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Top 10 things to see in Moscow

As the capital of the country, Moscow is perhaps the most visited place in Russia. However, not all tourists and city guests may have enough time to visit all worth sightseeings and see all the interesting things that Moscow can offer. In this case, one must know what places of the many it is better to focus on first.

1) Red Square, Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin`s Mausoleum. They are considered the symbols of Moscow, located in the very heart and historical center of the Russian capital. St. Basils Cathedral still lets its visitors feel the spirit of ancient Russia. Lenin`s mausoleum can be of interest too - the body of a Soviet leader always attracts tourists (besides, there are rumors that the mausoleum can be eliminated in the future).

2) Pushkin Fine Arts Museum. Presents original and reproduction arts in thematic halls: Russian, European, Greek, Egyptian, and some other. Presents one of the world’s best ballet and opera with participation of great Russian artists.

3) Kolomenskoye Park. The park is located not far from the metro station Kolomenskaya. Undoubtedly it`d be better to visit the park in summer when it is full of trees, including a nice apple garden. However it is a wonderful place to visit in every season: you can enjoy the views of old Russian architecture and a small but cute cemetery near one of the churches.

4)The Bolshoi Theatre. Presents one of the world’s best ballet and opera with participation of great Russian artists.

5)The Tretyakov Gallery. It is one of the world-famous galleries which presents a vast collection of Russian arts.

6) The Novodevichy Convent. A fascinating place with wonderful architecture and a special cemetery, where a lot of famous Russian people are buried.

7) Vorobyovy Gory. The place is located at the Moscow River (Vorobyovy Gory metro station) and opens a picturesque view of water, hills, trees, and a great panorama of some parts of the city. Considered the highest spot in Moscow, and besides, it is situated not too far from the famous Moscow State University named after Lomonosov, which looks amazing in the evening, when the illuminations are on.

8 ) Park Pobedy (Victory Park - Kutuzovskaya metro station). A spacious area dedicated to the victory of Russians over the Nazi Germany. Monuments, memorials, fountains (in the warm time of the year), the Victory Museum, military equipment of the Soviet times.

9) Moscow Metro. It`d be better to travel from one metro station to another at weekend, when there are no crowds of people spoiling the view of great architecture and design inherited from the Soviet times. Committing a metro trip in rush hours can be a disaster as Moscow Metro is considered one of the most overcrowded in the world. The most peculiar stations are: Novoslobodskaya, Kievskaya, Novokuznetskaya, Komsomolskaya, Ploschad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Arbatskaya, Belorusskaya, Park Kultury, Kropotkinskaya (always seems to be the least crowded in Moscow metro)

10 ) VDNKH. A vast area of exhibition halls, located in buildings constructed in the Soviet times and therefore beautiful. Fountains in summer add more charm to the place, but it is still appropriate for having a walk and enjoying the nice planning and architecture of the territoryin in any time of the year. In spring and summer visitors can also find a vast open-air exhibition of beautiful flower compositions.

How to Get a Russian Visa

Although it is possible to arrange your own Russian visa, most travelers choose to hire a visa service to do the work. Russian consulates have many options for visa processing, from a regular 2-week (cheapest) processing, to a very fast (and terribly expensive) same-day processing. If you live in a city with a Russian consulate, you may save some money by going and applying on your own. Beware, that most Russian consulates only accept paperwork early in the morning.

But if you want to make sure you get your visa on time and without losing any sleep over it, hiring an experienced visa-expediting agency is the way to go. Since Russian visa also involves getting a Russian invitation, you want to deal only with those agencies that can assist you in both. Invitations can cost anything up to and beyond $500, depending on the type and the speed of service. For an extra $30-$70, agencies will offer full processing (invitation, taking visa to a consulate and sending it back to you). The best services will take care of registering the visa when you arrive in Russia. Given that each Russian consulate and embassy has different tastes and temperaments, it's usually best to have somebody who knows the ropes do the dirty work.

How to Read Your Visa

A Russian visa is a special document attached to your passport, that grants you a permit to enter and to leave the Russian Federation during a period of time specified in the visa. Every foreign citizen needs a Russian visa to enter / leave Russia, except nationals of some CIS countries (former USSR without Baltic States).

