Airfare discounts:

We are currently trying to arrange discounted fares. As more information becomes available, we will let you know.

Hotel discounts: May is a very busy month in Moscow and we would encourage you to decide upon a hotel as soon as possible. The U.S. Embassy and IREX have arranged the rates at the several Moscow hotels. We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to get these rates as hotels fill up, so we recommend you contact either the public affairs section or IREX, depending upon where you want to stay, as soon as possible.

Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel: The fashionable Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel was built in 1989 and has a fine location alongside the Moskva river. It is minutes from the Kremlin and Red Square.

Kremlin – 20 min by car
Nearest Metro station – Kiyevskaya
Sheremetyevo – 1 hour by car
Address: 2 Europe Square, Moscow, Russia, 121059
Rate: $215/night
For reservations, contact the Public Affairs Section at MoscowSymposium@state.gov

Ukraina Hotel: Ukraina Hotel is one of the most striking hotel buildings. The hotel is located just few steps from business and administrative centers and 300 meters from the Russian Government White House. The hotel was built in 1957 in Soviet Empire style, the hotel accommodates business travelers and leisure guests alike.

Kremlin – 15 min by car
Nearest Metro station – Kiyevskaya
Sheremetyevo – 1 hour by car
Address: 2/1, Kutuzovskiy Prospect, Moscow, Russia, 121248
Rate: $140/night
For reservations, contact the Public Affairs Section at MoscowSymposium@state.gov

Belgrad Hotel: Conveniently located in the city center near the Old Arbat tourist area and shopping center, the Belgrad Hotel offers accommodation for tourists and business people. From the windows of the 20-story hotel, guests look out on a great city panorama.

Kremlin – 15 min by car
Nearest Metro station – Smolenskaya
Sheremetyevo – 1 hour by car
Address: 8 Smolenskaya, Moscow, Russia, 121099
Rate:$80/night
For reservations, contact the Public Affairs Section at MoscowSymposium@state.gov

Izmaylovo Vega Hotel: Part of the large Izmaylovo tourist complex, Vega Hotel is conveniently located near the famous Izmaylovo Flea Market, close to the Izmaylovskiy Park of Culture and Leisure. Construction date is 1980, part of the rooms were renovated in 2000.

Kremlin – 50 min by car
Nearest Metro station – Izmaylovskiy park
Airports: Sheremetyevo 1,2 - 40 min, Domodedovo - 2 hrs, Vnukovo - 1hr 40min, Bykovo - 1hr 5min.
Address: 71 Ismaylovskoye shosse, Moscow, Russia, 105187
Rate: $40-60/night, depending upon room type.
For reservations, contact IREX at Moscowsymposium@irex.ru.

Hotel Soyuz

Kremlin – 10 min. by car
Address: 12,Universitetskiy prospekt, Moscow, 117330
Rate: $30/night
For reservations, contact IREX at Moscowsymposium@irex.ru.

Travel Stipends:

Limited funding may be available on a case-by-case basis. You must be registered at the embassy’s web site to be eligible.

Please send the form on the next page by fax to the attention of Marina Kulinich at (095)956-0977 or send by e-mail to MoscowSymposium@irex.ru by April 1, 2005. You will be notified by April 15, 2005 if you will receive a travel stipend.

Russian Visas:

All US citizens traveling to Russia must have a letter of invitation before they can apply for a visa. The Federal Agency on Education has agreed to assist in obtaining invitation letters for U.S. participants affiliated with universities. Since the procedure will take at least three weeks, the documents must be submitted in advance. The U.S. Embassy will pay for costs associated with obtaining the invitation letter if this information is submitted by April 1, 2005.

