Russia - Ryssland

Russia is a country in Russia and the Caucasus, but is due to its size spread over several continents.

Planning before the trip

Visa required. To get a tourist visa, proof of a paid hotel reservation is required for all the nights you want to stay in Russia. This is much easier via a Swedish travel agency that has a Russian permit. In addition, proof is needed that the travel insurance is valid in Russia (obtained from your insurance company), and passport photo. Then you apply at the embassy or consulate. The passport will be there during the ongoing application. Some travel agents may do this for you. You should have one month for the whole process.

To take with you to Russia

If you are going to the northern or northeastern part of Russia, you need warm clothes. In winter, extra warm clothes are needed.

To bring with you from Russia

Russian caviar: икра (ikra, which means "fish roe"). Caviar from Russia is also available in Sweden, but note that the product we in Sweden a little carelessly call "Russian caviar" in fact usually comes from Iran or sometimes also Azerbaijan.

Facts about Russia

Russia is the world's largest country and is 38 times larger than Sweden. The land area takes up 1/8 of the earth.

History

The locals

Climate

Holidays

Regions

Cities

Million cities

• Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Chelyabinsk, Ufa and Volgograd

Northwest Russia

• Arkhangelsk, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Tver

Other cities

• Belgorod, Sarov, Sochi, Tiksi, Vladivostok

Getting to Russia

Keep in mind the dates of visas and tickets as it is still expensive to make mistakes in Moscow. Leaving the country too late gives a fine at best, or you may be forced to ask the hotel you stayed at to apply for an extension of the visa, which takes at least a week.

Buses depart daily from Helsinki to St. Petersburg.

Direct trains depart daily from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, via Viborg, and night trains to Moscow. It is also possible to take direct trains from many Eastern and Central European cities, among others Tallinn, Riga, Berlin, Budapest and Warsaw, to Moscow, and sometimes St. Petersburg. If you take a night train, you have to count on the day when the border is crossed in the visa application, otherwise you risk a lot of problems. The Moscow-Helsinki night train, for example, arrives at the border early in the morning, and you must therefore have the date as the registered departure date.

The Trans-Siberian Railway goes to the Chinese cities Beijing and Harbin, but also to Mongolians capital Ulaanbaatar.

There are cruises that dock in different cities in the Baltic Sea, so that it is possible to go from Stockholm to St. Petersburg, for example. Cruise tourists have a much simpler visa procedure, where the cruise line arranges everything and gets a visa-like visitor permit on board.

Driving can be the best way to see places outside of cities, but there are problems. Roads, however, are often bad and poorly signposted, and only in Cyrillic letters. Police officers can be corrupt. Most can only speak Russian. Some kind of knowledge of Russian and a Russian phrasebook is highly recommended.

Relocation in Russia

Payment

Accommodation

Food and drinks

To see

To do

• Trans-Siberian Railway

Work

Communication

Security

Respect

Problem solver

Other