Problem 1: Lost Luggage
My first problem started within 5 minutes upon my arrival. As soon as I arrived to Moscow I had to wait 3 hours in
line to get my passport stamped. The line was completely unorganized and the immigration officers took an average
of 4 minutes per person instead of the seconds like in all other countries. After I finally got through immigrations I
went to pick up my bags but they where no where to be found. I found a Russian guy who was working in the airport
and tried to ask him where my bags might be. He looked at me and threw his arms up in the air and yelled at me in
Russian. Another baggage guy I asked yelled at me to the point where I honestly thought he might start to get
physical! My first few hours in Russia were not very impressive, but eventually I did find one very nice guy who
helped me fill out a lost baggage claim. This was a pretty stressful situation because first thing in the morning I was
flying to another town and would start my mountain climb. The mountain climb was the whole reason why I was
doing this trip and it was something I had wanted to do for years. If I didn't find my packs in the next 12 hours, which
after what just happened seemed very unrealistic, this whole trip would have been a waste.
Problem 2: Ticketing
The next day I asked a ticket sales person from my airline about my bags but she claimed she only sold tickets and
couldn't help me. She gave me the run around but eventually I told her there must be someone she can talk to and she
radioed in someone who took me to a room where my backpacks were located. When I saw my pack I felt like a
million dollars and that all my problems where over. I immediately went to pick up my flight coupon so I could get on
my flight to head out to the mountains. When I approached the booth the lady behind it was reading a book and
waved for me to go away without even looking at me. I tapped on the window and she just completely ignored me
so I left and went to another one. For a short time I thought I'd miss this flight but I got my ticket from another booth
where that person was a lot more helpful. I got on the plane and was then on my way to the town of Mineral 'Nye
Vody, which means mineral water. There I spent a week climbing Mt. Elbrus where I heard other stories from other
travelers around the world who have had similar problems in Russia on this trip.
Problem 3: Hold up
After I accomplished the most important thing of this trip by climbing Mt. Elbrus and I returned to Min Vody's airport
for a flight to Armenia. As I was leaving Russia and going through immigration I gave my passport to the control
officer so I could get my exit stamp and be on my way. After I handed him my passport he looked up at me as if I
had handed him a bag of cocaine and asked me some things in Russian. I didn't understand so the guy got up and left
with my passport for about 20 minutes. I waited having no idea what was going on and worried I'd be held for too
long and miss my flight. Some Russian military guys came by and leaned forward to look at me while I waited in front
of the booth. They then came over and asked to see my visa papers and questioned my travels in Russia. The
immigration guy came back and talked to the military people for a while and then one came and said I could go. The
immigration officer came back and held my passport up to my face for about a minute looking at me and the passport
several times. After that I was finally free to leave and didn't miss my flight. This might not sound so bad but when
you're alone, being checked out by some foreign military and you have no idea what's going on it can be nasty
experience. I felt like I was going to be put under arrest and accused for some crazy crime I didn't commit. Even if I
had just missed my flight it would have ruined the rest of my trip since I'd need to spend a lot of money buying new
tickets and all my planning would be off schedule .
Problem 4: Deport
To be honest when I left Russia I felt relieved as it seemed when ever I had to deal with officials I was being harassed
or getting little help. I spent the next 2 weeks out of Russia and during this time my passport got damaged. I got it
replaced by the US embassy and they gave me my old passport because it had my Russian visa on it and assured me
I'd have no problems in Russia. I found this hard to believe because I already had problems without having two
passports. When I was on my flight to Russia I really was not looking forward to going through passport control
again. This time I just jumped ahead of people and did what I had to move forward. I got to the front in less than
45minutes this time. When the officer saw I had two passports I was pulled out of line and told to wait. I waited for
about 10 minutes and then some Russian guy who seemed to be in charge of everyone here took me into his office
and yelled at me for about 5 minutes in Russian. I had no idea what he said and when he was finished I replied sorry,
no Russian. He looked at me as if I had insulted him and said sorry sorry sorry sorry! and told me to leave.
Problem 4: Deport Continued
Some immigration officer who came up to me and spoke English told me I would probably be deported. I sat and
waited for hours and had no idea what was going on. If I was going to be deported I wanted to know now and get it
over with, not sit around and wonder for hours. Finally someone came up to me and took me to the other side of the
airport. I was left with some other people who were getting deported. One guy told me he had been here for 3 days
and had to sleep on cardboard boxes that were laid out on the floor. I stayed there for a while and then a really nice
Russian officer came up and asked me in English what was going on. I explained how my passport was damaged and
I had no choice but to get a new one. He said he would try to help me and came back and got me a new visa within
an hour. I thanked him a million times and then continued on with my trip, if that guy hadn't been working that day
there is no doubt in my mind I would have gotten deported.
