registration

[Dustin Hosseini]

As with all laws, they start out well-intentioned, and end up a complete
mess.  Who was it?  Chernomyrdin or Gorbachev that said, we try to make
things better and they end up worse or the same.

The registration for tourists isn't as scary as it sounds.  It's down to the
hotels and hostels to do their job in registering those who stay at their
respective places.

The one thing about tourists is that most of them are greenhorns.  They
don't know many underlying customs and rules here in Russia.  One of them
is, unfortunately, bribes.  Of course any immigration official at
Sheremetyevo can tell the tourist that his visa has expired.  How does the
tourist react?  He doesn't know how: he pays the fine, whatever it is and
moves on.  If tourists read enough on Russia and if agencies were a little
more proactive, then they would tell their clients not to cave in and pay
some ridiculous fine at the airport upon leaving.  When in Russian, if you
have a problem that's not yours, you make that problem someone else's
problem, and it *will* be taken care of.  Sit around, twiddle your thumbs,
and do nothing, and of course they will walk all over you. 

I don't appreciate the comment about Russia being a police state.  I hear
Syria is a police state as well, but at least in terms of tourists, you
don't have to register if you aren't staying for more than 15 days.  So, I
guess in this case, Syria is just a free a country as any other -- *that
does not have registration of tourist visas*.  

I'd like to add that the new US law that was passed within the last couple
of years regarding passports has created many problems for a lot of people
in the US.  Now, Americans wishing to travel to Canada, Mexico, or Caribbean
nations are required to hold a passport or a "passport card".  How
ridiculous is THAT?  This is a step back -- a step in the complete opposite
direction of where Europe is going.  

Let's not forget that foreign nationals arriving to the US have to get
fingerprinted.  This is a kind of registration, don't you think?  We can
even say that the US has become more of a "police state" under the pretext
of protecting the nation against alleged terrorist threats.  

So before you decide that Russia is a police state based on the fact that
they are having problems registering people and that they require
registration at all (let's remember that the bureaucracy is extremely huge
and complex), I suggest you take into account the recent agreements passed
between the EU and Russia (with the exception of the UK, Ireland, and
Denmark)   http://www.delrus.cec.eu.int/en/news_914.htm.  

At least the EU and Russia are doing something to ease bilateral relations
regarding visas. Last I checked, the US and RF aren't doing anything at all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------