Tag Archives: travel to Russia

The Realities of Expat Living in Moscow 2016

The main thing about living anywhere in the world is your attitude.

How easily you can adapt to living outside your “comfort” zone, to how willing you are in accepting a new reality.

There are advantages and disadvantages to living anywhere. I think this goes without saying, but I obviously have to say it to put things into perspective for some.

I have often said that you cannot compare Russia to the established Western world. One has emerged from 75 years of Communism, not to mention a whole host of tragic historical and cultural norms, to a meshing of free market policies and a new world order in the 21st century.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Summer 2015

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Summer 2015.

Hello,

It has been over a year since we sent out a newsletter, so we thought one was long overdue.

We would like to bring you up-to-date on the changes at RUA the last year.

The Forum Has Changed Direction a Little to Include More Travel, Culture, News and Politics.

The site was stuck in what is a dying and declining niche. When the site first started back in the mid naughties, it was firmly aimed at what some termed the “mail-order bride” niche.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian Diplomats Being Quietly Expelled from the UK.

The UK government appears to be quietly in the process of removing Russian diplomats from the UK.

The method they are using to do this is by not renewing or issuing new visas to staff at the Russian embassies in London and Edinburgh.

Diplomatic staff, under international law, are able to bypass the normal visa process, and should be issued with automatic visas without delay or hassle. This is how it works all over the world.

The press secretary in the Russian Embassy in London today decided to go public with the dirty tricks campaign by the UK government.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russia Should Abolish Visas for the EU, America and the Developed World. Top Russian Official Agrees.

If Western sanctions against Russia are to continue, Russia is in a unique position to take advantage of the situation by relaxing visa rules and welcoming tourists.

Right now, you can get almost twice as many roubles for your money as you could a year ago. This makes Russia cheaper to visit than it ever was.

However, the current onerous requirements and unnecessary bureaucracy to obtain a visa to Russia has been holding Russian tourism back for many years. The current visa system is inconsistent, inconvenient, and puts many people off travelling to Russia.… Click here to continue reading this article

NATO trains terrorists who destabilize situation in Ukraine

About 400 elite commandos from a notorious US private security firm, Academi, are involved in a punitive operation mounted by Ukraine’s new government against federalization supporters in eastern Ukraine, the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday.

According to the newspaper, Academi mercenaries participate in attacks against federalization supporters near Slavyansk. So far, it’s unclear who hired them.

Media reports claiming that the Ukrainian leadership wants to recruit personnel from private foreign military companies “to maintain law and order” may suggest that the Kiev regime wants to suppress civil protest and discontent, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

… Click here to continue reading this article

Ukraine: So What is Vladimir Putin Really Planning?

Unlike most westerners, I do not blindly believe western media, I do not subscribe to the “America good – Russia bad” media hysteria being shamelessly stage-managed by our governments.

Perhaps having a Russian-born wife makes me take a more balanced view.

I am not anti-Russian, I am not anti-Putin. Nor am I anti-American. I might be anti-EU, if voting for Nigel Farrage labels me that.

However, I am very interested in the whole Ukraine and Russia situation.

We had a guest post here recently by the former Soviet Union resident commentator Andrew Wilson entitled Ukraine and American News Propaganda Fed to the Sheeple.… Click here to continue reading this article

2013 Musings from Togliatti, Russia: Cost of Living, Money and Finances

Note: Values are in £ Sterling. There are 100 pence (p) in £1. Those who think in Dollars must multiply by 1.5 to get a Dollar figure. Thus, £100 is $150, 30p is 45c, etc. You get the idea…

My wife is fond of telling me “people” earn £200 a month in Russia. I don’t know why she says this, as I never met anyone I supposed was on £200 a month for a long, long time. I since pointed out that she hasn’t lived there full time since 2005 and things may have changed.… Click here to continue reading this article

2013 Musings from Togliatti, Russia: Restaurants & Eating Out.

Eating Out in Togliatti. 

When you visit a place, you don’t really want to start cooking do you? So restaurants are going to feature. However, in my experience, this is something Russia hasn’t quite got to grips with yet.

We went in two places that had been previously OK that now have insect issues. One had beetle type things creeping around the corners, and the other some insect ran out of the menu at me as I opened it. The staff apologised and explained that the place next door had just been fumigated and all the insects had ran away into their restaurant. … Click here to continue reading this article

2013 Musings from Togliatti: Taxis and getting around in Russia.

The general theme of this small series of articles is to show how a provincial town in central Russia is slowly modernising over the years. I first went there in 2005, which gives me a good point of comparison when visiting in 2013 to observe changes.

Today I am going to discuss taxis and getting around.

Getting around. 

When I first went to Togliatti, when you wanted a taxi, you just stood by the road with your hand out and someone would stop. Negotiate a price before you get in and job done.… Click here to continue reading this article

2013 Musings from Togliatti: Russia is Changing.

I have just returned from a visit to Togliatti, so I thought I would make a few notes about the changes I see in this lesser visited part of Russia as an occasional visitor.

Readers may wish to comment, disagree, discuss, ask questions or whatever.

First impressions after a three year absence. 

Usually when you get on the road, you get the gargling paraffin taste in your throat that is the pollution. It is normally so bad that I need some antibiotics after a few days to quell my swollen throat.… Click here to continue reading this article

Samara KUF Russia Passport Control Problems

Samara Passport Control

I always found Moscow a bit of a pain to connect internally through (although I gather it has improved since I last went through there), and the flight is shorter from the UK to Frankfurt and from there to Samara. Plus the FRA-KUF route is served by Lufthansa and not Yuri Air so is usually on time and half decent. And being a German airline, the luggage usually arrives at the same time as me. Added to which, the UK to Frankfurt and then Samara is almost a straight line on the map.… Click here to continue reading this article

от чего американцы предпочитают лечиться у себя, в Америке, а не в России, например?

Мне всегда было любопытно выяснить, отчего американцы предпочитают лечиться у себя, в Америке, а не в России, например?

Или не в Китае , или в Мексике. Или где-бы -то ни было еще. Спрашивала я тут разный народ, и пришла к выводу, что большинство людей имущих (кто может позволить себе путешествие в тур за здоровьем в другую страну) свято верят, что в Америке самая- пресамая медицина. Ну, а те, у кого дженег на путешествия нет.. у тех денег ни на что нет и они “вынуждены есть то, что дают”.

Во-первых, – по собственному опыту, – стоматология и косметология здесь оставляют желать лучшего.… Click here to continue reading this article

Peter Hitchens: If Not Putin, Who?

Peter Hitchens is UK Daily Mail columnist. I tend to find him a bit ‘holier than thou’ and he usually writes in such a finger wagging style, and from such a moral high ground that you would think he never ran a red light or parked on a yellow line even.

However, he has spent a lot of time in Russia, and in todays Mail on Sunday, he wrote what I thought was a very interesting article. Here is an excerpt with a link to read the rest:

If not Putin, who?… Click here to continue reading this article

Visit to a Russian Girl in Penza, Russia.

One day before Miss Penza and I had a very strong discussion and fight in a 3 way call with the help of Ladagirl I did not know if she would be there at the airport in Penza or not, but I decided to go anyway.

Flight from Mexico City to Madrid took around 11 hours, later I waited at Barajas airport more time and the flight to Moscow with Iberia was delayed around 5 hours….. finally I arrive to Moscow with 5 hours of delay….. the guy at Russian customs was taking all the time in the world to check the visas and passports… after customs one guy had my name on a card he was the contact from the travel agency he spoke English and told me to hurry because the flight to Penza was about to leave……..… Click here to continue reading this article