Russia - Venäjä

Russia is located in both In Europe that In Asia. Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area.

Regions

Russia is geographically divided into eight regions:

Cities

• Moscow
• Peter
• Nizhny Novgorod
• Novosibirsk
• Yekaterinburg
• Vladivostok
• Irkutsk
• Murmansk
• Vyborg
• Petrozavodsk
• Kaliningrad
• Vladivostok
• Velsk

Understand

History

Russia has been ruled by the empire for a couple of hundred years. The empire collapsed in World War I, after which the area was ruled by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991 and since then the region has been presidential-led.

Come

Russia has all the people always carry a passport, visa and certificate of registration. A photocopy of your passport or visa is not officially valid. (This also applies to Russian citizens.) However, do not carry your passport with you at night, photocopies valid for tourists (many hotels collect passports and registration forms for the duration of your stay).

A Finn always needs a visa for Russia. Obtaining a visa without an invitation is impossible. Travel agencies that mediate Russian visas will always also handle the acquisition of the invitation. For this reason, using a travel agency to obtain a visa is often the easiest way.

The different visa options for Russia are:

• Single visit visa, up to 30 days
• Two-visit visa, up to 90 days
• One-year visa, (old) unlimited number of visits, (new) 180 days, half during the first half and half during the second half.

From the beginning of December 2008, you can travel to Russia by car ferry without a visa. It can be 72 hours without a visa. See section By boat.

Upon arrival in Russia, the visitor will be there as soon as possible to be registered itself. Registration must be made if the stay in Russia lasts more than 7 days. Previously, registration had to be done within three days. There are practically two ways to complete the registration. Registration may be made by the person issuing the visa invitation. Often, especially when obtaining a visa through a travel agency, the visa holder does not know where this inviting organization is located. Another way to register is with an official accommodation company, a hotel or hostel.

Customs clearance form it is worth doing on arrival in and departure from the country if you are carrying money or other valuable items worth USD 3,000 - 10,000. You can get the form from the border station. Be sure to check that the form is stamped by customs. If the amount exceeds $ 10,000, customs clearance should be done. The average traveler no longer has to take part in this bureaucracy.

By plane

Finnair operates flights from Helsinki to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Ekaterinburg.

Aeroflot operates flights between Helsinki and Moscow.

By train

There is a direct train connection from Helsinki via Vyborg To St. Petersburg and forward To Moscow (13.4 hours). Nowadays you can get from Helsinki To St. Petersburg Allegrolla. The duration of the trip is 3.5 hours.

By bus

A Russian bus takes you from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, price approx. 38 eur. From Helsinki, Lahti, Kouvola, Imatra, Joensuu to Petrozavodsk (price varies according to the length of the trip; Helsinki-Petrozavodsk approx. 35 eur). The duration of the trip from Helsinki to Petrozavodsk (Petrozavodsk) is 12 hours. Petrozavodsk-based travel agency Kakady (www.kakady.net) serves in Finnish and trips can be booked online. The return trip costs about 75 euros.

From Helsinki, buses run to St. Petersburg to the Finnish station (Finlandskij Voksal) and back daily. The bus to Petrozavodsk runs 3 times a week. In addition, private buses run on request by calling a Russian tour operator who will take care of the minibus to pick you up from the front door to the door, the price is about 45 eur. (35 eur Helsinki-St. Petersburg, 5 euros door-to-door search, 5 euros door-to-door import)

You can also take a large Russian bus between St. Petersburg and Helsinki for 15 euros. Buses leave from behind Helsinki Tennis Palace between 10 am and 12 noon and back from Oktjabrskaya Hotel in St. Petersburg at 10 pm.

By boat

In summer, there are cruises between Lappeenranta and Vyborg.

From Helsinki can be reached from St. Petersburg by St. Peter Line [1] on board and both Finnish and foreign ship tourists are allowed to stay in St. Petersburg without a visa for 72 hours. The ship travels three times a week. St Peter Line transports from the port of St. Petersburg by minibus to the center to Isaac's Square and back, it is worth checking the timetables and places online [2] or ship information. A shuttle bus ticket is also required to get to the city from the port (info provided), a ticket is not required for minibuses on the way back. when returning to the ship. The boarding card should also be kept. Alcoholic beverages purchased in St. Petersburg are left on board the so-called for a bottle-rich voyage and given back when the ship arrives in Helsinki.

