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16 Jul 2022
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The restrictions at Russia land borders in my post above ended from 15 July.
Now anyone can cross in either direction, subject to their normal visa and documentation requirements as before Covid, plus foreigners require a PCR test to enter (I don't know how recent they have to be).
Поехали!
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23 Jul 2022
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Best news for me so far this year.
Thanks Tony for posting.
Will apply for Visa soon, need to sort out insurance/ green card as insurane company
refuses to cover Russia. Health insurane looks easier to fix.
Moscow early September would be great. 
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bubbla
need to sort out insurance/ green card as insurane company refuses to cover Russia. Health insurane looks easier to fix.
Moscow early September would be great. |
You could never get a green card for Russia anyway. Buy insurance at the border. However a couple of points to bear in mind. With Russia's disconnection from the SWIFT banking system your cards won't work and you will not be able to get money out of ATMs. Also, health insurance may not cover you for areas where your govt has advised against travel.
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomkat
You could never get a green card for Russia anyway. Buy insurance at the border. However a couple of points to bear in mind. With Russia's disconnection from the SWIFT banking system your cards won't work and you will not be able to get money out of ATMs. Also, health insurance may not cover you for areas where your govt has advised against travel.
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Just a point of correction: My Bulgarian (European Union) vehicle insurance green card DOES cover travel in Russia (and Georgia/ Turkey/ Morocco/ all the Balkan countries amongst other non-EU countries).
Even before Brexit, the UK where you reside had some pretty weird laws/conventions. Now they're just more set in stone than before (unless the EU takes the UK government to court for breaking international laws, yet again?)
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomkat
You could never get a green card for Russia anyway. Buy insurance at the border. However a couple of points to bear in mind. With Russia's disconnection from the SWIFT banking system your cards won't work and you will not be able to get money out of ATMs. Also, health insurance may not cover you for areas where your govt has advised against travel.
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Nit corrrect, it depends on the country and insurance company.
I definitely have green card for Russia ( and i always had since 2013)
and for money, there is an app called "koronapay"
With this app you can send money to a bank you choose and pick it up there right away
This is my actual and valid green card (just it is not green anymore)
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24 Jul 2022
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Every day's a school day 
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by klausmong1
for money, there is an app called "koronapay"
With this app you can send money to a bank you choose and pick it up there right away
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Have you tried to use this recently? On their website they do not mention being able to pick up cash in Russia.
Edit: the app does mention Russia, but only Moscow and St Petersburg locations 
Last edited by Tomkat; 24 Jul 2022 at 17:04.
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomkat
Have you tried to use this recently? On their website they do not mention being able to pick up cash in Russia.
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Or if that doesn't work, then cash USD (10s and 20s. 50s and 100s less welcome) and cash Euros. Most definitely not PIPs (Plague Island Pounds). They're about as univerally acceptable as Vietnamese Dong or Zim $ (sorry to any Vietnamese or Zimbabweans reading this thread  ).
In a time not so long ago, before Ewen & Thingy and ATMs everywhere, many travelled with only cash USD and USD travellers cheques and used post restante for letters from home. I remember it well 
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris
Or if that doesn't work, then cash USD (10s and 20s. 50s and 100s less welcome) and cash Euros.
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Yeah that's always the fallback. But for 90 days travelling through Russia you're potentially talking about carrying quite a lot of folding!
I reckon about $600 for fuel alone, maybe $40/day for food and accommodation (some hotels, some camping), Call it $4,000 
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomkat
Yeah that's always the fallback. But for 90 days travelling through Russia you're potentially talking about carrying quite a lot of folding!
I reckon about $600 for fuel alone, maybe $40/day for food and accommodation (some hotels, some camping), Call it $4,000 |
Ok, maybe 50s and 100s better when carrying lots of cash 
In 1999/2000, I travelled the length of Africa with only cash USD. If "adventure" travel was meant to be easy, everyone would be doing it. 99.9% only make it as far as Starbucks, where PIPs are occasional still accepted.
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24 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomkat
Have you tried to use this recently? On their website they do not mention being able to pick up cash in Russia.
Edit: the app does mention Russia, but only Moscow and St Petersburg locations |
Someone postet this on facebook, I will share it:
How to get money in Russia 2.0
I already made a post about the koronapay App, - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd5SDVQAtkY/ - but that way you always have to go to a Bank, have a lot of cash with you, and if you need more money, you have to get the hole process again.
So, here we go come to the more userfrindly Version:
tinkoffbank , - tinkoff.ru/sl/3fA1bSYQqGH - is a bank in Russia where you can apply online in the app, get a MIR Creditcard in 1-2 days, the best part is they deliver them where you are by courier, you can chose the place and time to get it.
So, 2 3 days before you cross the border, order one inside the app.
You can switch to English inside the app, so it’s easy to get use of it.
Just go into Koronapay
Use: send Money to Card
Enter your Tinkoff MIRCard
The money is INSTANT on the MIR Card
The good thing on Tinkoff, you get a lot of Cashbacks
You don’t have to wait 3 weeks for a card like on other banks
You don’t have to make the hole registration part like with Koronapay on every bank where you want to withdrawal money
No Cash with you the hole time
Much easier to get fuel, cause you don’t have to go back in to GasStation to pay again
The most important, no rolling Eyes from cashier, cause in Russia EVERYBODY is paying by card
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27 Jul 2022
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Good $$ solution for transactions in Russia for now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by klausmong1
Someone postet this on facebook, I will share it:
How to get money in Russia 2.0
I already made a post about the koronapay App, - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd5SDVQAtkY/ - but that way you always have to go to a Bank, have a lot of cash with you, and if you need more money, you have to get the hole process again.
