The Crimean authorities would hardly try to take over the income from passenger transportation to the border with Ukraine if the traffic in this direction was not significant. According to the Russian FSB border department for Crimea and Sevastopol, in 2021, more than 2.5 million people crossed the border on the Perekop Isthmus, of which 250 thousand were registered on the territory of the peninsula. A considerable part of them are going specifically for a passport - a Ukrainian biometric foreign passport, which allows them to enter Europe without a visa, even for a limited period. And although the authorities periodically urge Crimeans to refrain from traveling to Ukraine due to unpredictable risks, the flow of those seeking visa-free travel does not dry up.
A reader of “Notes” shared her experience of obtaining a passport and her first visa-free trip abroad.
They may ask for additional documents
I needed to go to Europe in the middle of summer. Not a tourist trip - the trip is timed to coincide with an important family event. I only had a month to obtain a visa. The passport is an ordinary Russian foreign passport “with a Krasnodar code”, received at the local Federal Migration Service. I called the visa center of the host country - they refused. Contact, they say, the consulate in Ukraine. I asked what to do for those Crimeans who never had Ukrainian citizenship (those who were born here but lived in Russia) - the answer is the same. Local intermediaries promised “an iron multi-Schengen card for a Crimean passport,” but the price tag...from 900 euros for an annual visa. There is only one hope left, for Ukrainian visa-free travel. Moreover, I have a blue book with a trident, indicating that Ukraine still considers me its citizen.
Let me clarify right away: I know about the arrests of Crimeans in Ukraine for “treason” and take it seriously. If I had even the slightest reason to fear something like that, I wouldn’t go there. But I am an apolitical person: I was not, was not a member, did not participate. That's why I decided. It was still scary though.
The easiest way to get a Ukrainian passport for a Crimean citizen is to go to Kherson to get it. Before Sergei Aksenov’s recent “raid” on illegal carriers, a special “visa-free taxi” service operated in Crimea. For only 2.5-3 thousand Russian rubles, the client is picked up from a designated place (even from home), transported across the border and delivered by 8 am to the branch of the State Enterprise “Document”, where documents are submitted. After all the paper formalities, they take you home the same way.
Afternoon in one of the OVIR offices in Kyiv. No queue
The queues characteristic of the first months after the announcement of visa-free travel, when people waited in the corridors for 7 hours, have long since disappeared in Ukraine. In the morning there are quite a lot of people crowding around the door, but by lunchtime the halls are empty. However, many impressionable Crimeans are shocked by the number of people. Those who are especially emotional are immediately caught by “intermediaries” - people who are ready to skip the line for a client for a small price. But, according to eyewitnesses, this service is not needed - with a regular appointment, without corruption, you have to wait a maximum of 2-3 hours.
In addition to the standard set (Ukrainian general passport and tax payer identification code), a Crimean citizen may be asked to provide additional originals of other documents: Ukrainian driver’s license, birth certificate, marriage certificate, diploma, certificate.
Therefore, just in case, you will have to take with you everything acquired during 23 Ukrainian years in Crimea.
A biometric passport costs 1,082 hryvnia (2,800 rubles) with the usual one-month processing time. And 1434 hryvnia (3700 rubles) for urgent registration within 10 days. After the deadline has passed, you will have to go to Kherson again to pick up the completed document.
How to get a biometric passport of Ukraine for Crimeans
If you live in Crimea, you can get a Ukrainian passport, but on the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, you need to go to the electronic queue, then to submit documents, and again to receive the finished document. All these trips take a lot of time and nerves, not to mention the costs of transportation. To simplify the task and get a biometric passport for Crimeans as quickly as possible, there is help from. We work very simply and transparently:
- Call the numbers on the website above.
- Ask questions and sign up for a consultation
- Check the list of required papers and their relevance.
- Get help preparing a package of documents.
- Get a Ukrainian biometric passport.
Call us and get advice on this issue, as well as assistance from competent specialists.
We will help residents of any city in Crimea obtain a Ukrainian biometric passport: Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yalta, Feodosia, Alushta, Armyansk and other settlements.
Cordon one: special attention to newcomers
According to the Ukrainian side, about 140 thousand Crimeans have already received a biometric passport. However, there were no such people in my circle. The absence of “witnesses of visa-free travel” among close relatives and friends was alarming. But my Kyiv friends literally described for me step by step all the stages of the Crimea-Ukraine journey, and helped me buy a train ticket from Novoalekseevka. We decided that it would be easier to obtain a passport in the capital of Ukraine, and at the same time I would visit my loved ones.