By road

Russia has both bad and good roads. It would be advisable to have an International Driving Permit, ie an official translation of the national driving license into the world's major languages, which can be obtained from the Finnish Automobile Federation. [3].

When going to Russia by car, in addition to normal travel documents, you need a free Green card from the insurance company, a certificate of the validity of motor insurance. Transport Insurance Center: Russia as a green card country in early 2009

At the border, the driver fills in the customs declaration in two copies, one of which remains at the border, the other at the driver, both copies must be stamped at the border. The driver is given permission to temporarily export the vehicle to Russia. That received permit paper will come absolutely keep and bring the vehicle with you to the border when returning to Finland; otherwise, re-importing the vehicle can be particularly problematic. When returning, the customs declaration is filled in again, now one copy is enough. The customs officer receives the completed customs declaration on departure and stamps and now receives the completed return declaration. In addition, the clerk removes the temporary import permit for the vehicle. See Customs Clearance Form below

Customs clearance form

The driver must fill in 3 customs clearance forms (Таможенная декларация), one of which will remain at the border, the other will be stamped (Note! The third form is no longer needed when leaving the country after the turn of the year 2012/2013. Note. You do not need to enter a start and end date.

The form changed in 2011 and the old forms are no longer valid at the border. The new form (in Russian) is available at the border or on the Internet.

http://eng.customs.ru/images/stories/site_content/files/finnish.pdf

http://eng.customs.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1009&Itemid=1880

Insurance

The requirement for Russian motor insurance from Finnish motorists crossing the eastern border ended at the beginning of 2009, as Russia joined the scope of the green card agreement. You can order a Green Card from your insurance company, which indicates the validity of your motor insurance. The Green Card will be mailed to you within about 1-2 weeks. Check your car's insurance coverage for hull insurance from your insurance company. Traffic damage must always be reported to the Russian Traffic Police, ie GIBDD (before GAI) if compensation is sought. A receipt must be requested for the notification or a copy of the minutes must be taken. A receipt and the resulting protocol are required to establish the culprit for the traffic accident. It is also needed when the insurance company pays compensation for the traffic damage you have caused or when you or the insurance company have the opportunity to claim compensation from the person who caused the damage.

What to say

• Finnish driving license
• international driving license it is recommended to be involved.
• registration
• a power of attorney for the management of the car if the car is not in its own name on the registration certificate
• in the visa "autoturism" an indication of the use of the car in Russia (new visas no longer have a written indication of the driving license, however, the permit to drive at least on all long-term visas)
• 3 customs clearance forms (also available at the border but speeds up border formalities if the forms have been completed in advance).
• telephone numbers in case of problems
• in winter possibly a studded ring symbol

The studded tire code can be obtained, for example, from the Finnish service stations before the border. The ring symbol is a fork without an arm on a white background, inside a red-edged triangle. The logo alerts you to your future stopping efficiency.

• The FIN sticker should be. The EU label on the shield is not enough, but you will survive without it
• fire extinguisher (mandatory from Finns?)
• first aid kit (mandatory only for Russians, ie not to be carried because tongs are definitely thoroughly in duty) July 1, 2010 regulations require first aid kits to have six different bandages, a tourniquet, three types of patches, a respirator, scissors and surgeon's gloves. Iodine, detergents or other medicines no longer need to be in first aid kits.
• warning triangle (required)

It may be helpful to include:

• spare tire (full) and tire change tools (it is almost impossible to buy a new rim to replace a broken rim, a local way to repair a sheet metal rim at a special rim workshop "zinamontaz", towing service plates along the roads in the trees "tow truck")
• tow rope
• fuel canister (preferably a metal Jerry jug, as plastic petrol canisters are not allowed to refuel at border petrol stations).
• tools
• spare key
• snow shovel
• flashlight
• Steering wheel lock
• battery cables
• for longer trips spare parts etc. necessary

Have your car serviced before you leave. You may also want to empty the car of useless goods.

