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'''Russia''' is the largest country on Earth, and is a fantastic country for hitch hiking. It is well ingrained within the country's culture, and it is a much more comfortable way to see the country, compared to taking the train. Despite the popularity of hitch hiking compared to other countries, people will still be surprised by what you are doing. Especially if you are (and look like) a foreigner.
It is possible to cover vast distances per day when hitching, greater than 1000 km if you are lucky, but generally only when using major M roads in Western Russia. Do not expect all M roads to be dual carriageways – sometimes even a major road is a narrow, unpaved muddy patch. Generally speaking, the further East you go, the worse the road condition gets. But even on main connections in less remote areas, for example from Moscow to Kazan, the road is not always in good shape in in connection with the huge traffic, travelling will take much more time than in Western Europe. There are real motorways, though, marked with a green sign of an autobahn same as in Europe. Standards are improving too; there is an ongoing policy of funding the rebuilding many roads in Russia, which will bring standards to a much higher levelor Siberia through Trans-siberian railway mainline.
In spite of popular belief about the dangers of Russiacountry's size, and perceived problems with the policethere are very few roads, as a hitch hiker you will more than likely have no problem there is little ambiguity in the country. Police will usually not bother where you at allcould be going, even if they know when hitching from a given location. In areas about 50 km from cities you are a foreigner (except at may just stay on the border - that is another matter), road and as long as you take the usual precautions, you will not find yourself in danger from any person - get rides with high success which other cities the cold however, in winter time, is a much bigger issueroads go to. Being offered copious amounts of alcohol can also be a problem!
=== Maps ===
In mostly all bigger book stores in Russia one can find the [http://www.allmaps.ru/avto_km_stolb/russia/ Автоатлас России] (''Auto Atlas Russia'') which is perfect for hitchhiking Russia. Including gas stations, DPS stations, even traffic lights along main roads. The atlas also includes city maps and maps of Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and the Baltic states as well. Price is 377 RUB (July 2009).
Also, there are maps almost completely presenting full infrastructure of some cities including public transportation system at [http://www.2gis.ru/ 2gis.ru]. November, 1st 2009 there were 22 cities: Астрахань, Барнаул, Бийск, Екатеринбург, Иркутск, Казань, Кемерово ,Красноярск ,Курган, Нижневартовск, Нижний Новгород, Новокузнецк, Новосибирск, Одесса, Омск, Пермь, Самара, Тольятти, Томск, Тюмень, Уфа, Челябинск. U can use on-line version or download installer and use maps off-line. Also there is opportunity to use 2gis on Windows Mobile platform and even on usual cellphone with Java MIDP-2 engine (needs internet access). A more modern alternative is Maps.me, as it has offline maps and shows gas stations. (Most platforms) Another alternative Application to MapsMe is Yandex Maps. It's like Russian Goole maps. You can download offline maps there and find every address or public transport.(July 2019) == Hitching ==Also, there is a possibility to get a lift by talking to drivers on gas stations. You will not be misunderstood but since there are almost no highways and you can point your thumb anywhere, wasting time on a gas station waiting for cars is not preferred unless there is heavy raining, or the spot is bad etc. If there are two of you one can hitch on the road and the other one ask people on nearby gas station; that really might bring you a lift faster. But the “default” method of hitchhiking in Russia is still thumbing on the roadside. If you don't speak the language, thumbing is better - as people will just drive towards your direction and you can join them. Do not write places names on cardboards – nobody in this country cares to read them. Or, if you still want to use the paper, write a region number instead of the name (see below for a list of reg numbers). Because you can get dropped off and immediately hitch onwards on nearly all roads in Russia, using a sign is never necessary and in fact the community recommends against it. Again, in spite of the country's size, there are very few roads, there is little ambiguity in where you could be going, when hitching from a given location. You must take a raincoat (it sometimes rains in summer and very often in autumn), good shoes, a warm jumper for summer (the winter starts in October), some cash (and not credit cards or cheques), perhaps a tent with a sleeping bag. === Trains, Boats, etc ===taken from a post on squattheplanet forum: "In Siberia, it is apparently common and easy (and ALLOWED) to hitch-hiking