A Russian visa looks like this:


russian visa example

Additional visa-related information:

1. Always keep your passport with your visa on you while in Russia.
2. Make two sets of copies of your passport, visa and other travel papers and keep them separately – one in your luggage and another in your office or with your family and friends.
3. When planning to stay in Russia for over 90 days make sure to obtain an HIV test certificate. You may be asked to display it to medical officer at a Russian border checkpoint. Such certificate is not necessary when traveling for a lesser period of time.
4. When traveling with your pet, you’re required to obtain an international health certificate from a local certified veterinary doctor.
5. It is advisable to have medical insurance coverage valid in Russia. Check your medical plan and request such coverage if you do not have it. On the basis of reciprocity, citizens of Estonia, Israel, Finland, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain are required to have mandatory medical insurance.
6. Medical drugs can be brought to Russia in quantities sufficient for personal consumption during your stay.
7. Military-type firearms, narcotic drugs, explosives, radioactive, poisonous and other dangerous substances are prohibited to import to Russia.
8. Travelers carrying sport-guns or shotguns in their luggage must receive special permits through their Russian agents to take them in and out of the country.
9. Foreign travelers can bring to Russia their photo and video cameras, binoculars, laptop computers, etc. tax free if these are to be taken out of the country upon departure. Just mention them in your customs declaration or ask a customs officer.
10. Travelers over 16 years of age can take to Russia tobacco products (1000 cigarettes or equivalent), wines & liquors (2 liters) tax free.
11. There is no limitation on the amount of foreign currency to be taken to Russia. Just mention in your customs declaration all your currency over $500 and other valuables, including objects of art, which you take into the country. Keep declaration to present it to a customs officer upon departure.
12. If you are traveling on a double or multiple entry visas, prepare a copy of your visa before departure from Russia – a copy of your visa will be asked of you by the passport control officer.
13. Your Russian visa must be registered in the first 3 calendar days after your arrival to Russia. If staying at a hotel, your hotel will register your visa, if staying with friends or relatives – our Russian offices will be happy to assist with your visa registration on the spot. Please check with us for details or read our welcome letter.
14. Prior to your departure for the airport to fly to Russia, please, check your passport, visa and other papers again. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call us. When calling, have last name of the travelers and their birth dates ready.
15. The Consulate of Russian Federation and our agency cannot be held responsible for any errors in visas not brought to our attention before your departure for Russia.

About Russian Visa

All foreigners (except citizens of some former Soviet republics) visiting Russia need a visa. In order to get one, travelers need an invitation from a Russian citizen or a company, which is then taken to a Russian embassy or consulate, where the actual visa is issued. Within three business days of arrival in Russia, the visa needs to be registered by the person/organization that issued the invitation. If you don't make it through this bureaucratic loop, you may have problems leaving the country.

Registration requirement for all Russian Visas, obtained through Go To Russia! Travel can be satisfied by one of the following:

* Hotel registration clerks will register visas for tourists who stay at hotels
* Lastly, for those staying in Moscow or St. Petersburg, our office locations will offer registration on the spot.

Prices for processing Russian visas vary according to the applicant's citizenship and the embassy/consulate applied to. Perhaps in response to the trials the U.S. Embassy in Moscow puts Russian visa applicants through, U.S. citizens routinely pay more for Russian visas.

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There are six types of Russian visas, but most travelers get one of three kinds:

Tourist Visas

Tourist visas are best for short visits. In theory you to have a hotel and an itinerary planned for each night of your stay in order to get a tourist visa, but this rule is broken more often than it's followed. Many agencies can get you a visa and have it registered without a night booked in a hotel. All Go To Russia! Travel clients are provided Russian visa invitation with visa processing and do not have to worry about obtaining it separately.

Business Visas

Business visas aren't just for foreigners working in Russia. Far more flexible than tourist visas, they are often the best choice for tourists who are visiting friends and don't need a hotel, or who are looking to spend an extended period of time in Russia, especially those who want to travel independently or extensively. In order to get a business visa you need an invitation from a Russian firm, which can usually be arranged through a qualified visa agency. You do not need to plan hotel reservations or an itinerary to get a business visa. Ask Go To Russia! Travel visa consultant for information or visit Russian visa page at www.gotorussia.com for complete details.

Homestay Visas

Homestay visas are your best bet when you have friends or relatives in Russia who plan to host you during your trip there. Homestay visas are issued for up to 3 months, and, therefore, are more flexible then regular tourist visas. What’s not very flexible about them though is the invitation your Russian hosts will have to get for you – it takes sometimes up to 2 months for local UVIR’s to process their request and then an original has to be sent to the Russian consulate abroad for processing.

