Introduction
Welcome to this study on Russian culture and behavior. Russia is a vast and beautiful country with a rich history, filled with large numbers of cultures and ethnicities. We will introduce business and pleasure travelers venturing to Russia a variety of aspects about the Russian environment, and what to expect, or not expect, while visiting. In this article, the focus is on traveling to Russia and obtaining a Russian visa.
The Russian Visa
It is not nearly as difficult these days to obtain a travel visa to Russia as it used to be. For decades, Russia and the United States had a tenuous (okay, on the brink of nuclear war, type of relationship), and there are times today when relations are strained. However, thousands of Americans and other nationalities travel to Russia today, finding not only strong business relationships, but also beauty, culture, and some of the world's greatest architecture.
For this article, we will focus on the visa requirements for American travelers to enter Russia. Individuals of different nationalities should always check with their local government or their closest Russian Consulate or Embassy to determine entry and exit requirements for specific nationalities.
Your passport is the first document you need. Obtain a passport from your country of origin. After you have received your passport, you need to obtain the visa. The visa is a mark, stamp, or sticker that gives you permission to enter a specific country. Visas are usually granted to allow you to stay a certain period of days, or months. Visas generally provide entry and exit dates, depending on your reason for travel.
Note: It is important to pay attention to the expiration date of your visa, as Russia is a stickler with those dates. United States citizens may find it extremely difficult to leave the country if the visa has expired. In such cases, the visitor to Russia must obtain a new visa, which can take up to three weeks. While you are waiting, you are on your own.
Visas may be extended under certain circumstances, such as a missed flight, an accident, an illness (serious), or because you are flying stand-by (in the case of open-ended tickets) and cannot get a seat on a plane. In such cases, you may be able to stay for another week or two, but that is not guaranteed.
Another stipulation under Russian law is that foreign visitors have some type of sponsor or invitation from someone based in Russia before the visa may be granted. This sponsor may be a college, a relative, a tour company, an employer, or even a hotel. Travel agencies may only provide invitations for business and tourist needs.
Note: The name of your sponsor or the sponsor listed on the visa must correspond or be in some way related to the organization or reason for your visit, or to those who helped to arrange your travels while in Russia.
Make sure that you know what type of visa you need. For example, if you are going for business, pleasure, travel, for religious reasons, or others, it is important for you to apply for the specific and correct type of visa that meets your needs. Before traveling, contact your visa sponsor and make sure that he or she is made fully aware of your travel plans, as that person may help take care of any visa issues when you arrive or during your stay in Russia.
Russian embassies or consulates issue a Russian visa. Plan to obtain your visa at least two to three months before your intended travel date. (Keep in mind that the order of the day and month on Russian visas is printed in European style, meaning day/month/year, rather than month/day/year, as we write the date in the United States. Russian visas also have two dates on them; the first specifies the earliest that a visitor can enter the country, while the second gives the date that the visitor must leave the country. Except in cases of medical emergencies, Russian visa dates cannot be extended.
As with most visas and other countries, Russia stipulates limitations regarding your length of stay in the country. In most cases, a foreign visitor can stay in the Russian Federation for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. This goes for pleasure tourists as well as business travelers.
However, to leave the country, your visa must be valid. It can be extremely difficult to stay in any country with an expired visa, as they are often required for hotel reservations or other accommodations.
If your stay in Russia extends more than seven days, you must register your visa and a migration card; that can be done through your sponsor. Hotel reception clerks can also register your migration card and visa when you check in. Upon arriving in the country and going through customs and immigration, immigration officials will give you this migration card. The migration card must be carried in your passport. Some airports in Russia provide the electronic card, while others are still utilizing paper forms.
While in Russia, do not be surprised if police officers occasionally stop and ask to see your travel documents and identity cards. For this reason, and contrary to our advice when traveling in most other countries, where we advise individuals to make a copy of their passport to carry while doing business in a foreign country, it is important to keep your original passport with you when traveling throughout Russia, as copies will not be accepted. When doing business or traveling in Russia, keep your migration card, passport, and visa with you, and make sure that they are kept secure and undamaged.
When traveling to Russia, there are some places you cannot go, sometimes, entire cities or regions in Russia are off limits to foreign travelers. To make sure that you comply with regulations and laws, check with your sponsor or the Russian Federal Migration Service to make sure that your intended destinations are not within these closed areas.
In the United States, you may apply for a Russian visa online through the Russian Federation. For any information regarding visas or traveling in Russia, contact the:
Embassy of the Russian Federation
Consular Section, 2641 Tunlaw Road NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-939-8907
To apply for a Russian visa, you must also be prepared to offer specific information depending on the type of visa you are looking for (tourist, business, visitors, students, or others.). You will need a passport, several passport-sized photographs, an accurately completed visa application form, and an invitation letter from Russia. Business visas may require additional information.
Do not be thrown by the invitation aspect of your travel permits. Invitation letters from Russia are known as tourist confirmations, vouchers, or visa support. The individual, company, or other party that invites a visitor to the country generally offers this document. The Russian consulate requires such an invitation before your visa will be processed. The most common types of invitations are private, business, and tourist.
The tourist invitation letter provides a tourist confirmation and hotel voucher. Business invitations are official letters most commonly issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by local offices or representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Such letters are required to have the legal address of the business agency, their official seal, and the name and the signature of the individual who authorized the visitor to come to Russia.
Other Things to Know When Traveling to Russia
When going through customs, you are expected to bring your luggage with you. Be prepared to have your bags searched. Russia is very strict about not only what is coming into the country, but also what leaves it. While souvenir hunting make sure that any items you bring back are certified as not having cultural or historical value. Such certificates can be obtained at the Russian Ministry of Culture.
