June 2013 Baltic Treasures--St Pet Visa?

[ksps cruise fan]

I want to find out what it will take to get a Russian Visa. That is the focus of my question on this thread. Thank you everyone.

 

Here's some language from the Embassy of Russia's web site detailing the changes that went into effect September 9, 2012:

 

Agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on the simplification of visa formalities for nationals of the Russian Federation and nationals of the United States of America

 

Effective September 9, 2012, the US citizens shall as a rule be issued multiple-entry business, homestay/private, humanitarian and tourist visas (for a stay of no more than 6 months starting from the date of each entry) that are valid for 3 years (36 months) from the date of issue of the visa.

 

The visas shall be issued based on direct written statements (faxed or electronic copies) from Russian or American host organization or individuals. When applying for a visa, in addition to the valid passport, photo and the visa application form (submitted on the web site:http://evisa.kdmid.ru) the applicant should provide the written statement from the host organization or individual (direct invitation) in free form, which should contain the following information.

 



 

Note that the direct invitation requirement still exists according to the last sentence of what I've quoted.

 

If the application is shorter and less intrusive, that single aspect of the process would be easier. However, if everyone is still required to have a letter of invitation, cruisers who want to travel DIY or with a private guide are going to continue to run into difficulties. Perhaps the lone difference is that the option of the Private Visa offers cruisers touring with a private guide -- not one of the well-known tour agencies -- a way to obtain a letter. Perhaps the private guide can become the sponsor and write the still-required letter. (See below) On the other hand, mine may be an overly optimistic reading of the text on the web site.

 

 

 

Homestay/Private Visa

 

When applying for a homestay/private visa in addition to the valid passport and the visa application form the following documents should be provided: the notarized written statement from the hosting individual with the full name, date of birth, citizenship, sex, passport number, address of registration, and address of the actual residence of the hosting individual, as well as the full name, date of birth, citizenship, sex, passport number, multiplicity of the visa, purpose of travel, requested period of entry, location of intended residence of the visa applicant, and the cities to be visited.

 

The host individual could be either a Russian citizen registered on the territory of the Russian Federation or a US citizen who has the permit to stay on the territory of Russian Federation for more than 90 days (i.e. work permit, common student multiple visa, diplomatic visa of the employee of the USA diplomatic missions or consulates on the territory of the Russian Federation).

 

US citizen is eligible for a 3-year multiple-entry homestay/private visa.

 

Visa fee - $ 180.00

 

OP -- I don't know if this private visa would apply to your needs. You certainly won't be making a homestay, but the private guide could be considered your "host."

 

Tourist Visa

 

When applying for a tourist visa in addition to the valid passport and the visa application form: confirmation of the hotel reservation, a contract for provision of tourist services, confirmation of reception of the tourist. The abovementioned documents must register number from the Uniform Federal Register of the Tour Operators of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency and the seal of the host organization.

 

US citizen is eligible for a 3-year multiple-entry tourist visa.

 

Visa fee - $ 180.00

 

The tourist visa definitely doesn't apply since you won't be staying in a hotel. The ship won't serve as your hotel and provide the necessary letter of invitation. The ships want to sell ship-sponsored tours so they do not cooperate with their own cruisers who want to make independent arrangements.

 

My husband and I cruised Russia on a river cruise, beginning with four nights in Moscow staying in a hotel. The application process wasn't fun, but we ultimately succeeded. Anything challenging anyone has read about dealing with the consulate in Washington, DC, we can verify!

 

Here's the link to the web page I've been quoting:

http://www.russianembassy.org/embassy_eng/Consulate/general.html

 

The page contains considerably more information.

 

[LuAnn]

that the info and experience we have provided here for you helps!! Good luck on finding the right "fit" for you and your wife!!! LuAnn

[LHT28]

I still think that having our own Visa will probably allow us to get the most pleasure out of our time in St Pete.

 

Let us know how it all works out for you

[robert32asp]

Here's some language from the Embassy of Russia's web site detailing the changes that went into effect September 9, 2012:

 

....the applicant should provide the written statement from the host organization or individual (direct invitation) in free form, which should contain the following information.

Note that the direct invitation requirement still exists according to the last sentence of what I've quoted.

 

....if everyone is still required to have a letter of invitation, cruisers who want to travel DIY or with a private guide are going to continue to run into difficulties.

