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.

Without seeking to pull the topic even further off topic (!), the history behind all of this goes back way further than the last 75 or 100 years that Ted and TomKat mention.

A very good read that I highly recommend is The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy. A very thorough history, that certainly left me thinking that the current problems are just the latest iteration of problems that have existed for nearly a millenia.

Ta,

Ed

Let's review:

The subject of this thread--established by the OP and by its location in the North and Central Asia forum--is future travel in relation to the current threat of war and/or sanctions in and around Ukraine. This doesn't include the posting of inflammatory screeds--and responses to inflammatory screeds--about the politics of US, Soviet, U.K., or other countries. Please resist any contrary temptation you may experience, and stick to the topic.

I've placed several posts into moderation, which means they're invisible except to other moderators and Grant. If they disagree with me, the posts might reappear. On the other hand, it's also possible that *more* posts will vanish.

Thanks for your forbearance,

Mark

Thanks Mark - appreciated


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Per news russia just recognized breakaway donbas republics; it likely plays out in next few days. No war but there will surely be tit for tat. Looks like my trip to old summer road could be in jeopardy, bummer.

Interesting that it will lead to a very similar situation to that has existed in Georgia since 2008 - a breakaway republic only recognised by Russia and a handful of others, with Russian 'peacekeepers' stationed there.

The good news (from our self-indulgent travel perspective) is that situation has been relatively stable since 2008, albeit with occasional flare ups, allowing travel to the area, so may be the direction we're headed for with Ukraine too. I wouldn't write off your trip yet.

Ed

Russia - Latvia Border Crossing
 

I have had my Landcrusier stuck in Russia due to Covid. But now planning to return to Russia in May to collect my Landcrusier and head up to the Latvia Border and cross into the E U
Has anyone got any news on this land border which I’m planning to cross in May 2022
Any advice would be appreciated

Regards
Ray

Well it is better for the people who live in donbas republics; at least shelling of civilian population will stop. They have been living in the state of war for 8 years.

From what I understand the US embassy in Moscow is down to 150 people from over 1000 before obama started all this bullshit. They stopped issuing visas to russians and they did the same. So as is when your visa expires you won't be able to extend it

Noone expects the spanish inquisition

Hard to have a discussion about travelling in an area undergoing political upheaval without mentioning politics. Short version, yeah we'll be able to travel again when it all dies down. HTH ;)

My understanding is that the US embassy stopped issuing visas not for political reasons but because they simply don't have the people any more to process them.

In the meantime, as a US citizen I got a new Russian three year multiple entry business visa in September with no problem whatsoever.

Hard to say at this point what might change in the future, but as always, adverse changes are certainly possible...

Good to know - did you pick up information on what land borders you might be able to use it for, to cross? Inany formation is very patchy right now.

Thanks

Ed

Hi Ray
Sent you a PM just now.

Cheers
Chris

No, I didn't ask, because I wouldn't have trusted the visa agency I dealt with to have a clue. In any event I needed it for other stuff, I've had to fly to Moscow twice in the last couple of months.

Hi everyone,

it seems like just about now is the time to register here and join the conversation.

I had planned a trip to central Asia going through Georgia and Russia. Coming from Germany I have received the information (last week) that getting a tourist visa issued and then entering on it overland should not be a big problem. Even with Russian friends living in Russia I still felt like it would be a gamble.

The situation feels a bit more unstable now and I am even hesitant giving my passport to the consulate (who knows whether they process it and I get it back if they reduce their staff...).

Has anyone else planned a similar route for this year? I had planned to enter Russa as early as April. I will probably try to take the ferry across the Caspian Sea now instead.

Cheers,
Benjamin

I do Ben, though I’ve planned to avoid Russia given the uncertainty but want to go if it can.

Drop me a DM with your contact details if you want to have a chat - keen to share notes.

Ed


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The bombing has started. Please, no one--no one--no one enter any country in this war zone. Bombing the capital of another country is war. No NATO citizen will be safe for some time.

Yeah I saw news. To be expected suppose; they recognized donbas republics then gave 24hr to ukrainian side to stop shelling civilians. I guess next would be involving UN article 50.

As for no nato citizen will be safe for some time, what do you mean? Are they gonna bomb NATO capitals? They won't stop until they reach brussels??

