kiwi - and others, a tourist visa is good for a month. when using one it is always a good idea to list the last day or so as your intended day of departure if you do not already have a flight booked. I remember my first visit to russia -- I was sooo tired because of the snow delay in moscow. was stuck in airport for over 8 hours. good news was the natives are friendly and went out of their way to help an american. I arrived at my destination like 330 AM local time. I think I was awake for almost 24 hours. My lady friend took my visa with her to work and registered it at the post office while I slept. after that not a sole even looked at me sideways. and I traveled all over the place. but I do recall she was still nervous about the whole registration thing. IT IS A BIG DEAL! MAKE REGISTERING YOUR VISA YOUR FIRST PRIORITY.
after you travel again and again, you are not under as much scrutiny --- I think. ???
perhaps I just got lucky or blended in. can't really know for sure until the day some local cop wants to be a tough guy and tries to shake me down - it happens.
I'm sure it will be interesting for the upcoming winter olympics. I already have an apartment about 75 km from sochi. now if we can rent one of her apartments to international travelers - sweet... I'm sure there are rich americans who would pay over a 1000 a day for a place to stay, personal driver and interpreter. ??? and get me tickets to every hockey game as well - just fantasizing I know.
durak is the master here for russian travel as far as I know.
i just got back from ukraine: lvov, kiev, nikolaev, and Odessa.
the police in odessa arcadia beach were as scumy as ever. they tried to put me in a prison unless i paid them $50 for walking on the boardwalk with an alcoholic drink in my hand. they tried to take my passport until i went to an atm machine and get some money. fortunately i hid it in my socks and ditched the pigs near the atm.
and then there`s the girls. every one on the internet including this site was in it for $$$. some of the girls had boyfriends who not like them to date, they like to say this after you arrive to meet them.
then there`s the russian agencies. the girls like to meet you, speak english on the phone,
but refuse to meet me with out an interpretor, my interpretor wasn`t good enough. it had to be one who wants $20 an hour. and of course the pickup taxi from airport or bus station. $63 for one in kharkov but the driver was paid $10.
i met some nice girls by bus stops and kiosks or small shops. none of them were on the internet. zelezne port near kherson also called iron port was like a small odessa without the filthy cops. the girls were beautiful and from cities like kiev and nikolaev. hotels were $10 to $20 there. in other cities i paid between $30 and $60 a day.
It seems to me that you've made several posts reporting pretty unpleasant experiences in Ukraine. I can tell you, that most men visiting there don't have so many difficulties. Do you suppose it's time to consider a different approach?