I also got to the train by private taxi. A young man in a well-maintained foreign car picked me up at the appointed time at the station and took me straight to the train - for only 1,000 rubles.
I was afraid of the border: in five years I had not left Perekop even once. But everything went smoothly. On the Russian side, everyone was asked to get out of the car, take out their luggage and documents and present them for inspection. They didn’t look inside the bags, they just looked at the outside, but they checked the car thoroughly, looking into all the secret corners.
We drove through the Chongar checkpoint. Having learned that I had never traveled to Ukraine, the driver dropped me off at a kilometer-long crossing right in front of the Ukrainian checkpoint, promising to pick me up “on the other side” after checking my documents.
If for some reason I had been detained, the car would have been stuck at the post, and with it 3 more passengers of the Kyiv train. And so technically I am not a passenger.
I calmly stomped past the armed soldier with my bag, but, surprisingly, no one asked me a single question about why I was thrown out of the car in a neutral zone.
But the Ukrainian security forces were very interested in whether I had left Crimea for the Russian mainland - Moscow or Krasnodar, why I had not visited Ukraine for so long, and whether I had any acquaintances who were Russian military personnel. No one was interested in my luggage either.
All formalities at the border took no more than 4 hours. We are very lucky, because the media periodically report long queues on both sides of the border.
Ukrainian passports in Crimea: “a pathetic bunch of renegades” and shocking figures
There are many anecdotes - and not even anecdotes at all - that when management suddenly suddenly begins to demonstrate ostentatious optimism, then it’s a disaster.
“Crimeans and Sevastopol residents are patriots of their Motherland, and there will actually be only a few of those who want to go (abroad – Author) with a Ukrainian passport. The overwhelming majority of Crimeans and Sevastopol residents will use Russian documents to go on vacation if they want to go somewhere in Europe or other countries,” State Duma deputy from Sevastopol Dmitry Belik told BFM.ru on May 15, 2021.
The optimism radiated by a Class A VIP is understandable. But, as they say, not even a year has passed, and instead of optimism, Crimean officials began to express tangible concern.
“State Duma Deputy Andrei Kozenko... reported numerous cases of trips by residents of the peninsula to Ukraine to obtain biometric passports,” RIA Novosti reported on April 24, 2021.
The representative of Crimea expressed his ardent indignation: “I think there is no point for some of our Crimeans to go to Ukraine and receive biometric passports there. This is absolutely unacceptable."
“Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov called on Crimeans to stop cheating and go to Ukraine for biometric passports,” and this is from the news of the official news agency “Kryminform” dated April 25, 2021. The following is his verbatim, very emotional quote:
“We had to decide - in 2014 we decided, why go there to get these passports? Who needs this? Decide who you are in life: either smart or beautiful. But run back and forth, here get all the advantages from Russia, and then have something else there, just in case. This Ukrainian trick must be stopped... We do not recommend that residents of the republic visit Ukraine unless necessary. There is a gang in power there... For any pretext or reason, you can be detained... Taking into account the situation... we simply do not recommend visiting Ukraine.”
It would seem that you should be so nervous? After all, optimistic journalists from Moscow tell us (remember the Soviet joke that “an optimist is a properly instructed pessimist”) that Ukrainian passports were retained in Crimea only by a pitiful bunch of renegades, to whom it is simply ridiculous to pay attention.
True, people on the ground are not so optimistic, knowing the situation better.
“Our youth, to some extent, perceive Ukraine not from a political point of view, they perceive it primarily from the point of view of some household goods,” said Sevastopol writer Platon Besedin in an interview with journalist Maxim Kalashnikov (report dated August 14, 2021) . - The simplest example. What young people love now is to go and see Europe. For example, my hairdresser says to me: “I want to go to Spain,” my friend says: “And I want to go to Portugal, France.” Of course, they travel without a visa. In my opinion, it’s not very ethical when you already become part of Russia, but still secretly travel around without a Ukrainian visa. I don’t allow this, I wouldn’t do that. This is on the one hand, and, on the other hand, people have some kind of everyday needs.”
Are there statistics on the number of Ukrainian passports among residents of the peninsula?
The brave authorities, represented by Kozenko, report that there are statistics... but only on the Ukrainian side. They themselves do not control the situation. They just radiate optimism.
