Thanks

[David T. Murphy]

Dear Colleagues,

        Just a note to thank all those who replied to my request for
information on money in Russia.

        To the extent that my own experiences might be of interest to
someone, here is the story in brief.

        In order to cover all the bases, I brought along cash, travelers
checks, an ATM card and a Visa card..

        When I first arrived, I used cash to buy $50.00 worth of roubles at
Sheremet'evo, with no commission. I later bought $40.00 worth of roubles at
a street exchange in Moscow, again with no commission.

        In St. Petersburg I used travelers checks to obtain both dollars
and roubles at the Hotel Europe. The transactions were made at the
Baltoneksim Bank, next door to the Amex office in the main lobby of the
hotel; the fee on each transaction was 3%, which was well worth it to me.

        I also used my ATM card to obtain roubles, again in the lobby of
the Europe lobby, where I felt more comfortable. I did not try ATM machines
on the street, although I saw many Russians using them. I haven't yet seen
my bank statement, so I do not know what the fee was.

        I did not attempt to exchange travelers checks in Moscow.

        The customs folks were pretty lax, by the way. On the way in, I
dutifully filled in the customs declaration and then found the Green Line
(nothing to declare) unattended. When leaving, there was an officer at the
Green Line gate, but he didn't ask to see anything (I had my exchange slips
and customs declaration ready at hand) nor did he have me send my bags
through the x-ray machine. Two lines over, on the other hand, they were
fairly actively checking things. How to figur . . .

        Best, David Murphy

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