THE NEED FOR VISAS TO VISIT RUSSIA MAY BE ENDING SOON...
THERE ARE TALKS ABOUT DOING AWAY WITH THE OLD COLD WAR RESTRICTIONS ON TOURIST TRAVEL BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE US...
THESE SHOULD BE FAST TRACKED BY THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION...
PRESENTLY THE NEED FOR A FEE IN EXCESS OF $100 AND A PRE-TRAVEL APPLICATION TO BE MAILED TO THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY PRIOR TO TRAVEL...ALONG WITH THE SO CALLED "INVITATION" FROM AN ORGANIZATION TO WIT: YOUR HOTEL!!.... IS JUST NEEDLESS PAPER WORK...AND DISCOURAGES TRAVEL AND TOURISM...WHICH BOTH COUNTRIES COULD BENEFIT FROM...IF NOT FOR THE HARD CASH...THEN FOR THE CULTURAL ENLIGHTENMENT...
MOST AMERICANS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT RUSSIA AND RUSSIANS ARE REALLY LIKE...AND THE SAME WITH RUSSIANS ...ALTHOUGH AMERICAN MOVIES AND MUSIC MAKE THE RUSSIAN'S LESS BLIND TO AMERICAN CULTURE AND POLITICS...
VISA FREE TRAVEL FOR AMERICANS INTO RUSSIA WOULD BE A HUGE PLUS FOR AMERICANS WHO HAVE BEEN KEPT IN THE DARK ABOUT RUSSIA FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS...
IN TRUTH RUSSIANS ARE "MORE LIKE" AMERICANS...THAN AMERICANS ARE LIKE BRITS, THE FRENCH OR THE GERMANS...
RUSSIANS AND AMERICA'S SHARE THAT "WILDERNESS/FRONTIER MENTALITY" THAT COMES FROM LIVING IN A VERY LARGE CONTINENTAL COUNTRY...NOT FOUND IN EUROPE'S "POSTAGE STAMP" SIZED COUNTRIES.
AND RUSSIANS AND AMERICANS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOOKED DOWN ON BY THE EUROLAND SOPHISTS OF "HIGH CULTURE" FOR BEING A LITTLE BIT "BACK WOODS".
TO CURE THIS SUPPOSED "CULTURAL DEFECT" AMERICANS DID THE "GRAND TOUR"...AND RUSSIANS FILLED SAINT PETERSBURG WITH OUTRAGEOUS ITALIANATE ARCHITECTURE...THAT IS HARD TO MAINTAIN IN A SEVERE NORTHERN CLIMATE.
NOT TO MENTION THAT RUSSIA FOUGHT WITH AMERICANS IN BOTH MAJOR WORLD WARS IN THE 20TH CENTURY.
OF COURSE ALL THIS WAS CLOSED OFF FROM AMERICANS DURING THE COLD WAR BULLSHIT ERA...