Let's start with the fact that residents of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol have a huge number of Ukrainian passports in their hands, even without issuing new ones. The point is the special accelerated procedure in which admission to Russian citizenship was carried out in 2014.
Initially, the admission of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation was regulated by Federal Constitutional Law No. 6-FKZ of March 21, 2014 “On the admission of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the formation of new entities within the Russian Federation - the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.” In Article 4 “Recognition of citizenship of the Russian Federation among citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Crimea or in the territory of the federal city of Sevastopol”, paragraph 1 reads:
“From the day of the admission of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the formation of new subjects within the Russian Federation, citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons permanently residing on that day in the territory of the Republic of Crimea or in the territory of the federal city of Sevastopol are recognized as citizens of the Russian Federation, with the exception of persons who, within one month after this day, declare their desire to retain another citizenship that they and (or) their minor children have, or to remain stateless.”
But what about the certified renunciation of citizenship of another country for more than two million people, in a matter of months and during the blockade of the peninsula?
Then, Federal Constitutional Law No. 19-FKZ of December 29, 2014 added paragraph 4 to this article:
“A person recognized in accordance with Part 1 of this article as a citizen of the Russian Federation and who has received an identification document of a citizen of the Russian Federation is recognized on the territory of the Russian Federation as a citizen who does not have citizenship of a foreign state, if he submits an application about his unwillingness to be a citizen of a foreign state.” .
In fact, people submitted an application that they were renouncing Ukrainian citizenship, but no one required them to hand over their Ukrainian passports.
In March 2021, interesting accents appeared in a number of Russian media.
Among these are the publication on March 29, 2021 in the Trud newspaper of Sergei Ilchenko’s article “Crimeans still travel” and on March 31, 2019 in the online edition “Free Press” of Ilya Sergeev’s article “Crimea: “For us, visa-free travel is like a Schmeiser for the partisans." I recommend following the links and making sure that the articles - although the authors seem to be different - exactly repeat each other in terms of argumentation, links to specific episodes and the order in which they are located in the text, etc. etc. Even the vocabulary is the same. This does not happen in articles written independently by two different people. One could assume that the author of the Free Press simply re-edited someone else’s material (this, alas, happens in the journalistic community), if not for one “but”: the material in the Free Press is more detailed and expanded, that is, it represents the original, and the article in Trud is its abbreviation (after all, there is always not enough space in the newspaper and any article is abbreviated). However, since the authors are different, and the abridged material was published first, it can be assumed that initially the material was a ready-made “blank” sent out to editors. As a journalist, I have sometimes encountered this; journalists are often too lazy to rewrite such articles and even publish them with the same headings and subheadings.
So, here is what is being reported about old Ukrainian passports among residents of the peninsula.
Article in the Free Press:
“In the spring of 2014, when almost the entire population of Crimea and Sevastopol was recognized as citizens of the Russian Federation, the federal government made an extraordinary decision - to legalize their former Ukrainian passports. That's how they live here. Last year alone (2018 – Author) when crossing the border with Ukraine, about 300 thousand people presented a Ukrainian passport with Crimean registration.”
There are many examples of such existence. For example, in May 2021, the mayor of Alushta told the online publication “Notes” that the prosecutor’s office demands the dismissal of 20 employees from the city administration who visited Ukraine using Ukrainian passports. And these are officials! And only those that were “burnt” while crossing the border with Ukraine!
How many new international passports have been issued over the years?
Unofficially, the figures are about 200 thousand new, biometric Ukrainian passports issued to Crimeans. It is not surprising, since Ukraine has simplified the procedure for obtaining its international passports by introducing such a service directly at the Chaplinka checkpoint.
Perhaps this is all a lie. But, firstly, State Duma deputy Kozenko himself refers us specifically to Ukrainian statistics. Secondly, in the Russian patriotic press there is direct confirmation of the authenticity of these figures.
Here is from the above-mentioned article in Trud for March 29, 2019:
“The subversive organization “CrimeaSOS” with offices in Kyiv and Kherson produced a sensation: since 2015, about 140 thousand Crimeans have issued passports of Ukrainian citizens to travel abroad... The most interesting thing: on the peninsula these figures do not at all refute. The question is who and how uses plastic ID cards and biometric foreign passports issued outside Perekop with a Ukrainian “visa-free” visa. Undoubtedly, as long as Crimea is under sanctions, this document is convenient.”
