Hi all ive got a trip coming up to russia theres four of us going, was just wondering what was the best way to go but its the paperwork that im more concerned about what to do on the border etc. If anyone can shed any light and advice i would be very grateful.
thanks in advance
kev
I can think of a hundred questions to ask before I can start to help.
My experiences would probably be out of date anyhow but …
Route :- if your going to Moscow then my preferred option would be ship to Helsinki then cross border at vaalimaa ! Down through st Petersburg and onwards. Really depends where your heading.
Paperwork :- hopefully for you it will be on a carnet ! In fact I’d insist on it. In which case all you really need is the carnet and some photocopies of the inventories with values ( usually made up ) ! Obviously you’ll need your t forms to exit eu but uk agent should sort that.
You’ll need a visa ! And there is bound to be other stuff but my minds gone blank.
Harry monk will be along shortly with more suitable advice. Good luck.
turnip:
I can think of a hundred questions to ask before I can start to help.
My experiences would probably be out of date anyhow but …
Route :- if your going to Moscow then my preferred option would be ship to Helsinki then cross border at vaalimaa ! Down through st Petersburg and onwards. Really depends where your heading.
Paperwork :- hopefully for you it will be on a carnet ! In fact I’d insist on it. In which case all you really need is the carnet and some photocopies of the inventories with values ( usually made up ) ! Obviously you’ll need your t forms to exit eu but uk agent should sort that.
You’ll need a visa ! And there is bound to be other stuff but my minds gone blank.
Harry monk will be along shortly with more suitable advice. Good luck.
Was just about to say Harry Monk when I seen it at the bottom also euromat as he has been in the last year or so
Ring Ralph Davies at Cheltenham and one of the Gilder lads out of Bourton on the Water,they went there a lot,some even further east.
been a couple of times, but usually part of a group, so we have a “lead” driver who sorts everything with the fixer.
you will need a visa in your passport, i’m sure your firm has sorted this already?
expect it to be abit of a long drawn out process, going from 1 part of a compound to another, and seemingly getting licence, carnets, and papers checked several times, by several different “payed” officials.
as an example, last time we came out, it was out of russia and into finland. the russian side took 12 hours, the finnish side to enter finland took 2 minutes, i kid you not.
yet the time before this, we came out via a small border, into estonia, think it was at narva, was through there in approx 2 hours.
also whenever we go, we have “armed” ■■■■■■ vehicles, not sure if this is the norm, or essential?
where in russia are you going? enjoy the roads, lovely and smooth 
I’ve not been for years although I know a few people who still do the occasional trip. There’s a boat from Harwich every Thursday to St Petersburg, operated by Mann Lines, if you go overland I believe the preferred route is through Lithuania (which is of course an eu country) rather than Belarus. I’ll ask around this evening and see if I can get any more info.
On the border you used to get a piece of paper which you had to take around various offices getting stamps, carnet, passport, tax, phytosanitary etc etc etc, and when you had all seven stamps you were done and they opened the gates and you were in. There was usually a border guard who would be very helpful in directing you to the right offices in the right order, although he would make it clear that he wanted something for helping.
It used to be that if you were stopped on the road by the GAI that they would accept a dollar or two or a packet of cigarettes instead of a fine but I believe there is far less of that these days.
Roads are poor and it’s best not to drive at night for all sorts of reasons, not least drunken peasants wandering about in the road.
Where in Russia are you going?
Thanks alot for all your help guys were off to moscow with a stage show im not sure if the boat out of harwich will be an option as its prob cheaper to go overland as far as visas are concerned is that a driver thing to do or a company thing?
cheers muchly
kev
You can’t get them on the border so it’s a company thing. Kepstowe used to do this through an agent, otherwise it’s two trips to the Russian embassy for someone.
If youre going to Moscow, the best place where to cross the border would be Grebnev or Terehova in Latvia. If you cross border in Grebnev, you will need to pay to use one road(1100 rubels) that goes to Ostrov, and then you get on Leningradka, and that road is foc.
