Requirements for travel to Russia and Mongolia (page 5 of 5)

Hi everyone, just back from my trip to Russia and Kazakhstan. Entered Russia in mid-July via Vladikavkaz at 8 AM! Interview with an FSB officer and inspection of my phone. A few kilometers later, no more GPS—this was the case in all the cities. For fuel, some gas stations had no "benzine," especially in the cities. Diesel was more widely available, so no major issues there. However, in Altai, fuel was harder to come by. I decided not to go to Mongolia—big problems still persist there.

Exiting Russia for Kazakhstan, I had to endure another phone search, this one even more unpleasant.

Re-entering Russia via Astrakhan was more normal. I noticed a significant increase in closed gas stations.

Hello, The fuel issue occurred at the end of June and the beginning of July. Currently, there aren’t too many problems anymore, and it’s even allowed to fill "jerry cans." For GPS connections, did you use Yandex to get a proper connection? Did you use a phone with a Russian number or one from outside Russia? Generally, your phone will be temporarily blocked when you enter Russia for a few hours. You’ll then receive an SMS with instructions to unlock it. It’s kind of funny—these GSM checks and questionnaires. I witnessed this, but it was for Ukrainians and/or Uzbeks. It was a waste of time at customs (a few hours), and luckily, only two people were questioned. (This was when leaving Russia.) Best regards, Patrick

Hello, Actually, when traveling by bus (coach), the issue of being interrogated by a competent Russian official doesn’t happen for tourists (except Ukrainians or those from countries near the former USSR). It would be difficult to interrogate a coach with over 60 people—Germans of Russian origin, not to mention English, Italian, Spanish tourists, etc. They’d need to set up hotels near the border crossings and provide proper translators because the ones used on mobile phones aren’t reliable.

It’s worth noting that Ukrainian nationals can no longer take coaches entering or leaving Russia (unless they have dual citizenship).

Border crossings should be measured in days, not hours.

Best regards, Patrick

Hey, anyway on August 24th in Vladikavkaz, the situation wasn't normalized at all. And the ban on filling jerry cans was still in place. Regarding interrogations, several French travelers were denied entry (Mongolia/Russia and Kazakhstan/Russia). To the point where the agency handling the visa process had to reissue a transit visa after contacting the French consulate. Several internet outages have been reported by the Russians I met. A sharp drop in Russian tourism in Altai (and of course Western tourism too). Several Russians from different parts of the country and various social backgrounds told me they're fed up with this conflict. I managed to get a SIM card without going through the "Goshosgulie" step, but it was cut off in Omsk after spending a night in a former state-run hotel. In short, it's a country at war, and you can feel it.

Hello, Actually, fuel availability varies by region. I spoke with someone living in St. Petersburg—no more fuel issues, same goes for the Moscow area. The average price for 95 octane gasoline is currently 73 rubles, and it’s cheaper in Moscow. Great job on the SIM card—it’s really hard to get one. It seems that flying or taking a bus is easier than traveling with a personal vehicle. For the French travelers who were denied entry, did they have an electronic visa? Because in that case, the entry point into Russia is determined when they apply. I hope this doesn’t discourage you from your next trip to Russia—the experience is great, and sharing it is rewarding for those reading. Best regards, Patrick

. Hope this doesn’t put you off your next trip to Russia—the experience is great, and sharing it is fun

Customs interrogation, phone searches, no GPS, no fuel: sure, it’s a great experience and sounds super appealing. And these are real tips, not just "someone told me that."

I confirm. Personally, the cop straight-up told me they’d duplicated my entire phone... 2 hours of waiting... The next day, the phone mount on the bike broke at 120 km/h on the highway, then landed somewhere in a potato field... it’s still there... 😏 but I think it’s gonna work a lot worse than before...

Hi, here's an article from a Russian economic magazine about the fuel shortage: https://monocle.ru/monocle/2026/36/defitsit-topliva-20/ Since this magazine is far from being anti-Kremlin, we can assume the situation described isn't exaggerated—it might even be downplayed.

Referring to your article: Indeed, my vehicle has never smoked black as much as it did in Russia. Once I crossed into Kazakhstan, everything went back to normal. At every border crossing, I noticed many tanker trucks registered either in Iran, Turkey, or Kazakhstan—but fewer of the latter. Do they add water to the diesel afterward?