At first it means you as passport holder from a Nato country should not enter Russia. Unless you tend to be a real adventurer or a stupid hazard seeker. At second we will recognize early enough how and with what kinds of effects the political climate in the next weeks will change.

Could you share the source of this information that Russian land borders are open again? A lot of people are waiting for Russia to re-open. As far as I am aware, there has been no change.

As for being worried about being in Russia at this time, I don't see why, away from the conflict zones, there would be an issue. Most people in the world are sensible enough to detach the actions of a government of a given country from the intentions of an individual which comes from that country, especially outside of the West where few people believe in the illusion of democracy.

EO

Maybe you start seeing an issue at the point when international payment transactions aren`t possible anymore due to sanctions and you are running out of money.

Then you take cash, just like travelling in Iran, Turkmenistan etc.

For sure this works perfect up to point till the russian border is closed and you cannot leave the country or you can leave Russia but the entrance border of the neighbor country is closed for you.

We saw that kind of "border behavior" in the pandemic crisis all over the world could happen silent and very fast. And we all know people who got stuck. Some a short time, some got forced to stay quite longer. But in all that time the international payment system worked fine without failures.

In the moment the situation is that Putins war activities attack the substance of the territorial integrity of Europe build after 2nd World War. These borders were fixed for decades. Everyone who attacks these borders now has to be seen and recognized as highly dangerous for all european countries and of course for the european community. The actual situation is much more dangerous than The Cold War from 1947 to 1989 ever was.

Means european countries and goverments (and of course a lot of other countries worldwide!) have to react to this and due to the fact that they will never answer this by a military actions they will decide for any kind of sanctions to weaken the economic power of Russia.

And as harder and efficient this will work as faster you will run out of your amount of travel cash...

This thread is "Will travel be possible for NATO citizens?". The invasion of Ukraine started last night. There is a war in the Ukraine, not in Brussels. Russia will probably not attack any NATO country. However, if you are a NATO citizen do NOT try to enter Russia or Ukraine, this is not a safe time for you in either country. You will be subject to a lot of questioning, possible "detention" until your status is determined, possible injury from local police or private citizens. Bank accounts, credit cards, foreign currency may be difficult to use until this is all cleared up. Do you want to prove you are not a NATO or Russian spy? It will not be a fun day. Ride safe.

Thats the same in Iran and it works fine.

just have enough cash and you are fine.

That's okay if the locals accept it, at what ever exchange rate they want.

Well said Sushi. I couldn't agree more.
Long live Ukraine.

This is way overblown. I lived in Moscow for 15 years, and have been there twice in the last 6 weeks. I seriously doubt that the average traveler will be interrogated, detained, or "injured by local police or private citizens."

That said, now is obviously not the best time to go to Russia, if for no other reason because of covid and potential issues with payments, etc. I'd already put off a 2022 launch for a trip planned since 2020 because of covid, but right now am not sure when or if I'll return to Russia--not because I think I'll be detained, but because I don't especially want to go there any more...

Can you really see a Nato citizen getting a Russian Visa now ? If not a NATO ban, certainly a ban from US and UK after the sanctions being drawn today.

Even if you could, Ukraine and Russia are now going to be on the Government red lists for the foreseeable future. So there goes any travel insurance you may require.

doh

Let's hope that remains the smallest problem, czar Putin has just threatend the world with nuklear war if anyone dares to face him in his invasion of Ukraine.

Our only hope is that the russians deal with that problem (czar Putin) themself.

:rofl: seriously? doh

It seems pretty serious to me.

Sounds serious to me. No telling where this is going to go.

I don't swim in floodwaters and I don't travel where there are wars going on.

.........shu

We have a range of viewpoints from rational assessment (potential sanctions complicating travel) to near hysterical blather (complete with capitals) on the issue.

What we don't have is any evidence. Looking at waytorussia.net, a great source of visa info, I don't see any updates. We have to wait and see.

But, in 2003 when Bush and his lackey Blair and a few others launched a similar invasion of Iraq on spurious grounds of national security, backed up with total lies, opposed my many decent members of the population, did it become dangerous for Iraqis to travel in the West? I don't think so.

When this current war started in 2014 (I remember it clearly as I was about to drive through Luhansk Region into Russia), did it become dangerous for Westerners to visit Russia? Absolutely not. I crossed from Sumy into Russia, skirting the war zone to the north, and never heard anything about it.