Tourist Visa

 

When applying for a tourist visa in addition to the valid passport and the visa application form: confirmation of the hotel reservation, a contract for provision of tourist services, confirmation of reception of the tourist. The above mentioned documents must register number from the Uniform Federal Register of the Tour Operators of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency and the seal of the host organization.

Visa fee - $ 180.00

 

The tourist visa definitely doesn't apply since you won't be staying in a hotel. The ship won't serve as your hotel and provide the necessary letter of invitation. The ships want to sell ship-sponsored tours so they do not cooperate with their own cruisers who want to make independent arrangements.

 

My husband and I cruised Russia on a river cruise, beginning with four nights in Moscow staying in a hotel. The application process wasn't fun, but we ultimately succeeded. Anything challenging anyone has read about dealing with the consulate in Washington, DC, we can verify!

 

Here's the link to the web page I've been quoting:

http://www.russianembassy.org/embassy_eng/Consulate/general.html

 

The page contains considerably more information.

 

Thank you. I had been to the local Russian Embassy website, but you helped me revisit it. I will working with the Seattle Russian Embassy.

 

My read is that I want a single entry Tourist Visa, which at the slow processing speed is $140 plus the mandatory $30 fee for a total of $170.

(For more information visit

http://www.ils-usa.com.

Visa Center service fee is $ 30.00 per visa, consular tariffs remain the same. )

The ILS appears to screen the applications and there is an ILS office near my city and I have contacted them.

 

The ILS website says:

Grounds for obtaining a visa are:

 

1. The original invitation to enter the Russian Federation issued in accordance with Russian law. Invitation to enter the Russian Federation is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Federal Migration Service or its territorial bodies.

2. Original acknowledgment of foreign tourist organization engaged in tourism activities and that has a valid reference number together with the original contract for the provision of services for tourist services.......

 

 

On another webpage at ILS, it say....

.....

3. A standard “Confirmation” and “Tourist Voucher” from a hosting authorized Russian travel agency or a hotel registered with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs if applying for single or double entry visa

(Any authorized travel company must be assigned a special reference number which should be indicated in the Confirmation letter).

 

 

At the following website they provide some details specific to cruise ship passengers. http://petersburgcity.com/for-tourists/visa/cruises/

 

 

Thank you again. As I explore this some more I will continue to update this. I will also let folks know how it all works out.

 

 

 

Since it sounds like you have gotten your own Tourist Visa, I assume that your hotel stay was the key to getting your invitation letter. Any thoughts on your experience would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ksps cruise fan]

Thank you. I had been to the local Russian Embassy website, but you helped me revisit it. I will working with the Seattle Russian Embassy.

 

Small technicality. You'll be working with the Russian Consulate in Seattle -- not the Embassy. There's only one Embassy per country and all of those are located in Washington, DC.

 

Even we didn't work with the Embassy in DC since the visa office is located in a separate consulate building. (Some embassies like Turkey and Cambodia, have their consulate offices co-located in the same building, but visa applicants definitely enter the Consulate door rather than the Embassy door.)

 

Since it sounds like you have gotten your own Tourist Visa, I assume that your hotel stay was the key to getting your invitation letter. Any thoughts on your experience would be appreciated.

 

We live just outside of Washington, DC and always get our own visas. I've had some interesting experiences in the process.

 

Our trip necessitated two letters of invitation: one from the hotel and one from the company organizing our river cruise. The dates of our hotel stay were less than the total time we needed our visa to cover so we requested a letter of invitation from the river cruise company, too. We attached both letters to our visa applications.

 

As a visitor on a cruise ship that visits the coastal city of St. Petersburg only, you're in a different situation than river cruisers where each ports is in-country.

 

We requested a letter of both the hotel and of the tour operator of our river cruise. Fortunately, both knew how to handle the request to minimize our problems. The day we dropped our visa applications off, we heard the Russian bureaucrats rejecting applicant after applicant for the pickiest of reasons. One had a smudge of dirt on one of his application pages. One presented a letter of invitation that was a tear-off form from a full-sized piece of paper. And more...

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[/left]

[AJ W]

You can use a service that expedites obtaining your Visa. They will tell you what documentation is needed. These services are expensive. Then you will be able to figure out your own logistics in this huge city with Cyrillic signs that you can't read (unless you know Russian.)

