Russian/Ukrainian conflict - Will travel be possible for Nato country citizens ?
 

Are we going to be adding Russia to the growing list of countries that we will be pretty much banned or heavily restricted from travelling in ? Such as Iran and China etc.

Especially if you're in possession of a British or US Passport. The universally despised nations of war mongering and interference.

Pandemic bullshit now followed by war ?

So much of the world is being closed off because of conflict and the meddling and warmongering of sociopathic World 'leaders'

I fear the world is getting bigger again. Not smaller. But for all the wrong reasons.

I am KICKING myself for continuously putting off a central Asia/Russia trip over the last ten years. But then again, I had a lot of family issues to deal with. MEH !!!

Should I forget it for the foreseeable future? :(

I am in wait and see camp myself. Not buying into tabloid hysteria.

As for central asia they're slowly opening up and you can get there bypassing russia; there is a ferry from Azerbaijan to Kazakhsta. At least there was one before pandemic.

I share your concern Ted, having had to pull my own trip to the Altai in April 2020 due to COVID and as someone who has craved to return to the Pamir. But there will always be places we will want to go to, but never quite make it!

However, as Cyclopathic says, there is still hope if you want to visit that part of the world - the ferry from Baku to Aktau is an option, if you then cut down through the Silk Road cities via Beynau. The Azeris are reviewing their COVID land border closures in the next few weeks. Uzbekistan is arguably more open than it was five/six years ago, even if Kazakhstan is less stable. If you've got an EU passport, Tajikistan is now also visa-free.

Right now, Russian land borders are closed to non-citizens anyway, due to COVID. If they do open up again, I would say that there will always be shades of grey to the situation - exploring the Russian side of border areas, always sensitive, might be a no-no if only due to the security presence, but further away from them people are people.

One question in my mind is whether there might be more restrictions for land crossings for GB/UK passport holders if and when things open again, but then that arguably would have to apply to all NATO countries too. Would Russia want to miss out on that western tourism? Is the Russian Government of the nature of Iran/Burma/China, who have similar restrictions?

I'm not convinced. I think the wider situation is no longer what it was, but anything short of full-on war, I'm optimistic that things will eventually open up again.

Finally, it's worth watching Georgia/South Ossetia - that's a very similar situation to the Ukrainian one, and one that's be rumbling on for much longer.

Ed

That's not entirely true; I was told by contact the border is open for travel by airplane and trains the land crossings restricted to russian plated vehicles only. So you can get in if you ship bike across. IMO it is unlikely that there would be any additional border restriction tightening but it is a question for how long covid restrictions would stay.

This is pretty much where I am too. Though last I heard KZ land borders were also closed? They have had their own unrest there of course, but things are much calmer now.

I don't believe the Ukraine standoff will develop into war. From what I understand of the Russian mindset they regard Ukraine as a sister state not one to occupy and spend decades fighting an insurgency. They would rather support Donbas staying in Ukraine and influencing its policies. They don't need the natural resources, they have plenty of their own. Plus of course Russia could have walked in years ago if they wanted to, and nobody could have stopped them. So despite all the war of words (especially the idiot Johnson, Biden's errand boy trying to distract from his own f*ckups) I reckon within a few months it'll all be calm again but Ukraine will have got the message not to poke the bear.

Within Russia/CIS there may be some individuals who feel aggrieved by the actions of the US and its allies, but like in our own countries most ordinary citizens are good people.

My take on it, borders will stay closed for a while yet while Omicron is ripping through countries, but we will see a gradual easing over the next year, by which time today's Ukraine crisis will be tomorrow's chip paper.

That's interesting -hadn't thought of doing that. Useful to know, thanks.

Ed

Not completely true.

Land borders are closed yes, but you can get in with extra permission of the FSB.

you can apply for this permission on good visa agencies.

I definitely know some people who have done that this way, ans I am planing the same.

And shipping the bike to Russia is more likely a custom pain in the axx and I guess, it would take longer to get custom clearance than to try to get into with a permit

To point out the obvious: they HAVE occupied two major regions of Ukraine since 2014.

Hi Klaus,

That sounds promising about getting the special permission. Do you have any more information that you might be able to share on that?

Thanks,

Ed

There are at least two possible outcomes of the current situation-- (A) war breaks out, any non-Russian not in a war zone may not be able to drive anywhere, all foreign bank accounts frozen, NATO citizens will be in jail or some sort of "camp". (B) it blows over in 2 -4 weeks, everything back to normal. Best to wait a few weeks and see if there are other places to visit. Your choice.

You are overthinking it I don't think there's gonna be a war; neither side is interested in it and it is hard to ignite wet wood. But yeah definitely there could be some complications for sure if tit for tat escalates. But real war? Don't think so noone has resources and if nukes start flying we will never find out. Piece.

There is more than one type of war. A nuke war is unlikely. If Russia invades Ukraine, bank accounts will be frozen, NATO citizens will become interesting to both the government and non-governmental groups. If you brother/son/father just died during the invasion, you might be less than friendly to citizens of the enemy countries.Travelers from those countries could be jailed, hurt, or worst. Remember the treatment of the Muslims after 9-11.
But if you can't wait and want to travel there, okay by me.

In Europe, you can do that with good visa agencies, they can sort that for you.
in Germany I definitely know that works

Hello

Only russias dictator Putin can put Russia on any list.
Only he is responsibly for the current tensions and only he knows if Russia (Putin) is going to invade Ukrain.

If he is just bluffing, well played, all western leaders are kissing his ass.

If he does invade Ukrain, let's hope there will be few deaths.

Russia has never been intrested in western tourism, just look at the visa process, compared to other countries that require visa AND are interested in tourism.

sushi

This is the real issue for me. I'm not so much worried about hostility from Russian people but the officials.

I think multiple entry trips to Russia or for longer periods require a business visa. These have to be applied for in advance.

If Britain and the USA put sanctions on Russia then they will retaliate with rejecting any visas from the UK or USA. Just like Iran is doing now.

Like said, Russia doesn't give a feck about tourism. It's a country that survives by selling it's natural resources. And they do not take shit from anyone.