on cargo ships and freight trains, in the unit. Trains are not manifested ahead of time, but instead are done on a day-to-day basis (CHAOS?!). This means that you show up at the 'yard' (really only a load/unload with a siding or two), and ask the workers or security for the engineer/brakeman lounge. Sometmes the security will hassle you, but if you simply explain that you are a traveler, it's totally allowed! So, ask around, find a train going your way, find out when it leaves, and ask if you can hop on. You ride in the unit, which while heated (Siberia is fucking cold), has no toilet, so don't drink too much, and take a pregame dump. Ride to where you're going, simple as that! Also, every yard has a cafe for the workers, and food is apparently wicked cheap.Boat-hitching is apparently similar. Ask around, get permission, get on, and go! The only significant problem would be the language barrier, but people are absolutely THRILLED to meet travelers, especially ones from foreign lands (remember, Russia is HUGE).Additionally, it's possible to stay for a night at monasteries all over Russia. If you want to stay longer, they will usually ask you to help out with chores. I REALLY want to try this!" == Language ==Hitchhiking in Russian is called ''автостоп'' (avtostop). It literally means “car stopping”, and is basically the only word understood as hitching (i.e. travelling by getting lifts for free). A more colloquial word for it is "попутка" (poputka). When people ask you anywhere in Russia: "куда ты едешь?" (Kuda TjIE edesh?)[where are you going to?] you should answer: "я еду автостопом" (ya yedu avtostopom), then they will ask you another question and this time you say the name of the city. It might be better and more polite to ask "Вы могли бы подкинуть меня в направлении ..." (Vy mogli by podkinut menya v napravlenii ...), which means "Could you give me a lift in the direction of ...". Level of speaking English is rather low especially among people older than 40 and even not all young people speak it with a sufficient level. You might ought to learn Cyrillic script for your own convenience. It is quite simple for a person familiar with English or Greek alphabet and is learnable in 2-3 days. People, their friendliness and mentality differ much from part of Russia they are from (there are many national republics and indigenous nations), and also from the type of town (for example, notorious "monogorod" - monotowns) and by their social status.
== Safety ==
[[File:2001 Hitch-hiking in Russia.jpg|thumb|280px|left|[[User:Sigurdas|Sigurdas]] hitch-hiking towards [[Murmansk]] from [[St. Petersburg]]. Winter 2001.]]
Some consider Russian roads are not among the safest on Earth; this might or might not be true. The concentrartion of dashing driving is higher than in Europe. Many drivers and their passengers do not fasten their belts outside cities, but you always may do it for yourself. Its common knowledge Russians like to drink vodka, but you will unlikely meet a drunken driver unless you go deep into some village area; driving drunk is heavily penalized in Russia so majority of people never wants don't want to run the risk if there is at least a single police checkpoint on the road (on all the major roads, there are many). But, just in case you encounter a car with a drunken driver inside – wave him away and wait for a sober one.
[[File:IMG 9652.JPG|thumb|200px|right|[[User:Lucysd|Lucysd]] 200 km from [[Mongolia]]]]
If the area feels unsafe you might want to hitchhike from police post to police post. The police posts situated on all highways with intervals of about 100 km. These posts, commonly called "ДПС" (Post DPS), are good places to hitchhike since cars will drive by slowly, and police is always close. Local hitchhikers swear on these police posts. You can also ask the police officers to help you get a ride which really might work. Be prepared to be asked for your ID or even run a cell-phone check (verification that your cell is not in the stolen cells database), though. Also, there is a possibility to get a lift by talking to drivers on gas stations. You will not be misunderstood but since there are almost no highways and you can point your thumb anywhere, wasting time on a gas station waiting for cars is not preferred unless there is heavy raining, or the spot is bad etc. If there are two of you one can hitch on the road and the other one ask people on nearby gas station; that really might bring you a lift faster. But the “default” method of hitchhiking in Russia is still thumbing on the roadside ;)
=== Girls and solo-hitching ===
Somehow, Russians are still very amused by foreigners, and many report that solo traveling even extremely long distances, like Central and Eastern Russia, for a foreign girl who speaks some Russian is absolutely safe since she is treated like someone ‘from the outside’ by virtually everyone. Keep in mind that being a foreigner you are somewhat protected from some issues that Russian hitchhikers face on the roads.