Check cargo.lt/ to see how long are the queues on each border crossing.
digbydog99:
Thanks alot for all your help guys were off to moscow with a stage show im not sure if the boat out of harwich will be an option as its prob cheaper to go overland as far as visas are concerned is that a driver thing to do or a company thing?cheers muchly
kev
company sorts ours out with the embassy in london.
that bit of paper that harry is on about…if its the same thing, we got 1 on the way in, had to put some details on it, think its all regular stuff like, passport/driving licence number and the like, think it was stamped a couple of times on entry at various windows. may have had to put vehicle mileage on aswell? whatever you do, don’t lose it, you will need it to get back out of russia, otherwise, think its a load of hassle, and i’d guess a “russian” fine 
if you get a chance when your there, its worth going for a nose around, just stay on the ball, and think your supposed to have your passport with you at all times, (could be wrong on this)
a night out can be cheap, or expensive, depending where you go, and if your having a hotel room, the ladies in the bar, will gladly keep you company. remember though, its russia, and everything costs 
oh yeah, don’t get in any road rage just check youtube
Text message just received from my buddy…
I’ll let u know next month, I’ll be going D, LT, LV, RUS, entering at the Grebnove Ublyinka border. Alternatives are via FIN or ferry from Germany into St. P’ burg
Thanks again guys all very good advice much needed and harry can i pm you if i have any more questions?
cheers
kev
Sounds like c&h hauliers.
Hello all. Long time avid reader but first time posting. Great site and very interesting. Living in Russia for last 8 years (Working in construction but lifelong trucking fan) so hope I can help. For your visa you’ll need an invitation from a Russian company. You’ll also need a Permit for temporary importation of goods. This should all be done by whatever company is organising the Stage show. If not you need to get moving on it, and quickly. TIR Carnet is best way and you can now do an Electronic predeclaration online to speed up the process at the border. Any trucks coming to us usually come through Belarus but you’ll need a transit visa. I also think you need to check if you’re company has ECMT permits but this and the TIR may be just for Hire and Reward work. You have to pay a road tax in Russia. It’s 60000 Rubles a year per truck (1500 Euro) but can get it much cheaper for shorter periods of time. If the value of the goods on the manifest is above a certain amount (I think around 150K-200K) they may get you to wait to go in convoy under ■■■■■■. Main routes are pretty good standard now. I had a friend just left Moscow in a truck that was carrying a Rally Jeep and Workshop in the trailer. He had problems coming in through Belarus with Paperwork and ended up taking detour through Latvia. Hope the above helps and the IRU website has lots of information too.
digbydog99:
Thanks again guys all very good advice much needed and harry can i pm you if i have any more questions?
No probs, as I said it’s been a while since I went there but I do know people who still go there.
moscowflyer:
Hello all. Long time avid reader but first time posting. Great site and very interesting. Living in Russia for last 8 years (Working in construction but lifelong trucking fan) so hope I can help. For your visa you’ll need an invitation from a Russian company. You’ll also need a Permit for temporary importation of goods. This should all be done by whatever company is organising the Stage show. If not you need to get moving on it, and quickly. TIR Carnet is best way and you can now do an Electronic predeclaration online to speed up the process at the border. Any trucks coming to us usually come through Belarus but you’ll need a transit visa. I also think you need to check if you’re company has ECMT permits but this and the TIR may be just for Hire and Reward work. You have to pay a road tax in Russia. It’s 60000 Rubles a year per truck (1500 Euro) but can get it much cheaper for shorter periods of time. If the value of the goods on the manifest is above a certain amount (I think around 150K-200K) they may get you to wait to go in convoy under ■■■■■■. Main routes are pretty good standard now. I had a friend just left Moscow in a truck that was carrying a Rally Jeep and Workshop in the trailer. He had problems coming in through Belarus with Paperwork and ended up taking detour through Latvia. Hope the above helps and the IRU website has lots of information too.
hello and welcome
nice 1st post.
jessicas dad:
Sounds like c&h hauliers.
no mate dont think hes CnH all our visas are sorted and not doin an event
Hi Guys
Are you talking about C&H that used to be in Essex ■■ If so, I used to see them all the time when I drove for Chilton Transport out of Bow in the early eighties ! C&H used to do alot of reels of paper but I didnt know that they now go to Russia… Mind you, I’ve been out of the UK for over 11yrs now. How time flies. 
If you’re taking a stage show out there and returning with the stuff after the show finishes the you won’t need a TIR Carnet, it will all be on ATA Carnets, same principal, but it’s a temporary importation document rather than a transit document 
Never been to Russia, but from what I hear, a camera is an essential piece of equipment…to photograph the crumpet 
GS OVERLAND:
Hi Guys
Are you talking about C&H that used to be in Essex ■■ If so, I used to see them all the time when I drove for Chilton Transport out of Bow in the early eighties ! C&H used to do alot of reels of paper but I didnt know that they now go to Russia… Mind you, I’ve been out of the UK for over 11yrs now. How time flies.
i think they are talking about that c&h. they have a place in tilbury docks, i know they do the paper reels, aswell as walking floor stuff and the like. think there was talk on here recently about them soon to be transporting their own loads into russia. they have some nice tidy tackle.
newmercman is right, when we do show stuff into russia, norway, swiss and other non e.u. states, its on ata carnets.