August 27, 2013

Useful Resources for Tourists Visiting Russia


Useful Resources for Tourists Visiting Russia

Real Russia

This is a list of frequently asked questions for tourists. Generally it is about how to obtain your visa, what you do with it and what you can do in Russia. This guide is the technical side of obtaining your visa, and doesn’t include many lifestyle tips!

Just Go Russia

This one is a little short and is only lifestyle tips. They’re great if you’re worried about how to behave in Russia, but it’s not too technical about the actual process of getting there.

A Complete Guide to Applying for a Russian Visa

This is a comprehensive and fairly definitive guide on how to apply for a Russian visa. Whether it’s tourism, business or charity work, this tells you everything you need to know to make sure your visa is sorted, so that your trip may come off with at least one less hitch.

Russian Invitation

This short guide is only about the letter of recommendation process when obtaining your visa. It can be the most confusing and difficult part of the process to understand, so this guide really helps. It covers the possibilities, the reason to have one and how to get yours.

North European Cruises

This nifty travel guide will help those who have just arrived in Russia, especially those in St Petersburg. It’s a lifestyle guide about how to behave and function and includes some links at the bottom which will take you to further guides for Russian tourists. It doesn’t cover the technicalities of visas, but does help you if you are confused about practical life in Russia.

Way to Russia

This site is great. It is an inclusive guide that covers mostly everything. It has lifestyle tips, advice and guides to get your visa, what you should do in Russia, how you should behave. It also has a link to a Facebook group that is a kind of forum where tourists can contact each other.

Go to Russia

This guide is a brief look at the technicalities of getting to Russia. It covers questions about visas but doesn’t help too much when you get there. Though it is helpful and even covers questions for people taking a cruise.

Russian Tour Guide

This independent tour guide site is great for tours. But their blog is the best; it features guides, shows you what to do and is a great way to learn about your trip before you even get there

Russian Dos and Don’ts

A good guide of do’s and don’ts while traveling. Partly it is about how to combat American stereotypes and partly is it a great resource detailing what it is like to be Russian and to live in Russia. An authentic guide for those who wish to take the road less travelled.

Frommers – How to Behave

This is a dense guide about how to behave in Russia. It includes money and travel advice, food and medical attention and of course how to get your visa and what it does.

Ask Me I’m Local

A scheme in which volunteers will find English speakers and help them around Moscow. It can help people feel more accustomed to the city and not nervous or afraid of what it has to offer. It combats a lack of information available for English-speaking tourists.

Ten Things to Never Say or Do in Russia

This is just a quick guide of how to behave in Russia. It offers interesting insights on differences in manners and expectations. Definitely one for a young person staying with a host family!

Women in Russia

This one is unique. It is written by a Russian bride who moved to the West ten years ago.  It is a strict guide about how to behave, and also includes some tips of where to travel.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955