September 30, 2019

Drop by St. Petes on a New Free E-visa


Drop by St. Petes on a New Free E-visa
View of Nevsky after a rain. Gawnyuxa | Dreamstime.com

Just as the summer tourist season was drawing to a close this September, the Russian government made a surprise decision to introduce free electronic visas to foreign visitors entering St. Petersburg. 

Starting on Tuesday (October 1), citizens of 53 countries (full list here) can apply online for a free visa four days ahead of visiting St. Petersburg. Many EU countries are on the list, but not Britain, the United States, or Canada.

The visa does not require the usual invitations or hotel bookings, and can be simply printed at home. Tourists and business travelers alike can take advantage of the new offer.

This follows a similar decision in July for visiting Kaliningrad.

The snap-visa program began in the distant Far East, when electronic visas were introduced in 2017 for citizens of 18 countries, but the destination did not prove extremely popular: over the past two years, just 100,000 tourists entered the region on an electronic visa.

One caveat: visitors must enter the country via the airport or designated auto, pedestrian and port border points, the service does not yet function for rail travelers.

Electronic visas are valid for 30 days, and, once in Russia, visitors can stay for eight days. The program is reportedly to be expanded to Moscow and other parts of Russia by 2021, and Russia is reportedly in talks to add other countries to the list.

St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport is already looking into new air routes with European low-cost airlines like Wizz Air, Easyjet and Ryanair, which would likely pull hundreds of thousands weekend travelers to Russia's second biggest city.

The average foreign tourist spends R35,000 (over $500) in St. Petersburg during a short 1-3 day visit, Governor Alexander Beglov told President Putin in July, when he asked that the measure be expedited.

The point of the initiative is to make sure the tourist experience in Russia "is full of emotions and comfortable services, which will make tourists not only return in the future, but also help change stereotypes about Russia," said Deputy Economy Minister Sergei Galkin earlier this year.

Unfortunately, a tourism influx can also backfire. This week, the historic town of Tsarskoye Selo, south of St. Petersburg, was overrun by Chinese tourists to the point of collapse: Russian tourists could not access the sights and the Culture Ministry rang the alarm. The museum in Tsarskoye Selo promised to introduce online tickets to help avoid a repeat of the four-hour waits in line to see the palace.

 

 

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

Some of our Books

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

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.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

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.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

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...

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

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. 

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

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