Three Nights In Moscow In June 2007

[PeaceBlondie]

On my way home to Thailand after a wedding in Ireland in June, I plan to stop for 2 or 3 nights in Moscow. I am US citizen living in Chiang Mai on a retirement visa. I know, I need a re-entry permit for 1,000 baht.

Is there a Russian embassy in Bangkok? Do I need to get a visa first? How soon before I use it, can I get the visa?

Thanks for the answers.

[Florin]

Yes, you most definitely need a visa...there's a Thai embassy in Bangkok, prepare for Soviet "hospitality" if you go there, you're better off using a travel agency.

At least the process is reasonably quick, a day if you pay for the emergency fees, I think 3 if not...also, they only accept documents up to noon, or more realistically 11AM (since they get so many people in there sometimes they have to stop accepting new ones). They also have a day off, I think Tue.

If you don't have an organized tour in Moscow, you need a so-called "tourist voucher" (also called "visa support")...it's cheaper online (about 30-40 bucks depending who you contact), in BKK you can get it from Aeroflot's office (022541180 - costs 4000 Baht, they can also take your passport and go to the embassy). Alternatively, a good agency in BKK is Global Union Express (023082104)...costs the same as using Aeroflot, but better if you need some other tickets, bookings, etc.

Hope this will be of help

Also, Moscow sucks...St. Petersburg is a million times nicer from all points of view. Moscow represents all that Russia has to offer (both good and bad, so I guess it's worth seeing it for the "russian experience"), but St. Petersburg is a work of art, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and in my opinion an absolute must-see...you can do both (get a night-train or a 4.5 hour express train to St. Petersburg)

[taxout]

Russian embassies usually charge quite a bit if you want your visa in anything less than two weeks, so start early. Remember that Americans now have to complete a detailed life history to get a Russian visa. Even for three days.

And be prepared for nyets -- in Thailand as well as Russia -- if your paperwork's less than perfect.

You're probably going to find that the visa and visa support and perhaps visa registration in Russia are going to make your stopover more expensive than you ever thought possible.

Agree that the hassle's worth it for St. Petersburg, but much less so for Moscow. Plus, it takes some time to get adjusted to Russia and the Russians, so three days are really too short for a meaningful visit.

Edited January 17, 2007 by taxout

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm using frequent flyer miles from two airline programmes to do this. I arrive in SVO airport at 1720 pm on 8 June, and depart from DME airport at 1840 on 11 June. That gives me about 68 hours in Moscow. Also, I pass through the two Moscow airports on 28 May, in transit. I assume I don't need a visa to make an airport transfer. However, the flights are about 20 hours apart, and I'd spend the night in airports or on the inter-aerodome bus.

Are you saying I could take a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and then return? With that tight of schedule, I doubt there's time.

I live in Chiang Mai, and it's ten hours away by bus. I'd hate to spend 3 days in BKK just to get a tourist visa. The mail delivery here is pretty good. Do you have a website for the visa? Can I pay by credit card, online?

Weather in June should be pleasant, with about 17 hours of daylight - right? Would I need to pack a light jacket?

[Florin]

Hehe, you most definitely do need a visa for the airport transfers...and they are unbelievably anal about this, you have to make sure your documents are in perfect (and I can't stress "perfect" enough) order.

A guy I know who studied there (American citizen) got turned back at the airport because of a not very legible stamp the Russian embassy had put on his visa! I was sent back on a plane within 1 hour this very year for the "crime" of having my (valid) Russian visa on my old passport (though the embassy itself had assured me that traveling with the two passports together would not be a problem!)

For that 20-hour layover, you'll need a hotel in Moscow, so you can just pick one and also contact them about sending your visa support paper to Thailand. Also, they are not cheap unless you want to stay out in the sticks...one near a Metro station is a must, since Moscow has practically no legal public taxi system and if you don't speak Russian hailing a car and getting them to understand where you need to go would be a hassle (and an almost guaranteed ripoff in terms of price).