Problem 5: Hostel Registration
After leaving the immigration I felt like a million dollars once again. I tried to call some hotels but when I couldn't
speak English they literally just hung up on me so I ended up sleeping in the airport; fine by me though, I was just glad
I didn't get deported. I stayed in Moscow for a few days then went to the resort city of Sochi. Each city you go to in
Russia you have three days to register with the immigration department. Whenever you stay at a hotel or with a tour
company they will do the registration for you. For example each night in Moscow my hotel gave me a stamp, and
when I climbed Mt. Elbrus I received a stamp for the whole duration of the climb. In Sochi I stayed at a hostel and
was told the next day after I had paid that I couldn't get a stamp because it was a private place, so I had to go to the
immigration office by myself. Keep in mind that in the majority of Russia very few people speak English. In the entire
city of Sochi I literally did not meet a single person who spoke English except for my friend who was with me
Tavarish Marina. She translated everything for me, and if I had gone completely alone my trip to Sochi would have
been a disaster.
Problem 6: Immigration Office
On day two I went to the immigration office and like the airport it was completely unorganized and had people
pushing and shoving to get ahead. After I finally reached the immigration lady she said I needed a copy of my
passport, a copy of my visa, a copy of my immigration card, a copy of my flight to Sochi, a copy of my flight out of
Sochi, the address of where I was staying at, and whoever owned the establishment had to come in person with a
copy of his passport and sign that I would be staying in his place. I honestly hoped to go there and simply say that I
was here and provide an address and then get my stamp, but you have to remember this is Russia. I began to use
their copy machine but was then asked to leave and I was told I had to find my own copy machine out in town.
Problem 7: Hotel Registration
The owner of the hostel refused to come with me to the immigration office so it was suggested that I go to another
hotel. On day 4 I did go to another hotel and this time I made sure that they could stamp my immigration card and I
was told they would do it first thing in the morning. The following morning I went downstairs to get it done and they
told me they couldn't do it anymore and had misunderstood. Again all this was in Russian and was being translated to
me so I didn't understand exactly what was going on. The lady spoke for about 10 minutes explaining why it couldn't
be done anymore even though the day before she promised it wouldn't be a problem. On Day 5 I was leaving Sochi
and it was obvious I wasn't going to get my immigration card stamped so I had no choice but to give up on it. I
wasn't sure how seriously the police would take me not having a stamp for 5 days, but they seem to enjoy playing
games regardless, much less if they have a legitimate reason.
Problem 8: Electronic Ticket
I had used about 5 electronic tickets so far in this trip, and turned all of them in for hard copies at the airports. When
I got to the airport in Sochi for my departure I was told the office where I would get my hard copy was out in town
for some reason. I had come two hours prior even though you only need 1 hour for domestic flights. I had plenty of
time but I was worried about finding the office in time and getting back to the airport. Fortunately the office was right
outside the airport in the second floor of a building. When I got to the office I found that the door was locked and no
one was inside. I knocked on the door for a long time anyway and I was beginning to get worried about time. Marina
called a number on the door and whoever answered said they were back at the airport. We hurried back to the
airport and went to one of the booths. The lady there said the computers were down so she couldn't verify my ticket.
I had paid $117 for my original ticket and she told me the only thing I could do now was to buy a new one on the
spot for $800. I wasn't sure what to do and this really pissed me off. I decided to do it since the next day was my
international flight home. The last thing I needed was to be stranded alone in Sochi with no immigration stamp and no
way home while getting harassed by police, plus if I missed my flight from Russia to USA it would probably cost a lot
more than $800 and I would also be over staying my visa. I handed the lady in the booth my credit card which she
said she couldn't accept. The most I could pull was $400 from an ATM a day so I had no way to pay for this flight
on the spot. I felt completely screwed over again.
Problem 8: Electronic Ticket continued
Some dirty Russian guys saw what was happening and tried to sell me some tickets for $600 on the spot. I really
didn't trust them of course but I was so desperate I actually talked with them to see what they offered. At that point
Marina had to leave so I was by myself now. They didn't speak English but communicated by writing prices down
and shaking their heads yes or no. It seemed like there were no more flights I could get tonight, which gave me more
confidence in them. If they were here to scam me then they would tell me sure there is a flight leaving in one hour and
then after they got their money take off. That was a positive sign at least, but I still didn't trust them. Still it seemed I
had no other options so I went with one of them to the bank to get money. The bank didn't have an ATM that I
could use and they wouldn't let me charge my credit card for cash either so I was left with no options again.
