Russia and the Urals

Several months ago I asked everybody about the Urals.
I've learned many interesting facts about foreign people and their
thoughts about Russia :-)
For example - many people say that all the territory to the east from
St. Petersburg and Moscow - is Siberia, some people think that all
Russia is just a criminal country :-)
I wouldn't say that it's true (because I was born and live here :-)
I'm making the web-site about the Ural Mountains (www.welcome-ural.ru)
and I'd like to know
what you think about it?
You can say all what you think! If it's possible please also write to

I'll appreciate any critics and advise and certainly answer all
possible questions.

Best regards!

Dmitriy Voroschuk

non-smoking restaurants in Russia
http://www.smokefreeworld.com/europe.shtml#rus

non-smoking restaurants in Russia
http://www.smokefreeworld.com/europe.shtml#rus

On 24 Oct 2004 01:40:29 -0700, (Dmitrij) wrote:

Several months ago I asked everybody about the Urals.
I've learned many interesting facts about foreign people and their
thoughts about Russia :-)
For example - many people say that all the territory to the east from
St. Petersburg and Moscow - is Siberia, some people think that all
Russia is just a criminal country :-)
I wouldn't say that it's true (because I was born and live here :-)
I'm making the web-site about the Ural Mountains (www.welcome-ural.ru)
and I'd like to know
what you think about it?
You can say all what you think! If it's possible please also write to

I'll appreciate any critics and advise and certainly answer all
possible questions.

As I have said before in this forum, I don't think much of Russia.

A criminal country? That's not really accurate, but there is certainly
plenty of criminal activity to go around.

Visiting Russia is difficult, as you have to deal with the cumbersome,
and apparently largely uneccessary visa process, which is expensive
and time consuming. Distances are great, and outside of St Peter and
Moscow, it is a very difficult country for independent travel.

One of the things I found curious about Russia, is that there is still
a view there that somehow the West envies aspects of the Russian way
of life. This is of course a massive delusion, which is best
illustrated by simply seeing how the former states of the USSR have
chosen to look firmy west, and have nothing good to say about their
days in Moscows orbit. I don't believe anyone from the West envies
anything inside of Russia!

Apart from some cool architecture and museums, I cant find much to
recommend Russia. It is of course an interesting experience, but not
an altogether pleasant one. The atmosphere in Moscow is brittle, and
intimidating, much of which relates to the problems in Chechnya etc.
at the moment. Outside of the Kremlin area, there aren't a great deal
of tourists sites either, and accomodation is expensive too. Little
effort appears to be made in Moscow to make the place easy for
tourists either, with every sign in Russian only, and even really
obvious things like putting the station names up in each metro station
seem to be completely overlooked. If there is a tourist information
office, I couldn't find it!

Food is pretty rough in Moscow too. There are some reasonable
restaurants, but they are usually expensive. Tourists often are
charged more too, as I found out the hard way. In fact, the Russians
seem to view all tourists as being wealthy, and fair game for being
ripped off. There are many dubious tourist agencies, and if they rip
you off, there is probably nothing you can do about it. An Australian
couple I met were promised they would be picked up in Moscow, and they
weren't. They were also to have their visas registered, and they
weren't. Then they had their digi camera stolen from the hotel they
were placed in. Then their 'reserved' bus seats were double booked.
OK, so maybe they had an exceptionally bad time, but I found the same
level of incompetence,dishonesty and rudeness pretty consistent
throughout the place too. I had one woman refuse to get out of my
chair on a bus, and eventually I got so irate I dragged her out by the
hair and threw her on the floor. In Russia, kinds words, manners and
patience seem to be largely a waste of time.

OK, good things about the place: Alcohol. Yep, it's available
everywhere, and is cheap, and generally good quality. I found myself
drunk much of the time, as that makes it a bit easier to get into the
Russian way of doing things.

Also, St Petersburg is just plain phenomenal in terms of architecture,
and rivals anywhere else in Europe. That in itself is almost worth the
hastle of getting visas.

Hmmm.... can't think of much other good stuff. Perhaps I am being a
bit unfair, but I think there are many, many other places that are far
more rewarding to visit than Russia.
---
DFM

On 24 Oct 2004 01:40:29 -0700, (Dmitrij) wrote:

Several months ago I asked everybody about the Urals.
I've learned many interesting facts about foreign people and their
thoughts about Russia :-)
For example - many people say that all the territory to the east from
St. Petersburg and Moscow - is Siberia, some people think that all
Russia is just a criminal country :-)
I wouldn't say that it's true (because I was born and live here :-)
I'm making the web-site about the Ural Mountains (www.welcome-ural.ru)
and I'd like to know
what you think about it?
You can say all what you think! If it's possible please also write to

I'll appreciate any critics and advise and certainly answer all
possible questions.