=== Border CrossingsThe Ultimate Guide to a €35 Russian Visa without an Agency for Most EU Citizens (except UK, PoliceIreland and Croatia, Visas and formalities =among others) ==The general consensus ''Most Russian embassies in the EU don't require you to submit an application through a visa center/travel agent or to complete any additional steps, but it's very important to check the respective embassy's website for their particular requirements.'' 1. Get an appointment at the respective embassy of your choice. This is thatthe biggest hassle of the entire process as appointments are usually booked out for at least two months ahead... You'll find a link to the online appointment booking system on the embassy's website - it'll look something like http://paris.kdmid.ru/queue-en/. Record the appointment details. 2. Two weeks or so before your appointment, book accommodation through this [http://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/free-visa-support/ website]'s affiliate link to Booking.com. They give free tourist invitations to anyone who books using their affiliate link - it's important to follow the link to Booking.com from their website. As it's Booking.com, providing your passport you can give them a fake credit card (using a fake CC number generator of course) and visa are you don't actually have to stay at the places or pay for them in orderadvance. But you do need the reservations. Alternatively, you could also get an invitation through the many websites which offer it for as low as €10 (look up Fortuna Travel) - but the steps above will have no problem entering Russiaget you one for free. Even hitching in at remote border crossings in ''Recent reports seem to suggest that the middle agency is getting wary of suspicious free visa support request, so if you're going to Russia for longer than a week, you're probably better off coughing up the night is fine€10.'' 3. However Once you are very likely 've managed to be held when leaving the country by a land crossingsuccessfully book accommodation through Booking.com, particularly if hitching fill outthis [https://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/free-visa-support/request/ form]. You will most likely be required They should send you scans of the invitation to describe your trip in great detaile-mail. Print those out. 3a. If you need a visa for over 30 days, and explain other passport stampsthen you have to get a "Business" visa instead of a tourist visa. Do It's Russia, so white lies are not worry if this happensout of the ordinary here... To get a business visa, you'll need a more expensive invitation (usually between €45-80), just answer their questions but the visa fee remains the same and you will be allowed the same visa support companies issue these. For visas up to go180 days, a simple stamped letter over email is enough, but this really depends on the embassy. For a 1-year visa(eventuallyalthough it's valid for a year, one entry can only be 90 days), you'd need a formal invitation initiated by the company via the Russian Migration Service, which is much more expensive and can take up to a month.
== Cities ==
* [[Moscow]]
* [[St. Petersburg]]
* [[Cheboksary]]
* [[MoscowSamara]]* [[Irkutsk]]* [[Murmansk]]
* [[Novosibirsk]]
* [[Omsk]]
* [[Petrozavodsk]]
* [[Rostov-on-Don]]
* [[Sochi]]
* [[IrkutskUfa]]
* [[Ulan-Ude]]
* [[UfaVoronezh]]* [[Yekaterinburg]]
Count about 5 days from [[Moscow]] to [[Novosibirsk]], and about 18 days from Moscow to [[Vladivostok]].
Russian number plates contain a region code, that indicates the origin of the car and possibly the drivers destination.
You can write it on a cardboard instead of a place name and use while thumbing. See [[Russian plate numbers]] for a list.
== External links ==
* [http://010-vladok.reitsma.ru/ Story about hitchhiking from Rotterdam to Vladivostok] {{en}}
* [http://no-planes.de/?p=76/ Story about hitchhiking from Hamburg to Lake Baikal] {{en}}
*[http://youarealltourists.blogspot.de/search/label/Siberia Stories about hitchhiking around remote Siberian regions] {{en}}
* [http://hike.ru/ Russian hitchhiking website] {{ru}}
* [http://www.bpclub.ru/index.php Russian backpacker & hitchhiker's forum] {{ru}}
* [http://vpiska.livejournal.com Livejournal 'Vpiska' community], mostly {{ru}} but {{en}} speakers are also welcome
* [http://ru_autostop.livejournal.com Russian] hitchhiking communities. {{ru}}, but you can ask questions and get replies in {{en}}
* [http://takemeeast.blogspot.com/search/label/russia Hitchhiking in the Russian far east] {{en}}
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
{{nomadwiki}}
{{IsIn|Asia}}
{{Europe/countries}}
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[[Category:Russia| ]]