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| Above, at the Santa Monica Promenade in January 2018. |
With our government (i.e., His Fraudulency Joe Biden) and the Russian Federation government (i.e., Vladimir Putin) not playing nice these days over Ukraine, travel to and from Russia is dicey at best.
Asya and I have been discussing having her come for a visit here in New Mexico but the situation makes travel from Russia to here difficult, but not impossible. We last met up a few days before I moved to New Mexico. But we do stay in regular contact.
Last year, the Russian government ordered that U.S. embassies and consulates cut staff, which is causing tourist visa applications for Russians to grind to a total halt. That, plus coronavirus vaccination requirements (vaccines must be ones approved by the U.S. government) makes travel planning difficult. The Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, is not recognized in the U.S. It is still being processed by the World Health Organization.
The subject of the visas came up yesterday during a text exchange. I had forgotten about this. However, I found there are ways around it.
In other words, if Asya goes to a European country with a U.S. Embassy or consulate, she can get a visa there, but she has to apply in person. Also, she can get a vaccine (U.S. recognized) there as well. She has been able to travel to Italy and Cyprus during the past year, so it is possible to get both accomplished.
My friend Mitch suggested last year to go to St. Petersburg, Russia. But that is difficult (still not impossible) during ordinary times, but the tensions led to the following State Department advisory:
So, it is a "rock and a hard place" situation. At least for now, until the parties start playing nice again with each other.
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