At a slight tangent from a fascinating thread..
It depends where you are, and who you're dealing with.

In 2006 I was stopped at a checkpoint outside a closed city close to Murmansk. There'd been no indication whatsoever that non-Russians weren't allowed on the road. Indeed, it was marked on the crappy map supplied by the tourist board as being of special interest to tourists.

Most of the 26 (!!) men in uniform who were involved in questioning me, checking documents, faxing Moscow, admiring the bike and generally wanting to be seen to be concerned, were friendly in the end. Their time was being wasted as much as mine, as Sunday afternoon became Sunday evening, their dinners were being ruined and their vodka being drunk by someone else.

But one verrry scary man in a long black overcoat kept asking questions, and spent a long time looking at my helmet-cam attachment. Velcro isn't very James Bond, but he was deeply suspicious. If I'd had any paperwork that day indicating that I've worked as a journalist*, I'm convinced he would have had me arrested.

Instead, the remainder of the 26 eventually conceded that a) I wasn't going to pay a bribe to get away and b) I had done nothing wrong, so they let me go.. though they didn't let me take their photo as a souvenir. That was a shame. We'd become good friends.

--Mike
*Ex-football journalist. But try telling that to the KGB!

__________________
www.BesideTheSeaside.eu
---I'm back. Now what?---