Here's an interesting web site:

http://21er.nu/veronika-spb/

"2 ÷àñà - $150, íî÷ü - $300"

means:

2 hours - $150, night - $300.

"Äëÿ Ìîñêâû: íî÷ü - $400 + àâèàáèëåò, ñóòêè - $600 + àâèàáèëåò"

means:

"Out of Moscow - night $400 + airplane ticket, entire day $600 plus airplane ticket."

Nice pictures, too!

The second one down looks kind of plain until you click on her picture and see the next two. Nice, very nice.

So how do you say, "àâèàáèëåò"? That kind of looks like what I sound like when I cum real hard.

Anyone flown on aeroflot before? International flights appear to be using Boeing 767, but local flights between St. Petersburg and Moscow are using Tupalev planes. I looked at http://www.waasinfo.net/ for safety record and looks pretty good, but I wonder about airline maintenance and parts.

International Aeroflot = same as US airlines, pretty much.

Domestic Aeroflot = get lots of insurance.

I flew on an Ilyushin 96 once. Kind of like the Hindenberg with wings.

Drugging/Robberies on the Rise in Moscow? Tourists Will Drink to That

By Sergiusz Morenc

M O S C O W, Russia, March 25 — The flat, murky-colored brew that passed for beer in Soviet times is gone and in keeping with the spirit of glasnost, Moscow's many drinking establishments now offer a range of quality liquors, but sometimes a distinctly KGB flavor still lingers.

While the Russian capital has been a lot more accessible and inviting to foreign tourists since the fall of the Soviet Union, a recent warning by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has drawn attention to the fact that the Cold War may be over, but Russia's notorious criminal underworld can still pull some old tricks in new drinks.

In a carefully worded message issued last week, the U.S. Embassy warned U.S. citizens in Moscow of an increase in the number of foreign nationals who have been drugged and robbed after their drinks were spiked with a drug called clonidine in local bars and restaurants.

The tactic, which was widely employed in Russia in the mid-1990s, appeared to have lost its popularity at the turn of the millennium, but a recent upsurge of clonidine poisonings has put the authorities on a state of alert.

The new warning urges U.S. citizens to "consider ordering bottled drinks rather than mixed drinks" and to "avoid leaving drinks unattended."

For unsuspecting travelers, the message is clear: After a brief hiatus, Moscow's Mickey Finn is in.

The modus operandi is simple and fairly typical: an unsuspecting foreign national walks into a Moscow bar. He is approached by a woman who takes a sudden but decidedly friendly interest in him. Warm and fuzzy from the unexpected attention, the victim relaxes and drops his guard until he begins to feel distinctly drowsy and a feeling of lightness overcomes him.

It's the lightness a man experiences when his wallet has been emptied.

Named after a fictitious character from the bad old days of 19th century Chicago, the Moscow Mickey Finn has adapted to Russia's changing times.

Since the 1990s, an international bar culture has established a firm foothold in Moscow. Establishments with names such as "John Bull's," "16 Tons," "Pancho Villa," "Doug and Marty's Boar House," "Tropicana," and "Dolls" compete with more traditional-sounding ones such as "Bochka" (The Barrel), or the very popular "Petrovich" (Peter's Son).

And Moscow's officially licensed "Hard Rock Cafe" is scheduled to open later this year in the trendy Old Arbat pedestrian walkway.

But political and economic changes have, unfortunately, had little influence on the weather, which can be very uninviting for long stretches of time and best coped with indoors with an inviting drink near at hand.

It's a perfect setting for Mickey Finn to step in and the best victims are unsuspecting foreigners because they tend to be short-term visitors with a ready supply of cash for their travels.

Moscow's medical clinics that cater to the foreign community have recorded an increase in cases of clonidine poisoning in the past few months, although officials say it fair to say these figures represent just the tip of the iceberg, as a number of cases are believed to go unreported.

Depending on the dosage, clonidine can cause tiredness and partial or complete loss of consciousness for hours, but sometimes even days.

