Passport & Visa Requirements In Russia
These are extensive complex and subject to change. Please note that there are special regulations where you are accompanied by children. For further information contact the Russian Consulate via our consulate page
Important Note:
Passport Requirement
Your passport must be valid for six months on the date you enter Russia
Personal ID
During your stay in Russia by law you have to carry your passport with you as identification. Do not leave it in your hotel or apartment. If you cannot produce on demand a on the spot fine is payable.
Currency Laws (subject to variation)
You can import into and from Russia up to 3,000 US dollars or similar amount in any currency without having to declare it.
If you want to import or export currency or cheques that are equivalent to and over 3000 US dollars & up to 10,000 US dollars you must declare it.
You are not allowed to import or export currency or traveller cheques that is equivalent to 10,000 US dollars or more.
Emergency Medical Treatment In Russia
Russia does provide some limited emergency medical treatment for some visitors including visitors from the UK
Vaccinations
Tuberculosis & Rabies exist in Russia. Tick-borne encephalitis is present in rural and wooded areas. You should take medical advice about posible innoculations on these issues.
Cautionary Notes
Food & Drink
Drink only bottled water during your stay and be aware the food poisoning is not uncommon.
Taklng Photos
Photographing government buildings, airports, military installations and officials wearing uniform may result in you being arrested on spying charges.
Beware Of Anyone Who Contacts You & Promises You From Russia With Love !
One of the biggest scams on the net in recent years is the Russian girl (& sometimes Bulgarian or Romanian) who is looking for real love with a man in the West.
These advances are often made unsolicited in a 'chance' email or through legitimate dating sites. Some times they are accompanied by photographs which may or may not be explicit - the naked ones usually come afterwards. At some point you will be asked to send some money to help with an emergency or to fund a trip for your lover to visit you. Then she will dissappear !
Travel In Russia
Cautionary Note:
In Moscow and throughout Russia especially in the Southern cauces there is a risk of terrorism please see the t travel warnings page
Rail Travel In Russia
Rail services in Russia are generally reliable. Carriage conditions are basic and some journeys can be very slow. Passengers should be extremely vigilant on all overnight trains (national or international) where petty criminals operate. If you intend to use a sleeping compartment on a night train you should check thar door is secured properly. Do not leave valuables unattended at anytime. Normally there is a storage box for personal items under the bed. For information on Russian Rail Services see the euromost european rail page
Road Travel In Russia
Cautionary Note:
During the winter Russia suffers from very severe weather conditions heavy snow and extremely cold temperatures - see the Moscow City Guide and the St Petersburg City Guide. These conditions can occur between October and April. Motorists travelling in Russia during the winter are advised to check the weather forecast and road conditions before setting out. They are also advised to carry mobile phones for use in an emergency along with emergency supplies of food and warm drinks especially if they are going on a long journey. Winter tyres / snow chains should be fitted to vehicles.
There are numerous laws that apply to foreign drivers who can generally owny driver in ussia if they have an international driving licence. Euromost advises visitors to contact the Russian Consulate for the latest information.
Road conditions in Russians cities are generally adequate but elsewhere they can often be poor and some very rural areas very poor. In towns and cities the speed limit is 60 KPH elsewhere it is 90 KPH except on motorways where it is generally 100KPH. Motorists who have not held a full licence for two years are not allowed to exceed 70 KPH
Road conditions in Russians cities are generally adequate but elsewhere they can often be poor and some very rural areas very poor. In towns and cities the speed limit is 60 KPH elsewhere it is 90 KPH except on motorways where it is generally 100KPH. Motorists who have not held a full licence for two years are not allowed to exceed 70 KPHs. Russia has a tolerance of people who drink ar take drugs and drive. Police regularly carry out on the spot checks to enforce this policy and 'enthusatically look out' for drivers who are speeding.
