have you ever been to VISAS TOURS CRUISES VISA SERVICE RAIL INCENTIVE IN ORDER TO VISIT RUSSIA, YOU MUST HAVE A VALID VISA. WE ARE FULLY LICENSED TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE VISA SUPPORT. WITH US, YOU NEEDN'T CONCERN YOURSELF WITH THIRD-PARTY INVITATIONS. TOUR PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE TICKETS THE COST OF VISAS TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND OTHER CIS COUNTRIES. VISA, TERMS, FEES, THE APPLICATION FORM, AND DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.RUSSIA-TRAVEL.COM . RUSSIA ALL TYPES: TOURIST SINGLE AND DOUBLE-ENTRY TOURIST VISAS, BUSINESS VISA AND ONE-YEAR MULTIPLE RE-ENTRY VISA ARE AVAILABLE AT RUSSIAN NATIONAL GROUP AS WELL AS VISAS TO UKRAINE, BELORUSSIA, CHINA, AND OTHER COUN - TRIES. PLEASE CALL FOR DETAILS: 646.473.2233 TRAVELING IN RUSSIA RUSSIAN NATIONAL GROUP, INC. available in major cities, but note; they do TAXIS not have letters on the key pad, so if your 224 West 30 th Street, Suite 701, PIN includes letters remember them as In Russia, taxi fees are usually negotiated New York, NY 10001 digits! with the driver ahead of time. Do not use Telephone: 646.473.2233 gypsy cabs or accept rides in cabs that Fax: 646.473.2205 already have a rider. We shall be glad to E-mail: info @russia-travel.com TELEPHONES provide you with airport transfers by our Moscow Office: Despite the recent rapid improvements in company car. 5/10 Chistoprudni Blvd, Suite 214, the telecommunications infrastructure, Moscow, Russia telephoning in Russia can be difficult and TIPPING Telephone: expensive. Best bet is to use the phone at 495.980.8440 Tipping is increasingly expected at Fax: 495.980.8441 your hotel or use AT&T, Sprint, or MCI's USA direct services. Tokens or calling restaurants. Tip 10-15% depending on ser - cards are required for street pay phones, vice. It is typical to round up the amount ELECTRICITY which can be purchased at newsstands, in to the next round figure. Electricity throughout Russia is 220 some stores and at many kiosks. volt/50 Hz. The plug is the two-pin thin European standard. Be sure to bring your TIME Your Professional Travel Agent: own converter as most places in Russia do not carry them. Time is GMT +3 for both Moscow & St. Petersburg. CURRENCY MEDICAL CARE All prices in Russian territory are general - ly quoted in rubles. Currency can be Remember to bring any medications you freely converted at banks, hotels, or may need. Check with your health insurer kiosks. Traveler's checks are hard to cash. before you depart to ascertain your cover - Credit cards are accepted in most places age in the event of emergency. Many that work with foreign tourists. Some may insurance providers offer specialized rid - turn down American Express. Visa and ers that can cover emergency evacuation. MasterCard are known, hence more wide - We do recommend buying travel insur - ance. ly honored. ATM machines are widely RNG – YOUR ONE-STOP RUSSIA SOLUTION! RUSSIAN NATIONAL GROUP We GUARANTEE you a wonderful overwhelming experience you will never forget & the best prices in the New Millennium for escorted, hosted and independent tours; including Russian River Cruises! LETTER FROM PRESIDENT Dear friend! You are entering the fabulous world of Russia: miraculous and still mysterious to many foreigners, full of cultural and historic treasures, beautiful and unspoiled nature, and motherland to the industrious, bright, and hospitable people. Our main goal is to make your trip to Russia a flawless one. We are here to help individual travelers as well as Travel Agents in search of reliable, efficient and reasonably priced services throughout Russia. We are ready to address all prac - tical issues of converting your travel plans to an unforgettable pleasant experience of real-life acquaintance to Mother Russia. We will guide you step by step, from applying for Russian entry visas till the moment you wave goodbye to your new Russian friends on the way back home, which is the moment we hope you'll start thinking about returning some day! Michael Kolesnichenko, President Russian National Group RNG RUSSIAN NATIONAL GROUP RNG is a fully licensed company with a with a group, or maybe the independent right to provide visa support in both the side of you would want a customized pro - Russian Consulates in the USA and gram, either fully escorted or fully hosted. Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow. The Or choose to travel through this land of i Russian National Group, Inc. is a business imperial history on one of our "White corporation that provides a full range of Night" cruise ships along the Volga River. travel and travel-related services through The choices are yours with Russian professional and reliable ground operators National Group all you have to do is ask! in Russia. RNG enjoys the absolute best Compare our programs with any other i rates from Russian hotels, carriers and major tour operator to Russia. We're so bus companies. confident that when you review our tours, Before you go, our expert staff in New York feature by feature, you will discover that City can help you and your travel agent we offer the best value, with packages that select the itinerary that is best suited for are the most inclusive. Plus, we offer i you. Perhaps you'd enjoy one of our more hotels and services than others. Our escorted land packages while traveling tours bring you to the best of Russia! REPRESENTING IN THE USA: MEMBER Address: Moscow Office: th – Russian National Tourist Office (RNTO) 224 West 30 Street, Suite 701, 5/10 Chistoprudni Blvd, Suite 214, New York, NY 10001 Moscow. Russia – Russian National Olympic Committee ® American Society Tel: 646.473.2233 – Russian Travel Industry Union ® Tel: (495) 980.8440 of Travel Agents Fax: 646.473.2205 Fax: (495) 980.8441 Web: www.russia-travel.com E-mail: [email protected] 5 RIMuPEsRsIiAa L ALL−INCLUSIVE 8−DAY TOUR OF MOSCOW & ST. PETERSBURG WE HAVE JUST RETURNED FROM OUR RNG-ARRANGED TRIP TO ST. PETERSBURG AND MOSCOW. WE HAD A LOVELY TIME, AND ALL OF DAY ONE DAY FOUR Pavlovsk. Like many other royal resi - THE ARRANGEMENTS WORKED PERFECTLY. RED SQUARE IS THE dences, the palace sustained heavy dam - Leave the US on your overnight flight for MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE WE HAVE EVER SEEN. IT WAS THE This morning delight in a visit to the age during the war, but most of it has been your journey to Russia. EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME. WE WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Here, dis - restored to its former glory. Next, visit EXCELLENT SERVICES OF THE RNG TO ANYONE PLANNING A TRIP TO cover an important collection of French Yusupov Palace, where Rasputin was mur - RUSSIA. DAY TWO Impressionism, as well as other major dered! schools of Western art, dating from the Arrival in Moscow. You will be met at the Renaissance through the 20th century. airport and transferred to your hotel. After the museum, ride the amazing DAY SEVEN Balance a day at leisure of rest and relax - Moscow Metro, where every station is an This morning tour Peter and Paul Fortress ation. Welcome dinner. individual monument to Soviet art and with its famous Peter and Paul Church, design. In the evening transfer to the train containing the tombs of Russian rulers DAY THREE station for your overnight first-class trip to from Peter the Great through Alexander St. Petersburg. After breakfast, you will be escorted on an III. After visiting the fortress, your tour in-depth tour of this fascinating Russian continues to St. Isaac's Cathedral (con - structed 1818-58), the largest in the city, capital. Enjoy the grandeur of Red Square DAY FIVE and the Russian White House. See with its tall gilt dome one of the many Morning arrival in St. Petersburg. Moscow University, the former KGB focal points of St. Petersburg. Your tour Transfer to your hotel with a city tour. En headquarters and central Moscow. continues with a visit to Alexander route, you will enjoy the sights of this gor - Experience a deep sense of history as you Nevsky Abbey. There you will visit the geous city, Tsar Peter the Great's trace the footsteps of the legions of oldest cemetery in Russia, with many of "Window to the West." Only 300 years princes, paupers and poets who have the country's most famous historical fig - old, the city was built by Tsar Peter to cap - passed through this ancient city. This ures. Evening folklore performance. ture and rival the beauties of Paris and afternoon's tour takes you to the heart of Venice. You'll love the extravagant the city, the Kremlin. This former Moscow DAY EIGHT baroque architecture of the city center, citadel, "Kremlin" means "fortress" and Nevsky Prospect, Palace Square and Bid farewell to this elegant and exciting houses exquisite palaces, presidential Smolny Convent. This afternoon, enjoy city, as we transfer you to the airport after buildings lovely churches and scores of the many wonders of the elegant Winter your fascinating journey. major historical monuments. Your tour of Palace that houses the Hermitage the Kremlin will also include a visit to the Museum, one of the largest art and cultur - fascinating State Armory, the oldest al museums in the world. This vast collec - museum in Russia. As its name implies, it tion (about 65,000 items) includes some of contains many ancient weapons and history's most important art. YOUR FULLY ESCORTED TOUR INCLUDES: TOUR HIGHLIGHTS: armor, as well as a treasure-trove of gor - Round-trip Trans-Atlantic airfare from New York Moscow and St. Petersburg City Tours geous crown jewels, gold-encrusted icons, bejeweled royal scepters, and DAY SIX (Add-ons from other cities are available upon request) Kremlin & the Armory Museum exquisitely carved thrones.