Would you travel to Russia at the moment?

[zbc]

My boss (who is Russian) has asked me if I can get a visa to go on a business trip to Russia in the next few months. Government advice is clear "Don't go" but I've ignored this in the past for trips and understand they have to be over cautious but I am somewhat concerned at the moment.

Any advice or opinions welcome. Would you go? How hard is it to get a visa at the moment? What do I say to my boss other than "slava ukraini" when he asks me why I'm not going?

[Djtemeka]

F that.

Screw them

[fat80b]

How does travel insurance work in that scenario?

I’d assume it’s quite difficult / expensive to get insurance for a trip to a country that is off the list?

Do your company provide travel insurance? - ask for a copy of the policy terms to see if it includes travel to Russia. A reasonable guess would be that it doesn’t…..

[GiantEnemyCrab]

There are times in a man's life where his principles are tested.

Unless you are absolutely on the bones of your arse and have no money and no chance of another job if he binned youz I wouldn't be going.

[Portofino]

Putting all the moral stuff to one side for a bit it’s surely not safe for a westerner to be floating about Russia right now?

[Double Fault]

Your insurance would be invalid.

Does your boss live under a rock?

[eliot]

get accused of being a spy or some other random trumped charge and you are in the gulag for 10 years

[greygoose]

Unless you are going on a covert mission to cripple their military infrastructure or assassinate Putin then no don’t go there.

[zbc]

Djtemeka said:

F that.

Screw them

Yeah this was my first thought but I'm just too much of a polite Englishman at times.

[zbc]

fat80b said:

How does travel insurance work in that scenario?

I’d assume it’s quite difficult / expensive to get insurance for a trip to a country that is off the list?

Do your company provide travel insurance? - ask for a copy of the policy terms to see if it includes travel to Russia. A reasonable guess would be that it doesn’t…..

Company does provide insurance and I'm not currently in the UK so I think it should be good but asking to see the policy is a very good idea - thanks

[zbc]

greygoose said:

Unless you are going on a covert mission to cripple their military infrastructure or assassinate Putin then no don’t go there.

[robemcdonald]

What’s your job? What would the purpose of the visit be?

[Bill]

GiantEnemyCrab said:

There are times in a man's life where his principles are tested.

Unless you are absolutely on the bones of your arse and have no money and no chance of another job if he binned youz I wouldn't be going.

I'm not sure I'd want to be involved in doing business in Russia full stop. From a safety perspective there's no way I'd travel there, the regime is too unpredictable and potentially desperate.

[abzmike]

Even if you can get insurance it is t going to help if you get hauled off to a police station for no reason. Then you’re pretty much on your own, and whatever business crisis you were there to look at is small beans. As Tucker would advise, just say no.

[zbc]

Bill said:

GiantEnemyCrab said:

There are times in a man's life where his principles are tested.

Unless you are absolutely on the bones of your arse and have no money and no chance of another job if he binned youz I wouldn't be going.

I'm not sure I'd want to be involved in doing business in Russia full stop. From a safety perspective there's no way I'd travel there, the regime is too unpredictable and potentially desperate.

I wouldn't be doing business in Russia. I agree that is a line I would not cross but I'm currently designing a new warehouse and there are some good examples of what we are trying to do there that my boss knows well and recommends I evaluate.

[robemcdonald]

zbc said:

Bill said:

GiantEnemyCrab said:

There are times in a man's life where his principles are tested.

Unless you are absolutely on the bones of your arse and have no money and no chance of another job if he binned youz I wouldn't be going.

I'm not sure I'd want to be involved in doing business in Russia full stop. From a safety perspective there's no way I'd travel there, the regime is too unpredictable and potentially desperate.

I wouldn't be doing business in Russia. I agree that is a line I would not cross but I'm currently designing a new warehouse and there are some good examples of what we are trying to do there that my boss knows well and recommends I evaluate.

You’d be going to look at a warehouse? There must be a similar one in a less risky location.

It’s a no from me.

[Harpoon]

zbc said:

Company does provide insurance and I'm not currently in the UK so I think it should be good but asking to see the policy is a very good idea - thanks

What's the insurance cover and payout if you end up in a Siberian penal colony?

[KarlMac]

zbc said:

Bill said:

GiantEnemyCrab said:

There are times in a man's life where his principles are tested.

Unless you are absolutely on the bones of your arse and have no money and no chance of another job if he binned youz I wouldn't be going.

I'm not sure I'd want to be involved in doing business in Russia full stop. From a safety perspective there's no way I'd travel there, the regime is too unpredictable and potentially desperate.

I wouldn't be doing business in Russia. I agree that is a line I would not cross but I'm currently designing a new warehouse and there are some good examples of what we are trying to do there that my boss knows well and recommends I evaluate.

It's hard for me to adequately put into words how terrible of an idea this is.

If a non-russian turns up and starts poking around infrastructure you're going to jail. I'm sure there's plenty of warehouses in whichever part of the world your currently based in.

[Prohibiting]

Is this a wind up?

[GT03ROB]

It is perfectly possible as a westerner to enter & travel safely in Russia. I have a British friend who has been in & out without trouble a few times recently.

Whether you want to or not is a different matter