A liquid form of the drug is usually administered, which does not alter the taste or color of the drink it is mixed into. Experts say the beverage does not have to contain alcohol — cases of doctoring tea and coffee have taken place as well.

But law enforcement officials admit it's difficult to catch clonidine criminals as the cases tend to be isolated and often slip proper attention by Moscow's overworked police force.

In the absence of serious policing, some owners and managers of bars and restaurants say they have stepped up their security measures. These sometimes include undercover security personnel posing as patrons.

But the sheer mobility of clonidine-wielders makes apprehension of such criminals an uphill task, according to local police sources.

Perpetrators are known to constantly change areas of prey, moving not only from bar to bar, but also from city to city, and even from country to country.

Scandinavian patrons of cheap watering-holes in the Baltic States such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have been falling victim to Mickey Finns for decades.

Moscow police officials believe the criminals tend to have universal operational rules: They usually work alone or in closely knit groups and rarely mix with other sections of the city's underworld.

And Moscow police, like most embassies, have very simple advice to give: stay vigilant.

("Stay vigilant". . .good advice in any country you're visiting!) 

Maybe this is the wrong place to post this, but I wonder if anyone can tell me if I need to apply for a tourist visa before visiting Moscow? I was under the impression that all I needed was my passport.

Yes, you need a tourist visa if you are a US citizen. Not sure about other countries, but probably true. They won't even let you board the plane without the visa.

Here is the link to the Russian Embassy:

http://www.russianembassy.org/

Scroll the left side down and click on tourist visas.

Here is a cut/paste of the critical info. There is a link to download a pdf with the application.

You can get the visa support letter from your hotel for free (usually), but I am finding out that it takes more than a week for them to respond to a fax. They will want a credit card number to charge $50 in the event you cancel the reservation after receiving the visa support. Essentially the visa support letter is a one page form letter invitation and a one page travel voucher. If you are staying in multiple places, you need to have one from each hotel with the correct dates on it. You should also keep a copy of the visa support letters with you as I have heard that sometimes the customs folks ask for it in addition to the actual visa. Be sure to check the dates carefully. Remember that Russia uses European style date formats dd/mm/yy.

Note the processing times in the info below. For more money it can go faster, but don't expect same day turnaround at all. You need to leave at least a week for processing time. Make sure you include a pre-addressed, pre-stamped US POSTAL express mailer (not FedEx or UPS) to send things back if you are pressed for time. Use a money order for the fee.

Also note the specific instructions about cutting the copy of your passport page down to size and attaching two photos to it and one photo to your application form.

Hope that helps. I'm still struggling with mine for the beginning of May trip.

--------------
TOURIST VISA

The following documents should be submitted in order to obtain a tourist visa:

1. A completed visa application form (one per person) available at the Consulate or travel agencies and visa services.
2. Copies of the pages of the passport, or any other valid travel document, that contains personal data of the bearer. However, we reserve the right to request the original passport
3. Three professional identical passport size pictures of the applicant. Pictures can be black-and-white or color, preferably on matte paper.
4. A standard tourist confirmation from the authorized hosting Russian travel agency or a hotel, registered with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a voucher from your or travel agency in Russia. The confirmation must contain the agency's reference number and registration number.
5. A cover letter from your travel agency in the USA, containing the following information:
Applicant's name or alphabetical list of a group;
Dates and points of arrival and departure in and from Russia and means of transportation;
Itinerary in Russia;
Index and reference number of the receiving organization.

6. If you apply by mail, you should enclose a completely-addressed stamped return envelope or prepaid waybill, bearing your postal account number and showing yourself as both shipper and recipient regardless of delivery address. We do not accept waybills marked "bill sender", "bill third party", "bill credit card", or "C.O.D". If you fail to follow the above mentioned requirements, your visa application will not be processed. If the papers are not acceptable for any reason or some documents are missing, we will return them by regular mail. When forwarding documents to us, please specify "Attention: Visa Section". We do not accept documents for international delivery.
If you apply personally or through a travel agency or visa service, you or your representative should get a pick-up slip from the visa officer. You should present this slip to pick up your visa, when it is ready, or refer to the number of the slip to find out the status of the application. Please, note that we do not accept visa documents delivered to the Consulate by courier services.