Problem 8: Electronic Continued
The nasty Russian guys were still with me trying to come up with other ideas. I only had 30 minutes until my flight so I
did the best thing ever on my whole trip and just walked away from them and went straight to the airport security. I
kept asking the security for my airline hoping for a more reasonable person than the lady in the booth. Some guy
came out eventually who took my passport and came back with a list with my name on it. He got me on the plane
barely in time. An inspection officer checked my immigration card and pointed to the lack of stamps and I showed
her a hotel receipt and she let me go, she didn't seem very evil so I felt fortunate it was her and not someone else
working there. On the plane the Russian guy next to me randomly bought 15 vodkas and 9 beers and decided to give
me some. It was a good way to celebrate!
That sums just about all the bad things that happened to me in Russia, but it's more than all the other countries
combined! Some Americans say to me it's probably because you're from the United States, but during my travels I
met many Europeans and people from other places with similar problems. Two guys from Norway I met where 5
minutes late for their flight so they were told it was too late to get them on the plane, but it turns out there was enough
time to go back to the plane to search and pull off their luggage! I also had problems where people didn't know I
wasn't Russian at first. One time I threw a wrapper in trash can that was outside on the street and some lady came
and took it out and gave it back to me and yelled at me. Apparently the trash can belonged to a restaurant so I had
to throw it away somewhere else. I walked around the corner to another trash can and threw it in there and the lady
came back out and yelled at me for about 5 minutes and made me remove the wrapper. I think most travelers to
Russia won't face the problems I did if they stick to the major cities. It's likely you can arrive in Moscow, wait a while
in line and then get your bags and then be okay for the rest of your trip. Most of my problems where in places that
weren't traveled much like Sochi or near Min Vody. The passport incident was an exception because mine was
damaged and most people won't have to get an emergency passport during their travel. Again I feel bad writing about
bad things about Russia, but it was definitely a memorable part of my trip.
My first problem started within 5 minutes upon my arrival. As soon as I arrived to Moscow I had to wait 3 hours in
line to get my passport stamped. The line was completely unorganized and the immigration officers took an average
of 4 minutes per person instead of the seconds like in all other countries. After I finally got through immigrations I
went to pick up my bags but they where no where to be found. I found a Russian guy who was working in the airport
and tried to ask him where my bags might be. He looked at me and threw his arms up in the air and yelled at me in
Russian. Another baggage guy I asked yelled at me to the point where I honestly thought he might start to get
physical! My first few hours in Russia were not very impressive, but eventually I did find one very nice guy who
helped me fill out a lost baggage claim. This was a pretty stressful situation because first thing in the morning I was
flying to another town and would start my mountain climb. The mountain climb was the whole reason why I was
doing this trip and it was something I had wanted to do for years. If I didn't find my packs in the next 12 hours, which
after what just happened seemed very unrealistic, this whole trip would have been a waste.
Problem 2: Ticketing
The next day I asked a ticket sales person from my airline about my bags but she claimed she only sold tickets and
couldn't help me. She gave me the run around but eventually I told her there must be someone she can talk to and she
radioed in someone who took me to a room where my backpacks were located. When I saw my pack I felt like a
million dollars and that all my problems where over. I immediately went to pick up my flight coupon so I could get on
my flight to head out to the mountains. When I approached the booth the lady behind it was reading a book and
waved for me to go away without even looking at me. I tapped on the window and she just completely ignored me
so I left and went to another one. For a short time I thought I'd miss this flight but I got my ticket from another booth
where that person was a lot more helpful. I got on the plane and was then on my way to the town of Mineral 'Nye
Vody, which means mineral water. There I spent a week climbing Mt. Elbrus where I heard other stories from other
travelers around the world who have had similar problems in Russia on this trip.
Problem 3: Hold up
After I accomplished the most important thing of this trip by climbing Mt. Elbrus and I returned to Min Vody's airport
for a flight to Armenia. As I was leaving Russia and going through immigration I gave my passport to the control
officer so I could get my exit stamp and be on my way. After I handed him my passport he looked up at me as if I
had handed him a bag of cocaine and asked me some things in Russian. I didn't understand so the guy got up and left
with my passport for about 20 minutes. I waited having no idea what was going on and worried I'd be held for too
long and miss my flight. Some Russian military guys came by and leaned forward to look at me while I waited in front
of the booth. They then came over and asked to see my visa papers and questioned my travels in Russia. The
immigration guy came back and talked to the military people for a while and then one came and said I could go. The
immigration officer came back and held my passport up to my face for about a minute looking at me and the passport
several times. After that I was finally free to leave and didn't miss my flight. This might not sound so bad but when
you're alone, being checked out by some foreign military and you have no idea what's going on it can be nasty
experience. I felt like I was going to be put under arrest and accused for some crazy crime I didn't commit. Even if I
had just missed my flight it would have ruined the rest of my trip since I'd need to spend a lot of money buying new
tickets and all my planning would be off schedule .