As I have said before in this forum, I don't think much of Russia.

A criminal country? That's not really accurate, but there is certainly
plenty of criminal activity to go around.

Visiting Russia is difficult, as you have to deal with the cumbersome,
and apparently largely uneccessary visa process, which is expensive
and time consuming. Distances are great, and outside of St Peter and
Moscow, it is a very difficult country for independent travel.

One of the things I found curious about Russia, is that there is still
a view there that somehow the West envies aspects of the Russian way
of life. This is of course a massive delusion, which is best
illustrated by simply seeing how the former states of the USSR have
chosen to look firmy west, and have nothing good to say about their
days in Moscows orbit. I don't believe anyone from the West envies
anything inside of Russia!

Apart from some cool architecture and museums, I cant find much to
recommend Russia. It is of course an interesting experience, but not
an altogether pleasant one. The atmosphere in Moscow is brittle, and
intimidating, much of which relates to the problems in Chechnya etc.
at the moment. Outside of the Kremlin area, there aren't a great deal
of tourists sites either, and accomodation is expensive too. Little
effort appears to be made in Moscow to make the place easy for
tourists either, with every sign in Russian only, and even really
obvious things like putting the station names up in each metro station
seem to be completely overlooked. If there is a tourist information
office, I couldn't find it!

Food is pretty rough in Moscow too. There are some reasonable
restaurants, but they are usually expensive. Tourists often are
charged more too, as I found out the hard way. In fact, the Russians
seem to view all tourists as being wealthy, and fair game for being
ripped off. There are many dubious tourist agencies, and if they rip
you off, there is probably nothing you can do about it. An Australian
couple I met were promised they would be picked up in Moscow, and they
weren't. They were also to have their visas registered, and they
weren't. Then they had their digi camera stolen from the hotel they
were placed in. Then their 'reserved' bus seats were double booked.
OK, so maybe they had an exceptionally bad time, but I found the same
level of incompetence,dishonesty and rudeness pretty consistent
throughout the place too. I had one woman refuse to get out of my
chair on a bus, and eventually I got so irate I dragged her out by the
hair and threw her on the floor. In Russia, kinds words, manners and
patience seem to be largely a waste of time.

OK, good things about the place: Alcohol. Yep, it's available
everywhere, and is cheap, and generally good quality. I found myself
drunk much of the time, as that makes it a bit easier to get into the
Russian way of doing things.

Also, St Petersburg is just plain phenomenal in terms of architecture,
and rivals anywhere else in Europe. That in itself is almost worth the
hastle of getting visas.

Hmmm.... can't think of much other good stuff. Perhaps I am being a
bit unfair, but I think there are many, many other places that are far
more rewarding to visit than Russia.
---
DFM

Deep Frayed Morgues wrote in message . ..

I found myself drunk much of the time,

That figures.

Bjorn

Deep Frayed Morgues wrote in message . ..

I found myself drunk much of the time,

That figures.

Bjorn

On 25 Oct 2004 08:34:30 -0700, (Bjorn Olsson) wrote:

Deep Frayed Morgues wrote in message . ..

I found myself drunk much of the time,

That figures.

Grind that axe, Bjorn, grind!
---
DFM

On 25 Oct 2004 08:34:30 -0700, (Bjorn Olsson) wrote:

Deep Frayed Morgues wrote in message . ..

I found myself drunk much of the time,

That figures.

Grind that axe, Bjorn, grind!
---
DFM

Deep Frayed Morgues wrote:

On 24 Oct 2004 01:40:29 -0700, (Dmitrij) wrote:

Several months ago I asked everybody about the Urals.
I've learned many interesting facts about foreign people and their
thoughts about Russia :-)
For example - many people say that all the territory to the east from
St. Petersburg and Moscow - is Siberia, some people think that all
Russia is just a criminal country :-)
I wouldn't say that it's true (because I was born and live here :-)
I'm making the web-site about the Ural Mountains (www.welcome-ural.ru)
and I'd like to know
what you think about it?
You can say all what you think! If it's possible please also write to

I'll appreciate any critics and advise and certainly answer all
possible questions.