Move

By plane

Especially further east, from time to time, the plane is the only possible means of transport between cities. However, many Russian airlines have a much better reputation and boarding Russian aircraft is often comparable to their Western versions.

By train

Russia has an extensive train network, which is considered faster and safer to use than driving. The longest railway line in the world, the Siberian Railway, which begins From Moscow, and ends after 9,289 kilometers and eight time zone crossings To Vladivostok. The trip is said to be an attraction in itself, and there are several cities worth visiting along it.

A train ticket from St. Petersburg to Moscow, for example, costs 500 rubles at its cheapest. (approx. 15 €) The trains have several cabin classes, platskart (budget), coupe (more expensive), and lux (dearest). Trains are almost invariably sleeping cars.

By bus

Most Russian cities have bus connections to cities 5-6 hours away. While buses are a more inconvenient option, they are a good option on schedule.

In cities, buses are one of the cheapest means of transport (in euros about 0.40 euros). Tickets are purchased from the ticket seller, who will tour the bus to fund it. When traveling by bus from one city to another, you need to buy a bus ticket well in advance from the bus station and luggage that is put in the trunk may be subject to a charge.

By road

In Russia, you can travel perfectly in an ordinary car, van or motorhome. An SUV is not mandatory, but of course more carefree, as you may have bad bumps on you. You can camp almost everywhere and there are also places along the roads. The tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, campfire pots, water container, ax and other camping equipment are thus picked up. No fire permit is required, but when staying in villages it is polite to ask for a place and pay for firewood.

Do not leave valuables in your car. There are places where you should not leave your car overnight. Ask private people about the possibility of keeping in their yard, there are usually guarded parking spaces near the hotel. You will get along with a car. Driving is mainly about driving skills. There is also a challenge for an SUV when looking for it.

Finding unleaded fuel can sometimes prove tricky in remote villages (rare). You get diesel everywhere, but it can be unclean at small stations. Operation may cause the filter to become clogged.

Traffic culture

Traffic behavior in Russia is unpredictable, downright dangerous for the inexperienced. Of course, it is possible that even Russian motorists take care of each other, give way and know how to drive - but many also do not know how. Situational speeds are usually far too high, overtaking (life-threatening) and many cars in illegal condition. The inferior road network cannot withstand the current volume of traffic. Closer to the Finnish border, traffic behavior is more regular, but Finnish law-abiding should not be expected. Driving speeds are also high in the Urban Area and the lights may only be used in the dark or turned on when the oncoming arrival.

If necessary, give way to the right edge, even if you do not do it in a similar situation in Finland. In Karelia in particular, beware of log trucks that transport timber "forest-long" and are a real danger when faced in a bend. It is not special to be bypassed even if you come across a car, the roads are often wide. The opponent may also come at an unexpected point in your lane, but will usually dodge just before the collision. The full width of the road is available when dodging possible bumps and bumps, as long as you leave on your own side before the oncoming. In winter, you should use the side of the inner curve, as the bends may be tilted outwards. In winter, roads are plowed, sanded and salted, but there are also bad grooves. The Road Administration has a constant shortage of equipment.

Drive boldly, yet carefully and vigilantly. Forget the rigid principles of Finnish traffic and do not expect others to follow the rules. In certain situations, however, it is only necessary to drive "in Russian"; don't try to teach the locals bad Finnish customs but rather good ones, ie taking others into account! Make enough time to travel. The condition of the road is not always the best possible - there may also be surprisingly deep bumps and bumps on the main roads, but it is possible to drive Western cars on them according to the driver's skills.

The duty to avoid roundabouts varies, and the roundabout keeps the flashing turned on to the side of the inner curve. Slow drivers give way either by moving sideways, silencing or flashing the blink to the right briefly. In cities, the streets are not necessarily lined but run variably in lanes, however, car-wide lane divisions are followed. Traffic lights are worth respecting because their changeover times are really short, and intersecting cars leave almost as soon as their own lane changes to red. The cities have traffic-free guardrails that pedestrians step on boldly, almost without caring. On the other hand, pedestrians on guardrails are not always respected, as in Finland. It is not at all uncommon that when you stop in front of the guardrail, another car in the adjacent lane may drive past at full speed.

