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Hey Suka,

We seem to be talking in circles...

The information I posted did not come from Travisa, it came from the ILS website. ILS is the official agency disignated for people in the U.S. to...

Hey Suka,

I read through the ILS instructions for submitting visa applications,

www.ils-usa.com/main.php?id=mailing&lang=en

It seems each consulate has slightly different requirements and...

Five years ago, the Russian government changed its policy of accepting visa applications and required that all visa applications must be submitted by a travel agency certified by the consulate, not...

Suka,

The Russian government is not asking for this information, your visa service is asking for it. What is the visa service you are using, and what is their web address?

EG,

Zlotys are pretty much worthless in Russia. Even if you could find a bank that would be willing to buy them, they would give you a terrible rate.

Your best bet is to change them into...

Good news!

Little by little, civilization is slouching its way towards Russia...

Prosal,

In Russia they have a saying, тише едешь - дальше будешь, it means, "The quieter you go, the further you will be"

у.е. stands for условная единица. This translates loosely as, "The agreed upon unit of measure".

It used to be, the only other currency used in Russia was the Dollar, so you could assume that...

OK, that's pretty much what I thought. Just curious how someone who travels in the provinces handles the situation.

Someday, I'd love to get beyond the big city and poke around to see what I can...

How do you get around all the visa restrictions when you are freewheeling around Russia?

Typically, you must state what city you will visit in advance. What do you say on your visa app? Do you...

мол-о-дец о-гур-ец! (Jolly Good Fellow!)

Of course, we will be waiting to read your reports. . . :)

EG,

This is sort of true, and it sort of isn't.

A good part of that $5, 000 is what I call the "tourist premium". If you speak no Russian, or perhaps more correctly, if you have no interest in...

Jake,

You are the man-on-the-ground in Moscow, so I will defer to your experience. I'm sure you are right about the average office or clerical worker.

My info comes from personal friends and...

You're right, there are a lot of ways to rent a perfectly nice apartment in Moscow for half the price, but. . . None of these apartments will be located on Tverskaya, across the street from Night...

EG,

Sorry to tell you, but your best chance to visit Russia was probably in 2005. There are a lot of guys who will argue this, but the Golden Age of mongering in Russia is over. Doesn't mean...

Yes, it will be interesting to see how Gerard adapts to Russian life.

The 13% income tax rate is a definite attraction, but when you add the 18% VAT, the effective tax rate ends up being much...

Prosal,

The Russian consulates and embassy here in the U.S. stopped accepting direct visa apps 3 or 4 years ago. All visa apps must be submitted through a separate travel agency (chosen by the...

I created a new thread for Travel to Russia. The idea is to have a place where we can collect information specifically about travel to Russia. So, information about things like; obtaining a visa,...