The logic is excellent - they lie and undermine, but we do not refute these figures!
About 200 thousand new Ukrainian passports alone in six years for the 2.4 million population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol - is this a lot or a little? Despite the fact that the Russian press directly reports about 300 thousand old Ukrainian passports used by residents of the peninsula to travel abroad. In total this is already half a million...
And we probably need to do something about this problem. Or is it not necessary?..
Vladislav Maltsev
Kyiv: neglect, apoliticality and high cost
Little has changed at Novoalekseevka station over the past five years. Except that now it is a dead-end station, and the brisk trade in front of trains traveling from the northern regions of Russia has died.
Novoalekseevka station
The prices in local stores are amazing. The first silent question: “What is this, in hryvnia?” You start to count and understand: food and drinks cost a little cheaper than in Crimea, or the same.
The difference in prices that once allowed Russians to feel like a king in Ukraine is no longer there. But MasterCard from a Russian bank works great here.
In the nearest convenience store, I purchased a Vodafon sim card (disguised as a foreign brand of a subsidiary of MTS) and provided myself with unlimited 4G Internet and calls for a month for only 150 hryvnia (390 rubles). By the way, my service package included 30 minutes of free calls abroad, including to Crimean numbers. The coverage after our communication outages was very pleasing, 4G in populated areas almost everywhere.
Shelves with canned food in a Novoalekseevka store. Prices in hryvnia, exchange rate: 1 hryvnia - approximately 2.5 rubles
Trains have also changed over the years. The new coupes are equipped with touch panels to control light, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as a display showing whether the toilets are occupied. A ticket to Kyiv cost about 750 hryvnia (2000 rubles).
Kyiv greeted us with loud taxi drivers, dirty stalls, spontaneous markets and tattered advertisements on poles. And also chaotic parking. Cars were parked everywhere—on sidewalks, lawns, and playgrounds. It seemed as if a giant car transporter was walking across the sky and overturned, scattering its cargo along the streets of Kyiv.
Spontaneous market in the Kontraktovaya area
After a prettier Moscow, the Ukrainian capital seems unkempt, and many recently renovated streets look as if road workers haven’t touched them for decades. But the people of Kiev themselves are very pleased with the work of Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, they say, “a lot has been done.”
Recently restored quarters of Vozdvizhenka, next to Andreevsky Spusk. Improvement has already begun
Public transport is shocking. Rotten bus floors, seats worn down to the metal backing, stripped handrails. One can only guess how worn out the suspension, engine and brakes are. The fare has also increased significantly: within the city 10 hryvnia (26 rubles), outside the city - up to 20. Express from the railway station to the Boryspil airport - 100 hryvnia (260 rubles). Budget metro – 8 hryvnia (20 rubles).
The city is still green and fresh, but development is spreading at a staggering pace. All the free spaces in the districts have turned into high-rise buildings, and on the outskirts the landscape consists entirely of cranes.
Apartments in residential complexes are selling like hot cakes. People from depressed areas tend to move to the capital, and from there to work in Europe. I noticed that there are fewer beautiful, stylishly dressed young people in Kyiv. “All the fashionistas have left,” the friends laugh.
Over the past five years, there has been a lot more Ukrainian speech and embroidered shirts on the streets of Kyiv. Many speak the language at ease and with obvious pleasure. I expected an aggressive attitude towards the Russian Crimea, but the most I personally encountered was laughter in the spirit of: “What we fought for is what we got.”
In general, the residents of Kyiv, unlike 2014, have cooled towards politics. I heard about Zelensky in conversations with people less often there than in Russia. They complain about a difficult life (surviving in Ukraine with their salaries and utility prices is very difficult), but they always add optimistically: “Everything will be fine.”
Collided with the reformed Ukrainian police. Her work raises questions among the locals, but one day, before my eyes, a patrol “tied up” a drunk on a moped, and we were asked to be witnesses. The behavior of the “new” police officers did not cause any tension in me: polite, respectful, smiling, simple - just an example of willingness to help.
Flea market on the streets of Kyiv
I submitted my passport documents in Kyiv without queues. It’s interesting that in the Kiev OVIR I met both Crimean and Donetsk residents. Many people use the services of intermediaries: there are people who can reduce the passport production time to 3 working days for 4,800 hryvnia (12.5 thousand rubles). This is beneficial: you don’t need to go through checkpoints a second time, wait a couple of nights in a hostel, pick up your passport - you can even go to Switzerland (this country is not in the European Union, but Schengen, and therefore visa-free for Ukrainians, recognizes it).
