Russia 2008
Travelling from Murmansk (far North) down to Astrakhan by the Caspian then across into Ukraine, we had a lot of Police stops but didn't pay any bribes at all. You were asked for money and refused, stayed polite and relaxed. A letter of introduction in Cyrillic explaining our trip was useful. Getting your lunch out and looking like you were prepared to wait for ever seemed to work too. Hold out your hand to try for a hand shake. Too much smiling seems to make the Russians think you might be a bit crazy.
The ferry/customs police at the Kerch, delayed us trying to extract money, and in hind-sight it might have been sensible to pay the few bucks rather than wait another couple of hours in the hot sun.
Russian motor-cyclists were great
|