Air Travel In Russia
Cautionary Note:
Flight Arrivals & Departures To And From 100 + European Airports
Welcome to the euromost.info Russian Directory
The euromost.info's Russian Travel Guide with general info on: the national tourist board & local city tourist boards, EU status, currency & weather, low cost airlines offering bargain or cheap European flights and International Airlines flying to Moscow or St Petersburg airport. Also details of the Russian Rail Network and main coach services, sources of Consular advice and Travel Warnings where given. The Russia Country Profile includes details of its economy, history, population & religion. The Moscow City Break Guide St Petersburg City Break Guide includes info on the main sightseeing attractions, , accommodation and hotels. Moscow and St Petersburg are two of 39 Euromost cities. More
Russia Population
Moscow is the Capital of the largest geographical country in the world which has a population of over 145 miliion living in eleven time zones. 82% of the population are Russian with the other 18% being made up of more than one hundred nationalities.
Russia Religion
The leading religions are Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddist
Russia Currency
The official currency is the rouble, but American dollars are widely accepted.
Russia Language
The official language is Russian
Russia Economy - Business
Economically Putin has presided over a stable economy with an annual growth rate of over 4% which has helped him legislate to reform banking practices, tax collection and anti-money laundering measures. Though inflation remains in double figures the prospects for the Russian economy are good if a policy of economic reform is maintained.
Russia has vast oil reserves which are under utilised which have attracted substantial American and British investment over the last few years. Apart from oil the other major industries are gas, timber, metals, machinery and chemicals.
Germany, the United States, and Belarus are Russia's major trading partners who account for about 25% of their international trade. Prospects for an expansion of Russia's trade with the rest of the world will increase in 2007 when she is expected to join the World Trade Organsation
Crime Personal Safety & Security In Moscow and St Petersburg
Throughout Russia there is risk of terrorism linked to Chechnya and other extremists from the Northern Caucasuses.These threats include bombings, hostage taking and suicide attacks in public places. Moscow is often a primary target. A passenger train from Chechnya to Moscow was derailed by an explosion, a bomb was left on the metro in Moscow, another blew up at a Moscow bus stop and two Russian airliners on internal flights were destroyed by suicide bombers.
In the past Moscow has seen other terrorist acts on metro trains, in a hotel, market and a theatre.
St Petersburg and Moscow have pick pockets and muggers especially in and near railway stations. These may involve chidren and women. Theft from hotel rooms and cars is a problem. Beware of strangers in bars and night clubs who may spike your drinks inorder to rob you.
Several tourists have been held up at knife point in St Petersburg and robbed on public transport. Bogus police officers operate in both cities. Racist attacks may also occurr by skinheads on Asians and Afro- Caribbeans. For more information use the FC0 link in Travel Warnings.
Russia Tourism - Travel
Russia has become a popular tourist destination and this will continue as it is now a main target for the low cost airlines.
Russia Passport and Customs Controls
The Russian Immigration and Custom Officers are very diligent and take their responsibilties very seriously. Both departments do not suffer fools glady. It is essential that you check that your passport and any visa if required is in order before departing for any Russian destination.
Visitors who do not know precisely what is in their luggage or are cagey about the purpose of any personal effects are an open invitation for a full scale search.
These policies are adhered to universally at Russian border posts whether they are are at airports, seaports or cross- border points. Euromost is aware that these checks can be made with great enthusiam at out of the way cross border posts irrespective of the time of day or night.
A prospective visitor to this country who attempts to enter without compliant documentation may not be able to resolve the issue at the point of entry. As discretion in these matters is not an official policy visitors in these situations are more than likely to be refused entry. Whether you visiting Russia on a package trip or independently it is your responsibilty to have the correct documentation. Please see use the link on the Consulate page to ascertain what this is.
When in Rome do as the Romans do.
Profile: The New Russian President Medvedev Unveiled
In western terms Dmitry Medvedev background is middle class. He was born on September 14th 1965 in the then named Leningrad now St Petersburg. where his parents were lecturers at the city's university. In an intervies with ITOGI a Russian news magazine (endorsed by the Kremlin) Mr Medevdev said farm workers, a blacksmith and a hat maker were amongst ancestors. He also recollected living in a small 40sq. m council flat in Kupchino just outside St Petersburg. He also makes reference to his employment s a street cleaner which funded his higher education.
