The Changing Face of Travel to and within Russia

By Steve Penny, ASLA.

It seems like an eternity ago that the Soviet Union was the enemy for the western world - the Cold War a distant memory that disappeared along with the Berlin Wall. Those were the days of the KGB, of icy relations when every personal contact was viewed with deep suspicion. Travel was regulated and restricted and incoming tourists to the Soviet Union were treated to the hard-line propaganda of stern Intourist guides. Many of us remember the shiver we felt on entering the Soviet Union under the glare of the border guard.

But what a difference 10 years makes! The range of opportunities for travel to and within Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union is breathtaking - Network Russia is a superb example with an expedition to the international jamboree in Saratov and Scouts travelling to Archangel and the deepest parts of Russia.

The cooperation with local individuals and organisations would not have been possible in the old days. I recently found myself in an office in New York with two US Air Force Colonels seconded to NATO planning the logistics for a NATO Conference in Kiev - the former 3rd city of the Soviet Union. Our British-Ukrainian joint venture was able to host this NATO conference with NATO delegates from around the world attending.

We worked hand in glove with the local agencies responsible for defence and security - completely unthinkable 10 years ago when NATO was the mortal enemy.

The above are prime examples of the changing face of travel to the region, reflecting new found freedoms and closer cooperation between East and West. The surly border guard is still there - but a new world has opened up for the visitor.

The new openness in travel to the region is perhaps best and most clearly visible on the World Wide Web, where enterprising Russian (and western) companies are offering a huge range of new programmes and opportunities for travel to Russia and beyond - from simple hotel bookings and transfers (www.hotelsrussia.com or www.hotelsukraine.com) to Trans-Siberian tours (www.trans-siberian.co.uk).

The web has played a major role in opening up travel to Russia - it has proved a low-cost method of obtaining information that is often difficult to source - train timetables (parovoz.com/spravka/timetables-e.html), ballet schedules (www.mariinsky.spb.ru). The Hermitage Museum (www.hermitage.ru) has a superb web site providing details of its collections as do increasing numbers of museums.

An enormous range of private hotels and hostels is springing up, promoted over the web and through tour operators to service the dramatic increase in travel to the region. Take a look at one such example: a bed and breakfast establishment in the heart of St Petersburg, set up by an enterprising American (www.roundhouse.ru). It exists, it works and one of my colleagues has just visited it!

I am not sure that it is sensible to advise on their site that payment can only be made by cash locally.....but perhaps the authorities do not look too closely at the web.

Moscow, St Petersburg and an increasing number of other cities now have superb western-standard business hotels - all funded by private capital. Their prices have also reduced considerably and are bookable via discount hotel booking web sites at more realistic prices.

In addition, many of the old "Intourist" hotels are being extensively modernised and renovated. As well as the new found freedoms for travel and the openness of the destination, the quality and reliability of internal air travel is improving all the time with an expanding range of services, improved safety controls and sensible pricing.

Air fares have reduced this year - with BA and Aeroflot competing with other European carriers for market share. BA has recently introduced rates of around £180 inc tax for individuals (return flights to Moscow and St Petersburg) but very limited availability and other carriers are often under £200. Aeroflot offer similar fares. Scotts Tours are the largest and best consolidators for flights to Russia in our opinion (we use them!) - and can be contacted on 0207 383 5353. They can also sell all services within Russia (hotels, trains, transport etc).

Please remember however that groups are subject to very different rules and may be more expensive and these special offers are under constant review.

Train services within Russia continue to improve - although the state railways still has the feeling of a Soviet monolith, demanding passport details for each passenger before selling tickets.

And yet.....and yet, there are some paradoxes inherent in these and other positive travel developments: There process of transformation continues with pain as well as gain. Increasingly, the old practise of dual-pricing (different prices for foreigners to those charged to Russian citizens continues although is less and less common nowadays).

Hotel Rossiya - an ugly monstrosity of a 4000 bed hotel that many of us have stayed in but with a magnificent location – now charges the same prices for Russians as for foreigners with effect from everyone arriving after 1 September 2001. Russian railways have made the same move, so travel for Russian citizens remains difficult and expensive - yet the increase in cost arise because the hotel has been undergoing major improvements in both rooms and facilities.

The price of tickets for the prime ballet performances in Moscow and St Petersburg continues to rise - good tickets can cost $70 and above - but still are way behind opera and ballet costs in major western cities and the standards are unsurpassed.

Restaurant meals in the western hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg are as expensive as anywhere in the world - but perhaps this simply befits the status of one of the world's major cities. And moving around Moscow in a coach with a group is proving increasingly difficult due to the massive increase in ownership of private cars - the simple downside of increased local prosperity.

Sheremetevo Airport can be a nightmare with huge and disorganised queues at immigration still the norm - yet a new airport is planned to resolve this problem and Domodevedo Airport is a delight - quiet, airy, air-conditioned and a pleasure for anyone having the opportunity to use it.

Aeroflot continues to upgrade its image and its fleet and is rapidly regaining its position and certainly making major improvements in its safety record.

The bane of a visitor's life in travel to Russia is obtaining a visa – but even here we detect signs of improvement. In June this year, there were suggestions coming from Mayor Yuri Luzhkkov's office in Moscow that 72 hour visits to Moscow might be possible with visas provided on arrival - it has not happened yet but it is clear that there is above all very strong commercial pressure for the easing of visa regulations.

The same information came from St Petersburg Mayor's office but again it has not come to pass at time of writing. The Baltic States have waived visas a long time ago for British citizens, Ukraine no longer requires "visa support letters" for EC business travellers; Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are discussing the possibility of issuing one visa to cover all 3 countries....so change is in the air and we may hope for easing of visa regulations in the future.

The underlying problem, however, remains reciprocity - although commercial demands are now playing a major part on the Russian side. The World Tourism Organisation believes that Russia will within 15 years become one of the biggest tourism destination in the world - and a certain status in the top ten. The major British and European tour operators are now featuring Russia again after 10 years of doubt about the destination.

President Putin has restored a long-needed stability to the country and despite concerns over the strengthening if the influence of the state in Russian life, the stability is leading to massive growth in travel to and within Russia.

The country will never lose its allure, or its paradoxes, but its certainly becoming more of a pleasure to visit - the days of the Cold War seem but a very distant memory.

You can contact Steve for any travel enquires for Russia at

Tel: 01480 433783

Fax: 01480 411561

Email: stevep@asla-select.co.uk

Web site: www.asla.co.uk

networkrussia.org.ukwww

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