7. A Money Order or cashiers check payable to the Russian Embassy for visa processing. Please note that we do not accept cash or any other checks. Charge for bounced checks is $20.00.
Visa processing fees are:

$70.00 for not less than two weeks processing;
$80.00 for not less than one week processing;
$110.00 for not less than three business day processing;
$150.00 for next business day processing or two business day processing;.
$300.00 for same day processing.

Additional charge for double-entry visas is $50.00.

Please note, that drop-off day is not counted as a business day.

Next-day or Same-day processing is available only if our volume of work permits.

If you apply by mail please allow one more day for processing.

Visa processing starts only after we have collected all necessary documents.

IMPORTANT: Russian tourist visa can be issued for not longer than one month! When entering Russia with a tourist visa, you are required also to present at the border check point your tourist confirmation, voucher from your hotel and a return ticket with a fixed date of departure from Russia. You also will have to prove that you have sufficient funds for your travel. However, this does not apply to cruises and tourist groups!

Visa Processing Fees are Not Refundable


Please follow specific pattern when submitting your papers. The copy of the passport page should be trimmed to the size of the original and stapled to the upper left-hand corner of the application form. Two pictures should be stapled to the copy of the passport page and one – to the marked space the upper right-hand corner of the application form.

Paperwork submitted in a different manner will not be accepted.

If you are going on a cruise and wish to go sight-seeing, you should get a visa as explained above. Your cruise sponsors must provide you with the name and reference number of the Russian organization which will be responsible for this cruise.

After you receive your visa please check it for possible mistakes (passport number, date of birth, term of validity) and, if necessary, return it to the Consulate for corrections. The Consulate will not be responsible for any mistakes in the visas, which were not brought to its attention prior to the departure from the USA. If you wish to extend your visa, you should get a new confirmation from the same organization indicated in the visa and submit it with the visa to the Consulate. We charge $40.00 for visa extension and correction of each mistake which we are not responsible for.

Processing times, requirements and fees are subject to change without notice.

If you need more information please call us at (202) 939-8913, 8918, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Visa section is open for visitors Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. only. Visa documents are accepted until 12:15 p.m. only.

Also I have heard that you should always go through the "something to declare" line at customs instead of the "nothing to declare." If you don't declare the cash you are bringing into the country, then you can't take it out.

This is the Red Channel vs Green Channel issue at Customs. I always go through the Red Channel, although the line is longer. Note that you have to find and fill out a customs declaration form entering and leaving Russia.

Thanks alot for the information. Without your help I couldn't have made this trip. My hotel, the Marriot Tverskaya, faxed my visa support letter and my travel voucher ten minutes ago. It's now 11:00pm on thursday, and I'll be leaving for Los Angeles to the Russian consulate to attempt to obtain my visa on Friday. Hopefully I'll have it by the time my flight is scheduled to leave on May 3rd. If you're in Moscow between May 4th and 12th maybe I can buy you a drink.

Is there a Russian consulate in Los Angeles?

For more info, try this:

http://www.expressvisa.com

They can get you Russian visas yesterday.

No there is no Russian consulate in Los Angeles as I discovered. It's in San Francisco. I called the consulate and they faxed an application in to me. They assured me that I had enough time to recieve my visa through the mail. I hope they're right.

I just got my russian visa today so the trip is a go! I express mailed everything on April 17 with 3 day processing fee of $110us and received my express mailer back today April 24 -- 8 day turnaround including 2 days of mailing time and 2 days of weekend.

If you need to practice your Russian, try this:

forum.dosug.org

The best sex forum I have run across (sorry, Hombre) mostly because the posters stay on topic and post detailed, quantifiable accounts of their mongering - with photos).

Its in Russian, though.

