Russia to Susannah: Nyet!

Yesterday, the country of Russia gave me the Heisman. I was officially refused a tourist visa by the Russian embassy in UB. The whole thing was crazy and comical. I hate to say it, but my skeptical and somewhat negative view of Russians that I have gained here in Mongolia was reinforced. I had hoped to take a trip over Easter weekend to visit a friend in Moscow.

The consular official I met at the embassy spoke to me in English, and explained that I needed a Russian invitation from a hotel or tour agency in order to obtain a visa. Fine, this part I already knew. He told me that I could accomplish this through a tour agency in UB. When I asked him where I could find an appropriate tour agent, he said that there were "several in UB," and that he "didn't get paid to answer that question." Awesome! Clearly, he's not really that interested in helping me. So we set out to find this mythical tour agency, and by a stroke of immense luck, found it quickly thanks to the help of some good Mongolians. Guess where this agency was located? Across the street from the Russian embassy.

The Mongolian ladies in the agency were quite nice, and after talking with them and filling out the application, they assured me I should be able to obtain a tourist visa within a few weeks. So far, so good. About an hour later, the Russian consular dude called me on my cell phone and asked me several questions about my application. This sort of freaked me out, so we went back to the tour agency, only to find the ladies all wound up. Apparently, some of my answers over the phone were not entirely consistent with the paperwork they had submitted, so the man refused my visa, and accused them of lying to him! The items of debate were miniscule, and quite frankly confusing. I won't bore you with the details, but I can tell you they were administrative, and could be fixed if the embassy were more forthcoming with instructions.

So, no Russian passport stamp for me. But that's ok, I really felt like God's hand was involved, and it just wasn't meant to be. I've read and heard horror stories about people who obtained a visa, traveled to Moscow, and then were refused entry at the airport for similar administrative nonsense. I would much rather be refused now than after I've spent money on airfare, etc.

After it was all over, I laughed about it with my translator and Mongolian staff. We talked about how different Mongolia is now compared to the years of Russian communism. They told me how they were taught songs in grade school about how Russia was their only true and good brother, and were also taught that Americans were militant imperialists. I could only marvel at what that kind of mind-controlling society is like, and thank God that I live in a wonderfully free country. I feel like such a patriot!