INFORMATION REQUIRED ABOUT STRAVROPOL????

[red_2798]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has been to Stavropol, and what they had to say about it, good or bad. I will be going to work there for a short time this August. I have not been to Russia, and any information would be appreciated. What should I expect when I go through customs? What are the people like? Is it a safe place to go to? What are the dangers that I should be looking out for? And what is a fun safe thing to do there?

[Dr_Woland]

hi

sorry, I've never been to Stavropol. The city has two web-sites but they're both in Russian only. I found the page which has info and pics about the city on one of them - if you can read Russian this might be helpful, if not, look at the pics?

http://www.stavropol.ru/city/ourcity.html

Most publicity Russia gets is negative, which is pretty unfair, as it's one of the safest countries you could go to. Yes, there is a "mafia" there, but there is in Italy and NYC too, and people still somehow seem to visit :-) The mafia are NOT interested in making small-change out of visitors, they are interested in top-level stuff with mega-roubles on the table only!

I like Russian people - they are friendly, inquisitive, intelligent, generous with their time and resources. Although I've not been to Stavropol, I've been to nearby Krasnodar, Novorossiysk, and a few other places like that.... you will find "things to do" are a bit short in supply, Russia's leisure industry is not organised like the American one!! Russians prefer more unstructured fun (there are no theme parks etc in Russia) and they like hiking and walking in the countryside, going to a country cottage for the weekend to relax, meeting friends for drinks and snacks and chat. There are high standards in theatre and classical music, even in small provincial cities like Stavropol. There is rarely much nightlife - what there is focuses around the dance-floors of a few better restaurants. The climate down there should be fabulous this time of year, so maybe the countryside is your best option for leisure-time activities?

About Customs, I hope you don't mind a cut-pasted boilerplate text which appears below, which gives you the full info.

Enjoy!

Dr W.
________________________________________

RUSSIAN CUSTOMS
By which we mean border-inspection, not charming local traditions! All visitors to Russia have to fill-out a Customs Declaration. It’s supposed to be a "snapshot" of what you had with you when you arrived, so that if you have more when you leave, you have to pay tax on it.... so it is worth taking the time to do this properly, as this is your "receipt" that proves you arrived with "x" amount of money and valuables!
· fill in the personal details: arriving "from" your country of departure, and country of destination is "Russia".
· list all the cash money you have with you in banknotes (ignore the coins).
· list any items of gold, silver, precious metals and stones (these metals and stones are cheaper than world prices in Russia, so people try to smuggle them out - that’s why it’s very important that you prove you already owned yours prior to arrival in Russia).
· you don’t need to list your walkman, camera, video, laptop computer, portable tv, cd-player, etc
· but under the Russian telecommunications laws, you are in theory supposed to declare your mobile phone (although people rarely bother to).
· jokey answers about weapons and narcotics are rewarded by a free one-way holiday to Siberia, long-term. Write "none". Please note that sniffer dogs are routinely used "behind the scenes" in Moscow and Petersburg airports - don’t take this stupid risk.
Your bags will be put through an x-ray machine. The machines are actually made BY Eastman-Kodak, so they are film-safe (we have taken even very high-speed films through without problems), but if you are extra-worried, keep your films in an easily-accessible place and show them to the officer on duty separately.

Yes, we all know that the arrival of credit-cards and ATM’s in Russia means that this whole procedure is a grandiose waste of time. So do the guards, and although there are, in theory, all kinds of rules on importing valuables etc, they are only seriously interested in catching smugglers of illegal items. If you do happen to speak any Russian, it is a wise idea not to respond to any question in Russian the Customs officials might ask - it’s a trick to see if you might be a regular smuggler. The best answer is "I’m sorry, I don’t speak Russian!".