I'm in Moscow. First night I went to Nite Flite. I was very disappointed when I arrived at 11:30 and there were only ten or so women in the place. Turns out its freakin Russian orthodox Easter so nobody's wotking and very few customers as well. I spoke to a girl named Alisa for a while but decided to keep my standards high and look for something above an 8. I Jumped in a taxi and the guy told me to try Rasputins, a strip club that supposedly had no cover. I walked in the door and the first thing ou of the door person's mouth is that there is a twenty dollar cover. I argued but frankly had my heart set on getting laid so I gave in after a couple of minutes and paid. I have to admit the girls were hot, nines and tens by my estimation.Again, though, there were very few customers here. There were several rooms each one had a different type of show and she asked wich "hole" I preferred. Since I was feeling argumentative because of the cover I demanded a tour of all the rooms. Every room had beautiful girls and the last she showed me supposedly was a lesbian sex act. In this room were 4 attractive women an they proceded to tug on my arms to make me stay. I told them maybe later because I had seen a girk in the first room that whose looks were stunning. We retraced our steps and she seated me in that room and immediately I was hit for a 7 dollar drink, but I figured what the hell I'll only be staying long enough to load this girl in the taxi. She procedes to give me a great lap-dance and when she's finished she asks for a tip. I siezed the opportunity and ask how much to take her home to my hotel. She gets alook of shock on her face, gets up and sulks to the stage giving up all attempts to coax a tip out of me. I was both stunned and kind of pissed at the taxi driver. Doesn't he know you can't take the girls home from this place or is he scamming me too. I left, got back in the same taxi which I had told to wait for me and I tell him to take me back to Nite Flite. I get to nite Flite at about one and discover tha the selection has deteriorated even further. I see a girl named Natasha who is probably a seven we talked for a few minutes ,settled on a price of 200 dollars. I took her to the hotel and the rest was history. I kicked her out after the act because I was kind of tired and didn't want to be faced with the reality how easily I get taken when it comes to pussy. Why didn't I see this coming?

$200 for an allnighter is considered an excellent price in TJ, so maybe you did OK.

My experience in Russia was by far the best one i've ever had for meeting women. I had no idea there were so many beautiful women in that country. My trip took me to Moscow and St. Petersburg. St. petersburg has the best looking women. Most are very Scandinavian in appearance and are very friendly. I used an agent in the states who hired me a guide. He tok me to several escort agencies where I could choose the lady and they would stay with you for around $400.00 per day.

My last trip was a 2-week vacation to Moscow and a small Russian city called Murmansk in summer 2003; 14 days, 10 girls = ONE GREAT TIME!! *smile* Some small pointers on hobbying in Russia or Ukraine:
1) Rent an apartment. Hotel security is definitely a pain in bringing girls to your room, they'll expect a hefty bribe to do so. Not worth the hassle, and a good Western-style apartment is a lot cheaper than a hotel ($50-80/night).
2) You don't need bodyguards. I went alone all 3 times, dressed in Armanis for night time clubbing, and NEVER had a problem. Tip the bartender an extra 200 rubles (US$6) and he'll move Heaven and Earth to make sure club security watches over you (and that you're served first in a crowd). Just use some common sense; breaking out a thick wad of $100 bills in a bar is just asking for trouble! Anyways, indy girls usually expect payment at the end of the night and lineup girls are never more than $100 ($50/night, if you know the ropes). Don't leave your drink unattended, etc. You get the picture. One thing I love about Russia/Ukraine is they respect the judicious use of money; a little $$ (you don't need a lot) in the right place gets you instant first-class service. Try that at your local Canadian neighborhood club/bar this Saturday! *smile*

Has anyone gone on one of those "Meet your Russian bride" tours? I keep seeing those on the tv. Some of these guys do get wives, but others just go to take advantage of these beautiful but desparate women. Some of these women looked really nice. It is supposedly pretty easy to have sex with them.

Yeah, it very easy to have sex with one of those Russian brides after you marry them.

Expect the marriage to last 5 years, once they get their green cards, they leave and take your money with them.

Above: Russian man commits suicide by blowing himself up with a hand grenade.