In addition, keep in mind that any device that utilizes GPS or global positioning systems may be confiscated if you do not list those items on your declaration form just prior to your arrival. Cell phones are allowed in Russia, as are laptops for personal use. Keep in mind that upon leaving the country, any software may be inspected.
Contact your local Russian Embassy or Consulate for rules and regulations regarding prescription medications. As is advised when traveling to other countries, it is important to carry a copy of your prescriptions to reduce the risk of your medications being confiscated. Again, for any questions regarding what you can bring into Russia, contact the federal customs service of the Russian Federation.
Rackets and organized crime do exist in Russia, just as they do in every other country around the world. As a businessperson, you naturally want to stay away from such aspects during your travels, but it is good to be aware of them, and of their existence; to be on the safe side. Knowing about such situations, helps protect you from them.
Do not be alarmed, but in Russia, some aspects of the business environment are slightly different than you will find in the United States. Remember that centuries of behavior are not changed overnight, and in many cultures, things are done in a certain way, and have been for generations. This is especially true in business environments.
In Russia, the art of bribing has been perfected over generations. The concept of bribery and Russia go back centuries, and is not necessarily considered a bad thing. Indeed, an old Russian proverb states, "If you don't oil, you cannot start your journey" (Ne podmazhesh, ne poedesh). For decades, it was common practice to bribe officials to get a good job, to avoid military service, to get your business started, and even to get your children into higher education and university environments.
For the last few decades, bribery in Russia has grown to be more or less an accepted issue, and laws against it are rarely enforced. While Russia is not necessarily known for its transparency, and accusations of bribery reach from the street to the highest governmental positions, it is, more or less, an accepted way of life in Russia. This does not mean that you will experience a free-for-all while dealing with your Russian counterparts. Far from it.
While the term "bribe," is not acceptable to use when "greasing squeaky wheels" in Russia, it is important to know what type of gift or souvenir or token of appreciation will best meet your needs, where you get them, and to whom you can present them. Such gifts, tokens, and souvenirs can range from a pack of good cigarettes to a bottle of liquor to more expensive items such as phones, computers, and so forth.
In Russia, the boss is really "the boss," the person expected to give instructions that he or she expects to be followed, to the letter. In Russia, the boss makes all the decisions, with very little interaction with those lower within the company hierarchy. So, collaboration is seen as a sign of weakness or indecisiveness.
When traveling to Russia for business and attempting to negotiate a contract, iron out details of business arrangements or agreements and so forth, it is best to go straight to the top. If you do have to seek the ear of a middle manager, determine which manager has the closest access to "the big boss".
In Russia, delegation is handed out with little discussion, and delegates are expected to perform their duties unquestioningly. To a Westerner, this may appear as a severe lack of initiative, but this can be perceived as a two way street. To Russian workers, a lack of firm direction and advice from managers or bosses is perceived as frustrating and a waste of time.
As with other cultures around the world, the younger generations are more affected and influenced by modern business management styles and management theory than those who were brought up in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. In Russia, as in other cultures, especially those found in the Middle East and in the Mediterranean regions, that spoken communication is emphasized over written communication. Russians prefer face-to-face meetings.
When engaged in meetings in Russia however, do not expect a lively back and forth conversation as is often enjoyed in the United States. Most Russian meetings are quiet affairs, with one person doing the talking and the rest doing the listening. You may be surprised at the stoic expressions on the faces of Russians during many business meetings, but this does not mean they are not listening, or that they agree or disagree, or that they do not understand.
Russians absorb what has been spoken and think seriously about concepts or ideas before responding to them. This may take a couple of minutes or several days. When doing business in Russia, resist impatience. You will get an answer, sooner or later.
Following are a few tips on engaging in positive business relations in Russia. Such tips will help you understand what to expect, what is acceptable, and what is not in Russian business culture scenarios.
Tip. Russians (and this is not meant as a disparagement) have literally perfected their ability to avoid rules and break laws. For generations, the Russian state or government was perceived as the literal enemy, so the little man had to find ways to get around these rules and regulations. They did, and the habit persists today.
Tip. Your ability to build a strong relationship is very important in your business negotiations and relationships. Building such relationships can take time, but will pay off in the long run.
Tip. Your ability to go with the flow will help you engage in business throughout Russia. From region to region, you will find different business management and communication styles, especially between older and younger individuals.
Tip. In Russia, a formal business meeting is a serious endeavor. Behave accordingly and avoid informal communication or behavior that may be mistakenly construed as a disrespect for, or criticism of, not only the boss, but also of the company, and even Russia herself.
Tip. Do not travel throughout Russia expecting everyone to speak English. You may find individuals fluent in English and other foreign languages in major cities, but for others, try to determine fluency levels and engage the services of an interpreter ahead of time.
Tip. During business meetings, do not be surprised to find your Russian peers sitting silently with impassive expressions. They are listening. Do not rush to break this silence, as they are thinking about what they have heard and how to formulate responses.
Tip. In most scenarios, women do not have a large or powerful presence in the business world, especially at senior levels. In general, Russian businessmen are much more comfortable dealing with men than with women. Hopefully, this will change in the future.
Tip. When engaged in any type of business endeavor or negotiation in Russia, men and women should dress well and convey an image of control and importance. Russians admire and respect decision makers, and if you appear uncertain, or lack confidence, you may not receive the reaction that you are hoping for.
Do not be surprised that your travels to Russia will bring you into contact with different concepts, attitudes, and habits when it comes to business. Diversity is what makes life so interesting. Do not be intimidated by your Russian peers. Learn about and embrace the culture, understand why they behave the way they do, and you will find that your business negotiations are not as difficult as you may have anticipated. Remember that Russia has generations of caution, wariness, and distrust against government entities in their history.