My opinion: visit the Red Square and the Kremlin during that 20-hour layover in Moscow. Then when you come again, head straight to St. Petersburg. A night-train sleeper berth is better than the express train in terms of cost, because it saves you from paying for 2 nights in Russian hotels, which are highly pricey at that time of the year in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. The weather should indeed be great at that time of the year, but pack a light jacket anyway, both cities can get pretty windy.

In terms of bureaucracy, just book a hotel in Moscow, have them fax you the visa support, contact a large travel agency in Chiang Mai and give them the respective paper and have them send your passport to BKK and the visa applied.

[Florin]

Oh yeah, and just a reminder: for this trip you'll need two tourist visas...even though you'll be in Moscow for a 20-hour period only, you'll need it since you're exiting the airport. There is such a thing as a double-entry tourist visa, but it requires more extensive support from within Russia and in my opinion would be a risk...just get 2 single-entry ones.

[taxout]

Problem is, I'm not sure the Russians will let you have two valid visas in your passport at the same time. Just doing things the normal way is impossible enough there; myself, I wouldn't waste my time trying to do something even slightly out of the box.

You'll find basic info on the HK Consulate's website. Take a close gander at the extraordinary form Americans must complete.

http://www.russia.com.hk/visa.html

http://www.russia.com.hk/docs/visaform2.doc

Edited January 18, 2007 by taxout

[Plus]

S.P. is really great in June - it gets something like 21 hours daylight, and walking alone the river around midnight is pure magic - absolutely stunning buildings seem to just float in the air over the silent river. Life is comptely still and there's absolutely no traffic as they close the bridges, and it all looks competely surreal.

Tsars had it good.

Overnight trains, as I remember, hit exactly the sweet spot between wasting mornings or evenings on transport and getting a good night sleep.

[PeaceBlondie]

Good grief, this is amazing. I've probably visited 20 countries as a tourist, and they welcomed me. I even violated Mexico's constitution publicly, and they didn't deport me. I've swum across three international borders numerous times, with no officer in sight. But in Russia, if I stayed in the two airports (and transferred between them in the process) for 20 hours, I'd need to tell the Russians my life history, including the maiden name of my mother's beagle?

List every country you've visited in the last ten years. 18 stinkin' countries! And they give four lines. The names and phone numbers of my last two bosses. I attended ten universities. Several have changed names. I don't know addresses and phone numbers. It's simply not worth it.

It does indicate that transit visas are for more than 24 hours, but what about the shuttle bus between the two Moscow airports?

Do they realize the Cold War ended? Some people think I'm anti-American....wait until they hear I'm retired USAF!

[thaihome]

Good grief, this is amazing. I've probably visited 20 countries as a tourist, and they welcomed me. I even violated Mexico's constitution publicly, and they didn't deport me. I've swum across three international borders numerous times, with no officer in sight. But in Russia, if I stayed in the two airports (and transferred between them in the process) for 20 hours, I'd need to tell the Russians my life history, including the maiden name of my mother's beagle?

List every country you've visited in the last ten years. 18 stinkin' countries! And they give four lines. The names and phone numbers of my last two bosses. I attended ten universities. Several have changed names. I don't know addresses and phone numbers. It's simply not worth it.

It does indicate that transit visas are for more than 24 hours, but what about the shuttle bus between the two Moscow airports?

Do they realize the Cold War ended? Some people think I'm anti-American....wait until they hear I'm retired USAF!

Makes you wonder if your venom is wasted on the wrong target doesn’t it? Maybe next time you should try for a tourist visa to Saudi Arabia just to round out your international experience?

[Florin]

Good grief, this is amazing. I've probably visited 20 countries as a tourist, and they welcomed me. I even violated Mexico's constitution publicly, and they didn't deport me. I've swum across three international borders numerous times, with no officer in sight. But in Russia, if I stayed in the two airports (and transferred between them in the process) for 20 hours, I'd need to tell the Russians my life history, including the maiden name of my mother's beagle?

List every country you've visited in the last ten years. 18 stinkin' countries! And they give four lines. The names and phone numbers of my last two bosses. I attended ten universities. Several have changed names. I don't know addresses and phone numbers. It's simply not worth it.