So, here we go come to the more userfrindly Version:
tinkoffbank , - tinkoff.ru/sl/3fA1bSYQqGH - is a bank in Russia where you can apply online in the app, get a MIR Creditcard in 1-2 days, the best part is they deliver them where you are by courier, you can chose the place and time to get it.
So, 2 3 days before you cross the border, order one inside the app.
You can switch to English inside the app, so it’s easy to get use of it.
Just go into Koronapay
Use: send Money to Card
Enter your Tinkoff MIRCard
The money is INSTANT on the MIR Card
The good thing on Tinkoff, you get a lot of Cashbacks
You don’t have to wait 3 weeks for a card like on other banks
You don’t have to make the hole registration part like with Koronapay on every bank where you want to withdrawal money
No Cash with you the hole time
Much easier to get fuel, cause you don’t have to go back in to GasStation to pay again
The most important, no rolling Eyes from cashier, cause in Russia EVERYBODY is paying by card |
>>>>>>>>>>>
Like many others the the sanctions on foreign transactions grounded myself to any possible travel through the Stans and returning through Russia this year. I looked around some of the Tinkoff MIR card solutions suggested above and it does look like a viable solution. Would love to hear any real world experiences using this solution.
For some context look at this:
https://www.russia-briefing.com/news...accounts.html/
Dan
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29 Jul 2022
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" In 1999/2000, I travelled the length of Africa with only cash USD. If "adventure" travel was meant to be easy, everyone would be doing it. 99.9% only make it as far as Starbucks, where PIPs are occasional still accepted. "
Same here.
I had cash for over one year of travel stuffed in my money belt and the frame of my bike. This was back in 1994/1995, and we all had to do it.
I still keep the habit of carrying wads of USD wherever I go, I kind of feel naked travelling without them
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31 Jul 2022
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I've always felt that the general population often doesn't support the actions of their government, and I shared the same view as some of those who commented below, surely most Russians must be more aware of world events and cynical about Russian government propaganda.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomkat
Within Russia/CIS there may be some individuals who feel aggrieved by the actions of the US and its allies, but like in our own countries most ordinary citizens are good people.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motoreiter
I've been in Moscow twice in the last six weeks and spoke with many of my Russian friends. They unanimously told me: 1) they did not have any interest at all in taking over Ukraine; and 2) they thought Putin was bluffing and would not do anything.
Since the invasion, I've only heard from one friend, and she wrote to tell me that she was ashamed. Another friend with Russian friends and family told me that none of the Russians he'd spoke with supported the war. Finally, another friend told me that one of his Russian friends (living in Russia) wrote him to say that she and her friends hoped that Russia would get whacked with severe sanctions to make it pay... So stop blaming the Russian people for this madness--it is all Putin.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motoreiter
For what's it worth, I've been listening to Russian radio over the internet the last few days. The station (located in Moscow) has been having listeners call in to say if they have any loved ones in Ukraine, etc. Many people called in, many with either relatives in Ukraine or serving in the Russian army in Ukraine. Many of the callers were near tears...people are NOT happy about this war. The words "criminal," "irrational," and "unjustified" came up a lot. If you go to Russia in the near future I think you're more likely to have locals apologize to you for their country's shameful conduct than harass you.
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But then I read this article explaining the Russian psyche and world view. The ingrained views made me somewhat depressed. Even if Russia loses the UA war, how do you get the citizens to accept this?
It's interesting to note that apart from the 1st Tank Army and 45th Spetsnaz Brigade, most of the RU forces in UA are NOT from Moscow or other rather more enlightened areas. Instead RU is throwing in troops from the far east and the boondocks.
__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
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31 Jul 2022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Cullis
I've always felt that the general population often doesn't support the actions of their government, and I shared the same view as some of those who commented below, surely most Russians must be more aware of world events and cynical about Russian government propaganda.
But then I read this article explaining the Russian psyche and world view. The ingrained views made me somewhat depressed. Even if Russia loses the UA war, how do you get the citizens to accept this?
It's interesting to note that apart from the 1st Tank Army and 45th Spetsnaz Brigade, most of the RU forces in UA are NOT from Moscow or other rather more enlightened areas. Instead RU is throwing in troops from the far east and the boondocks. |
In my somewhat small personal survey of Russian conscript soldiers maning border posts in the west of Russia with borders to Estonia (they came from Far East Russia) and in and out of Mongolia and Kazakhstan to Altai (they came from Moscow and Kaliningrad: I could even speak German to them), it seems to be policy to send these young lads as far as possible from home (control/ divide and conquer?).
The same sort of poor lads who were/are sent as cannon fodder to fight highly motivated and dug in Ukrainian defenders who are on home soil and know the geography of their homeland?
An aside: In 2000 on my trans Africa bike trip, the Egyptian conscript soldiers on the streets of Cairo (quite far north in Egypt) all seemed to come from the south of the country. They also didn't have bullets in their guns (apparently reducing the likelihood of assassination attempts on their military and political leadership... Makes perfect sense to me . )
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