Law company "Shield"
In modern society, almost every third person has been abroad, because holidays at resorts have become incredibly popular in the last ten years.
But what about the Crimeans who have taken Russian citizenship? Will they really not be able to visit European countries or America anymore? After all, with a Russian passport issued in Crimea, it is impossible to obtain a Schengen visa due to sanctions. In such conditions, having a Ukrainian passport is a necessity.
OUR decided to find out why, where, how and for how much it will be possible for Crimeans to get a new international passport of Ukrainian and Russian type. First, let's dispel prejudices... There is talk among people that a person with a Ukrainian passport who has a Crimean registration does not have the right to receive a Ukrainian passport. It's time to dispel these prejudices. Since the Ukrainian government still considers Crimea part of its territory, in their understanding, the inhabitants of the peninsula are citizens of Ukraine, and therefore have every right to receive documents from this country. The closest Ukrainian city to Crimea where there is a passport service is Kherson.
On the official website of state entrepreneurship “Document”, administrators have posted all the necessary information about the process of obtaining the necessary document. It turned out that the procedure was not long and would take literally half a day. The only thing you can’t get away with is your personal presence at the passport service.
What is necessary to obtain a Ukrainian biometric passport?
Package of documents: You will be required to attach a photocopy of your Ukrainian passport, identification code, application (you will need to write it on the spot), and an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. Next, the process should be quick and simple.
The collected documents are submitted to the passport service, their services are paid on the spot, photographs are taken, and a state fee will need to be paid at the bank. Just in case, when submitting documents, Crimeans should take with them some additional papers confirming their belonging to Ukraine. For example, birth certificate, marriage certificate, university diplomas, and so on. The center's consultants on the website added that men do not need to bring a military ID or anything like that, so there is no need to worry.
How much is it?
The cost of a foreign passport depends on the urgency, if the need to go somewhere is high, then for 1210 hryvnia the document can be picked up in 10 days, and if there is nowhere to rush, then you will have to pay 957 hryvnia for registration, in which case the foreign passport can be picked up in at least 20 days. As soon as the international passport is prepared, an SMS is sent to the recipient’s number informing them that they can come and pick up their international passport.
Why do I need a Ukrainian passport?
If you need to get to European countries or America, you will not be granted a visa there with a Crimean Russian passport, since these countries are extending sanctions to the territory of Crimea, due to the fact that the peninsula has become part of the Russian Federation. In this case, you can’t even count on traveling around the world. A Ukrainian international passport will open up for you such a joy of life as a visa-free regime, which was recently given to all citizens of this country.
What will the process look like?
Crimean Anna Kalashnik told NASHA how she applied for a Ukrainian foreign passport; according to her, the process took less time than she thought. Everything went smoothly and without any hitches. “I didn’t even expect that submitting documents would take only half an hour. When I arrived there, all the reception windows were free, I collected everything I needed, paid the state fee at a nearby bank, took my fingerprints and the deal was in the bag. The service operates without a lunch break, so you won’t have to wait for hours until the doors open for you. The finished “foreigner” arrived in 20 days. I paid a little more than 900 hryvnia for it. But I warn you that you definitely need to have at least some Ukrainian money with you in order to get from the station to the nearest bank for currency exchange. You will have to fork out for travel expenses, since the nearest passport center is in Kherson. The round trip cost me 3,000 rubles (1,300 hryvnia), the same amount I had to pay when I went to get the finished document.
Where can I submit documents?
You can apply for a foreign passport in any city in Ukraine where there is a passport service, namely: Kiev, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lvov, Lutsk, Nikolaev, Odessa, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkov, Kherson, Khmelnitsky, Cherkasy , Chernivtsi, Krivoy Rog, Dnepr, Uzhgorod. What is needed to obtain a Russian passport? Package of documents: To obtain a Russian passport, Crimeans need to prepare fewer documents. They include a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and its copy, an application in two copies, two photographs, a receipt for payment of the state fee. Men of military age will need to provide a military ID or a certificate from the military registration and enlistment office.
How much is it?
