| Author | Post |
|---|
ronin1
Administrator
| Joined: | Saturday January 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | S.F. Bay Area, California USA |
| Posts: | 622 |
| Visits: | 7 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thursday November 9th, 2006 05:05 am |
|
Mafia and McDonald’s…
On one of my many trips to Russia I was in the company of a particularly loud and out spoken AM. Previously, I met him at the agency in Tver and we became casual friends. Decent guy with a Russia background… I guess that is what made him on the rather loud side. My fiancé and I shared a car with him and his fiancé. We all were heading for Moscow at the end of a long visit. The car trip to Moscow often includes a stop a MacDonald’s. There, we treated our fiancés to one of the delights of American culture… the Big Mac and Fries.
As we were chowing down, my friend was as gregarious as always. In the cramped confines of the establishment, we might as well have had signs plastered on our heads as to who and what we were doing in Russia. During our meal, 3 dark cloaked figures boldly stepped in and planted themselves at the table behind my friend. These were no ordinary Russians. They where all dressed in black… crew cuts and square heads. Their shoulders were as wide as they were tall. These are RM that you don’t want to fool with. Correction, these are RM that you want to stay far away from. Well, they happened to park right next to us… close-up and personal.
My friend being oblivious to this situation continues to broadcast who we are. Under my breath I suggest to him to take it down a notch or two. Well, we wouldn’t have it and just continued on as if I said nothing.
Fortunately, the muscle at the next table decides to go take a smoke break. As soon as they were outside, I directed my friend’s attention to the hit squad that was sitting behind him. His face turned a pasty white and he lost his voice. When the trio in black returned to their table, my friend’s head hung low and he could do little more than mutter unintelligible words.
Moral of the story is to keep a low profile as possible. Try to blend in as much as possible. Russia can be a very unforgiving place. Don’t tempt fate by painting a red bull’s eye on yourself. As in every country, some are opportunist, some don’t like foreigners, some don’t like foreigners taking their women away, and some will punch your lights out for just looking at them. Moreover, cover your 6 at all times.
Ronin
More reading: Russian Mafia (by John Kunkle of Russian-Luv, added 01/08).
Last edited on Friday September 26th, 2008 08:49 pm by ronin1
|
dwfunk
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday March 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | Houston, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 109 |
| Visits: | 3 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thursday November 9th, 2006 08:18 pm |
|
Good advice. Not everyone can depend on their own "Protection."
Example is this "Gangster from Chicago" or is he a "Special Policeman?" At least that's what 4 militsiya at the Площадь Революции Metro station were wondering. One officer attempted to stop this guy, the other 3 officers restrained the first officer, cautioning him that confronting either the "American Gangster" or the "Special Policeman" was not "healthy."
Hi res: Secret Agent Man
Ploshchad Revolyutsii = Revolution Square
Your first encouter with these thugs will be at the airport.
----
David & Natalia
Republic of Texas/Moscow, Russia
УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА
16th World Spacemodeling Championships Attachment: SecretAgentMan-1.jpg (Downloaded 41 times) Last edited on Saturday November 11th, 2006 07:22 pm by ronin1
|
ronin1
Administrator
| Joined: | Saturday January 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | S.F. Bay Area, California USA |
| Posts: | 622 |
| Visits: | 7 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Saturday November 11th, 2006 07:27 pm |
|
dwfunk,
I recognize you in that garb. Still, I think you are right... no one is going to be stopping you.
Ronin
P.S. I edited some of the extra blank lines in your above post. It was getting pretty long with that attached pic.
Last edited on Monday November 13th, 2006 05:37 am by ronin1
|
dwfunk
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday March 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | Houston, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 109 |
| Visits: | 3 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Sunday November 12th, 2006 09:08 pm |
|
See these links for the rest of the story: 
Background to "The Rest Of The Story"
The Rest Of The Story
------
David & Natalia
Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia
УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА
16th World Spacemodeling Championships
|
Dagon
Member
| Joined: | Monday November 13th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana, USA |
| Posts: | 9 |
| Visits: | | | Currently: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday November 14th, 2006 12:26 am |
|
Is it really that bad? Will I spend that much energy dodging police and mafia thugs who just can't let an american tourist go their own way?