Russia Visa Application

To download, just push on link.
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Russia Visa Application Form for US citizens.pdf

Russia Visa Application Form for non US citizens.pdf

Russian Moscow subway(metro) map.JPG

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Sochi 2014 Discusses Economic Aspects of Olympic Games with Swiss Business Community

The CEO of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, today delivered a presentation on 'Business opportunities for Swiss companies in relation to The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games' at a Russian Conference for Swiss Entrepreneurs here in Zurich.

Approximately 200 participants took part this forum, representing international companies from various sectors including sport, finance, building, energy and telecommunications. This is the third in a series of speeches that Dmitry Chernyshenko is delivering across Europe with a focus on the economic impact of major sports events.

The Sochi 2014 CEO covered questions relating to the expected economic outcome of the Olympic Games in the next seven years, as well as informing the participants on the various opportunities for national and international businesses (such as partnership agreements, Organizing Committee operations and construction of infrastructure and facilities).

The Olympic and ParalympicWinter Games in Sochi provides major business opportunities for the Swiss business community who possess a vast experience in areas related to the organization of the Olympic Games. On the eve of the Russian Conference in Zurich, Dmitry Chernyshenko said: “To be in partnership, for example through sponsorships, with the Olympic Games is an ideal marketing instrument for any company wanting to enter a new market, in order to strengthen the business and political connections and launch new products. I look forward to a long and fruitful cooperation with the Swiss business community on the exciting and challenging journey that lies ahead – our journey to produce the best ever Olympic Winter Games.”

Previously, Sochi 2014 CEO took part in the "Sport 2020. Changing face of the global sports industry" conference organized by The Economist in London on October 25th. On October 30th, Dmitry Chernyshenko moderated an Olympic Conference organized by the Russian business daily "Vedomosti" that took place in Moscow.

Online dating with Russian women

Nowadays it has become a fashion for foreign people to search for young beautiful Russian women and to bring them to their successful and happy countries. There are many various opinions concerning this tendency. Some people think that Russian and Ukraine brides are free housewives; they are sexual and beautiful and have genetic East fidelity to their husbands. Others still believe in love and find Russian and Ukraine brides romantic and gentle. So Americans and other foreign men, hearing or reading relationship advice and dating tips about ideal East wives and modern matchmaking, try to find perfect Russian women by means of the Internet.

Internet can be a good way to find someone with whom you are really compatible. By getting to know people well before you meet them, you have a chance to weed out those whose interests and lifestyles are not compatible with yours. You can control many aspects of your relationship and change anything that needs to be changed before it is too late. Here are some advantages of on-line dating:
• It’s very easy to place a personal ad online and it’s usually free. Millions of singles are looking for partners online. With so many people you can meet and many options to choose from, you’ll increase your chances of meeting people that share your interests or meeting that special someone.
• Unlike offline dating, you don’t have to wonder if the person you’re interested in meeting is available for dating. Everyone using the online dating service *is* available to date.
• With online dating, you can learn so much about people before meeting face-to-face. How do they present themselves in their profiles or personal ads? Do they seem funny, articulate, interesting, charming or obnoxious?
• Pictures are worth a thousand words. Do you think you can be attracted to that person or not? Of course, some people look better or worse when you meet them in person.
• There’s less pressure on dates when you’re using online dating services. When you’re on a date with the only interesting person you’ve met the last six months, there’s so much pressure for that date to go well in a standard dating situation. When dating online, you know that when your date doesn’t turn out well, you’ll have other opportunities to meet many other interesting people.
• There’s so much more pressure to be liked during a standard date; so, people end up not being themselves during the date. When you’re getting to know people online, you can relax and be yourself. So, you have a better chance of being liked and accepted just the way you are. Whether you’re a gorgeous, athletic god/goddess or a couch potato on pizza and burger daily diet, you will have a chance of meeting your match.
• With online dating, you’ll have a much better chance of building a relationship that lasts. You can form deeper and more intimate relationships when you can establish mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart and soul-to-soul connections with someone. With standard dating, there’s usually so much more focus on physical attraction instead of character traits, values and mind-heart-soul compatibilities.
• By exchanging emails or talking on the phone before meeting in person, you’ll have a much better chance of evaluating your connection with that person before you develop any physical attraction. Attraction and lust can often cloud one’s thinking. Most relationships primarily based on physical attraction often lead to pain and heartache for the people involved.
Unfortunately on-line dating has its own disadvantages:
• It’s easy to think that someone who writes you or talks to you daily for weeks or months may be a good catch. But, this person may be hiding behind those great emails or phone conversations and may be incapable of having a more concrete relationship.
• Almost all online dating services are for singles, but some married people may be lying and using the service. If something doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts.
• Maintaining a high level of members can be a challenge. Initially, the numbers will grow but over time, people drop off for one reason or another, usually because they have made a connection, which is a good thing for them but that is one less potential person for you.
• If you were to meet someone in another city, state, or country that interests you, and that relationship builds to something more than friendship, one of you would have to make a decision regarding relocation
• Internet dating is limiting in the sense that you’ll only be meeting folks who spend time on the Internet, which excludes a whole raft of people.
• Getting to know someone online, may give you a false sense of security. Just like off line dating, there are bad people online. So, always think of your safety when you’re meeting someone you don’t really know.