 

I researched the top rated tour guides on Trip Advisor and contacted the top 10 rated at the time (2012.) Told them when we'd be in town (3 days on our cruise ship stop) and what we wanted to see. Based on the replies, I selected one tour operator who developed a program just for the two of us for three full days. We were e-mailed our tourist visa documents which I could not read since they were in Russian. We printed those documents and used them along with our passport to leave and reboard the cruise ship every day. We spent $ 1,600 for three days of private touring, to all the best sights, with all the admissions handled, with a gourmet lunch provided, a private van and driver, and a personal, vastly educated guide who spoke excellent English and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject matter we were interested in.

 

If we'd booked the ship tours covering the same places, we'd have spent more $$$, had less time, be in a group, be rushed along, have to return to the ship at midday to join the next tour. This was some of the best money we ever spent--it went without a hitch and I was not responsible for navigating our way around St. Petersburg using taxis, transit and not speaking the language. Having guide who knew where the loos are is worth it's weight in gold!;)

 

Please email the contact information for this guide.

Thanks! wolff711at aol.com

[Palmetto Lady]

Please email the contact information for this guide.

Thanks! wolff711at aol.com

I would also like to know the name of the tour company/and or guide. Did you need to get the visa on your own??

[csolyn]

I totally hear you. My SO and I are used to going it alone, but I've been told by numerous people that we should get a private guide. We'll be on the same cruise (have you joined roll call?? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=35776523#post35776523) and started looking for a guide a few months ago. I'm following this thread closely to see what other recent travelers might have to say! :)

[LuAnn]

this awhile back on this thread...but we used "Red October" for our private guide booking and they were fabulous. Our guide was Helen, we had a small van, with 6 CCers on board...along with a driver and Helen...It was a 2 day tour...and it was by far the BEST tour we have ever had!!! Helen was amazing...with unlimited knowledge about the city, Russia, politics etc...she was a true professional with a vast amount of knowledge.

 

Our visa was provided by Red October...we just excited the ship and were met shoreside. Helen knew where the ship tour buses were going...so we went the opposite way.

 

If and when I go back to St. Pete's...I would NEVER consider any other option!!!

 

Whatever YOU decide...pls. enjoy this wonderful city!!! LuAnn

[roothy123]

We did all of the ports on our Baltic cruise in August on Marina on our own except for St. Petersburg. We used Alla Tours for that port, and were very happy with Alexandra and Oleg. While I normally love roaming a city by myself, using buses, trams, subways and foot power, I was happy to be driven around this huge, foreign city. It made things so much easier and less stressful.

[robert32asp]

I have been doing some research and I feel pretty sure that i can get a Tourist Visa single entry for under $200 per person, since I live in a City with a Consulate.

 

My calculus is now for my wife and I do I want to have more than $400 worth of private guide (who is registered with Russian ministry of tourism and would provide us with a Visa waiver) time.

 

The Pro's on a guide are they are very familiar with how to get to places, most of their services include some transportation (vehicle) and museum fees (at a discount) and ability to jump the line (if a small enough group depending where).

 

The con's are that the Visa is expensive and will support a "few hours of paying a guide to go where I want and see what I want."

 

The more I read about White Nights, the more I think that I want the luxuary of if the mood strikes me to leave the ship, take the shuttle to the other side of the shipyard and then wander around until the dock area closes. Again, in addition to English I speak German and a little Russian, so the communications part doesn't really threaten me.

 

I have one tourbook with some interesting self-guided walking tours of historic streets, buildings and parks in the core downtown area.

 

I would appreciate anyone who did part or all of St. Pete's as an independent tourist with a Visa to share their advice and experience.

 

Thank you for all your comments. I will post if and how I get my Visa once I get it, unless I get talked out of it.

[LHT28]

I would appreciate anyone who did part or all of St. Pete's as an independent tourist with a Visa to share their advice and experience.

 

 

You may get more answers from independent tourists on the Baltic forum or on trip advisor

 

Some private licensed guides will do custom tours check with some of the tour groups like SPB tours, ALLA, Denrus etc...

[scubacruiserx2]

I have been doing some research and I feel pretty sure that i can get a Tourist Visa single entry for under $200 per person, since I live in a City with a Consulate.

 

My calculus is now for my wife and I do I want to have more than $400 worth of private guide (who is registered with Russian ministry of tourism and would provide us with a Visa waiver) time.