Sure, this time is different. It may become very difficult to travel in Russia. It may be that visas are very hard to come by. But people are thinking in too narrow terms. Remember there are probably tens, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians living in the West who have NATO passports and regularly visit Russia to see relatives. That's a strong political lobby. But the idea that you will be at risk simply being in Russia is groundless paranoia. The idea that Russian people will suddenly change from being deeply hospitable to aggressive towards foreginers is pretty offensive, and ludicrous.

There are tens of thousands of Ukrainians living in Russia - have there been any reports of official harassment? Any reports of Westerners being harassed in Russia? Even the Western journalists based there?

EO

Russia is a huge country, you can enter from Finland, the Baltic states and Georgia without traveling where there is a war going on.

Yes. Lose your bike, your money, the ability to get the hell out of there. Have you ever been in a hostile environment?

Thank you for your sane, reasoned and sober view EO. It'd be great if this thread remained something useful in terms of *factual* information sharing about travel in Russia/Ukraine, rather than the hot air found on much of social and mainstream media.

And from Kazakhstan/ Central Asia, Mongolia or Japan/South Korea (by boat) too. For perspective, Moscow is 3 hours ahead of GMT and Magadan is +11. (Tokyo is +8). +12 is the international date line.

If I can get a visa for Russia and a land border is open, I'll go, while of course stearing clear of any shooting war. Just like I don't wish to be judged by others because of the current muppet show "governing" the country of which I have a passport, I won't judge ordinary Russians for the bloke they have in charge.

Well, Russia has even imprisoned most of their native opposition.

And yes, they have been harassing Ukrainians, especially those on Crimea and in the Donbas and Lushenk area who did not want to submit. Hell, they are even harrassing Georgians in Georgia beyond the line of control in South Ossetia (which they are constantly pushing further into Georgia).

They have closed down the German TV office in Moscow and taken the accreditation of all those journalists. They have been closing office of international and local NGOs

So yeah - I would say that there are plenty of reports of harassment going on.

Cheers,
Benjamin

Yes. You are way over-blowing everything. :rofl:

It has started today - Plan Anaconda. The Moscow police are stopping all cars with Ukrainian plates.

Yes, I can see getting a Russian visa, at least for now. And no, I don't see a ban from the US at least for citizens visiting Russia, again unless things change. Can't speak for the UK, don't know.

Not sure what kind of insurance you have in mind, but you should be able to get Russian insurance for Russia. Perfect? No. Better than nothing? I would guess yes.

I have several foreign (English, American, Canadian) friends in Moscow; none of them have reported any issues at all.

You may not like it, but everybody is responsible for what their government does, unless you are a supressed victim of your government.
Putin was elected by the ordinary russian people, he has become a dictator with their approval and as long as they still support him, they are as guilty as he is of the bloodshed that is going on.

Do you have any factual evidence to back up your emotive assertions?

Don't agree at all. I've been in Moscow twice in the last six weeks and spoke with many of my Russian friends. They unanimously told me:
1) they did not have any interest at all in taking over Ukraine; and
2) they thought Putin was bluffing and would not do anything.

Since the invasion, I've only heard from one friend, and she wrote to tell me that she was ashamed. Another friend with Russian friends and family told me that none of the Russians he'd spoke with supported the war. Finally, another friend told me that one of his Russian friends (living in Russia) wrote him to say that she and her friends hoped that Russia would get whacked with severe sanctions to make it pay.

As to your point about "they are as guilty as he is"---bullshit. Their votes don't matter. Peaceful protests don't matter, and they are at least arrested for their trouble, sometimes fired (in a bad economy). So their only solution is revolution--hardly to be taken lightly, and requiring a critical mass that is very, very, very difficult to achieve.

So stop blaming the Russian people for this madness--it is all Putin.

Good to hear a Russophile with extensive experience of living in Russia sharing ordinary Russians' views and calling out some people's random emotive ramblings as what they are.

It seems very difficult to have a rational discussion / argument here (with point and counterpoint), either due to personal bias or misunderstanding the discussion.

For clarity, I am trying to make a case that there is no evidence (so far) that it would be dangerous for citizens of NATO countries to visit Russia since the latest Russian offensive. So the (open) questions I asked at the end of my previous point were genuine, seeing if we have any evidence for harrasment.

Your points are mostly tangential.

