Facts on Russia

Russia has both extensive Arctic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean coastlines, as well as smaller coastlines on the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Russia is bordered by Norway and Finland to the northwest, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine to the west, Georgia and Azerbaijan to the southwest, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia to the south, and China and North Korea to the southeast.

The American state of Alaska lies opposite the easternmost point of Russia across the Bering Strait.

Russia also administers the enclave of Kaliningrad Oblast on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania.

Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area. Despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture. Mount Elbrus (Gora El'brus), at 5,633 m, is Europe's tallest peak.

The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure of power by the Communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics.

Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.

Climate

Climate ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain

Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Map of Russia

Travel to Russia

Citizens of most non-Russia or CIS countries must obtain a Russian visa prior to arriving to Russia. An invitation is required to obtain either business or tourist visa. You can get a tourist invitation directly from a hotel that you book or by using a reliable online hotel booking service like HotelsRussia.com. Then you have an option of apply for the visa at a local Russian Embassy or have a local travel agent do it for you.

Tourist visas are not hard to get. Business visas are issued by the government. Obtaining one is time consuming and costly. They can be obtained with the help of most large international travel agencies in 6 to 12 weeks.

Travel to Russia by Plane

Aeroflot (Russian Airlines) constitutes Russia's national airline. Airports are in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and most other cities.

Airports are in all big cities in the Asia part of Russia.

Travel by Train

Train service is usually reliable. Main routes from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania have fairly frequent trains to St. Petersburg and Moscow. Most long distance trains have 2 to 6 passengers per room, 4 being the most common. The Trans-Siberian Railway spans the entire country and connects European Russia with Russian Far East provinces.

For overnight travel three main kinds of cars are available. The third class car is called platzcart (платцкартный вагон) and is set up with unwalled compartments of four fold out beds opposite two beds on the window wall.

These compartments are generally less safe than other classes, but provide for a much more immersive experience. Also, woman travellers sometimes prefer the platzcart to other classes where they might end up in a closed compartment with other male strangers (Russian trains do not have separate cars or compartments for males and females).

The second class is called coupe (купейный вагон) and consists of private compartments of four each. The first class is called SV, and consists of compartments for two persons.

Conductors always provide free water in samovars in every car and will usually sell you tea and lend you a mug and spoon for about 10 rubles, or 35 cents. Most long distant trains also have dining cars. Expect to pay around 60 rubles, or $2.20 for linens (this is required) once you board the train.

When going through the countryside locals will sell food and liquor at pretty resonable prices.

Often babushkas will even be selling pre-made meals! Frequently, traders will walk through the traincars between stops and sell everything from crockery to clothes to Lay's chips.

Bring your own toilet paper and soap.

Travel by Car

Travelling in Russia by car is difficult, and the roads are often intentionally unmarked.

Car rental services are only starting to develop in major cities such as Moscow or St.Petersburg, and are expensive. Crossing the border by car is also a peculiar entertainment.

There is no doubt that car travel is the best way to see the country, but it is a risky enterprise which is recommended only for the brave and capable.

Service is scarce and poor, and the countryside can be quite dangerous without experience and fluency in the Russian language.

This country is simply too large and too underdeveloped for car travel.

Russian Language

Russia has a hundred languages and supports many of them, sending linguists to document them and invent writing systems for them (all Cyrillic, of course) and making them local official languages.

The south border is lined with Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic; the north with Finnic and Samoyed.

The southwest corner has a variety of Caucasian languages; the northeast has the few Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages. Russian is the native language of Russians; it is the official language, so wherever you go in Russia, you'll find someone who speaks Russian.

Staying Safe in Russia

Juvenile delinquency, organized crime and corruption may occur in Russia. The Russian Mafia is infamous, and has a business of smuggling drugs from and in the country. The police are widely regarded as corrupt, and (may)take bribes. The conflict in Chechnya is also a major problem.

When buying items, make sure money is folded backwards with small bills on the outside and larger on the inside. Try to get bills in 50-500 ruble amounts to keep the numbers on the bills small.

Also, don't take your money out to pay before the total is told to you. This is considered stupid or odd. It also helps to keep your money from being snatched from you.

Staying Healthy in Russia

The further you get from Moscow or St. Petersburg, the worse the water condition gets. Usually it's OK to drink in the European part of Russia, but try to stick with bottled water in Siberia and the Far East. If you can't afford to buy bottled water boil water before drinking even in Moscow and St. Petersburg. You should have no problem with affording it, though - it costs only about 7-15 rubles ($0.25-$0.50 USD) for 2 liters.

Be careful not to buy fake vodka (could be very dangerous). Buy only vodka wih the sticker over the cap and/or the region's barcode on the side (Sakhalin, Kamchatka, etc).

Some kiosks could sell meals of bad quality. If you are not confident, just throw it away.

Although most of them are quite good, take note of who buys and what they buy. That could help to make a good choice.

© 2005 - 2007