Thats a serious concern for me. In the States I ensure my own protection by keeping substantial firepower nearby. In another country I don't have that luxury...
Of course thats moot because here I'd never feel threatened enough by police to use a weapon. If you cant trust the police who the hell can you trust?
|
dwfunk
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday March 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | Houston, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 109 |
| Visits: | 3 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday November 14th, 2006 03:49 am |
|
Dagon wrote: Is it really that bad? Will I spend that much energy dodging police and mafia thugs who just can't let an american tourist go their own way?
Thats a serious concern for me. In the States I ensure my own protection by keeping substantial firepower nearby. In another country I don't have that luxury...
Of course thats moot because here I'd never feel threatened enough by police to use a weapon. If you cant trust the police who the hell can you trust? Short answer - No, it's not really that bad.
Long answer - Yes, It can be that bad, and worse.
But it doesn't have to be! First of all, it's Russia.
Be knowledgeable and forewarned. Let me try to fill some of this in and meanwhile I hope some of the others will chime in. It's not rocket science, but there are things you need to be aware of, and there are actions to avoid. There are a lot of 'dire' sounding conditions and consequences to travel in the FSU, and folks have had problems, but I managed to skate through. Others have and you can too.
A lot of my success had to do with Natalia's knowledge and abilities. (for example: she prearranged the taxi for the airport, so I didn't have to actually deal with the thugs at the airport) Some girls will be intimidated by Moscow or Saint Petersburg so those ladies won't be much help in this kind of situation. If you're meeting a girl in one of the big cities and she's from a smaller city or a village, you will be the host and have to be the one to know what to do.
The FSU and now the Russian Federation and the associated Republics runs on papers, certificates, references, stamps, registrations, more paper work and endless mind boggling bureaucracy.
First thing to remember is that the "police" in the FSU wasn't there to protect the people, they were there to protect the system. The dominate public law enforcement agency, what we would call the "police" are called: мили́ция or Militsiya. This agency is ran like a military organization and still has many internal problems, the biggest being low wages.
Second thing to remember and most Americans always blow this one, remember, when you visit another country, you ain't in America any more! They do things different in other places, and too bad if it isn't the way we do something back home. In the Russian Federation, they are sticklers for following the rules, exactly. Every 'T' gets crossed, every 'i' gets dotted, and they take their sweet time about doing it. No amount of blustering, threatening, or intimidation will work. Those kinds of actions will actually have a reverse effect. (But, if you're knowledgeable, $$$$ always, and I say, always, fixes things, but trust me, you won't be knowledgeable enough to pull this one off, so don't try it as a short cut)
So, by being aware that "we're not in Kansas anymore," and anticipating things will be different, you won't get surprised too badly when things are and do go different. Adopt the attitude, of "oh, that's different, interesting!" and your blood pressure won't go into the stroke-a-sphere.
Be low key! Racism is rampant. Nationalism is on the upsurge. You will always look like a foreigner, just don't act like one and you will avoid attention.
Have all your papers in order. Keep your passport and visa with you at all times and in a safe place. Inside front pockets, not in your hip pocket.
Follow the registration rules. Even if somebody tells you that you don't have to register or that they didn't and they had no problems. You don't want to be the example. You may never have a problem, that's fine, you are working within the system.
Natalia and I were walking through Petrovsky Park after visiting a military academy, we were stopped by the Militsiya and they demanded our papers. They looked at my passport, asked me where I was staying, I told them the Izmailovo Beta, I had a registration stamp, and my guest pass for the Izmailovo Beta was in my passport. My passport was handed back right away, but they questioned Natalia for about 10 mins. They asked her where she lived, how long, where before that, how long, where before that, how come she came to Moscow, and then, finally let us go. She told me later, that if they had not liked our answers, they could have taken us to a local station and we would have sat there until they verified what we told them. She said quick, honest answers always work. When you hesitate, they think you are hiding something.
