Hi AnTyx:

Russia is a very unique country (to put it politely) so far as immigration & customs requirements are concerned. For that reason, I don't think it is appropriate to use Russia as an example in the context of this discussion.

Before I retired, I used to deliver aircraft from the factory in Canada to customers all over the world. In an average year, I would land in 60 to 70 different countries. Half of those countries didn't require me to have a visa because I was considered aircrew on duty. The other 49% required a visa, but when I explained on the visa application that I was just passing through, the visa was issued without further inquiry. For Russia, though, the visa application form was 3 pages long, took 6 weeks to process, and costs about $500.

Similarly, no country other than Russia ever wanted any kind of paperwork on the aircraft I was delivering. It was obvious that the aircraft was new and was destined for someplace else & would only be in the country for a day or two. Not Russia, though... there was a whole really complicated process where I had to (in effect) sign the aircraft into the country, and then sign it out again when I left the country.

I'm not throwing stones at Russia, they have their way of doing things, and the customs and immigration authorities I met were always very polite and very professional. But, holy crow, did they ever require a ton of paperwork!

TL;DR: Best to not use Russia for comparison with any other country.

Michael