Russian Customs

Well, what can I say? Russia is a very different place. Previously when we got off the ship for an excursion, we walked off the ship, got onto a bus, and off we went. Not so in Russia. In Russia, you get off the ship and walk immediately into the customs building, where a customs agent is waiting to check your documents before allowing you access to the country. We walked into the customs building and got in line at one of the customs booths. Most people were getting through fairly quickly, with the process taking no longer than about 30 seconds. You handed them 3 things: your passport, your ticket to the particular excursion you were going on, and your ship cabin key card. They looked at the picture on the passport, looked at you, looked at their computer screen, stamped the passport, handed it back to you, flipped the green light switch, and you were free to enter the country. After I went through this process, I waited just on the other side of the booth for Joe to clear customs. After the typical 30 seconds or so had passed, he was still there, smiling at the customs agent and answering a few questions. A few more minutes passed, and he was still there. I began to wonder if there was a problem. He looked at me and we shrugged, not knowing why everyone else was continuing to process through customs so easily, and here he was, still standing in front of the customs agent, awaiting her approval of his documents. There were about 5 or 6 booths, with maybe 8 to 10 people in line for each booth. As Joe stood at the customs booth, all these people were being processed quickly, yet Joe was still there, patiently answering the customs agent's continuing questions. The agent asked him if he had some other proof of ID, perhaps a driver's license. We were not told that we would need our driver's license, but fortunately, Joe had brought his with him. The agent looked at the driver's license, and then picked up the phone and placed a phone call. Shortly after, two armed security guards showed up at the booth. They went inside and talked to the customs agent, then began to interrogate - I mean - ask Joe some questions. What is your birthday? Where were you born? What is your name? Have you ever gone by any other name than Joseph? Meanwhile, everyone else that was in line had now gone through customs, and we were the only two people left in the building. About this time, Joe said he started thinking about whether he'd accidentally signed up for the Siberian Tour. He was expecting the customs agent to say to him, "Mr. Burkot, we have a nice archipelago in the Gulag that we'd like you to see." There were a few more questions by the armed security guards, and then they gave him back his documents, flipped the green light switch, and told him he could go. There was no explanation of why he had been detained, what the problem was, and if or how they had solved it. They just gave him permission to proceed after being questioned for about 20-25 minutes by 2 armed security guards and a customs agent. And that's how we began our first day in Russia! (I told Joe I would write about this in the blog, but not publish it until we were safely out of the country.)