On my first trip I was extremly nervous. Second trip, no sweet. Now it's just another long butt killing trip.
Things are constantly changing, be prepared for changes, don't get upset, and you will have a blast!
Keep reading and keep asking.
------
David & Natalia
Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia
УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА
16th World Spacemodeling Championships
|
wasson65
Member
| Joined: | Friday March 24th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 9 |
| Visits: | | | Currently: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday November 14th, 2006 04:25 am |
|
I was stopped in Moscow near Red Square. I was actually walking around with David's girlfriend...
(... no, it's not what you think, Dave and I are good friends, I was delivering some gifts from Dave to Natalia as I had a layover in Moscow before my flight to meet *my* girlfriend)
..anyway... We were walking around, and this policeman approaches and says something to Natalia. She tells me he wants to see my passport.
I produced my passport (from the front pants pocket, of course..) and handed it to him. He looked at my visa, looked at my departure card, and asked Natalia why I didn't have my visa registered yet. She told him that I'd just gotten to Moscow a few hours ago, and was going to get on a plane again today. I just stood there looking innocent and smiling, as we USians are prone to do...
He handed my passport back to me, and bid us good day and that was that. Natalia told me he had approached us because we were speaking English, and it stuck out a little bit.
So it's probably best to not yell a lot, insead speak softly, and don't run your mouth a lot.
But having said all that, I didn't get the sense that things were unsafe, or that I needed something to protect myself from the locals. Of course, it is Russia, and things have happened. If you want ultimate security and guarantees, it's not the place to go.
The other thing I did was have a contact in Moscow pick me up from the airport and drive me to my connecting flights. so I wasn't at the mercy of the local taxi drivers.
Like Dave said, just stay loose, expect some hiccups along the way, don't get too paranoid, walk with some confidence, and enjoy the country!
I've stayed in two other Russian cities, Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny, and I've never been stopped there, although our favorite taxi driver did get stopped twice for traffic violations while we were with him. But that's another story...
|
Dagon
Member
| Joined: | Monday November 13th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana, USA |
| Posts: | 9 |
| Visits: | | | Currently: | |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday November 14th, 2006 06:22 am |
|
I really appreciate those answers guys.
I have another question..the Ukraine is part of the EU correct? Is the status quo diffirent there than in Russia?
That question is broad I know..feel free to simply link me to other threads I may not have gotten to yet.
Last edited on Tuesday November 14th, 2006 06:23 am by Dagon
|
ronin1
Administrator
| Joined: | Saturday January 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | S.F. Bay Area, California USA |
| Posts: | 622 |
| Visits: | 7 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday November 14th, 2006 08:15 am |
|
Dagon,
The Ukraine is not an EU member and will not be an EU member for many years to come. Each EU candidate must navigate a complex and difficult path to gain membership. Often, the farther removed the country is from mainstream Europe, the longer the timeline is to accession. This is the case with the Ukraine. Currently, the Ukraine is not even a candidate, they are bidding to become a candidate.
Getting back on track... I to (like Wasson) had a run in with the police at Red Square. I had all my papers in order so they couldn't shake me down. My then fiance (first Russian fiance) and intepreter didn't have their passports with them. After a few minutes of arguing the girls got past the guard. As we were walking away, the girls were infuriated that the police were harassing them. I thought it was a bit humorous that in this situation it was the Russian natives that got the grief.
Ronin
P.S. The police about Red Square and the entrances are notorious for checking the papers of anyone that doesn't look Russian.
Last edited on Tuesday November 14th, 2006 08:37 am by ronin1
|
dwfunk
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday March 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | Houston, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 109 |
| Visits: | 3 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday November 14th, 2006 04:35 pm |
|
Red Square Link to full size pic
------
David & Natalia
Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia
УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА
16th World Spacemodeling Championships
Attachment: HPIM0279-400.jpg (Downloaded 29 times)
|
Current time is 01:13 pm | |
|
|
|