Yes--so far. Not everybody wants to become famous as the first example. If you want to take that chance, by all means ride ride ride. If you can think of other places you have wanted to visit, why not go there?

Let's not force the hand of a Moderator here.

I think all replies have been excellent. I was asking for OPINIONS, not hard facts. But all replies are welcome.

This is a forum. Where ideas, facts and opinions are shared. Surely that's the whole point ? If people want hard facts and binary information, they can find that easily elsewhere. From official Government websites and historical archives.

Forums (not necessarily this one) can easily be ruined by moderators thinking that they need to censor opinions. And you can't always blame them when replies start edging towards rhetoric and hyperbole. It's often just easier to delete entire posts than to try and decipher it's intended content.

And then we all lose out.

Good points, Ted.

I'll add that as a moderator I cannot delete part of a post while leaving the rest--doing so in the past has led to varying degrees of trouble. This means that anyone wishing to offer constructive information and/or opinions about a topic should refrain from mixing it with the kind of offensive or inflammatory remarks which are not allowed here (as defined in the terms we all agreed to when signing on as members).

In practical terms, it won't matter how hard I work at composing a post offering my wisdom (as I like to conceive it) to the rest of you if I include inflammatory political commentary or gratuitous insults directed at other members. Moderators will then be faced with a stark choice--let my post stand, or delete in its entirety. Having decided to delete, this often means deleting responses by anyone who rises to the bait, especially if they quote the offending post in their response. A fair bit of valuable content is lost this way, and a lot of offense is taken.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I've been as guilty as anyone of crossing the line. As a result, I've had posts deleted and been privately chastised by other moderators and by Grant. It's a learning process for us all--and we're all, as far as is known, human.

There is a lot of good information in this thread, and perspectives on a topic which interests us all, i.e., the intersection of our forms of travel with world geopolitics. Let's keep it going on that basis.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Opinions based on not a shred of evidence?! Just disengage from reality and utter forth what comes into your mind at that particular moment in time?

I believe God will send angels to comfort Vladimir and nibble the soft bits on the end of his ears, and he will shout (the equivalent of, in Russian) "this is fantastic" and immediately stop and reverse the invasion of Ukraine. (Theme borrowed from Monty Python, except in the sketch it was Victor and not Vladimir and Ukraine wasn't mentioned...)

Government websites for facts: Following the 2014 Batalan theatre attrocity and connected events, the US State Department **for multiple years** advised against all but essentially travel to Paris and France. How many US tourists or anyone else heeded that "advice"?

Historical archives: They show strong parallels between Mr Putin's behaviour and that of a German fella with a dubious 'tash who was i/c Germany in the 1930's and early to mid 40s.

Why should a moderator step in here? There are a variety of differing views (some based on actual experience and knowledge, and other on unsubstantiated emotion, and everything in-between), but no-one is getting personally insulting or rude, like what would have surely happened on social media, where algorithms (on Facebook for example) are programmed to promote "fights/confrontation/argument" and not prevent "special interest groups" from (negatively) influencing the discourse (Cambridge Analytica, for example).

For what's it worth, I've been listening to Russian radio over the internet the last few days. The station (located in Moscow) has been having listeners call in to say if they have any loved ones in Ukraine, etc. Many people called in, many with either relatives in Ukraine or serving in the Russian army in Ukraine. Many of the callers were near tears...people are NOT happy about this war. The words "criminal," "irrational," and "unjustified" came up a lot.

If you go to Russia in the near future I think you're more likely to have locals apologize to you for their country's shameful conduct than harass you.

I have no knowledge the add to this debate, but thanks for sharing this. Helpful (and hopeful) to know.

I have never been to Russia. Although I have met quite a lot of Russians in far reaches of the globe. However, I have never met a Russian in the U.K where I live. Weird! I have always found them to be polite, funny and intelligent.

I have no fear of Russian people. Nor have I ever had fear of local people anywhere in the world. It's only the politicians and those commanded by them that I have ever been wary of.

Luckily I am not hearing any anti-Russian sentiment anywhere. Just anti-Putin. Everyone knows that the Russian people are already suffering under a dictatorship.

Going back to the original point of the thread, as the days go on and sanctions get harder it seems that Russia is becoming even more of a Pariah state. Cut off and disconnected from the world. As long as Putin is in command and also as an autocratic regime, it will only be a revolution or assassination that can remove him.