As I have said before in this forum, I don't think much of Russia.

A criminal country? That's not really accurate, but there is certainly
plenty of criminal activity to go around.

Visiting Russia is difficult, as you have to deal with the cumbersome,
and apparently largely uneccessary visa process, which is expensive
and time consuming. Distances are great, and outside of St Peter and
Moscow, it is a very difficult country for independent travel.


Decent hotels at a fair price are well - nigh impossible to find. Nice
hotels of an international class are absurdly expensive, mid - price hotels
basically do not exist, and the cheaper places are ghastly Soviet - era
monstrosities that come complete with rusty water from the taps,
cockroaches, and laughably crummy 70's - era furnishings....

At least the infamous Soviet - era Rossiya in Red Square is going to be
demolished, but there is a crying need for better and more mid - priced
tourist lodgings. But since foreign tourism barely registers as a
moneymaker in Russia don't look for such places anytime soon...


One of the things I found curious about Russia, is that there is still
a view there that somehow the West envies aspects of the Russian way
of life. This is of course a massive delusion, which is best
illustrated by simply seeing how the former states of the USSR have
chosen to look firmy west, and have nothing good to say about their
days in Moscows orbit. I don't believe anyone from the West envies
anything inside of Russia!


This attitude is a holdover from the propaganda of the old USSR days. One
has to feel sorry for the Russians, they don't even realise they are a
century or more behind the modern world...


Apart from some cool architecture and museums, I cant find much to
recommend Russia. It is of course an interesting experience, but not
an altogether pleasant one. The atmosphere in Moscow is brittle, and
intimidating, much of which relates to the problems in Chechnya etc.
at the moment. Outside of the Kremlin area, there aren't a great deal
of tourists sites either, and accomodation is expensive too. Little
effort appears to be made in Moscow to make the place easy for
tourists either, with every sign in Russian only, and even really
obvious things like putting the station names up in each metro station
seem to be completely overlooked. If there is a tourist information
office, I couldn't find it!


Only now are the city fathers in Moscow even coming 'round to the concept of
setting up a tourist information office...read something about it in the
_Moscow Times_ a while back. In any other place it could be up and running
fairly soon, but not in Moscow! There are committees, deliberations,
etc...there is a target date for sometime in 2005 IIRC but it will probably
be delayed a few more years, who knows!?

Don't forget the positively dreadful Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow,
consistently rated one of the world's very worst international gateways, and
a real introduction to the Russian "experience". Of course Aeroflot has had
plans for years now to "improve" the place, but they remain just that -
plans. Several airlines (BA, Swiss, etc.) have in disgust moved to the much
nicer Domodedovo...



Food is pretty rough in Moscow too. There are some reasonable
restaurants, but they are usually expensive. Tourists often are
charged more too, as I found out the hard way. In fact, the Russians
seem to view all tourists as being wealthy, and fair game for being
ripped off. There are many dubious tourist agencies, and if they rip
you off, there is probably nothing you can do about it. An Australian
couple I met were promised they would be picked up in Moscow, and they
weren't. They were also to have their visas registered, and they
weren't. Then they had their digi camera stolen from the hotel they
were placed in. Then their 'reserved' bus seats were double booked.
OK, so maybe they had an exceptionally bad time, but I found the same
level of incompetence,dishonesty and rudeness pretty consistent
throughout the place too. I had one woman refuse to get out of my
chair on a bus, and eventually I got so irate I dragged her out by the
hair and threw her on the floor.


*lol* You caveman, you!

;-)


In Russia, kinds words, manners and
patience seem to be largely a waste of time.


I'd say of this of Russians *anywhere* they are in the world...a positively
miserable bunch altogether. They sure are like this in Chicago, and the
older ones have been here for decades...


OK, good things about the place: Alcohol. Yep, it's available
everywhere, and is cheap, and generally good quality. I found myself
drunk much of the time, as that makes it a bit easier to get into the
Russian way of doing things.

Also, St Petersburg is just plain phenomenal in terms of architecture,
and rivals anywhere else in Europe. That in itself is almost worth the
hastle of getting visas.

Hmmm.... can't think of much other good stuff. Perhaps I am being a
bit unfair, but I think there are many, many other places that are far
more rewarding to visit than Russia.


Whilst on holiday the vast majority of people want to have a pleasant time
and of course this is not possible in Russia. It's more of an endurance
test, really. Who needs it?

--
Best
Greg