Problem 4: Deport
To be honest when I left Russia I felt relieved as it seemed when ever I had to deal with officials I was being harassed
or getting little help. I spent the next 2 weeks out of Russia and during this time my passport got damaged. I got it
replaced by the US embassy and they gave me my old passport because it had my Russian visa on it and assured me
I'd have no problems in Russia. I found this hard to believe because I already had problems without having two
passports. When I was on my flight to Russia I really was not looking forward to going through passport control
again. This time I just jumped ahead of people and did what I had to move forward. I got to the front in less than
45minutes this time. When the officer saw I had two passports I was pulled out of line and told to wait. I waited for
about 10 minutes and then some Russian guy who seemed to be in charge of everyone here took me into his office
and yelled at me for about 5 minutes in Russian. I had no idea what he said and when he was finished I replied sorry,
no Russian. He looked at me as if I had insulted him and said sorry sorry sorry sorry! and told me to leave.
Problem 4: Deport Continued
Some immigration officer who came up to me and spoke English told me I would probably be deported. I sat and
waited for hours and had no idea what was going on. If I was going to be deported I wanted to know now and get it
over with, not sit around and wonder for hours. Finally someone came up to me and took me to the other side of the
airport. I was left with some other people who were getting deported. One guy told me he had been here for 3 days
and had to sleep on cardboard boxes that were laid out on the floor. I stayed there for a while and then a really nice
Russian officer came up and asked me in English what was going on. I explained how my passport was damaged and
I had no choice but to get a new one. He said he would try to help me and came back and got me a new visa within
an hour. I thanked him a million times and then continued on with my trip, if that guy hadn't been working that day
there is no doubt in my mind I would have gotten deported.
Problem 5: Hostel Registration
After leaving the immigration I felt like a million dollars once again. I tried to call some hotels but when I couldn't
speak English they literally just hung up on me so I ended up sleeping in the airport; fine by me though, I was just glad
I didn't get deported. I stayed in Moscow for a few days then went to the resort city of Sochi. Each city you go to in
Russia you have three days to register with the immigration department. Whenever you stay at a hotel or with a tour
company they will do the registration for you. For example each night in Moscow my hotel gave me a stamp, and
when I climbed Mt. Elbrus I received a stamp for the whole duration of the climb. In Sochi I stayed at a hostel and
was told the next day after I had paid that I couldn't get a stamp because it was a private place, so I had to go to the
immigration office by myself. Keep in mind that in the majority of Russia very few people speak English. In the entire
city of Sochi I literally did not meet a single person who spoke English except for my friend who was with me
Tavarish Marina. She translated everything for me, and if I had gone completely alone my trip to Sochi would have
been a disaster.
Problem 6: Immigration Office
On day two I went to the immigration office and like the airport it was completely unorganized and had people
pushing and shoving to get ahead. After I finally reached the immigration lady she said I needed a copy of my
passport, a copy of my visa, a copy of my immigration card, a copy of my flight to Sochi, a copy of my flight out of
Sochi, the address of where I was staying at, and whoever owned the establishment had to come in person with a
copy of his passport and sign that I would be staying in his place. I honestly hoped to go there and simply say that I
was here and provide an address and then get my stamp, but you have to remember this is Russia. I began to use
their copy machine but was then asked to leave and I was told I had to find my own copy machine out in town.
Problem 7: Hotel Registration
The owner of the hostel refused to come with me to the immigration office so it was suggested that I go to another
hotel. On day 4 I did go to another hotel and this time I made sure that they could stamp my immigration card and I
was told they would do it first thing in the morning. The following morning I went downstairs to get it done and they
told me they couldn't do it anymore and had misunderstood. Again all this was in Russian and was being translated to
me so I didn't understand exactly what was going on. The lady spoke for about 10 minutes explaining why it couldn't
be done anymore even though the day before she promised it wouldn't be a problem. On Day 5 I was leaving Sochi
and it was obvious I wasn't going to get my immigration card stamped so I had no choice but to give up on it. I
wasn't sure how seriously the police would take me not having a stamp for 5 days, but they seem to enjoy playing
games regardless, much less if they have a legitimate reason.
