14/09/2021
Russia is surrounded by Border Zones and areas closed to foreigners (including part of the new road between Nadym and Salekhard mentioned in the previous post). But where are they and how can you avoid the risk of getting into trouble when travelling there?
Unfortunately the official information is awkwardly presented and not all that transparent. Further, it generally only exists in printed word format (though I am told foreign embassies in Moscow have been given each a copy of maps of restricted areas, but no one shares this.
So I have taken it upon myself to collate all this information and put it together so it can be overlaid on Google Earth or Garmin Mapsource / Basecamp, or SAS Planet, or Locus Maps etc ... so in the planning (and indeed travelling) stages, you can be aware of where you are with respect to closed zones.
There are a variety of types of zones closed to foreigners, from Border Zones to ZATO (Closed Cities), and Foreign Persons exclusion zones. In several cases these overlap. Often ZATOs have a larger Foreign Persons Exclusion Zone around them. Around Murmansk, the Foreign Persons Exclusion Zone includes numerous ZATOs. For the purposes of this exercise I have limited the categories of closed zones to simply Border Zones and all other Closed Zones together. I have not drawn the limits of a ZATO when it sits entirely within a foreigner exclusion zone as the intended audience here is foreign travellers anyway, so whether it is a ZATO or foreign exclusion zone or both, you will need permission from the FSB (many travel agencies can apply for you) to take that route.
Permission to travel through closed zones is often or even usually granted (you do need to apply via an travel agent months in advance), but that depends on the nature of the closed zone and the genuineness of your reason for applying. If it is travel then you will want to specify a clear route and what you want to see there that justifies you entering the zone.
For more info and to download my map of border zones and the other areas off limits to foreigners (or where a permit is required), go here: https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/northern-and-central-asia/russian-border-zones-closed-zones-102215
