Russian New Year
 

I'm looking into traveling to Russia for New Year's and then staying for about 10 days after. Aside from the obvious, "A very warm coat and lots of warm clothes," any knowledge or advice to impart?

Well, where in Russia are you going? That's obviously a key question since the weather in say Magadan is going to be very different that the Crimea at that time of year. There are also lots of different things to do and see. I've been several times, so let me know.

Speaking in general terms for travel to Russia, make sure that you have some knowledge of the language and alphabet, especially if you're traveling through the Asian part. You have a much better chance of encountering English speakers in the larger cities (obviously), but even the trains usually lack anyone with a working knowledge of English.

When buying something, don't be surprised to find the clerks trying to make it more difficult for you. In general, Russians are xenophobic about strangers, although once you get past the veneer they can be some of the friendliest people around. I still email people that I met 6 or 7 years ago for a couple of days. I don't do that with anyone I met on other trips (with one exception).

If you're in a big city, especially one with a major university, be prepared to get into political and philosophical discussions with virtually no warning. I was in Ekaterinaburg in 2000 and had a WWII veteran walk up to me and start discussing the coming US election at breakneck speed. My Russian is pretty poor (I'm just not good at languages), and I had a pretty tough time keeping up, but it turned into a 3 hour conversation/tour of the city that was much better than what our hired guide had showed us the day before. He's since passed away, but it was an incredible experience. On my last trip, that happened probably a dozen times over 10 days.

The Russian version of "cheers" is "nasdrovia". Learn it. Live it. Love it. You will say it a lot.

I'm looking at flying into Moscow and being there for new years. Then travel by train to Penza. I plan to be travelling on a Homestay visa.

I studied a year of Russian in college, so I have a basic knowledge of the language and I can read and write in the Cryllic alphabet. Also I will be traveling with my fiancée who's native language is Russian. Plus she has training as an interpreter, so she will be my personal interpreter while I'm there.

I will be traveling into Russia on my own and then meet my fiancée at the airport in Moscow, since she's going back to Russia in October. Have you had any problems with the visa? I also hear a lot of stories about the police being corrupt and bribe-seeking, to what extent is that true?

I had problems with my visa once, but that was because I was an idiot. As long as you follow the rules, you'll be fine, but give them plenty of time to process it. To my knowledge, everything needs to be arranged well in advance. If you have the visa, everything should be fine.

The police are a different story. If you do nothing to attract attention to yourself, you should be fine. However, should you, for instance, be on an overnight train from Ekaterinaburg to Irkukst and be blinding drunk with a bunch of Russians and Poles, you might have to bribe the train police to stay on the train. The one with the gold teeth will most likely want a silver dollar.

Seriously, I've never had any problem with the police. Then again, I've never driven there, which is the usual corruption complaint. My friends who have driven have paid some minor bribes, but nothing bank-breaking. Ten rubles is a very small amount of money.

I've never been to Penza and I don't even know anyone who's been there. Moscow's different, though, and I've been there 3 or 4 times. Can I help there?

A friend of mine spent New Years in St Peterspurg while on a grad school exchange program in the late 80's. Don't even try to keep up with the locals with regards to drinking Vodka. They are real pros.

My fiancée grew up in Penza, so she's my resource for all things in Penza. As for Moscow, I always get conflicting reports. Sometimes I hear that it's a very cosmopolitan city, and other times I hear that it's a very crime ridden city and a dangerous place (according to my fiancée).

With my visa, I won't be able to get my letter of invite until my fiancée returns to Russia in October. I figure if I pay the $150 for 3-day processing, I should be okay in getting that taken care of.

It's interesting, because our exchange student this year is from Russia. She lives about a 2 hour drive from Moscow. Her advice is never carry anything expensive in your hands, or let it be seen easily while walking the towns in the early to late evenings. During the daylight hours she says it is not as bad, but the criminal element would stop at nothing if they think you have something of value. Other than that she says you should be able to get around reasonably easy. If you are into sporting goods and the like, stop by her father's shops in Barnaul....lol.

To be immensely helpful, Moscow is both. And until you're there, it's really tough to give you any better idea of what that means. You can end up in exorbitantly expensive restaurants and blow hundreds of dollars hanging out with people driving ferraris or you can be in a dirty corner market with sketchy looking guys waving half-full bottles of cheap vodka around. You will probably see a lot of both in the same night.

Moscow is an amazing place, but it's not safe and it's not necessarily comfortable. If it fascinates you, you will love it. If you're looking for someplace to be on a vacation, you will be sorely disappointed.

And they may actually be the same guys.

I'm certainly not viewing this as a vacation. I'm looking at this trip like I have looked at all my previous trips into Eastern Europe, this is an adventure.

One thing I'm having difficulty working out with Moscow is places to stay. Any advice on what to look for?

Regretably I'm not help with lodging. I was an exchange student during my stay in Moscow, so I lived at MGU in the dorms. Needless to say, I don't recommend staying there!

I have a question about airlines and one about customs.

It's looking like the best option for last leg of my flights (Frankfurt - Moscow) is Aeroflot. I've heard mixed reviews about this airline ranging from good to "fly this if you have a deathwish". Any experiences with Aeroflot?

And with customs, I have a GSM phone and I travel internationally with it. I'm told I need to declare my phone, and get permission to bring it into the country. Have there been any problems with this?

Everyone I know/knew in Russia bought a phone AFTER they got there to avoid even having to worry about it. Customs is a little picky, so they might give you trouble with it. My best advice would be to check with your country of origin's State Department/Foreign Ministry (I don't know if you're from the US or elsewhere). They tend to know those little details and what you need to do to make sure you don't run afoul of customs officers.

Yes, Aeroflot is cheap. Yes, it's also a deathwish. Ok, maybe deathwish is a little strong, but it won't be a pleasant experience. I'd definitely recommend that you fly something a bit more...western...instead.

I don't know about phones. I never tried to bring one in and I don't think I know anyone who has, but I'll send an email to my Russophile friends to see what they know.

My circle of friends refers to Aeroflot as "Scareoflot". A good friend of mine flew it back in the Soviet days into Kursk and thought that they had crashed on landing because of the noise on impact and the fact that both engines shut down on touchdown.