 

The Pro's on a guide are they are very familiar with how to get to places, most of their services include some transportation (vehicle) and museum fees (at a discount) and ability to jump the line (if a small enough group depending where).

 

The con's are that the Visa is expensive and will support a "few hours of paying a guide to go where I want and see what I want."

 

The more I read about White Nights, the more I think that I want the luxuary of if the mood strikes me to leave the ship, take the shuttle to the other side of the shipyard and then wander around until the dock area closes. Again, in addition to English I speak German and a little Russian, so the communications part doesn't really threaten me.

 

I have one tourbook with some interesting self-guided walking tours of historic streets, buildings and parks in the core downtown area.

 

I would appreciate anyone who did part or all of St. Pete's as an independent tourist with a Visa to share their advice and experience.

 

Thank you for all your comments. I will post if and how I get my Visa once I get it, unless I get talked out of it.

 

 

We cruised the Baltic in 2006 and really liked St. Petersburg. In 2009 and again in 2011 , we obtained a visa and stayed in an apartment. We will be glad to advise - if we can. You may want to look at our thread here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1775172

[babysteps]

I would appreciate anyone who did part or all of St. Pete's as an independent tourist with a Visa to share their advice and experience.

 

Well, this was a while ago, but in 2005 we did one afternoon + one full day independent in St. P. Hopefully there's enough 'color' here for you to be able to translate for the passage of time & our specific approach to travel :) Apologies for the high word count!

 

We were part of a cruise where all passengers were parts of alumnae groups (which had come up with a single itinerary), and most all cities (including St. P) had 'included' tours - so the cruise organizers got our visas for us.

 

Thoughts - cyrillic *is* an entirely different alphabet, but if you are good at languages you can get to navigational literacy pretty quickly (especially if you study a map and a phrase book first). A willingness to walk definitely helps - for us, there was plenty to keep us busy right in the center, we didn't make it onto public transport. Many folks speak a little English - we have no Russian language skills and were able to get by fine in the city center.

 

In 2005 pickpockets and tourist-targeted petty crime were an issue. We kept our wits about us, had under-clothing pouches for the minimal valuables we had with us, and used a local store's logo plastic bag to carry water/snacks/etc (wasn't really on purpose, but I do think this helped us blend in as 'aware' visitors). We were dressed more business casual (nothing flashy, no jewelry) than "tourist". We were approached only while standing in place waiting for the shuttle bus, but only verbally. We did see other tourists enmeshed in hustles at some of the touristy spots. Several others on the boat were pickpocketed (post #7). My sense was that street crime levels vary a lot from year to year, ymmv.

 

There was a shuttle bus running for our visit, not sure if that is still the case and/or for which docks. We were at the (er, one of the?) near-in docks on the river, in a smallish boat.

 

Day 1, we took a city tour & excursion to the Amber Room, then got dropped off in the city center about 3-ish? and walked about on our own before going to the shuttle stop to get a bus back to the (near-in) dock. But we didn't ever see the shuttle bus, so we walked back to make dinner promptly ;) The walk along the river was beautiful.

 

Day 2, we took the shuttle into the center & then did errands, etc. We went to a computer center first, the kind where you can pay to use a machine for an hour. Then we walked to the big dept store to buy caviar (regulations were a bit less stringent then) and vodka. Browsed in a bookstore. Had a drink at one of the central hotels whose lobby/bar architecture had been noted by the onboard lecturer. Went back to the shuttle stop, barely got the last bus back (it was not stopping where we had been told, but thanks to slow moving traffic we could run the 2 short blocks to get it before it left).

 

If you like independent visits, and are aware of whatever the current street-crime issues may be, I would say St. Petersberg is very do-able independently. If you prefer seeing "THE" sites & sights and not worrying about details & a foreign alphabet & language, a guided tour is probably a better choice. St. Petersberg is perhaps not the city to "try" independent strolling for the first time (Bergen or Stockholm or Riga better first experiences imo). We had a great time, hope you will also!

 

[Aside - my craziest visa story? Having an 18yo with an automatic weapon critique my handwriting when my visa was missing from the 30 waiting for our group at the East German border. It all worked out okay...]

[robert32asp]

I want to thank Scubacruiser2x for their picture tour and information found at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1775172&page=2 Obviously, prices for tours have probably changed, but when you talked about $25/hour was that a per person price or the total price for a car full?

