For Brazilian and most other South American countries, travelling to Russia is easy, notwithstanding the distance; for tourist stays of up to 90 days, no visas are required. The same is true, less surprisingly, for all the post-Soviet countries. For those with a passport from a EU member state country, or those with an American, Canadian, Australian, Japanese passport, then a visa is required in order to travel to Russia. And getting a visa can be an arduous process. In fairness to the Russian government, though, their visa policy is based on the principle of reciprocity, and the reason it is hard for Europeans to travel to Russia, is because Europe makes it hard for Russians to travel to Europe. The lack of a mutual visa policy between Russia and the west is a hangover from the Cold War, and consequently Russia remains largely unexplored by – in shorthand – Westerners.