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Mission Murmansk - The Kola Peninsula Sept 2018

Nick, it says.................
 
haha! when we were there last year I drove from Moscow to Sochi, as always in Russia, Landcruisers are generally required to travel about 100mph on the motorways and along with all the other expensive cars, they are expected to make their way into any space in the busy traffic. Its fun driving there!
Be aware that the speed limit is 90k on the A roads, but if you see a white rectangular sign with a town name on it, its 60 until the same sign has a diagonal line through it, even if you think your in the country. They have a lot of tech in the back of the old Ladas!
There are 2 different police there, cars with Red / Blue lights are the road police, you will see they have checkpoints on all the highways and you can expect to have a chat with them at some point. Usually when they see your UK driving license they tell you to go, but sometimes it 1500 rubles lighter!
I don't know if I'd recommend having a dash cam, for sure you are likely to see a few interesting sights driving but it may be worthwhile for added protection if you have reason to use your insurance.

In all the times I've been there I've never had any problems, infact the Russian people have been fantastic

Cheers
 
Good intel. Thanks John :thumbup:
 
Actually if you can find anywhere a "Lonely Planet" phrase book it has lots of basic English / Russian and a small dictionary with the words in both languages. I found it the best when I started to learn my little Russian.
Oh,,,Pivo is beer :)
 
Our biggest problem will be finding anyone to talk to. Have you looked at the map where we're going? It's blank!
 
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If you do get pulled by the rozzers, don't pay the first amount they ask for, be patient and negotiate, plead the stupid tourist, do everything you can think of to get the price down or avoid paying at all. Remember they only earn a few hundred dollars a month so giving them $50 (or euros, or equivalent in rubbles) causes massive problems, it's more lucrative for them shafting tourists than working which creates a lot of problems for those that follow. If the expected rate becomes 50 euros it gets very expensive for those going serious distances that follow you and encourages more corruption.
A lot of the time I got away with paying nothing, never more than 20 euros, frequently only 10. I generally only had to pay when I knew I had actually done something wrong, usually speeding!!
They are usually parked at the side of the road and will flag you down by stepping into the road with a baton, driving past really pisses them off!! A biker on a trip I was support driver for nearly got jailed for doing that in Ukraine! Took some serious negotiation by our translator to get out of that!
 
Enjoy the trip. Although quite different I still talk about my Russian bike trip 8 years on. Border crossing will be interesting, especially the customs forms....
 
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Brekky at Tesco , 4 waiting to go80|’s
 
Fantastic looking trip guys.. enjoy and all the best!
 
The Ruski police are definitely not out to make your wallet lighter, unless you do break the rules of the road. When I drove from Gorny-Altsk to Murmansk, I was stopped over 25 times in 180 days. Not once was I asked for lunch money, they just wanted to know what a Brit was doing wandering around the trails of Siberia with a missing number plate. Curious and most friendly they are. Keep your headlights on all the time and don't speed. Vodka & Bilini's are a must. Drive safe.
 
All gone without a single hitch today. Incredible really. No issues with passports, fuel, directions, campsites and so on. A good but unremarkable day other than the almost constant attention that a convoy of 80s seems to bring all day long
We’ve been filmed, grilled, investigated, poked, prodded and even had to stop eating to show people around
Ferry cross the Baltic tomorrow
 
All gone without a single hitch today. Incredible really. No issues with passports, fuel, directions, campsites and so on. A good but unremarkable day other than the almost constant attention that a convoy of 80s seems to bring all day long
We’ve been filmed, grilled, investigated, poked, prodded and even had to stop eating to show people around
Ferry cross the Baltic tomorrow

Careful, it’s baltic out there!!:icon-biggrin:
 
Sounds like you guys are going to have a great time. Best wishes for a safe and fun journey.
 
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