Russia

Russia is a vast country sharing borders with countries as far apart as Norway and Northern Korea. Spanning across nine time zones it has the world’s largest forest reserves and such a vast amount of awe-inspiring scenery from icy tundra to sparkling lakes, snowy mountains to the sub tropical beaches of the Black Sea coast that it would take a lifetime to discover it all. The cities of St Petersburg and Moscow are its star attractions. Here visitors can discover Russia’s turbulent history and modern rebirth and marvel at resplendent structures such as the Kremlin and Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and the palaces of the Tsars in St Petersburg who ruled until their downfall in 1917. A major highlight is a night at the Russian ballet or opera. If you want to delve deeper into the country, take a cruise on the Volga River or a journey on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway

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Russia has a continental climate in most parts, except the arctic north. Winters get more severe further east with east Siberia experiencing harsh winters. Southern Russia has hot summers with fairly high rainfall and cold snowy winters. The best time to travel to Russia is during spring and autumn when its mind and dry.

Transport

Getting there and away

Bordering 13 countries and with flights and even boats to many more around the world, there's no shortage of options for getting to and from Russia.

There are daily flights to Moscow from all major European capitals and New York, as well as from Hong Kong and other Asian travel centres. There are also daily services to St Petersburg from many European capitals.

There are numerous land routes to Russia, popular approaches being on trains and buses from Central and Baltic European countries or on either the trans-Manchurian or trans-Mongolian train routes from China and Mongolia. The main western rail gateways to European Russia are Helsinki, Warsaw, Prague and Budapest.

There are a handful of opportunities to reach Russia by sea from Sassnitz (Germany) to Kaliningrad; Trabzon (Turkey) to Sochi; and from Japan to Vladivostok.

Getting around

Getting around Russia is easy thanks to a splendid train network and a packed schedule of flights between all major and many minor towns and cities. In the summer months many of the rivers and lakes are navigable and have cruises and ferry operations. But a word of warning: don't underestimate the distances involved. Russia is huge.

Flying in Russia is a unique experience. Flights can be delayed, often for hours and with no or little explanation. Generally, you're better off booking internal flights once you arrive in Russia, where more flights and flight information are available and where prices may be lower.

Russian Railways runs one of the largest networks in the world with 85,500km of track. Long-distance trains are generally comfortable, and depending on the class of travel, relatively inexpensive, making them an excellent way to get around, see the countryside and meet Russians from all walks of life. The rail network runs on Moscow time; the only general exception is suburban train services, which stick to local time.

Long-distance buses complement rather than compete with the rail network. They generally serve areas with no railway or routes on which trains are slow, infrequent or overloaded. Marshrutky are minibuses that are quicker than the rusty old buses. Where roads are good and villages frequent, marshrutky can be twice as fast as buses, and are well worth the double fare.

Driving in Russia isn't everybody's cup of tea but, if you've got a sense of humour, don't mind some fairly rugged road conditions, getting stopped and fined by traffic policemen on the make, a few hassles finding petrol, and getting lost now and then, it's a great way to see the country.

River transport remains important and in summer it's possible to travel long distances across Russia on passenger boats. The main passenger services ply between Moscow and St Petersburg, and between Moscow and various points on the Volga and Don, including Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Astrakhan and Rostov-on-Don.

Health & Legal Requirements

Dangers and annoyances

Despite the media fascination with gangland killings and the 'Russian mafia', travellers have nothing to fear on this score - the increasingly respectable gangster classes are not interested in such small fry. You do need to be very careful of pickpockets, though. Travellers have reported problems with groups of children who surround foreigners, ostensibly to beg, closing in with dozens of hands probing pockets (or worse). The key is to be neither paranoid nor unconcerned - use common sense and try to fit in: shun clothes and accessories that show you're a tourist.

Bear in mind that, while things have improved slowly, many police officers and other uniformed officials are on the make. If you feel you are being unfairly treated or if the police try to make you go somewhere with them, pull out your mobile phone and threaten to call your embassy ('ya pozvonyu svoyu posolstvu'). This will usually be sufficient to make them leave you alone. However, if they still want you to go somewhere, it's best to call your embassy immediately.

Sadly, racism is a problem in Russia. Be vigilant on the streets around Hitler's birthday (20 April), when bands of right-wing thugs have been known to roam around spoiling for a fight with anyone who doesn't look Russian.