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I Now Have My Russian Tourist Visa
10 years ago
So, as indicated in my journal all the way back on April 18th (sheesh, that feels like just yesterday, time really does fly), I am heading to Russia this summer as part of a university trip of roughly the same length as my journey to Cape Town last winter (which was technically summer in Cape Town since the seasons are flipped in the Southern Hemisphere)
In the months since, I have slowly but surely cobbled together the documents I would need to apply for a Russian Tourist Visa. Travel requirements for Americans going to Russia are fairly extensive, and things such as vouchers confirming hotel reservations and the like are a standard requirement. Moreover, there is an additional visa application form that one must fill out with personal information as well as records of education and residence and such. It's a very laborious process and, in the classic Russian fashion, very bureaucratic.
But in the end for me, it is all worth it. At this very moment, I have my passport before me with my shiny new Russian Federation Tourist Visa inside. It is good for three years, multiple entries. In other words, until 2018, I can enter Russia as many times as I want and stay for at most six months before departing. Obviously, when one factors in things like cost of airfare and accommodations, it isn't exactly a casual expense like a good commission or two (or three), but for me, knowing that I have the opportunity is, in and of itself, greatly exciting.
I have wanted to go to Russia since I was in middle school, and now I have finally gotten the opportunity to visit this enchanting, fascinating land of which I have always dreamed.
So, as a proper sendoff for all of you who like Russian music and dance, I offer that most venerable and respectable Russian waltz: On the Hills of Manchuria, composed in 1906 by Ilya Alexeiovich Shatrov in memory of the Russo-Japanese War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfhp1-69Y8U
In the months since, I have slowly but surely cobbled together the documents I would need to apply for a Russian Tourist Visa. Travel requirements for Americans going to Russia are fairly extensive, and things such as vouchers confirming hotel reservations and the like are a standard requirement. Moreover, there is an additional visa application form that one must fill out with personal information as well as records of education and residence and such. It's a very laborious process and, in the classic Russian fashion, very bureaucratic.
But in the end for me, it is all worth it. At this very moment, I have my passport before me with my shiny new Russian Federation Tourist Visa inside. It is good for three years, multiple entries. In other words, until 2018, I can enter Russia as many times as I want and stay for at most six months before departing. Obviously, when one factors in things like cost of airfare and accommodations, it isn't exactly a casual expense like a good commission or two (or three), but for me, knowing that I have the opportunity is, in and of itself, greatly exciting.
I have wanted to go to Russia since I was in middle school, and now I have finally gotten the opportunity to visit this enchanting, fascinating land of which I have always dreamed.
So, as a proper sendoff for all of you who like Russian music and dance, I offer that most venerable and respectable Russian waltz: On the Hills of Manchuria, composed in 1906 by Ilya Alexeiovich Shatrov in memory of the Russo-Japanese War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfhp1-69Y8U
Really liking the music too.
That said, today there *are* real issues with the rights of ethnic Russians in the Baltic States, particularly in Estonia which a few years back actually proposed a measure that would have limited Estonian citizenship exclusively to those with knowledge and proficiency of the Estonian language. This seems like an innocuous measure but, when you factor in that the Estonian language is one of the hardest in the world to learn, for a Russian who simply cannot be reasonably expected to learn a notoriously difficult and exotic language, that's effectively a removal of their citizenship. One doesn't have to be a rabid Putin supporter to recognize legitimate issues with discrimination against Russians in the Baltic States. That said, Putin's regime has always been unabashedly concerned with protecting the rights of Russian minorities outside of Russia, so this is no doubt going to be used to score political points by the powers-that-be in Moscow.
I wouldn't worry about visiting Estonia because of a forthcoming Russian invasion or what have you. Or Kaliningrad for that matter. Russia is an overwhelmingly *safe* country barring troubled areas like the North Caucasus. One should take the same precautions against crime and the like that one would take in any other part of the world, but honestly if you just travel smart and behave politely, you'll have a fine time in Russia.
My brother really wanted to visit Russia a few years back. Unfortunately he was Navy Intelligence Specialist and handled classified information so they wouldn't let him.