And then what ? History has taught us that whenever a dictator is removed, anarchy ensues. Power struggles, terrorism etc. It would surely get worse before It got better.

Like Chris correctly states, Russia has always worked on reciprocity when it comes to Visas. Considering the west is cutting Russia off on every front, I personally believe that it will be a long time before British, US and EU tourists are being issued Visas by the Kremlin. But Business Visas could be different ? It's the multiple entry business visa that most Overlanders need to cross East I believe.

I really do hope I'm wrong. For everyone's sake.

At the moment I would no more dream of going to Moscow on business than Pyongyang. For one you can't get paid. You also have PR problems in markets massively larger than Russia (their Economy is the size of Spain). You won't get travel insurance unless part of a diplomatic mission of some sort and corporate lawyers don't like that risk.

You feel for the ordinary people but there is no other way yet thought of to sort out nutters like Putin. I certainly aren't putting any priority on my holiday plans having to change.

How long this lasts for is totally unknown but to me is likely to be years. If Putin decides to completely U-turn and leave office tomorrow everyone will just think its a ploy, so even an unimaginably positive outcome still results in controls in place for months/years. Endless Cold War with Putin in power or a nasty internal struggle to get rid seems more likely. That or he pushes the button.

Andy

https://assets.publishing.service.go..._Ed1__WEB_.jpg

UK Foreign Offiice now advises against all travel to Russia quoting "the lack of available flight options to return to the UK, and the increased volatility in the Russian economy."

I don't pay any attention to FCO travel advice, but that is a lot of red! :D

You may not. But your travel insurance company certainly does.

I personally know two people who have had to be rescued from Russia after accidents with broken bones. One of them nearly bankrupted the insurance company.doh

LOL, and yet somehow they managed to leave off Belarus and Ukraine... :oops2:

I think the colouring in is just to show all those untalented at geography, where Russia actually is. It must have taken several UK civil servants many hours of intense crayoning :innocent:

An aside: why would anyone want to fly back to today's UK? (I've a UK passport, but live elsewhere...). I flew back in January this year after a couple of years outside those islands and the only thing I missed when I left again were friends and proper beer. (Sorry, this second paragraph is :offtopic: )

Yes, after that imbecile Liz Truss had spent a good hour colouring in Brazil

I'm struggling to see what you all expect the FCO to do?

They have information there is a war. They advise not to go there and for the purposes of those who may work better with visuals than text, probably due to health conditions, colour in a map. The FCO aren't a travel agency or a news agency.

Do you all expect traffic wardens to act as tour guides?

I live in the UK and intend to continue doing so. It isn't perfect but probably as good as it gets . Not going to get much further into politics but the biggest problem is a population above the comfort level for a small island. BREXIT was a first step to start fixing that. Over my garden fence is a slum imported from Bucharest, sorting that without importing another and another is logical. Sorry if that makes your holidays harder to organise. Yes, it would be better if the UK acted more like Switzerland and less like the USA, but hopefully that will come.

Andy

... goes further into politics.

In other news, it's heartening to see how Europe has come together from all of this. Despite not having much money the Hungarian branch of my family are prepared to take in refugees, and even though we don't have a lot either we're chipping in to help support them.

Back on the original topic, my sense right now is that this won't have a massive impact on NATO citizens travelling to the former Soviet Union, with the obvious exceptions of Russia and Ukraine.

Support for the war seems to be lukewarm at a Government level in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. See today's UN vote as an indication of that, here, where all either didn't vote, abstained or voted for the resolution criticising the invasion:

https://www.axios.com/united-nations...50f01c754.html

Right now it seems to me that the main obstacles for this year's riding season will a) depend on whether the conflict widens beyond Ukraine and b) continue to be existing land border closures (Kazakhstan and ambiguity on a few others in particular).

Ed

Agreed, and as an indication the map of closed airspace to Russia, which clearly shows the NATO countries blocked off but the south and east open. It seems plenty of people prefer not to get into a dispute between Russia and NATO.

For us, the difficulty to travel rather than bash politics is that Russia and Ukraine are likely to be difficult to travel in for some time yet, which cuts out an awful lot of Asia/Eurasia. How long is anyone's guess.

Not anyone`s, only Putin`s guess.

Looks like this issue has been settled.

If only the authors of this thread were in charge of world affairs.

