boris_k 3mo

There's some downgrading filter for the countries involved in conflicts. It works the same way for Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Myanmar, Ukraine, etc. Probably automatically based on some "foreign travel advice" website that marks these countries as "do not go under any circumstances" 🤷‍♂️

frappuccino 3mo

Oh you're right! Tel aviv is also 0.5 which doesn't make sense either. Thanks for clarification

techguybiswa 3mo

Hands down - St Pets is one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited!

techguybiswa 2mo

Hi Digital Nomads from Russia 🇷🇺😇

I need your feedback and review on one of my business ideas 💡

I am from india and I was wondering to start an import export business with Russia.

The payments part is already sorted as I plan to use one of the Russian banks that has offices in my country and will allow inward and outward remittance from Russia.

The part I am considering is what exactly to export - I have a few ideas in my mind like maybe electronics, organic spices, or pharmaceuticals.

In this link you can see you have at least 4Billion USD worth of exports happening in 2023 alone.

https://tradingeconomics.com/india/exports/russia

Looking forward to hear more of your ideas.

techguybiswa 2mo

Or what about exporting services like online English teachers, web dev work etc etc

mariaromanza 2mo

i opened my account in tinkoff but i didn't have full capabilities like transfers abroad

mariaromanza 2mo

and had to "renew" my contract every ~3 months to prove that i was still here and legally

mariaromanza 2mo

i ended up cancelling it

hermis 2mo

Hello guys! I'm from Poland and I was looking to take a short trip to Moscow. In theory, it is possible to apply for a tourist visa. My problem is that I'm a contractor for Meta, which is considered an extremist organization. Technically, I'm not hired directly by Meta but by a service-providing company. I was wondering if it's safe to go there and if I should mention that I work for Meta. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

boris_k 2mo

The real possibility of getting in trouble is very low. Your work for Meta is not automatically considered extremist unless it's specifically related to its "extremist" actions in Russia (anti-Russian content moderation and distribution). Plus everybody is still using Facebook and Instagram in Russia, it's not illegal to use them. Still, I guess the "risk" is slightly above zero for you. I wouldn't mention you work for Meta.

boris_k 2mo

(also, considering that you are Polish, the chances of some "additional" questions at the border are quite high)

chrisnatterer 2mo

don't bring any weed... :P

hermis 2mo

Yeah I was considering just not mentioning that, chances of letting me in since Im polish are low anyways, and as you said probably some additional questions will be asked like what I do in that company and once they ask about such stuff I don’t think its quite good to lie..

hermis 2mo

didnt rly planned to, just let me in I will be polite 😭🙏

boris_k 2mo

The chances of letting you in are quite high, only the chances of interrogation are high as well. No need to lie, just tell them your occupation, if they ask who you work for, tell them you are an independent contractor, if they insist on company names, give them the one of that service providing company.

hermis 2mo

You dont think they will be asking who we are providing service to?

hermis 2mo

sorry for such questions, something new to me when it comes to going to a country with some restrictions

lexalexa 2mo

Just tell that you work for service provider

lexalexa 2mo

I haven’t heard of a witch-hunt for meta employees

fiiv 2mo

You don’t have to go that far into details. You’re an IT guy at an IT company in Poland.

hermis 2mo

bro XD

mikeneves 2mo

I recently came under 3 months private visa, it’s my fourth visa and only now got my passport hold at the airport for 3 hours. All international flights now go through Sheremetyevo and they have a secure process in place with biometric in place that it wasn’t like this before. They made me wait but didn’t went through any interview or whatever, probably some background check. You will 100% get your passport hold for control, but the interview part, who knows. People told me that phones, laptops etc might get checked during interviews so yap, no point making lies

boris_k 2mo

Plenty of international flights are arriving/departing from the other three capital airports, not sure where you got this info about Sheremetyevo.

mikeneves 2mo

Personal experience, already did flights from Morocco, Turkey and Serbia because I live in Portugal and first time I got that problem through that airport, also realised that from Morocco I can no longer choose flights to other airports, only Sheremetyevo

mikeneves 2mo

So that makes me think that they try to route most of the flights through there

mikeneves 2mo

From some specific countries at least

boris_k 2mo

I don't think it's security-related. Most flights from Turkey still land in VKO. Most flights from the Middle East are in DME. SVO used to have the biggest number of international flights prior to 2022 because it is the Aeroflot home airport (now they are not flying internationally that much due to sanctions).

allgo 2mo

For Russia??

goktugyil 1mo

Yeah

mariaromanza 1mo

does anyone have a recommendation for hotels in saint petersburg that are affordable but still beautiful?

fillooow 1mo

Are you specifically looking for a hotel, or would an apartment work too? I can recommend a really nice hotel – Demetra Art. Not sure if it fits your budget though. On Ostrovok, I only see the Double Deluxe room available, which is quite pricey. We stayed in a Superior room before, and it was really nice! You can check photos on their website

That said, I personally think renting an apartment might be a better deal (try sutochno.ru or the booking service in the Tinkoff Bank app). For the same price, you can get a much more spacious and comfortable place for a longer stay

mariaromanza 1mo

yea, im looking for a hotel for a "honeymoon-like" experience hehe

mariaromanza 1mo

yea, im looking for a hotel for a "honeymoon-like" experience hehe. just two nights

lexalexa 1mo

Price range?

mariaromanza 1mo

Max 22k rubles/ 260 usd per night

mikeneves 1mo

does anyone know if its possible to go from Peter to Helsinki, by bus or other method, having EU passport

sossho 1mo

It was possible, but now I’m unsure.
An EU passport can be shown at any gate, and it will work.

boris_k 1mo

Not possible. Finland is currently keeping all land border-crossing with Russia closed.

Instead, you can:

boris_k 1mo

Not possible. Finland is currently keeping all land border crossings with Russia closed.

Instead, you can do the following:
1. Take a ferry to Tallin
2. Take a bus to Narva
3. Cross the border on foot (it may take up to several hours cause this border crossing point is busy).
4. Take a bus or taxi (which is cheap) to Saint Petersburg

boris_k 1mo

Oh, there's actually a train from Tallin to Narva so it's more convenient.

boris_k 1mo

for EU citizens, this route works in a reversed direction as well 😁

nthnjns 28d

My wife did this exact route on a Korean passport last year. Bus from Tallinn straight to Peter. No issues and had a great time. She said a week in St Peter was more than enough. Had to bring a wad of cash to pay for hotels (which she was able to book directly online) but otherwise everything was awesome....

mikeneves 26d

yeah gonna do that, bus from Peter to Tallinn which stops in Narva for border control, way cheaper than routes through Istanbul or Belgrade which are insanely inflated

dzhiriki 26d

The only issue is that Narva is pretty busy. I mean, people sometimes spend a couple of hours on a border control

nthnjns 26d

So, last year it was one hour on the border...no idea if it's changed but wasn't bad back then. I think bus price from Tallinn was $50 so probably similar going the other way.

alexreactjs 16d

Check out "Radisson Sonya" and "Grand Hotel Moika 22". Please note that there are holidays in Russia from May 1 to May 10, and prices may be increased during this period. Before and after it will be fine.

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