It does indicate that transit visas are for more than 24 hours, but what about the shuttle bus between the two Moscow airports?

Do they realize the Cold War ended? Some people think I'm anti-American....wait until they hear I'm retired USAF!

I'm not aware of any shuttle bus service between DME and SVO, they are officially completely distinct airports, on the opposite ends of the city and most people would never need to transfer between them...between SVO2 (international) and SVO1 (domestic) there is indeed such a thing, for which you don't need a visa...but otherwise, even staying at the SVO Novotel (200+ USD/night) means that you are physically restricted to staying on the floor your room is on, they have a guard at the end of the corridor! Seriously!

BTW, even though the visa application form is very detailed for US citizens, you are by no means the only ones targeted by infernal bureaucracy - there's a saying that the Russians hate everyone, even themselves...it simply does not matter from what country you hail (I'm from Romania, a former Warsaw-pact signing, "Stalin and the Russian people/Brought liberty to our own people" singing country), they don't need tourists, they don't want tourists, and they will do absolutely nothing to accommodate the needs of tourists (unless you're on a 100% organized tour, costing God knows how much).

[jphripjah]

If I recall correctly, the Russian visa applcation for Americans is different from the one for other nationalities, and it asks if you've had any training in making explosives. Good fun.

I got my visa in London through a service. It was quite expensive and it took about a week, but the word was that the linesat the embassy in London were terrible. I then had my passport stolen in Poland and had to get a new Russian visa. It got it in Vilnius, Lithuania in about four hours for next to nothing. I recall using a website for the necesary visa support letter -- visatorussia.com or something like that. They'll just email you a generic visa support voucher for about $30 even if you book no travel with them.

Here's something else to keep in mind. You have to get your visa registered in each city if you're going to be in the city more than 72 hours. Your hotel can do this easily. Definitely have them do it even if you're only going to be in Moscow 68 hours. The Moscow police likes to stop tourists and check for this. I was only in the city about 50 hours but the cops were trying to claim it was three days, then they were demanding that I show them plane tickets, etc. proving what time I arrived, and it would have been easier to just be registered, even though it wasn't really required.

Good luck.

[PeaceBlondie]

Just a quick update: I got the double entry tourist visa today, just as I asked and wanted, and it was much easier than I feared. First I got the invitation over the internet for about $20, called the embassy in Bangkok, spoke with a Thai lady there (I think), and the beautiful young blonde Russian lady at the counter was professional and helpful. $180 or 6354 baht is expensive, but that was for 24 hour service.

Bought the Lonely Planet guide to Russia, and think I'll just do Moscow for my 3 day layover.

Thanks for all the help. This Russian embassy isn't as strict and as uncooperative as the other ones were in the past, or still are.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Just a quick update: I got the double entry tourist visa today, just as I asked and wanted, and it was much easier than I feared. First I got the invitation over the internet for about $20, called the embassy in Bangkok, spoke with a Thai lady there (I think), and the beautiful young blonde Russian lady at the counter was professional and helpful. $180 or 6354 baht is expensive, but that was for 24 hour service.

Bought the Lonely Planet guide to Russia, and think I'll just do Moscow for my 3 day layover.

Thanks for all the help. This Russian embassy isn't as strict and as uncooperative as the other ones were in the past, or still are.

I spent 22 months working there between Jan '94 & Dec '96, sort of got used to the place.  I had a really small and expensive apartment across from the U.S. Embassy, handy to the metro, which I learned to use extensively.  Get a couple good maps, take a pocket compass as the metro often have three or more exits, handy to get reoriented.

If you decide on a train trip to St Pete, check out the kamoys on the train.  When I was there such was extensive, travellers warned to wire shut their train compartment door handle.  No idea if it's still the same these days, hope not.

Check out Novy Arbat Street and the area around it on a weekend, a bit like a mini Chatujak.  Believe this is one street over to the east?  Perhaps Old Arbat?  Should be the Arbatskaya metro station.

Mac