Whilst at secondary school he became close friends with another pupil 'Svetlana' who he later married at the age of 26. Amongst the things they shared were the hope of one day being able to by Deep Purple Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin records and jeans.
They have one son IIYA born in 1996. Mr Medvedev is an avid collector of vinyl records and has every vinyl record released by Deep Purple even though their music was the former communist state.
He is reported to swim nearly a mile every night and morning, regularly weight train, jog and practice yoga. He is a supporter of the Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club. Other interests include chess reading and writing. He also appreciates 'internet slang dialect' which he believes can be utilised as a tool of literacy and promoting culture.
He studied 'Civil Law ' at the former Leningrad University (now renamed St Petersburg University) . After his Civil Law graduation in 1987 he obtained a Phd in Private Law in 1990. Between 1991 and 1996 he worked in an advisory capacity for Vladmir Putin at the Mayor Office in St Petersburg. His education is similiar to that of Mr Putin except that Mr Putin also studied philosophy before working for the KGB in Berlin.
Whilst in St Petersburg Mr Medvedev also worked between 1993 and 1999 as the Legal Director of a timber merchants IIim Pulp serving on the board of one of their subsidaries. In December 1999 just weeks begore he became President, Mr Putin appointed him as the Deputy Head of the Kremlin's Presidential Staff.
He was a key advisor to Mr Putin in the Russian 2000 Presidential Election Campaign. After Mr Putin became Russian President, Mr Medvedev was appointed was appointed to head the Gazprom Board of Directors a company which the Russian Government hold a 51% stake in. He held this position until 2003 when he became the Head of the Kremlin's Presidential Staff following the retirement of his former boss.
His loyalty to Putin as the As Head of Presidential Staff was rewarded in November 2005 when he was apponted First Deputy Primeminster and First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Priority National Projects. This project was established by Mr Putin in the aurumn of that year with the objective of improving social welfare in areas such as agriculture, education health and housing.
In December 2007 Mr Putin announced that Mr Medvedev was his preferred succesor as Russian President. This endorsement by Mr Putin's who is probaby the most popular Rusian President ever, is thought to have assured his election as President even though he has stood or been elected to any public office before.
Many observers of Russian Politics believe that he will be a 'puppet' president with the strings being pulled by the new Primemister Putin. Though this may have some truth it's accuracy may ve overstated. Mr Medvedev and Mr Putin have been close friends for nearly two decades and worked together on a day to day basis for the last three years. They share very similiar outlooks on life in some respects, though Mr Medvedev is more enigmatic.
Unlike Mr Putin, Mr Medvedev is not tied to a any political ideology (he has been quoted as say ideologies are harmful) and never been a member of a political party. At 23 he was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church, which he on reflection he described as ' the moment, I believe, a new life started for me," he said. Unlike his predecessor he has not served in the former KGB and the FSB that replaced it.
Though a supporter of free enterprise he has been critical of the power 'Oligarts' Russian billionaires who made their fortune after the fall of communism and under the Yeltsin Presidency. As first Deputy Primeminster he legislated reforms in the relationship between the Kremlin and the Oligarts.
However his pragmatic attitude to life was illustated in January 2007 when he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "We aim to create big Russian corporations and will back their foreign economic activities. "But the role of the state certainly should not involve telling any particular company or sector how to carry out diversification. "Even if the state retains a controlling interest... we aim to create public companies with a substantial share of foreign investment in their capital." It is thought by some commentators in that time he will render a more moderate approach to the West than is evident in present Russian 's Policy though changes in American Foreign Policy might be a pre-quisite of this.
In 2007 he published a paper on social policy and economic development in the Russia which is used in Russian universities. He is also the co-author of a new publication 'A Commentary on the Federal Law "On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation..
Those who know meet him often comment on how courteous and respectful he is but he is renowned for not suffering fools glady or in practice
Editorial Comment:
Is Medvedev Merely Putin's Puppet ?