To obtain a Russian international passport will cost 3,500 rubles; you will need to wait longer for the document to be ready than in Ukraine – 30 days. After this time, you will need to go to the FMS or passport office to get the completed document. Also, 200-300 rubles will be spent on photocopying and photography. Pitfalls Let us remind you again that people with a Crimean foreign passport are not eligible for a Schengen visa. A travel agency employee told NASHA that there are several important countries that definitely will not give a visa - these are Germany and Switzerland. But there are non-essential ones, for example Holland, Spain or Italy, where you can try to “break through”.
What does the process look like?
Simferopol resident Stanislav Drozd told NASHA that it is better to issue a foreign passport on the mainland, as it will bring more benefits. – I had to get a foreign passport for a long time, stand in queues, first at the Federal Migration Service, then at banks. I waited a month for the document, and then stood in line for it again... I made it myself in Simferopol, but some advise it is better to make it in Moscow or St. Petersburg. The passport will have a note that it was issued in St. Petersburg or Moscow, which will help in obtaining visas. But there they will do foreign work for about 3 months,” Drozd commented.
Where can I submit documents?
Currently, there are four centers for issuing foreign passports for citizens of the Russian Federation in Crimea, in Simferopol, Kerch, Yevpatoria, Dzhankoy and Yalta.
Source: ncrim.ru
Cordon two: Polish-speaking Ukraine
Before traveling to visit my relatives, I decided to test my passport in nearby Poland. To travel across the border, I chose the train, although low-cost airlines offer quite budget flights: if purchased the day before departure, it costs about 5,000 rubles.
A ticket for Intercity to Polish Przemysl (in Ukraine it is called Przemysl in the Polish manner) cost 2,000 rubles. Travel time - 9 hours - flies by unnoticed by a good book or TV series. The second-class carriage is packed to capacity, the amenities are minimal - a toilet, sockets for charging gadgets, hot dogs and instant coffee.
Ukrainian border guards and customs officers begin working immediately after Lviv, right on the move. Their Polish colleagues come in during a long stop of about 20 minutes. Ukrainians have the appearance of a standard post-Soviet security officer, Poles - both men and women - are similar to the actors of cheap American TV series about cops: just as fit and smiling.
The train from Kyiv arrived at Przemysl station
I was amazed that the entire carriage suddenly started speaking Polish. Old women and middle-aged men, young people and children - they were all Ukrainians, but they interacted with customs officers as if they were their own. I didn’t immediately understand what the tall blond man in gloves and a tight black T-shirt needed. It turned out that he wanted to check his neighbor's huge bag for cigarettes and alcohol.
Everything went smoothly with the passport – a pretty girl, having scanned the document, wished me “a happy first time in Poland.”
How to get to Crimea from Ukrainian cities
Cheap and cheerful. Where and how do Ukrainians vacation in the summer of 2021?
©
RIA Novosti, Sergey Polyakov / Go to photobank
Today, minibuses for 8 and 16 people run daily from almost all major Ukrainian cities.
But the most common routes are from Kyiv, Kherson and Odessa. Road traffic now mainly passes through the Kalanchak checkpoint. Ukraine closed the Chaplinka checkpoint on June 7 for repairs, and the railway passes through Chongar, and crossing the border takes longer. Carriers say that now passengers cross the border quickly - from 30 minutes to 2 hours. In general, finding a carrier will not be difficult. Moreover, in a private conversation we were told that if a passenger arrives by train in Kherson early in the morning, the carriers pick him up directly from the platform, and passengers do not wait for their flight, which was booked in advance for a later time.
Sea and wine: Ukrainian musician reminded the world about the “sore issue” of Crimea
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RIA Novosti, Sergey Malgavko / Go to photo bank
If you type into the search, for example, Kherson-Crimea, many offers will appear.
Transportation is carried out to all cities of Crimea. The prices are the same for everyone - 700 hryvnia per person. A child ticket is 100 hryvnia cheaper. All trip details can be found by phone. One of the carriers said: “We mostly go to the border. There, passengers cross the checkpoint independently - on foot. The distance between checkpoints is approximately 800 meters. If you want without walking, the price will rise to 2000 hryvnia per person. This is in a minibus for eight people. There is a VIP option for a passenger car. It's like a taxi - from home to home. Such pleasure costs from 6,000 hryvnia.” It should be noted that this summer taxis to Crimea have risen in price by a third. Moreover, curiously, the price for a taxi from Kyiv and from Kherson is almost the same, although the distance is 550 km longer. When asked why this was so, the truck carrier said: “You understand, we pay for travel at the border, this is an unofficial bribe. Hence the high prices and the rise in prices after the pandemic.” Holidays during a pandemic. In which countries can Ukrainians relax or earn money ©
Julia Volk/Pexels
Another carrier said that they operate flights without walking once a week from Kiev passing through Kherson.
