for re*isterin* you. Re*istration is done at 1ost offices, costs

money and involves a lot of hassle. "he 1roof of re*istration is a se1arate 1iece of 1a1er &ith a bi*blue stam1 on it. order *uards have neither authority nor 1ossibility to check if the duty to re*ister

has ever e-isted and evaded.

Nevertheless, it is &orth insistin* to be re*istered at least in the first city you visit. 6orru1t checkEin

staff at dod*y hotels &ill not let you check in &ithout seein* your 1rior re*istration if you've been in

Russia for more than 9 business days. 6orru1t 1olice and border staff in remote areas &ill insist that

a lack of re*istration is your faultB it may cost you more than 1ayin* the re*istration fee.

(ar*e hotels are accredited &ith the !ederal 7i*ratory Service and arran*e re*istration automatically

and &ithout fee on the day of arrival.

+ee1 visa &oes in 1ers1ectiveKit used to be harder to travel around here.

5verstaying a visa[edit]

>f you overstay, even by a fe& minutes, you &ill likely be 1rohibited from leavin* until you obtain avalid e-it visa. Fou8+6 be able to obtain a visa e-tension from the consular officer at an air1ort

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a*ainst the 1ayment of a fine if you overstayed for fe&er than three days, but this is not *uaranteed.

/enerally, thou*h, obtainin* an e-tension requires an intervention by your s1onsor, a 1ayment of a

fine, and a &ait of u1 to three &eeks.

e careful if your fli*ht leaves after midni*ht and be a&are of the time at &hich the train crosses the

border. order *uards &ill not let you de1art if you're leavin* even #Gmin after your visa e-1iresQ 2common 1itfall is the 8elsinkiEbound train, &hich only enters !inland after midni*ht.

>f your overstay &as due to reasons such as medical 1roblems, the !ederal 7i*ration Service may

instead issue a -8% ;%(/!'


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Airport %(eremetyevo has under*one ma5or e-1ansion in G#G &ith t&o ne& terminals

commissioned and consists of five terminals. "erminals 0old SheremetyevoE#4 and 6 are located on

the northern ed*e of the air1ort and 1rovide mostly domestic and charter services. "erminals A and

o1erate since Aecember G#G alon* &ith older "erminal ! 0old SheremetyevoE, built for Summer

lym1ics in 7osco& in #@$G4. "erminal A hosts domestic and international 2eroflot fli*hts, "erminals

and ! host international fli*hts o1erated mostly by Sky"eam alliance.

Domodedovo is a quite modern air1ort &ith a sin*le s1acious terminal. >t serves both domestic and

international fli*hts by most Russian and international com1anies. Unfortunately, over a fe& last

years, the air1ort has been increasin*ly sufferin* from overcro&din*.

Vnu)ovo is a smaller air1ort and is *enerally o1erated by lo&Ecost airlines. 2s of 7arch G#, it

under*oes a ma5or renovation &ith a construction of a ne& s1acious terminal buildin*. 2 fe& Star

2lliance airlines have recently s&itched their o1erations to Dnukovo.

"here are air1orts in all lar*e cities in Russia. Some international service can be found

in: Novosibirsk, Sochi, Dladivostok, +alinin*rad, katerinbur*. >nternational service to other

destinations is much more limited.

(ocal airlines are listed in /et around.
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