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Getting Around Russia

In theory, it's not very hard to get around Russia. Aeroflot, Transaero and dozens of "baby flots" have an ambitious flight network covering the country. For those looking for cheaper transport, trains serve just about every sizeable city, while buses and boats fill in the cracks.

Traveling in Russia gets complicated when you leave the beaten path. All roads, rails and runways lead to Moscow, and if you're traveling to or from the capital, it's possible to have a straightforward journey. But if you're headed in an unorthodox direction you may find yourself waiting a couple days for a plane or schlepping hundreds of kilometers in a beat-up old bus.

One strategy for avoiding problems is hiring a tourist agency to plan things for you. The only problem with hiring somebody is that you never quite know what you're getting into.

Passengers disembarking at the Novosibirsk airport.

Traveling by Air
Moscow and St. Petersburg are served by most major European carriers, a handful of Asian carriers, and Delta. Lufthansa has flights from Germany to several other Russian destinations including Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara and Perm. British Airways flies five times a week to St. Petersburg from London's Gatwick Airport. For internal flights you'll have to travel on a Russian airline. After the fall of the Soviet Union Russian carriers developed a reputation for grouchy stewardesses, smoky cabins and poor safety. They're now scrambling to change that image, and there has been some success.

Aeroflot and Transaero are Russia's most respected carriers. Both fly Western planes on many routes and are building alliances with Western airlines. Smaller baby flots are generally less reliable. Regardless of whom you fly with, Russian airlines tend to have habits (canceling your ticket if you don't confirm, for example) that Western carriers couldn't get away with.

Maybe because Russia has so many two-bit airlines, it has thousands of two-bit airline ticket agencies. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, their penetration levels rival obem valuti, and they're not hard to find in most provincial cities.

Traveling by Train
Cheap and slow, trains are the preferred means of transport for the vast majority of Russians. Trains are also popular with foreigners shuttling between Moscow and St. Petersburg or launching and extended journeys across the country.

Most Russian trains fall into one of three groups: firmeny, skorry or elektrichki. Firmeny trains are long distance trains run by a private company. They usually have a name and on the whole they are faster, cleaner, more comfortable and more expensive than other trains. The Rossia (Russia), connecting Moscow and Vladivostok, and the Krasnaya Strella (Red Arrow), connecting Moscow and Petersburg, are two of the more famous firmeny trains.

All other long distance trains are the not-so-aptly named skorry poyezdy (fast trains). These are generally not as comfortable and make more stops. For shorter trips most sizable Russian cities are surrounded by a network of elektrichki, or suburban trains. An elektrichka has no cabins or bunks and will usually stop everywhere (there are some faster ones on Moscow's surburban network), including places where the cows won't get off the tracks.

Most long distance trains have two different classes: platzcart and coupe. Coupe, the preferred option for most foreigners, is a private cabin with four bunk beds, two on each side of a small table. Some long distance firmeny trains include a deluxe coupe class where there are two bunks in a coupe cabin that normally holds four. Platzkart is transportation for that masses, an open train car that fits six bunks into the space the coupe uses for four. A platzkart car feels like it was made to transport troops and puts the sights, sounds, and smells of Russia right in your face.

In theory, foreigners are required to buy train tickets at a Central Railway Agency ticket window specifically designated for foreigners. Two of the most convienent are located at the Belorussky Station and the Leningrasky Station.

Traveling by Boat
With the exception of certain remote corners of Siberia, boats aren't an efficient way of getting around Russia. Still, there are a plenty of places in Russia you can get to by boat, and the sights often make the trip worthwhile.

European Russia has a network of interconnected rivers and canals that have been well traveled for centuries. Siberia's rivers are broad Goliaths that travel thousands of kilometers through the wilderness on their way from the steppe to the Arctic Circle. In the summer it's not hard to find cruises along Russian rivers. Passenger boats run up and down the Volga, between St. Petersburg and Moscow, and along many of the Siberian rivers.

The quality of the conditions varies tremendously. Many of the boats are still old Soviet operations where you'll spend a week or two in tight quarters eating bad food. Other boats are completely new or renovated and offer the kind of living quarters and food you'd find in a Western hotel.

If you want to make sure you get a comfortable boats, it's best to book your trip through an agency.

Drivers stuck in traffic next to the Kremlin with the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs looming through the haze.

Renting A Car
It's possible to rent a car in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but driving a car often proves difficult. Especially in the capital, bizarre traffic patterns (left turns are rare) and bad driving habits (nobody bothers with lanes) creates huge traffic jams and makes driving a challenge for the untested.

Several rental services offer pick-up or drop-off at Sheremetyevo-2.

If you don't want to drive, many firms offer cars rented with a driver, sometimes even at reasonable prices. In provincial areas drivers can be hired at bus stations and train stations for a pittance.

Traveling by Bus
Buses are not a comfortable way to get from city to city, but in some places they're the only public transportation available.

Unless you're on a private coach hired by a tour group, the bus will probably be 20 years old and hidden in cloud of black exhaust. If you're more than a day's drive away from Moscow it could be worse.





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