In urban areas 60 km / h, outside the agglomeration 90 km / h, on the motorway 110 km / h. Speeds are easily 90, but 120 is by no means unusual. The better the car, the harder the trip folds. The average speed is easily in the order of 90 km / h in Karelia, for example. Forest roads require good driving skills in a car or SUV.

When you have to ask for directions, flash the lights and drive around the center line in silence: usually the opponent stops - but remember the safety of the stop, whether you drive in Finland or Russia. Flashing lights on the fly usually means radar and police, which are mainly in urban areas, i.e. at villages. The traffic police will hardly stop you, but that is not impossible either. In general, it is sufficient to show a driving license and an extract from the register. There must be no alcohol in the driver's blood at all: the per mille limit is 0, but there are also drunk drivers in traffic. The farther you go to Russia, the more common it is to demand bribes. Formula lizards also occur.

By taxi

Getting around by taxi is affordable, starting at 60-80 rubles. A more common and cheaper way to get around by taxi is to take a car off the street. In Russia, any vehicle works like a taxi. To stand on the side of the street and stand up as if lifting, and a car going in the right direction quickly stops. Inquiry from the driver about the direction of the route and a quick price negotiation, if an agreement is reached, the journey can begin. This informal taxi service is used by all citizens and the service is provided by all citizens. You can stop by car from the ambulance, Lada or limousine. However, the activity is informal and the ride is not worth the sign in the immediate vicinity of the police. This activity is also not recommended for those who do not speak the language.

By boat

Liftaten

The Russians often hitchhike. So why not take them on board? They also usually want a payment for the ride, which means they easily earn gas money. There is no need to have benches in the van either. This is how grandmothers, berries, mushrooms, cats, children and belongings travel comfortably from place to place and create that positive culture! This is also an easy way to get guidance if you are unfamiliar with the big city, for example.

Talk

More than 100 different languages ​​are spoken in Russia, but the official and most common language is Russian. (Look Russian travel dictionary.) The language is written in a Cyrillic writing system with sounds that would be good (though not obligatory) to learn even a little. It is highly recommended to learn even a few simple sentences in Russian, as well as at least a Cyrillic alphabet to understand street names and business signs. There are few dialectal differences in the Russian language, and thus the basic Russian language skills get along well throughout Russia, as well as in all former Soviet countries, such as Belarus.

Proficiency in English in Russia is very variable, usually weak, for example, restaurants may have difficulty doing business in English, but in this situation, someone who understands better is sought. In the business world, English today is the so-called mandatory language proficiency, and in the largest cities (such as Moscow and St. Petersburg) English is spoken to the extent that it is somehow understood. Elsewhere, proficiency in English is basically non-existent, so use a travel vocabulary and be prepared for slow and partly sign language conversations with locals.

Buy

• Maatuškat (матрёшка) are popular souvenirs from Russia and are sold in several markets and market halls.
• Samovar (самовар, ie self cooker) is a popular gift, although it may not work in Finland if the teats are different, but at least a good samovar can be used to make good tea.

It is known that a lot of alcohol is sold in Russia. The sale of alcohol in Russia is not restricted as in Finland. Strong alcoholic beverages (Vodka, liquor and liqueurs) are sold in shops and supermarkets, as well as at gas stations.

Price level

In Russia, prices are quite strongly divided into two groups. Basic products produced in Russia and the former Soviet Union are quite cheap, but in contrast, all imported goods are considerably expensive. You shouldn't come to Russia to shop for Western fashion, but if you want to find good and cheap basic goods, you can make actual discoveries when shopping. Basic foods are much cheaper than in Finland.

The largest cities in Russia are approaching the price level in Finland day by day, with St. Petersburg starting to be at the same level and Moscow partly becoming a more expensive city than Helsinki.