 

I also want to thank babysteps for their advice and moral support We have done a number of independent tours in the past, including places well off the beaten path from Nicaragua (where we felt we really need to be street smart) to Croatia, Slovinia, Portugal and Slovakia, plus more developed countries. The only time I have actually been really concerned about my safety to the point that i wanted to get away quickly was in Paris near the embassy area, where we encountered para-military with body armor and fully automatic rifles at the ready. So I understand your 18-year old with an automatic weapon reference.

 

I will let folks know what happens.

[Mura]

My information is very old, going back to a Renaissance cruise in May 2001.

 

We did get our own visas. We also hired a guide who charged all of $60/day for the two of us. The current "group visa" companies weren't in existence at the time. Well, Red October and such were not. Others were but we chose not to use them because they wanted pre-payment, etc.

 

If we were going to St.P today I think we'd use Red October, Denrus, etc.

 

But it WAS convenient to be able to leave the ship on our own. (And yes, folks, our visas were checked at least three times between the ship and the street. Don't try to go off on your own if you do not have a visa.)

 

The first day our guide didn't meet us in time because at the last minute Ren changed the port and our guide didn't get the information in time. When two crew members came off the ship and offered to take us to the Hermitage, we readily accepted. Of course our guide arrived at the port about 10 minutes later ...

 

Just one note for people wanting to get visas and do it on your own ... if you speak Russian, it shouldn't be a problem. I read cyrillic and speak a little Russian, but the cab driver taking us back to the ship after our day at the Hermitage clearly stiffed us. Our guide spoke to the cab driver on our next day's tour and the fare was about half of what we paid that first day.

 

It still wasn't horribly expensive, and if you don't mind being stiffed by cab drivers, it can be worth the visa. And if you are on foot, it's not a problem.

 

When we got our visas we used Zierer. It actually cost us less than it would have to get our own visas (at the time there was no consulate in NYC). I still don't know how it worked out that way but I compared prices and it was indeed cheaper, not to mention more convenient, to use Zierer.

 

We did like having the freedom to wander off from a group! But that was then.

 

Mura

[robert32asp]

...We did get our own visas. We also hired a guide...

 

If we were going to St.P today I think we'd use Red October, Denrus, etc.

 

But it WAS convenient to be able to leave the ship on our own. (And yes, folks, our visas were checked at least three times between the ship and the street. Don't try to go off on your own if you do not have a visa.)

 

Just one note for people wanting to get visas and do it on your own ... if you speak Russian, it shouldn't be a problem...

 

...We did like having the freedom to wander off from a group! But that was then.

 

Mura

 

Thank you, I am leaning more and more toward spending an extra $200 per person for the Visa in the hope of being able to do some White Night wandering and some independent travel for one of the three days we will be there. From what I have seen if we book with some of the tour guide companies they will give us a Visa support letter for free even though they would provide a Visa exemption for when we are with the custom tour.

 

Thanks again.

[scubacruiserx2]

We are happy if our thread helps you and your family and we applaud your independent style of travel. The prices quoted are current today

(on the website) and are $25/hr for 2 and $30/hr for 3 or 4 people. We suggest that you contact Gennadiy if interested.

[scubacruiserx2]

Double Post

[robert32asp]

We are happy if our thread helps you and your family and we applaud your independent style of travel. The prices quoted are current today

(on the website) and are $25/hr for 2 and $30/hr for 3 or 4 people. We suggest that you contact Gennadiy if interested.

 

Thank you so much that helps a lot.

 

So for two people at Visa costs of $200/person and private tour of $25/hr would mean 16 hrs of custom touring is a breakeven point.

 

If it were 4 people who had the same tastes and wanted to see the same things, then it would be 26.7 hours as the break even point.

 

I guess the potential opportunity to experience The White Nights (midnight sun) of St. Pete's and the 3-day stay still has me leaning toward a Visa. Actually I am starting to think about the 3-year tourist visa as it is just $20 more and it would be a great excuse to visit another part of Russia in a year or two. After all I wouldn't need any additional Visa. (Now that logic could get expensive.)

 

Thanks again!

[LHT28]

Thank you so much that helps a lot.

 

So for two people at Visa costs of $200/person and private tour of $25/hr would mean 16 hrs of custom touring is a breakeven point.