Tougher Visa Rules - What They Mean

01/11/2007

Demonstrating that it is resolute in introducing immigration laws similar to those in Western countries, the Russian government recently unveiled new, tougher business visa regulations. Foreigners - particularly those living and working in Russia on business visas - are worried about how this will affect them. Some seeking to renew their business visas in a third country were finding that what used to be a breezy, one-day procedure could turn into a 10-day wait. Meanwhile, new regulations seemed to target the entire practice of getting visas in third countries.
One of the more considerable changes came in a decree on visas passed by the new Prime Minister, Viktor Zubkov, on October 4. Now, foreigners traveling on business visas can remain in the country for no more than 90 days at a time, even if they have multiple-entry visas. And it's soon going to become much harder to obtain them in third countries.
Business visas are popular among expatriates who live in Russia over long periods of time, extending their visas regularly by travelling to neighboring countries. But the new decree toughens rules regulating this type of visas, an apparent attempt to force expatriates who live and work here to obtain work visas instead.
Point 9.1 in the decree reads:
"A foreign citizen who is present in a state that he is not a citizen of may only get a visa if he has a permit for a consecutive stay of at least 90 days in that country." What this means for some citizens of Western Europe is that a trip across the border from Russia is no longer enough to renew their business visa.
In a statement to The Moscow News, the FMS confirmed the new restriction but pointed to several exceptions - these could be based on "a decision by a diplomatic representative" in cases where a foreigner needed to attend various "international and domestic official, economic, socio-political, scientific, cultural, sports or religious events." Another exception was a close relative who was ill.
A clause lower down in the decree clarifies that an exception is made "based on the international principle of mutuality."
Alexei Filippenkov of the Visa Delight agency explained what this means. If a European country allows Russians to obtain visas from a third country, then citizens from that European country will have the same privilege when it comes down to getting a Russian visa.
"Our migration legislation is being brought in line with analogous international legislation," he told The Moscow News.
The same concerns another important change. Now, foreigners who obtain a multiple entry business visa that is active for a year will be able to stay for no more than 90 consecutive days, and no more than a total of 180 days out of a year.
"It's impossible to work in England or the United States if you have a business visa," Filippenkov said. Foreigners are hard pressed to obtain a work visa.
According to an FMS statement, "issuing visas of all categories and types is... in the competence of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Russian Federation. We recommend that foreign citizens address the Foreign Ministry of Russia regarding practical questions."
It was unclear whether the minimum wait for a visa had indeed risen to 10 days. The Russian consulate in Riga, the Latvian capital where expatriates frequently go to renew business visas, when asked if this was the case, told a Moscow News reporter to read the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta, where the changes were published. But there was no mention about any new wait for visas. Asked how long it would take to issue a visa to a British citizen, an unnamed official said that the consulate was "not issuing visas to British citizens who had no permanent residence permit in Latvia." Asked the same question about U.S. citizens, the official said that the process will take from 10 to 14 days.
The FMS said that, as under the previous law, visas must be issued within 20 days after the appropriate documents had been filed.
There were reports that foreigners that usually got their visa renewed in one day now had to wait 10 days, but a Moscow News correspondent who is a British citizen obtained her business visa in one day in Kiev this week.
"Right now it's a little chaotic over there because they haven't come to a unified reading of the decree," Filippenkov said. "For now, people will still be able to go over there for visas, but that's going to end soon."
According to Filippenkov, considering that Russians have to wait weeks - sometimes months - to get their European visas, the 10-day wait isn't that long.

By Anna Arutunyan

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