Thank you so much for the information Whiteknight!
Today I have visited the Troetskoe Predmestie (Trinity Suburb), War memorial at "Hero City", done some shopping and been to the Russian Embassy. Yesterday I went to the Botanical Gardens, the childrens' railway and an large public park, and just strolled around a bit - photos later!

Today at the Russian Embassy things did not go well. As Whiteknight mentioned, the consular section is located in an old school, on a residential street. My plan was to go there and pick up the application form, and maybe ask questions. I assumed that in an embassy, people would speak English.

It took a while to find the building, it's not visible from the street. When I found it, it was quite thoroughly protected. A CCTV camera, a little gatekeepers kiosk and a locked gate. Not very inviting...

Somebody shouted from the intercom "Yes, what do you want?!" in Russian. I replied in my bad Russian... "I am a tourist, I want a visa for Russia."The person then read something from a script, of which I only understood... "You need............embassy of the Russian Federation......."

I tried to say that I didn't understand, but the intercom was off. I felt very stupid and got completely tongue-tied. I should have asked for somebody who speaks English.. There is a difference in the etiquette of how and when to switch to English, in this part of the world. Because they didn't offer, I assumed they couldn't speak it, or didn't want to. I left the embassy really frustrated and disappointed.

I had a nagging suspicion that what the person might have said was something like "you can't apply for a visa here, you have to apply at the Russian embassy in your country of residence". Andrei the guide had said something along those lines, but he didn't know for sure. But why then, do they even have a visa section in Minsk in the first place? Belarussians probably don't need a visa to visit Russia. So who is this consular section serving... ? And why does it even matter where you apply!

I will call them on the telephone tomorrow and ask. But if this is correct, then I simply won't be able to go to Russia. Unbelievable, I am just so gutted! So disappointed! I got a visa for the USSR in a country that was not my own (Finland). No problem whatsoever and it took one day for me and 40 other kids in the same group. Why does modern Russia have to be worse than in those days!!?

Quote Originally Posted by visatorussia.com
1. A foreign citizen can obtain a visa to Russia ONLY in the country of his/her citizenship. Exceptions include those who have a residence permit for a foreign country for the period more than 90 days. However, the final decision is left up to the consulates. We recommend that you get in touch with the Russian consulate in the country of your current location and make sure that your application will be accepted.
2. A multiple entry business visa allows nationals of all countries to stay in Russia up to 90 days out of the period of 180 days. A multiple entry visa is only available for people who have been issued a Russian visa before. If this is your first visit, you are only eligible to obtain a single or double entry visa for 1 to 3 months.
The guide book definitely did not mention this, I DID read the section about visas. It's completely normal to get a visa in a third country, I've done it several times. But for some reason, it doesn't work for Russia. I thought Russia had become more relaxed about stuff like this - but it seems that a trip to Russia needs careful planning, from home - not somewhere you can expect to just pop in for a visit. What an awful shame!

I really liked Ukraine and I like Belarus a lot - but it's not the same as Russia.... I want to go there.
If there was some dodgy underhand way of fixing this, I'd use that, but ultimately a visa needs to be issued by an embassy and if they won't do it, then I am stuffed.

I wasn't going to fly on this trip, but the overland route back to Sweden without entering Russia is basically not interesting for me. The Baltic states or Poland are the options. I guess I'd choose Poland because I haven't actually been there.
My visa for .by is valid until 24 July however.