 

If it were 4 people who had the same tastes and wanted to see the same things, then it would be 26.7 hours as the break even point.

 

 

Thanks again!

 

Is the $25 pp per hr??

 

 

If you were sharing with others would you not share the $25 per hr so your portion would be $12.50 per hr per couple or $6.25 pp per hr

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you so much that helps a lot.

 

So for two people at Visa costs of $200/person and private tour of $25/hr would mean 16 hrs of custom touring is a breakeven point.

 

If it were 4 people who had the same tastes and wanted to see the same things, then it would be 26.7 hours as the break even point.

 

I guess the potential opportunity to experience The White Nights (midnight sun) of St. Pete's and the 3-day stay still has me leaning toward a Visa. Actually I am starting to think about the 3-year tourist visa as it is just $20 more and it would be a great excuse to visit another part of Russia in a year or two. After all I wouldn't need any additional Visa. (Now that logic could get expensive.)

 

Thanks again!

 

You're welcome. In the past we used Ost-West to get our invitation letter online in about 15minutes for $15 .

http://www.ostwest.com/en/visa/online/

 

We used CIBT visa to answer questions about application for visa and to carry the application with our passports to the embassy. We spoke with them the other day about our upcoming 3 year tourist visa and they said that we must have had a previous visa (we have) to qualify for the 3 year. Have you considered a post cruise stay in St. Pete ? You could use a dual entry tourist visa for both stays.

[robert32asp]

I thought that I would close the loop on this.

 

I loved St. Petersburg. However, my wife and the two other traveling companions didn't want to do the Visa thing. What I found was that if you are going to get a Visa, get the 3-year one as it is only a little more expensive and takes just a little longer review time, but they don't expect you to know who you will be staying with in 2 or 3 years, so they are a little bit easier on the introduction stuff, you still need documenation.

 

I also want to report that be booked a 3-day, completely custom tour with TJ Travel and loved it! They took care of the Visa stuff and arranged for us to feel like we could adjust the tour to meet our four individual and changing needs. We wanted more time at the Hermitage than most standard tours plus an early opening. We wanted to see some of the Siege of Lenningrad historic sights, plus all the standard tourist stuff. We even had them arrange for us to have a driver that dropped us off and then picked us up at the Marinski ballet, with no one monitoring us while we were at the ballet or dinner. All in all, St Pete's is a wonderful City to visit.

[tvmovielover]

Robert32asp: I liked what you did for the Hermitage as we want more time there. What were the Leningrad Siege sites you saw? What about the ballet: was it at night and you got dinner beforehand? Sounds like a good possible tour for us.

[robert32asp]

As to the Hermitage, I highly recommend a private tour like TJ Travel. One of the "issues" in an extended Hermitage tour, is eating. If you leave the building, you need new tickets. They have a small caffeteria/internet cafe, but it is at best for a snack and not a real meal. I took some breakfast bars with me that helped augment the cafe.

 

Another Hermitage issue is that they also have "exhibits" in other nearby buildings and if you want to see any of those other buildings you need to work with your guide ahead of time so as to make arrangements.

 

As to Seige of Lenningrad, it really is an important part of the history of modern Lenningrad and its impact is everywhere you go. Almost all the major buildings suffered significant bomb/artillery damage and have been rebuilt. Most monuments and museums had to be protected during the seige as were many of the churches.

 

As to the sites/memorials:

 

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/monuments/heroic-defenders/

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298507-d548108-Reviews-Blockade_of_Leningrad_Museum-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

 

I had also been reading a book on the subject that is long, but I highly recommend:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Leningrad-Epic-Siege-World-1941-1944/dp/080277881X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376768883&sr=8-1&keywords=Seige+of+Lenningrad

 

This is one we didn't get to as it is pretty far to the east of the city.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/breakthrough-of-the-siege-of-leningrad-museum-reserve/

 

There is also a major cemetary that we did not visit, which is suppose to be a very moving tribute.

 

All in all learning about the seige helped put a lot of what we say in much better perspective, especially the devotion of the people to rebuilding their culture.

 

As to the opera, yes we booked on at night and it was a late full night, but wonderful. The restaurant that they dropped us off at was filled by young professionals and not too expensive. It was an easy walk to the Theater about a block away. Highly recommend this, even if it was a bit expensive. Our private tour added about $100 for a private transfer (driver to pick us up and transfer us back to the ship after the opera).