Mr Putins comment in Febuary 2007 that he does need not need tutoring may prove correct. Whilst the tag of nepotism is inevitable when looking at the power sharing in the Kremlin it is difficult to believe that Mr Medvedev would want to be part a 'cold war' but he like Putin is proudly Russian and would not shy away from any threatened Russian soverignity.
His pragmatic nature suggests he would equally be prepared to facilitate improved relations with the west especially the United States but that willingness will not be evident whilst the US persists on siting missile bases on Eastern Europe
An enlightening and interesting site about rural Russian life. Tailormade for visitors travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg so much so that you might not want to reach either!
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Russia Travel Information Guide
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Russia Official National Russian Tourist Board Office
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Moscow City Break Business Travel & Tourist Guide sightseeing, attractions, restaurants, hotel and apartment accommodation, nightlife clubs,and public transport in Moscow with a Moscow overview
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where ever you are - where ever you are going - euromost.info will help
Russia History
The roots of modern Russia can be traced back four hundred years to the trading area of 'Muscovy' which emerged to dominate neighbouring principalities.
Ivan 1V (often referred to as Ivan the Terrible became the first Tsar), followed by the three hundred year rule of the Romanov family which famously included Peter the Great and later Catherine the Great in the eighteenth century.
The rule of the Tsars ended in October 1917 with the Bolshevik Revolution led by Lenin. A decade of internal power struggles within the ruling Communist Party followed until Stalin became its leader in 1929 until his death in 1953.
Stalin's intransigence to economic reform was in part ameriolated by his successors Khrushchev and Brezhnev but significant reforms of Russian economics and politics awaited the election of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985
Beginning Of A New Era - Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev's policy of 'glasnos' (openness) won him world wide acclaim and some view him as one of the greatest international statesmen of the 20th century.
At home he was not as popular - his implementation of the economic policy of perestroika (restructuring) though radical was too late to address the inheritent problems of the Russian economy.
This failure though partly the responsibilty of the west, was reportedly highlighted by the old guard who openly charged him with be responsible for the break up of the USSR. He resigned in 1991 several months after a failed coup which gave his successor Yeltsin the political initiative.
Further Reading: 'Perestroika' by Mikhail Gorbachev (Collins) ISBN 0-00-637356-9
Yeltsin
Yeltsin presidency lasted five years during which his attempts to continue the reforms already underway met mounting opposition.
In 1993 he attempted to abolish the existing parliment which when it rebelled he ordered tanks to open fire on.
He won the political battle but his subsequent reforms were so unpopular that he resigned on Millenium Night.
Vladimir Putin, former KGB agent in Berlin, was first elected President in the spring of 2000 and again in 2004. His presidency has been dominated by attempts to re-assert Moscow's control over Russia's regions. He has strengthed ties with Belarus, but the new orders in Georgia, and the Ukraine coupled with unrest in Chetyna and other caucases indicate this policy has not worked well.
He was probably the most popular president ever in Russia due to his economic policies which significantly improved living standards and established Russia as a major economic force. In the eyes of many Russians Putin gave them back their dignity.
The disagreements between Gazprom (whom the Russia's Government hold a 51% share in) and the Ukraine in 2006 caused disruption to exports of Russian gas to Central Europe. Putin noted this and has at times used the dependency of neighbouring Belarus and the Ukraine on Russian gas as a political lever in an attempt to deter these states from 'going west' like other former Soviet occupied states.
Putin, who is markedly proud of his nationality distrusted the West partly because of various aspects of George W, Bush's Foriegn policy. The detoriating relationship between the two countries was viewed by some as the start of a new 'cold war'. This perception was enhanced by Putin willingness to illustrate Russia's capabilties by, for example, flying military aircraft which had been mothballed since the communist governments he once worked for fell.
Many critics charged Putin as having the poltics of these former soviet governments. This is doubtful given his economic policies but his means of staying in power mirrored the old school. He was widely critiised for his policy of silencing critics and the Kremlin's increasing control of the media.
As a president he was good for Russia and he may not have needed to resort to habits of a bygone era. Internationally these unhealthy traits caused concern.
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