If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please submit the following information to moscowsymposium@irex.ru:

1. First Name, Last Name, Middle Name
2. Country of Citizenship
3. Date of Birth
4. Place of Birth
5. Passport Number and Expiration Date
6. Dates of Travel
7. Consulate, where participants would like to get their visa
8. Work Address including Work Contact Information (phone, fax, and e-mail)
9. Institution address, Department and Title
10. Cities the person would like to visit when in Russia

Once the invitation letter is issued, American citizens will need to contact their local Russian Consulate (locations listed below) to apply for the visa. The visa will only be valid for one entry into Russia during a two-week period and will cost $100. American citizens must fill out a two-page Visa Application Form that can be found at: http://russianembassy.org/consulat/bsn-visa.htm

Consular Section
Embassy of the Russian Federation
2641 Tunlaw Road, N.W.
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 939-8907,
939- 8913, 939-8918
Fax: (202) 483-7579

Jurisdiction: Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Consulate General of the Russian Federation
2790 Green Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: (415) 928-6878, (415) 202-9800
Fax: (415) 929-0306

Jurisdiction: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah.

Additional information on contacting the Russian Embassy and Consulates in the U.S. can be found at: http://www.russianembassy.org//

Russian Consulate General
2323 Westin Building,
2001 6th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: (206) 728-1910;
728-9018 (after 2:00 p.m.)
Fax: (206) 728-1871

Jurisdiction: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Russian Consulate General
9 East 91 Street
New York, NY 10128
Phone: (212) , 348-0926, 472-4732, 534-3782
Fax: (212) 831-9162

Jurisdiction: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Russian Consulate General in Houston
1333 West Loop South, Ste.1300
Houston, TX 77027
Phone: (713) 337-3300
Fax: (713) 337-3305

Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Tourist Excursions:

Eltati Tours offers two options for a package Golden Ring tour for the days following the Symposium, depending upon the number of people traveling.

1) Van - holds between 6 and 15 people. $280/person.
2) Full-sized bus - holds up to 45 people. $330/person.

This is a 3-day, 2-night tour with 1 night in a hotel in Suzdal and 1 night in a hotel in Yaroslavl. Other stopping points can include Vladimir, Rostov, Pereslavl and possibly Sergey Posad. The package includes transportation, breakfast, hotel (2 nights), local guides and entrance fees. Lunch and dinner are not included.

Key Sites in Golden Ring Towns

Suzdal - Saviour-Epyphany Convent, Church of Boris and Gleb Monastery, the Suzdal Kremlin, the Cathedral of the Nativity and Metropolitans chambers. Levitan museum and the Izba (wooden house) museum.

Yaroslavl - Spassky monastery, Tolgsky monastery, Museum “Time and Music” - the biggest collection of antique clock, hand bells and household utilities of different periods

Vladimir - Vladimir is famous for its unique cathedrals dating back to the XII century. Four of them are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Cathedral of the Assumption with frescoes by A.Rublev, the St. Dimitry Cathedral and the only Golden Gates in the fortification walls of Russia, the museum of glass and rock crystals.

Rostov-the-Great - Kremlin, Assumption cathedral (it is topped with famous bell loft, under which the visitor has the opportunity to listen to the real bell music of ancient Russia.). The town preserves residential wooden two-story houses of the XIX century with pediments and balconies in the Russian classic style

Sergey Posad - St. Sergey-Trinity Lavra- the sacred monastery founded by Sergey Radonezhsky. Here you can see the most famous works of the greatest Russian icon-artist Andrew Ryblev.

Pereslavl - Cathedral of Transfiguration of the Saviour, the oldest surviving monument in Central Russia.

For further details and photos of towns (change the town at the bottom left of the screen): http://www.goldenring.ru/yaroslavl/index-e.asp

Please inform Marina Kulinich at Moscowsymposium@irex.ru by March 15, 2005 if you are interested.

Excursions to Institutions of Higher Education:

In order to continue the networking experience beyond the Symposium Panel Sessions and Expo, we would like to organize excursions to regional universities in Russia for interested American participants the following week, May 30-June 3. We realize that travel outside the major cities can initially be intimidating, but we believe that by working through our network of contacts, we can make the experience productive for both sides. We will, of course, do everything to keep costs to a minimum.

For American Participants: If you are interested in visiting any regional universities, please let us know your academic field, Russian universities/cities you are interested in visiting, what programs or partnerships are of interest, and what you would want to gain from such excursions.

For Russian Participants: If you are interested in hosting a delegation of American visitors, please let us know your academic field, institutional affiliation, city, and what your institution can offer in terms of programs and support.

Please inform Marina Kulinich at Moscowsymposium@irex.ru by March 15, 2005 if you are interested.