Russia (St. Petersburg and Moscow)
The idea of visiting Russia was always a romantic one for me between the romantic canal-side city of St. Petersburg to the raw natural beauty of Kamchatka. In June, I had the pleasure of spending a week in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Hopefully, this trip will merely serve as an introduction to the country, and I will soon have the chance to explore far eastern outreaches of the nation.
The Visa:
The process for obtaining a Russian visa is relatively painless so long as you’re willing to pay the fees. At the time of my application in March, 2023, I paid $381 for the visa fee and $30 to have my embassy reviewed by the Russia Visa Centre (the company the Russian embassy delegates their visa work too). Since then, however, has since risen to $451 if you are applying by mail.
I just had to send my passport, a filled out application on the government website, my money order, and a tourist voucher that was purchased online. Then, within a few weeks my passport was sent back to me with a 3-year multiple entry visa that allows for stays of 6 months at a time. It is worth noting that the visa was not valid until the date that I put on my initial application that I would be arriving on. For me, that was over 6 weeks from when I applied.
The Journey:
Given the western restrictions imposed on Russia and travel to the nation, most people fly to Russia from Istanbul, Dubai, or Belgrade. I flew from Paraguay to Panama to Istanbul and spent a few days there before connecting to St. Petersburg.
The flight from Istanbul to St. Petersburg was smooth, but the routing circuitous with us skirting around Western Ukraine. Upon arrival, I gave my passport at the booth. After an inspection of the passport I was explained that I would have to answer a few more questions, and that this was standard for people traveling from countries such as my own.
I was asked some basic questions by a very professional border agent. She asked which countries with “difficult political situations” I have previously visited (just the names— no questions abut my time there), whether I work for the government, and where I will stay in Russia. Within 10 minutes, it was all done and I just had to wait by the passport control booths for them to process my entry. That did take about an hour, but then I was on my way. It was a very smooth process, and I was never once met with any aggression or hostility.
General Logistics for Traveling in Russia:
My two biggest saviors when traveling in Russia were the Yandex Go and Yandex Maps apps. Yandex is essentially the Russian equivalent of WeChat or Google and offers a ton of different tech services under its umbrella.
Yandex Go operates like Uber and can be taken to and from the airports as well as inside the city. Yandex Maps provides super detailed navigation and store lookups. They even have the ability to show you where shops are within the malls. So advanced!
Given the current situation with Russia, foreign cards issued by Visa / Mastercard / American Express do not work in the country. Therefore, it is imperative to bring all the cash you could possibly need (and also an emergency buffer). I was able to pay with my US credit card for the Curio Hilton hotel in Moscow via a special link they sent me, though I did have to pay a 3% transaction fee.
There are not a ton of currency exchange shops, but using Yandex Maps I was able to find a couple. Before arriving I exchanged some dollars for rubles in Istanbul so that I would have some money to pay the taxi to the airport and tie me over before getting to a currency exchange shop, but I do not recommend exchanging much money this way as I lost about 20% in exchange fees.
St. Petersburg
On the way to my hotel we passed a sign saying “победа будет за нами” (victory will be ours), but that would be one of the few signs of the current situation in Russia. After arriving at the Radisson hotel (Radisson is one of the few international brands still operating in Russia, alongside Hilton), I headed to the mall. Some stores, such as Uniqlo, have their doors shuttered. While others have simply rebranded, with Starbucks becoming Stars Coffee.
The following morning I had arranged for a tour of the city’s Faberge and Hermitage Museums. The Radisson hotel arranged a tour for me with Irina, a very knowledgeable guide who was friendly and witty. She told me stories about practically every piece, pointed out details I surely would have missed had I walked through alone, and quizzed me to make sure I was paying attention.
The Faberge museum blew me away; the craftsmanship used to build the eggs and related products by the Faberge company is simply unlike something I had ever seen before.
One thing I found interesting is that this is a private museum— all items are owned by Viktor Vekselberg. Notably, one egg was not on display because it was loaned to a museum in the UK. This caused some complications as the United Kingdom (alongside their Western allies) decided to sanction Vekselberg, and thus the Victoria and Albert Museum has declined to return the egg as agreed upon.
After the Faberge Museum we strolled up towards the Hermitage Museum, passing many of St. Petersburg famous canals along the way.
The only term I can use to describe the Hermitage Museum is jaw dropping. The only place I can compare it to is the Louvre, and I believe that the building is even more impressive. The inlay wood, countless kilos of gold gilding the rooms, and carved wood make this place not only a world treasure for its contents but also for the structure. Irina pointed out that one big perk of me traveling right now is that the museum is much less crowded than 2019.
Irina encouraged me to rest well and then at night head out to enjoy the White Nights. Given how far north St. Petersburg is, it enjoys very long times of sunshine during the summer. This means that a walk at late the morning will afford you some beautiful lighting in the quiet streets of the city.
