Country Information

Russia_01

Location: Between Europe and Asia
Capital: Moscow
Population: 144 million
Currency: Russian Ruble
Language: Russian
Main Religion: Orthodox Christianity

Hello: Zdravstvuyte
Thank you: Spasibo

Dates in the country

End of July/mid August 2017

Climate

In general, the climate of Russia can be described as highly continental influenced climate with warm to hot dry summers and (very) cold winters with temperatures of -30°C and lower and sometimes heavy snowfall.

Public Holidays


  • January 1st New Years day
  • January 4th – 8th New year holiday week
  • January 7th Orthodox Christmas
  • February 23rd Defender of Fatherland Day
  • March 8th International women’s day
  • May 1st spring and labour day
  • June 12th Russia Day
  • November 4th Unity day


VISA

  • UK and Aus 30 day visa apply up to 6 months before arrival.
  • Australia application
  • electronic application
  • photo 3.5cm x 4.5cm (passport size)
  • passport
  • tourist confirmation letter from Russia authorised company
  • UK need visa of over 90 days in Australia.
  • application in Cambodia
  • Passport
  • Copy of passport
  • Completed application form http://visa.kdmid.ru
  • 1 passport photo
  • Tourist confirmation voucher


Medical



Vaccines advised:

  • Tetanus
  • Hepatitis A
  • Typhoid
  • Rabies
  • Tick-borne encephalitis
  • Malaria: No


Rules of the Road



There are many tourists traveling by car from the Baltic countries, Finland, Sweden and some European countries. Russian customs regulations are quite straightforward and the infrastructure on the road is good. If visitors are going to drive in Russia, for their own safety, they should familiarize with Russian road conditions and driving regulations. In Russia, foreign drivers can use their National driving permits as long as they have International translation of their driving permits, but not longer than six months. If visitor is in Russia over six month, he needs to obtain a Russian driver license.

According to the Russian authorities, to drive in Russia you need:

  • Your passport with valid Russian visa.
  • Your National driving Permit and International translation of driving permit.
  • A registration document of your car (techpassport) with all information about the owner.
  • Valid in Russia third-party insurance. You can buy it from the Russian insurer representative office or at the petrol stations before the border or at the border.
  • If you drive into Russia with your own car, you will get a temporary permit which gives you right to your vehicle legally. Usually, the temporary permit is valid for 3-6 months; it can’t be extended longer than visitor’s visa registration is valid. If a vehicle is in Russia more than six months, it must be registered at the local customs office and State Inspection of Road Safety office in the region where the vehicle will be used.
  • If you are going to travel to Russia with a motor home, you should know that along the way there are no special facilities for motorhomes.
  • Customs sheet get at border need to keep as give it back to them on exit.

If you are driving In Russia, you must have in your car:

  • A warning triangle
  • Headlamp converters
  • A first aid kit
  • A fire extinguisher
  • Spare bulbs
  • According to Russian law, traffic police may stop vehicles for any reason. If police officer stops any driver, officer will introduce himself by name and office. He may demand the National and International driver licenses and car’s registration document. Driver must give all these documents; he may remain in his car.
  • In addition, each foreign driver should know that in Russia:
  • Traffic drives on the right side of the road and passes on the left side.
  • The minimum driving age is 18 years.
  • The double white line in the center of the road can’t be crossed under any conditions. If you want to make a left or U-turn, you must go ahead until you find a broken white line on your side of the road.
  • There are no right turns on a red light; only a green arrow allows you turn to the right.
  • At main intersections, the large white arrows show which way turns are allowed. If there are not arrows, you cannot make the turns.
  • In cities and built-up areas, speed limits are 60 km/h; on highways, speed limit is 110 km/h; and 90 km/h is allowed in other areas. On the city avenues and major motorways, there are speed cameras, and officers of the traffic police can be in unexpected places and will fine you for speed excess.
  • It is absolute banned to drink before driving.
  • Seatbelts for a driver and all passengers and special child seats are required.
  • If you will travel to Russia in the winter, make sure your car will be able to ride in the snow because the weather could be quite harsh.
  • In Russia Pre pay for petrol – make sure to have the hose already in as when you pay it starts pumping
  • A carnet is not required in Russia.


Places to Visit


  • Russian golden ring – ring of ancient towns just above Moscow. Sergiev Posad town which has Troitse-Sergieva Lavra – UNESCO site
  • Moscow
  • Kremlin
  • St Petersburg
  • Church of the Saviour who spilled Blood


Route

A detailed route showing where we went overlanding and exploring. We jotted down the routes we travelled on a physical map which travelled with us from Australia to the UK, then transferred this to a digital form using Google Maps (KML and GeoRSS Layers) 

These are exact appropriations, maps differ between brands and converting from paper to digital may lose some details in translation. This should still show in great detail our route.