Russian visa
In general you need to obtain a Russian visa to get into the country. Please be sure to check the list of 43 countries, which citizens are not required to get a Russian visa.
The citizens of the following list of 52 foreign countries are eligible for the unified e-visa.
If your country is not on the list, you will have to find the website of the Russian consulate in your country and get information about the process and particular requirements to obtain the visa (it differs from one country to another). You can apply directly in the consulate or in one of the Russian visa centers in your country.
How to get a Russian visa
Usually it takes from 3 to 10 working days to get a visa, but if you mention the Caucasus as your destination it can take up to 1 month.

In general, the consulate or Russian visa center will require you to provide an invitation letter (really that is 2 documents: Voucher and Confirmation) issued by a Russian tour operator. If you are going to the Caucasus with us, we’ll send you the invitation. In most consulates they will be satisfied with just a scanned copy of the invitation, but some consulates require the original paper. In this case we can send it to you with an extra fee for delivery.
E-visa
Only citizens of the listed 52 foreign countries are eligible for the unified e-visa.
E-visa applicants are not required to submit an invitation letter, hotel booking confirmation or any other document confirming the purpose of their travel to the Russian Federation.

The unified e-visa is a single entry visa. The validity period of a unified electronic visa is 60 days from the date of issue. The permitted period of stay in the Russian Federation shall not exceed 16 days from the date of entry.

ATTENTION! The permitted period of stay in the Russian Federation up to 16 days DOES NOT IMPLY the possibility of staying for 384 hours net time (24 hours x 16). The day of arrival and the day of departure are counted as two days.

If you have a valid Russian visa in your passport, you do not need to apply for a unified e-visa. You can visit the Russian Federation with a regular visa within its validity period without the restrictions established for the unified e-visa. The validity of a regular visa cannot be extended by obtaining an e-visa.

In order to apply for a unified e-visa, it is necessary to submit an application from your personal account on the specialized website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia or through the Russian Foreign Ministry mobile application. The application can be submitted no earlier than 40 days and no later than 4 days before the expected date of entry into the Russian Federation.

For more details please check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Other important factors
If you are going to visit Abkhazia (from Russian side) and South Ossetia count your entrances to Russia. It is highly probable that you will need to apply for a double-entry or even multiple-entry visa.

If you come, for example, to South Ossetia having a normal (1 entry) Russian visa you will be stuck there. They will not let you get back into Russia and you will have to apply for another visa and wait for it in South Ossetia.

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