This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kpalion (talk | contribs) at 22:46, 24 November 2004 (dab kremlin). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 22:46, 24 November 2004 by Kpalion (talk | contribs) (dab kremlin)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Tourism > Tourism in Russia
Russia is not the typical country for westerners to go to during their vacations though it has much to offer: Russia has rich cultural heritage, embodied in the cities of Moscow with Tretyakovskaya Gallery, Bolshoy Theater or the Kremlin's collections, and Saint Petersburg on river Neva, close to the Baltic Sea, with its famous "white nights", the art collections of the Hermitage Museum and the Russian Museum.
In the countryside there are many little towns with old cloisters and castles. There are cities with an own rich tradition like Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg) on the Baltic Sea coast, Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, Tver, Nizhni Novgorod, Kirov, Ekaterinburg or Rostov.
Famous for tourists are trips on the big rivers like Volga, Lena or Enissey as well as trips on the famous Trans-Siberian railway to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. Russia is not only cold: The coasts of Black Sea and Caspian Sea offer a climate like the Mediterranean Sea. A famous city for vacations on the beach is Sochi.
The Crimea is also a favourite vacation resort; even though this autonomous region is in Ukraine, many people associate it with Russia because of its long historical connection to Russia. Yalta is the best known vacation center, though Sevastopol is also well known.
Russia is famous for vodka and for various foods, including caviar, borscht, shashlik and potato pancakes (although this is actually a Jewish dish not only found in Russia).
Russia presents many obstacles to the foreign tourist. The visa system is antiquated and costly. Hotels are too few and too expensive in the main cities. Also, with the recent terrorist actions being associated with the darker-skinned Caucasian population, official police racism against all dark skin people is rife.
Visas
Nearly all nationalities require a visa to visit Russia. Visas are not issued without an official invitation, approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some Hotels, schools, and with great difficulties, private people are allowed to issue these invitations. Many companies my also issue invitations and several companies specialise in issuing invitations, charging between $30 and $500 for the various different forms of invitation. With an invitation in hand, the Russian Consulate then may or may not issue a visa, following some weeks of paperwork and the payment of a visa fee of between $70 and $300, depending the tourist's nationality and country of application. On arrival in Russia the visa must be registered with the Police within 3 days. This involves a further fee of about $15. The official fine for not registering is about $100, however the unofficial bribe is around $6. Few independent travellers bother to register as it is cheaper and easier to pay a bribe when questioned.
Category: