Trip to Russia

Hello! My name is Andrey Butenko. I am a Canadian citizen, but have been to Russia a few times in my life. I speak Russian, but I’m not from Russia. My recent trip was in August 2006 to Togliatti for the WPC European Cup. I have found it difficult to figure out how to get an invitation, visa, registration, etc., because before I never needed it to come to Russia. But when I finally collected all the necessary information, it became easy to finalize everything for my trip. I’ll try to describe some aspects of the trip to Russia and will give you a few tips how to make it easy and pleasant. Hopefully, the majority of foreign lifters will choose to go to Russia. It'll be a great experience - not just to see Russia, but also to participate in one of the best organized meets.

Lots of people say....”it's going to be the most expensive trip”... Well! Let's see... Trip to Lake George from Calgary costed me $2000 give and take. Russian trip to Togliatti costed me $1000 for the airfare, $100 for visa, $100-150 for the hotel, $100 for food, etc, etc....maximum $2000...including all I want!!! not like in Lake George! Konstantin Rogozhnikov, the meet director for the 2007 Worlds, from Togliatti has told me that the airfare for their trip was $700 round trip Moscow-Albany-Moscow. Say a ticket to Togliatti will cost another $100-150 round trip. So, the total of $800-850 for the airfare.

Some people say…. “Russia is so poor, there is nothing pleasant and interesting to see there”. We can argue about that too. One little fact - Moscow is the well-known as the most expensive city in the World - Tokyo and New York are sitting behind. You will be surprised to see those “poor” people on the street, homes they are living in, and cars they are driving. Not all, but some. Rural areas are comparable to those in Canada or the US – some places don’t have Internet service. Some outer places like small old villages have one phone service for the whole place. But it is very unusual and rear. Pretty much every person on the street has a cell phone. As for to see the beautiful nature, then it is the best place to be – starting from endless sky-touching forests and finishing with the mind-braking pieces of architecture, monuments, countless churches, and museums. People from all over the world are coming to see all that.

Accommodation

Detailed info about a new **** hotel in Togliatti will be available soon, but I can say that executive suite in the hotel I was staying in in Togliatti was 800 rubles a room per night (2 beds) - close to $30. There were way cheaper rooms as well.

Transportation

Organizers were meeting every foreign lifter and official at the Samara International Airport.... Only one correction - that old airport does not appear like an international, but what's the deal!? You are going to be there 5 minutes while picking up your luggage. I've seen worse!!! From the airport to Togliatti you'll see 40 km of forest and very beautiful sightseeing Take your camera with you! I was told in August that they are building a new International airport this year. It might have been done by now.

Food

The most important matter for powerlifters at the meet. It was available at the venue for very cheap prices, good quality, very delicious... Across the street there was a very nice restaurant.... If foreigner should go to the store to buy groceries, you'd better have someone Russian-speaking with you - there will be no one to understand you at the store. Or, just take a dictionary with you to figure stuff out. You will find that food and water from the store are of a much better taste and quality compare to what we are used to here in North America. But due to unusual nutrition qualities, tastes, and cultures, some people might not like some food. But I can guarantee, you’ll love it!

Venue

There will be interpreters at the venue, some Russian lifters speak English. So, you should be fine! I'll be there for sure! Don't hesitate to bug me with your problems...

In general, I can guarantee - trip to Russia will be your most memorable trip of your life, and most exciting!!! Just do everything as advised!

How to get your visa to Russia?

Very simple! I’ve heard from some US lifters that they did not know they’d need visa to Russia that’s why they could not come to the WPC European Cup in 2006. Well! You need visa to come to Russia and a few other countries in Europe/Middle Asia. I have found a very simple way.

Step 1

Visit the web site of an IntelService Center in Moscow http://www.visatorussia.com/base/russianvisa.nsf/index.html . They’ll require you to fill out a web form with all the necessary information. You’ll need your valid passport, credit card and you are good to go. They’ll ask you for your name, sex, birthday, passport info, citizenship, travel dates (pick a full month), city where you want your visa collected, your employer, your position, your address, phone, fax, and email. You’ll get a confirmation number on the page that you might want to print out for your records. Shortly after (up to a next business day due to a time difference) your submission, you will receive an email with 2 documents in it – a confirmation for an order, and a voucher for an invitation. There will be 2 seals on those documents – those are official documents despite of the fact that it is an email print out. Copy of those papers will need to be submitted to the Russian Embassy in your country – that is a valid reason for issuing you a visa. Remember, your purpose of a visit to Russia is TOURISM – NOT TRAVEL, not SPORT, neither business, nor Powerlifting World Championship. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS! You can say all that when asked (if you want to) but don’t put that in your papers, otherwise, it’ll get confusing. The internet visa service is $30 US for the next business day and $45 US for the same business day. Generally, they’d get back to you sooner.

Step 2

When you obtain your invitation voucher and order confirmation, you may then apply for visa in your country. Depending on the country, it might take between 1 day and 2 weeks. Russian Embassy in Canada offers a wide variety of visa types – from the same day service for $300 US, to a 14 days service for $75. Again, it usually takes way less time than you pay for. You may even prepay your courier envelope and enclose it to your package – it’ll get back to you the way you want. You can check it out at Russian Foreign Ministry web site http://www.toronto.mid.ru/tourist_visa.html. This service is for Canadians only.

For USA (http://www.russianembassy.org/ in Washington DC) or other countries please refer to the local Russian Embassy in your country and their requirements.

Visa requirements for US residents - http://www.russianembassy.org/CONSULAT/TOUR-VIS.HTM .

This page will help you to locate Russian Embassy or Consulate anywhere in the world - http://www.russianembassy.net/.

Shipping

You’ll have to mail your original passport to the embassy along with your application and invitation (You don’t need to add printout from the Worlds’ web site. They don’t need that. You, also, don’t need a personal invitation from the organizer – party which is inviting you is the IntelService Center, and you do have an invitation from them.) That’s why don’t be cheap – mail it via courier or registered mail with tracking and signature options. Depending on the rush, you may choose the time you would like to get your passport back with visa in it. If you have a criminal record in your country, it is almost irrelevant – Russian Embassy will not check for your record, especially, if you choose the same day service.

Air tickets

It’s your choice if you want to purchase your tickets long before the trip with cancellation and travel insurances or wait till you get your visa. Just do it all with lots of time in spare because some organizational procedures take a lot of time to complete. I find the best prices are on Expedia.Ca or Expedia.Com. You might want to check with other sources including one on the VisaToRussia.Com. It should be reasonably cheap if you purchase 2-3+ months ahead of time, especially for that cold season.

Crime, Police and Registration

When you get to Russia you are suppose to register at a local police office or a hotel. If you decide to stick around in Moscow for a few days, you might want to phone the company that invited you – IntelService Center – phone numbers and address will be on your voucher. But if you decide to stay at the hotel of your choice, you don’t need to phone them. If you stay at a hotel, you have to keep your passport and hotel attributes with you at all times anywhere you go. They’ll issue you a registration card proving that you stay at their location. Don’t you ever loose it! You might get in trouble with local police. (I haven’t had any situations where a cop asked me for my ID on the street – only at the airport when I was leaving the country they’ve asked me where I stayed). The IntelService Center will supply you with 3-4 hotel names in cities you will be traveling through. You’ll choose Moscow, Samara, Togliatti in your request and will get 1-2 hotel names in each city. Your air ticket will protect you for 48 hours. After that you must have a registration somewhere. By then you should be OK and settled at the hotel in Togliatti. When you get a key to your room, you are already registered. There are no such troubles in Togliatti like in Moscow, for example. The reason is a high volume of migrants, illegal workers, criminals, and simply tourists – they want to keep everything under control. Criminal activities are at a very low level now in Russia. 10 years ago you could see cops on every corner. In 2006 I could hardly see them in public places, showing that the cities don’t require such a high number of protection officers any more. So, you should not worry about high crime so much – you’ll have a higher chance to be robbed in the middle of the day in some neighborhoods of New York for sure. Just be cautious at all times – you are visibly different as a foreigner and people will look at you, including those who might be criminals. Make a copy of your passport and your IDs and keep them at the hotel in case you loose your passport or get robbed. Don’t keep too much cash on you. There are tons of banks and bank machines are in many public places.

Airport Transfer

Depending on the way you travel, you’d want to research ahead of time how to get to the domestic airport or railway/bus station from Sheremetyevo II. There might be a commercial shuttle to the domestic airport for additional charge. So, you might need to take a cab or use a public transportation (I recommend first). I hope that the organizer will arrange a meeting of all foreigners on request at the airport and their transfer to the domestic airport. They are working on this matter right now. But I am sure it is only going to be possible upon a request with full details from the arriving participant. It is extremely difficult to meet each and every lifter in such a massive place in Moscow. Organizer will also make up a print out of how to get from one airport to another using all possible ways.

If you have any questions or concerns about visas, airfare, transportation, etc, etc, please contact me through www.worldpowerlifting.com or www.wpc-canada.com or contact the hosting organization.

Hope to see you all in Russia!

Andrey Butenko