Travel Notes

Visa Change

An historic visa agreement between the U.S. and Russia went into effect September 9. Under the agreement, three-year, multiple-entry visas will become the standard “default” terms for U.S. citizens visiting Russia and Russian citizens visiting the United States. No formal invitation will be required to apply for a business or tourism visa, although applicants seeking Russian tourist visas must continue to hold advance lodging reservations and arrangements with a tour operator. Both sides have also committed to keep standard visa processing times under 15 days, although the circumstances of individual cases may require additional processing.

Also on September 9, the $100 issuance – or reciprocity – fee for Russians issued U.S. visas for business or tourism (visa types B1/B2) will fall to $20. As a rule, successful visa applicants will receive the full-validity three-year visa. The $160 application fee will still apply, and validity and fees for other visa types (for example for students, workers, and journalists) will not change.

For Americans in Russia, the agreement lifts the previous restriction limiting stays in Russia to 90 days within any given 180-day period – just like Russian travelers, they will now be permitted stays of up to six months. In addition, “exit visas” will no longer be necessary in the case of U.S. citizens who lose their passports while in Russia.

Americans represent the third-largest group of visitors to Russia from outside the former Soviet Union. According to U.S. Embassy data, 170,000 trips from U.S. citizens were registered in 2011.

The number of Russians traveling to the United States is significantly higher, with 222,000 visits recorded in 2011, a 27 percent increase over 2010. (Moscow Times)

Volga Lion

A new museum seeks to preserve naive folk art discovered on the interior walls and ceiling of a residential house along the Volga River. Peasant house paintings are extremely rare and the house, in the village of Popovka, Saratov region, has been christened “The Lion House.” Through the tireless efforts of its owner, who rescued it from demolition two years ago – St. Petersburg doctoral student Julia Terekhova, the house received a grant from the Changing Museum in a Changing World. Terekhova has been publicizing the house tirelessly on the internet and said she will use the money raised to create a virtual exhibition to tour around the world and encourage ecotourism in the local community. But restoring the crumbling structure still requires investment. The house’s signature painting features a whimsical lion smiling mysteriously while perched alongside a river. Support the project here:

facebook.com/lion.museum

Royal Gymnastics

In the nineteenth century, Tsar Nicholas I built a special outdoor gym in Peterhof for his seven children. The facilities have just been recreated, using the old plans, on the Peterhof museum grounds. The gymnastic complex includes parallel bars, a spiraling ladder, and several other pieces of equipment engineered especially for the Romanovs by the family’s gym teacher, but destroyed by the 1930s. The outdoor gymnasium is located in Peterhof’s Alexandria Park in Peterhof and was built in the 1830s. The museum hopes that Alexandria Park will become a place for family recreation and that children will better understand the children of the royal family after using the gymnastic facilities.

Lenin Sleeps

The Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow will be closed until the end of the year due to reconstruction. Lenin’s tomb is regularly closed when his body needs to be re-enbalmed or changed into a new suit. The red-and-black stone shrine is still under the authority of the Russian Secret Service, and also closes to visitors during large-scale parades.

Free Bikes

Moscow’s revamped Gorky Park is offering free bike rides to visitors of Neskuchny Gardens, one section of the historic city park. Gorky Park recently got a facelift, during which it lost its Ferris wheel, and is now a magnet for the capital’s hipster crowd.

Free bike rental is available for 90 minutes for a R2,000 security fee or a passport: roughly sufficient time to cruise up and down the Moscow river and take in the views. Park website:

park-gorkogo.com

Little Pharmo

Barnaul, in the mountainous Altai region, has opened a pharmacy museum, housed in an eighteenth century building in the town’s historical center. The building once housed the first (for that time) modern pharmacy in the region, when the area was known only for its metals mines. The building was also the city’s first stone building, now restored to its original appearance. The first floor sells famous oils, teas and herbs from Altai, and showcases old pharmaceutical tools, while the second floor houses the laboratory. Address: Barnaul, 42 Polzunova street.