Hmmm....this looks distinctly suboptimal...

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/...-lavrov-a77111

How dare you bring a piece of evidence into this discussion! :innocent:

Indeed, not looking good. Something tells me the days of easy 1-year multi entry business visas are probably over... let's see when specifics are released.

At least we can remain hopeful that this will only concern Russia for now https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/...rtain-minister

Cheers,
Benjamin

Another piece of evidence to pollute this thread with - a member of this forum has just reported that he secured a 1 year, multi entry (I assume business) visa for Russia in the Netherlands.

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...k-route-102848

It remains to be seen if Russian land borders are open, but it looks like the answer to the thread title, as of now, may indeed be 'yes'.

The visa seems to have been issued before Putin activated his "unfriendly nations" legislation, though. So it remains to be seen whether the visa will work at the border as well as if anyone else would be able to get a visa now.

Cheers,
Benjamin

Were you in contact with the person who posted? I was under the impression he got the visa yesterday.

Yes. My information is that he got the visa from the agency yesterday. I must admit that I assumed that the visa was processed by the consulate before the legislation signed by Putin on Monday came into effect.

Cheers,
Benjamin

Russian road/land borders are open but restricted under Covid regulations that don't look like being cancelled any time soon - for other reasons.

The basic situation currently is -

- to enter. Only Russian passport holders (including dual) and Permanent Residency Permit (ВнЖ) holders can enter Russia through land borders. There are exceptions including immediate Russian family, medical treatment, etc. You still need a valid Visa of any sort, unless your citizenship is visa exempt.

- to exit. Only foreign passport holders (including dual) can exit through land borders. There is a similar set of exceptions.

At the border, there are no extra restrictions specifically for citizens of NATO or 'unfriendly countries".

The restrictions at Russia land borders in my post above ended from 15 July.

Now anyone can cross in either direction, subject to their normal visa and documentation requirements as before Covid, plus foreigners require a PCR test to enter (I don't know how recent they have to be).


Поехали!

Best news for me so far this year.
Thanks Tony for posting.

Will apply for Visa soon, need to sort out insurance/ green card as insurane company
refuses to cover Russia. Health insurane looks easier to fix.

Moscow early September would be great. :mchappy:

You could never get a green card for Russia anyway. Buy insurance at the border. However a couple of points to bear in mind. With Russia's disconnection from the SWIFT banking system your cards won't work and you will not be able to get money out of ATMs. Also, health insurance may not cover you for areas where your govt has advised against travel.

Just a point of correction: My Bulgarian (European Union) vehicle insurance green card DOES cover travel in Russia (and Georgia/ Turkey/ Morocco/ all the Balkan countries amongst other non-EU countries).

Even before Brexit, the UK where you reside had some pretty weird laws/conventions. Now they're just more set in stone than before (unless the EU takes the UK government to court for breaking international laws, yet again?)

Nit corrrect, it depends on the country and insurance company.

I definitely have green card for Russia ( and i always had since 2013)

and for money, there is an app called "koronapay"
With this app you can send money to a bank you choose and pick it up there right away

This is my actual and valid green card (just it is not green anymore)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/TGe8gc.jpg

Every day's a school day ;)

Have you tried to use this recently? On their website they do not mention being able to pick up cash in Russia.

Edit: the app does mention Russia, but only Moscow and St Petersburg locations doh

Or if that doesn't work, then cash USD (10s and 20s. 50s and 100s less welcome) and cash Euros. Most definitely not PIPs (Plague Island Pounds). They're about as univerally acceptable as Vietnamese Dong or Zim $ (sorry to any Vietnamese or Zimbabweans reading this thread :D ).

In a time not so long ago, before Ewen & Thingy and ATMs everywhere, many travelled with only cash USD and USD travellers cheques and used post restante for letters from home. I remember it well :innocent:

Yeah that's always the fallback. But for 90 days travelling through Russia you're potentially talking about carrying quite a lot of folding!

I reckon about $600 for fuel alone, maybe $40/day for food and accommodation (some hotels, some camping), Call it $4,000 :o

Ok, maybe 50s and 100s better when carrying lots of cash :rofl:

In 1999/2000, I travelled the length of Africa with only cash USD. If "adventure" travel was meant to be easy, everyone would be doing it. 99.9% only make it as far as Starbucks, where PIPs are occasional still accepted.