Travel to Russia

Russia (Russian Росси́я, transliteration Rossiya) - more fully known as the Russian Federation (Russian Росси́йская Федера́ция, transliteration Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) - is a vast country in Eastern Europe and northern Asia

Russia has both extensive Arctic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean coastlines, as well as smaller coastlines on the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Russia is bordered by Norway and Finland to the northwest, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine to the west, Georgia and Azerbaijan to the southwest, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia to the south, and China and North Korea to the southeast. The American state of Alaska lies opposite the easternmost point of Russia across the Bering Strait.

Russia also administers the exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania.

Russia is the largest country in the world by far; spanning twelve time zones, its territory covers nearly twice as much of the earth as that of the next largest country, Canada. Despite its massive size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture. Instead it has huge reserves of some of the world's most important resources (oil, gas, coal, platinum, gold, chrome, asbestos). Mount Elbrus (Gora El'brus), at 5,633 m, is Europe's, and Russia's, tallest peak.

Climate

Climate ranges from steppes in the south to humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along the Arctic coast.

Cities

Here is a representative sample of nine Russian cities with their Anglicized and Russian Cyrillic names:

• Moscow (Москва) — Russia's gargantuan capital is one of the world's greatest cities and has endless attractions to offer an adventurous visitor

• Irkutsk (Иркутск) — the world's favorite Siberian city, located within an hour of Lake Baikal on the Trans-Siberian Railway
• Kazan (Казань) — the world's capital of Tatar culture is an attractive city in the heart of the Volga Region with an impressive kremlin
• Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород) — often overlooked despite being one of the largest cities in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod is well worth a visit for its kremlin, Sakharov museum, and nearby Makaryev Monastery
• Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) — Russia's cultural and former political capital is home to the Hermitage, one of the world's best museums, while the city center is a living open air museum in its own right, making this city one of the world's top travel destinations
• Sochi (Сочи) — Russia's favorite Black Sea beach resort has been largely unknown to foreigners, but that is set to change in a major way when it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympic Games
• Vladivostok (Владивосток) — often referred to (somewhat ironically) as "Russia's San Francisco," full of hilly streets and battleships, this is Russia's principal Pacific city and the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway
• Volgograd (Волгоград) — formerly Stalingrad, the scene of perhaps the deciding battle of World War II, and now home to a massive war memorial
• Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбург) — the center of the Urals region and one of Russia's principal cultural centers is a good stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway and an arrival point for visitors to the Urals

  Passports, Visas, and other documents

   Visas

  Citizens of most non-Russia or CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries must obtain a visa prior to arriving in Russia. Citizens of Croatia (3 months, invitation required), Cuba (30 days), and Thailand (30 days) do not need a visa. Obtaining a Russian visa is a costly, time-consuming, and often frustrating process. Most visitors should start the process at least two months in advance, but it can be done in a few weeks if you are willing to spend a little extra. There is also a way to get a visa in just a few days, but for citizens of some countries, this will cost a couple hundred dollars. For citizens of EU countries, this will cost €70 and take three days, instead of the usual 4-10 days.

  Getting a Russian visa

  ation Card

  When you go through passport control into Russia, you will give the border official a filled-in migration card. You should be given the card back, and it should be stamped. You must carry this card with you at all times in Russia, and you may be asked for it when you leave. You receive the migration card while you're en-route to Russia, either on the train or in the plane. It is a small white piece of paper nearly the size of two index cards. There are two parts: one for exit and one for entry. When you cross the border the 'entry' portion is taken and you keep 'exit' part. You must get this card registered. If on a tourist visa, your hotel should do this. If you are on a business visa, usually it is best to do it through the company that got you the invitation. This registration has a fee also, and without it you could get in trouble. Police on the streets will do random passport checks so you must have your passport on you at all times. But you're not alone — this goes for Russian citizens as well.

  By plane

  Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by direct flights from most European capitals, and Moscow also has direct flights many cities in East Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. US non-stop flights from the United States to Russia are offered by Delta (from New York and Atlanta to Moscow) American Airlines (From Chicago to Moscow) and Aeroflot (from New York, Washington and Los Angeles to Moscow). There is also non-stop service offered from Toronto, Canada. There are airports in all large cities in Russia. Some international service can be found in: Novosibirsk, Sochi, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg. International service to other destinations is much more limited.

  Low-cost air-lines from Europe:

  From Austria:

  • NIKI flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Vienna (Vienna International Airport). Approximate one-way price — EUR 99.

  From Germany:

  • Air Berlin  flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Berlin (Berlin Tegel), Duesseldorf (Düsseldorf International), Munich (Franz Josef Strauss Airport) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport). There is also a connection from Berlin (Berlin Tegel) to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport). Approximate one-way price — EUR 110
  • Germanwings flies to Moscow (Vnukovo International Airport) from Berlin (Berlin Schönefeld), Cologne (Köln Bonn Airport), Hamburg (Hamburg Airport) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport). There are also connections from Berlin (Berlin Schönefeld) and Cologne (Köln Bonn Airport) to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport). Approximate one-way price — USD 100.

  From Italy:

  • Evolavia  flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Ancona (Raffaello Sanzio Airport) on Wednesday. Approximate one-way price — EUR 140.
  • Wind jet flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Catania (Fontanarossa International Airport), Forlì (L. Ridolfi), Palermo and Verona. Approximate one-way price — EUR 90.

  From Norway:

  • Norwegian flies to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport) from Oslo (Oslo Airport). Approximate one-way price — EUR 94.

  From Spain:

  • clickair  flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Barcelona (Barcelona Airport). Approximate one-way price — EUR 179.

  From United Arab Emirates

  • Emirates Air flies to Domodedovo International. New jets, high quality, a little pricey.

  Transferring between the international and domestic terminals at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) can be difficult for a non-Russian speaker. Many therefore arrange for a (pricey) private car in advance.

   By train

  Train service is usually reliable. You can get a direct train from many cities in Eastern and Central Europe to Moscow and sometimes Saint Petersburg, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Berlin, Budapest and Warsaw are all possible departure points with daily services to Russia. Most long distance trains have 2 to 6 passengers per room, 4 being the most common. The Trans-Siberian Railway spans the entire country and connects with Chinese cities such as Beijing and Harbin, as well as Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar.

   By car

  Traveling in Russia by car can be difficult. Roads may be poorly marked, if marked at all, and poorly maintained — especially outside the cities and towns. Car rental services are only starting to develop in major cities such as Moscow or Saint Petersburg, and are expensive.

  Crossing the border by car is a peculiar entertainment.

  There is no doubt that car travel is the best way to see the country, but it is a risky enterprise which is recommended only for the brave and capable.

  Russian highways have highway patrol police (GAI) roadblock every 20 km or so. If you have an international license plate, prepare to pay a bribe ($5-$20) in some of the most corrupt regions (e.g., in the Caucasus). Russian traffic rules are very numerous and you will be found violating some of them. If you decide not to pay, at best you should expect to spend several hours at every road block.

  Service is scarce and poor, and the countryside can be quite dangerous without experience and fluency in the Russian language.

  It is possible to travel safely by car in Russia using a private licensed guide. Traveling independently is not recommended, especially for the non-Russian speaker. Guides generally provide their own cars or vans and know the roads, the customs and the countryside making seeing small towns and historic sites possible.

  By bus

  A few bus companies, most notably Eurolines, operate international coach services from a number of destinations to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw and Berlin all have regular services to Russia.

   By boat

  • Ferry services operate in the summer between Sochi and Turkey's Trabzon.