Like the Chinese (see “Ding Hao! Operating in China,” October 2009, page 36), the Russians prefer that aircraft fly the published airways. “You can ask for a direct routing, but you can’t take it for granted that you’ll receive the clearance,” Pahl said. “We take the conservative approach and put them on the airways, and most of our clients fly what we file for them. ATC is getting better at accommodating general aviation, though.

Another new requirement is that crewmembers must now have visas, as has been required of passengers. “On arrival the immigration officer will check for visas, and anyone not holding one will be required to leave the country immediately,” Pahl warned. That is, the authorities won’t necessarily require the aircraft to depart, just the offending passenger. However, if it’s a crewmember without a visa, then the aircraft may be required to reposition out of the country.

The most popular destination in Russia for business aviation is, of course, the capital, Moscow, with St. Petersburg the second most popular. At Moscow, most business aviation traffic uses Vnukovo Airport (UUWW), the least congested of the city’s three fields, due to its lack of commercial operations. Accordingly, Vnukovo has evolved to support business aviation with several executive-level FBOs; it also offers relatively easy access to the city (“relatively,” because Moscow’s surface traffic is very congested).