So, at 3am I headed out of my hotel and towards the famous bridges which are drawn up to allow ships to head through. From here, overlooking the water and the Hermitage museum I called my friend Natalia (who was getting her nails done in Ecuador) how I had finally made it to her country! When the bridge came down, I walked across and continued into the northern part of the city, enjoying the views of the city and Petropavlovsk Fortress.
The following morning, I headed to the Petropavlovsk Fortress myself to check out the general building, fort, and money museum that Irina told me about. The money museum had some beautiful coins and bills on display, but what I found most interesting was that they included discussion of blockchain and Bitcoin.
I later headed to a corner shop to buy one of my favorite snacks, smoked cheese known as chechil. I also picked up a Coca Cola. Coca Cola decided to leave Russia, so Russian companies have filled the void with their own versions. In addition, other countries have exported their official Coca Cola to Russia. Belarus was the most common one, but I also found a can of Coca Cola made in Afghanistan, which I emptied and brought home as a souvenir.
After a good night’s sleep, I got up early to visit Peterhof and Catherine Palace.
It was a beautiful drive out of the heart of the city and on the streets the Tsar would take between his palaces. Along the way Irina pointed small palaces along the way that served as stopping points on the Tsar’s travels between palaces.
We started our day with a drive to Peterhof. The interior is truly breathtaking. We walked from room to room, and seemingly each one was more impressive than the last. That being said, the gardens are also not to be overlooked. The area just outside the building have large fountains, and the expansive gardens feature reflection lakes, impeccably manicured hedges, and a nice boardwalk along the bay.
We then drove towards Catherine Palace in Pushkin. One of the perks of traveling with a guide like Irina was that we got to skip the long entry queue (mainly local Russian tourists— it was a Sunday). The scale of the rooms in this palace is hard to describe. The highlight of this palace was the famous Amber Room. It was looted during the Nazi invasion and then restored afterwards. It is still a great mystery as to where the original materials from this room are.
I also cannot speak highly enough about Irina. She is incredibly knowledgeable, funny, and truly wants her clients to have a great experience. If anyone would like her contact, please let me know.
After this excellent tour, Irina and I parted ways, and I headed towards the military museum (right across the street from the Petropavlovsk Fort). In this very soviet building, you can find seemingly every kind of old weapon and a whole exhibit honoring the Kalashnikov and its namesake founder, Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Moscow:
The following morning, I took the Sapsan high speed train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. My friend Natalia booked the ticket for me as my foreign cards were unable to purchase the tickets online, and I didn’t want to be left without a ticket given my short time in the country. When I got to Moscow, I went to the Curio Hilton hotel and then met Yana, a family member of my friend Svetlana. Svetlana was gracious enough to connect me with Yana who took me around Moscow. I had such a fun time with Yana. After checking into my hotel, she met me with her lovely daughter, and we went on a Kremlin tour.
After passing through airport-style security we were led into beautiful square that is the Kremlin. There are churches, a gigantic bell + canon, and President Putin’s office building.
We then headed into the iconic GUM (goom) mall which is located right on the famous Red Square. Many iconic western luxury brands have pulled out of Russia, but the storefronts remain. Some brands, however, remain. Walking around the Red Square allowed me to see the city’s (and arguably the country’s) most well-known building— St. Basil’s Cathedral. This building is the reason is the first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of Russia, and seeing it in person was truly a special moment.
Yana then sent her daughter home with her grandmother as it was getting late for her. However, Yana and I then went on a beautiful walk along the riverside before heading to Café Pushkin for dinner. This was perhaps the most beautiful restaurant I have ever been in. It is a storied place with bookshelves and impressive woodwork.
The following day was quite slow (I was so tired from all the late nights), so we just went to the Victory Museum— the museum that honors the Soviet Union’s participation in the Great Patriotic War (known in the West as WWII).
Outside the building stands an obelisk with many of the city names that were destroyed during this war, including Moscow, Minsk, and Kiev (Russian spelling).
Inside it is a massive space with statues and murals. They also have immersive rooms with paintings and statues infront to create scenes. It is very powerful since these are all scenes of siege and suffering.
The museum also honors Western support in the war in a small space. However, they make sure to mention that Russia has made attempts to join NATO, but its membership has been blocked.
In the main hall there is also a light show where they project scenes on the ceiling and talk about the USSR’s work in the war.
After the museum we passed through Kievskaya metro station that has murals from Ukraine.
I then spent the evening roaming the streets and trying some exotic foods from the GUM mall food shop, including bear pate and tarkhuna— terragon soda. The following morning, I bid Russia adieu via an Aeroflot flight to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. I figured a trip to Russia would not be complete without a flight in the nation’s flag carrier, so when in Istanbul I purchased this ticket.
Conclusion:
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Russia, but of course I have only even begun to scrape the surface of the country. I cannot wait to embark on some serious trips to the country in the near future— hopefully out to the far east.
Russia is UN Country 80/193, and Russia in Europe marks TCC Region 97/330 for me.