Monetary

Throughout history, Russia has had several versions Ruble (рубль), which is divided into one hundred kopecks (копейка). The newest version, RUB, was introduced in 1998 (although all banknotes and some coins bear the year -97). This means that all coins and printed banknotes minted before 1998 are obsolete and no longer in use. The ruble symbol is ₽.

Tipinant

You don’t have to give a tip except in finer restaurants, especially in Moscow.

Eat

• Borssi, (Борщ) Soup made from beets. Served hot or cold with sour cream.
• Blinit, (Блины) Pancakes made from wheat flour. Often served with savory side dishes.
• Shi, (Щи) Perhaps one of the most Russian dishes. Cabbage soup.

Juo

In Russia alone, never drink and without food only in an emergency. This sentence sums up Russian drinking culture in a nutshell. The most common companion to vodka is two friends. Especially when traveling on trains, you see two friends who want to drink vodka and they invite the closest person to the vodka to drink just to get three people together.

• Vodka (Водка). Russia's 'national drink'. In Russia, the holiday is also celebrated by raising a bowl of vodka. There are countless different vodkas. Properly prepared vodka does not smell. Without exception, vodka must be accompanied by two friends, as well as something small to snack on. Votka can be found in almost every convenience store. 
• Kvass (Квас). Kvas is a relative of domestic cattle and sima, which can be seen sold in the summer from large tanks on the corners of the street. Kvass is made from dark bread. 
• Chai (Чай). Even the most consumed drink in Russia is tea. Always by the time of guests is one of the first questions about the guest's willingness to drink tea. It is quite rude to reject this proposal. 
• In Champagne (Шампанское). Russian sparkling wine is a drink worth tasting. This rather successful ‘Champagne’ has risen to a kind of cult reputation among trend-conscious young people. It is often remarkably sweet compared to an authentic French, but still quite drinkable and very good value for money. You can find the cheapest bottle for less than a euro. Especially recommended drink especially for cider lovers, and others who crave beer and vodka. 

Sleep

It is easy to find affordable home accommodation in Russia. At the bus and train stations, grandmothers are on duty offering their extra rooms to tourists to extend their small pension.

Study

Work

Stay safe

The crazy years after the break-up of the Soviet Union are largely over and most Russian cities are less dangerous than before. Admittedly, the traveler should still be more careful than usual. However, tourist areas cannot be completely safe from pickpockets. Nor does it make sense to move alone outside the main roads at night.

Traffic has become the most common cause of death in Russia and therefore special care must be taken in traffic.

Russia is estimated to have one million street people, some of whom will make a living from pickpocketing. There are also many stray dogs in the country, there are about 35,000 of them in Moscow. Some stray dogs move in aggressive herds.

Corruption

Russia is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and the police and traffic police in particular are corrupt institutions. If you happen to fall victim to a crime or deal with a corrupt police, locals are probably not the best donors.

The Russian mafia

The Russian mafia, often seen in movies, is for the most part completely harmless to tourists. Sure, for example, owners of ethnic or LGBT backgrounds are in danger of having problems with street youth or corrupt police, but using common sense and a certain caution is already a long way off.

Stay healthy

Tap water is not recommended for drinking in most parts of the country. Even in restaurants, it is better to order bottled water or something else to drink instead of ice water.

Respect

The Russians are a nationalist people who, despite many small shortcomings, love their country. It is not good for a foreigner to criticize or bark at their country unless they necessarily want to anger their Russian hosts.

In the summer of 2013, Russia passed a law banning the dissemination of "homosexual propaganda" to minors. Gay and lesbian tourists should keep this in mind, as same-sex couples are not allowed to kiss or walk hand in hand in public places, for example. The interpretation of the law is open in many ways, and no one knows exactly what the law classifies as "homosexual propaganda." The law has also been used against members of the gender minority, and transgender people, for example, are not allowed to drive a car under Russian law.

Shoes are taken off in the apartments.

Take contact

Almost everywhere in Russia, local calls made from landlines to landlines are free and phones can be found in many cafes and other public spaces.

External links

NIIRALA - border formalities

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