Problem 8: Electronic Ticket
I had used about 5 electronic tickets so far in this trip, and turned all of them in for hard copies at the airports. When
I got to the airport in Sochi for my departure I was told the office where I would get my hard copy was out in town
for some reason. I had come two hours prior even though you only need 1 hour for domestic flights. I had plenty of
time but I was worried about finding the office in time and getting back to the airport. Fortunately the office was right
outside the airport in the second floor of a building. When I got to the office I found that the door was locked and no
one was inside. I knocked on the door for a long time anyway and I was beginning to get worried about time. Marina
called a number on the door and whoever answered said they were back at the airport. We hurried back to the
airport and went to one of the booths. The lady there said the computers were down so she couldn't verify my ticket.
I had paid $117 for my original ticket and she told me the only thing I could do now was to buy a new one on the
spot for $800. I wasn't sure what to do and this really pissed me off. I decided to do it since the next day was my
international flight home. The last thing I needed was to be stranded alone in Sochi with no immigration stamp and no
way home while getting harassed by police, plus if I missed my flight from Russia to USA it would probably cost a lot
more than $800 and I would also be over staying my visa. I handed the lady in the booth my credit card which she
said she couldn't accept. The most I could pull was $400 from an ATM a day so I had no way to pay for this flight
on the spot. I felt completely screwed over again.
Problem 8: Electronic Ticket continued
Some dirty Russian guys saw what was happening and tried to sell me some tickets for $600 on the spot. I really
didn't trust them of course but I was so desperate I actually talked with them to see what they offered. At that point
Marina had to leave so I was by myself now. They didn't speak English but communicated by writing prices down
and shaking their heads yes or no. It seemed like there were no more flights I could get tonight, which gave me more
confidence in them. If they were here to scam me then they would tell me sure there is a flight leaving in one hour and
then after they got their money take off. That was a positive sign at least, but I still didn't trust them. Still it seemed I
had no other options so I went with one of them to the bank to get money. The bank didn't have an ATM that I
could use and they wouldn't let me charge my credit card for cash either so I was left with no options again.
Problem 8: Electronic Continued
The nasty Russian guys were still with me trying to come up with other ideas. I only had 30 minutes until my flight so I
did the best thing ever on my whole trip and just walked away from them and went straight to the airport security. I
kept asking the security for my airline hoping for a more reasonable person than the lady in the booth. Some guy
came out eventually who took my passport and came back with a list with my name on it. He got me on the plane
barely in time. An inspection officer checked my immigration card and pointed to the lack of stamps and I showed
her a hotel receipt and she let me go, she didn't seem very evil so I felt fortunate it was her and not someone else
working there. On the plane the Russian guy next to me randomly bought 15 vodkas and 9 beers and decided to give
me some. It was a good way to celebrate!
That sums just about all the bad things that happened to me in Russia, but it's more than all the other countries
combined! Some Americans say to me it's probably because you're from the United States, but during my travels I
met many Europeans and people from other places with similar problems. Two guys from Norway I met where 5
minutes late for their flight so they were told it was too late to get them on the plane, but it turns out there was enough
time to go back to the plane to search and pull off their luggage! I also had problems where people didn't know I
wasn't Russian at first. One time I threw a wrapper in trash can that was outside on the street and some lady came
and took it out and gave it back to me and yelled at me. Apparently the trash can belonged to a restaurant so I had
to throw it away somewhere else. I walked around the corner to another trash can and threw it in there and the lady
came back out and yelled at me for about 5 minutes and made me remove the wrapper. I think most travelers to
Russia won't face the problems I did if they stick to the major cities. It's likely you can arrive in Moscow, wait a while
in line and then get your bags and then be okay for the rest of your trip. Most of my problems where in places that
weren't traveled much like Sochi or near Min Vody. The passport incident was an exception because mine was
damaged and most people won't have to get an emergency passport during their travel. Again I feel bad writing about
bad things about Russia, but it was definitely a memorable part of my trip.
| Russia |
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| Russia Links |
In this page I'm going to summarize my misadventures of Russia. You can either read this section or skip the bad parts of Russia and click on Photos of Russia or Mt. Elbrus to see pictures and other stories. When I went to Russia I had no expectations but I was still really looking forward to the trip. I was pretty shocked with what I sometimes encountered and I hate to talk bad about any place I visit, but in Russia I met some extremely mean people! Since everything is going to be summed up all at once, it will probably seem worse than it really was. The rest of my trip was very good, but anytime I was going through airports or immigration I always seemed to have a tough time. |