This is because they only have one driver “with a foundation”. We have already written that drivers with LDPR registration work on Ukraine-Russia flights. For them, unhindered crossing of the Russian border, including without taking a PCR test. Entry into Crimea is regulated by the same rules. Before traveling, passengers receive a reminder in the messenger: “To enter Crimea from Ukraine, you need grounds for the Russian border (any of the following): Russian citizenship, presence of first-degree relatives (spouses, children, parents) and second-degree relatives (grandparents, grandchildren, siblings), adoptive parents, adopted children, guardians with a Russian passport, care for first- and second-line loved ones, treatment (base through State Services), residence permit in Russia. For each reason, documentary evidence is required - originals and copies thereof. We especially emphasize that the presence of real estate, inheritance, or a work contract are not grounds for entry into Crimea. The conditions for crossing the border towards Moscow and Belgorod are similar; it is not possible to go around. In addition to the grounds, a PCR test for coronavirus is required to enter Crimea. Citizens of Ukraine who do not have a Russian passport travel only with a ready-made test; Ukrainian citizens with a Russian passport take the test only in Crimea, twice. There is no observation or self-isolation in Crimea. Requirements for tests: expiration date - 72 hours in Russian or English, printed (cannot be shown on the phone), indicating the time of delivery and the time the result is ready, where the interval cannot be less than 5-6 hours. ATTENTION! One-time travel for Crimeans has been cancelled: with two passports (Ukrainian and Russian).” But despite such strict entry rules and the tedious journey, Crimea expects an increase in the flow of tourists from Ukraine this year. Carriers also confirm this. It's time to meet this flow and make life easier for ordinary citizens.
Przemysl: a sleeping province
The difference between the Ukrainian and Polish borderlands is striking. It seems that the Lviv region has degraded even more over the past decade. Poland, on the other hand, reeks of the German order: smooth roads, combed fields, well-groomed houses immersed in the greenery of trimmed gardens.
Landscapes of the Polish province
The first town from the border, Przemysl, seems gingerbread-like, like something out of a fairy tale. Cobbled streets, ancient facades, church spiers and an ancient castle on the mountain, surrounded by greenery of parks.
There is no ideal: many houses have not seen renovation for decades. But there is no feeling of devastation and decline either.
The city lives its own measured life. There are many children and old people on the streets. Local women look like Russians and Ukrainians - the same bright blouses and dresses from the market, simple haircuts. On the other hand, older men do not wear the “abibas” trousers typical of the Russian hinterland - everyone, as one, wears a shirt, trousers and a vest. It seems that they even smell in a special way - quiet old age. You come across whole groups of old people: sitting on benches in the shade, eating ice cream.
From Przemysl you can get to Krakow: three hours after the train arrives from Kyiv, the Intercity departs from the local station for Wroclaw. This train is not at all similar to the Ukrainian one. Here, the seating compartments are separated by partitions with transparent doors. There are only three seats in one row. When we left Przemysl, the carriage was empty. But closer to Krakow it became jam-packed. The majority of passengers are students. Many did not have enough tickets, and they traveled sitting on the floor in the middle of the carriage. Many people read books on the way - on medicine, chemistry, engineering, philosophy.
There are not enough words to talk about Krakow. It fully justifies the title of one of the capitals of European tourism. There are crowds of people of all races and nationalities on the streets. They take pictures, buy souvenirs, eat.
If you don’t go to expensive restaurants, you can eat in Poland on a very budget. Coffee and kebab (similar to our shawarma) at an eatery near the station cost me 260 rubles. A 300 ml bottle of juice and a chocolate bar from the supermarket - 85 rubles. Fruits, meat and dairy in a convenience store:
Dinner in a decent establishment with beer - about 900 rubles. By the way, portions in Poland are simply huge.
A huge plate of meat with vegetable side dishes in a restaurant – 40 zlotys (a little more than 700 rubles)
It’s interesting that in the Krakow Gallery, a huge shopping center near the station, most of the shops were already closed at 8 pm on Sunday.
