How much will my participation cost?

This question is answered individually. The expedition fee depends on when the payment is made, professional interest in Russian studies, the number of times you participate, and the personal skills you bring to the project (writing, photography, translating, website development, etc.)  The expedition fee is refundable up to 60 days before the program starts.

How I can reserve a place on the team?

In order to hold a space on a team, with your application a non-refundable deposit is required.
The balance is due at least 75 days before your team’s scheduled arrival at the program site. All information will be kept confidential and will only be used for the visa invitation process.

How will my expedition fee be used?
Your expedition fee is all-inclusive. Your personal costs (visa invitation process, registration, Moscow hotel, food, transportation, accommodations while in the field and interpretation) are covered by 60% of your expedition fee.  The other 40% goes towards the needs of the expedition project itself (audio and video tapes, renting and/or purchasing pieces of equipment, payment for transcoding of folk musical tunes and publication of collected materials).

Are there discounts available?

Yes. Students and teachers receive a 7% discount. We have an additional 5% discount for repeat participations.  There also could be a discount for sharing information about our project, for helping us by hosting the project website on local servers, etc.

May I participate in more then one team?

Yes. In fact you will receive an additional discount of 5% for each time you participate.

If I do not know a word of Russian how can I help this project?

90% of our volunteers do not know any Russian. All of our staff speaks English fluently. We translate the interviews and all the explanations of our fieldwork so that our volunteers can be highly involved in the documentation and research process. All of our volunteers’ assignments are created in order to avoid any language barriers.

Do I need a visa, if any, to work at the research site?

Yes.  You need a tourist visa for working at the research site. To apply for a tourist visa, an applicant needs to send our staff his or her personal information at least 3 weeks before his or her arrival. Please, click here for additional information.

May I extend my stay longer then the project?

Yes. The group leaders can help you plan a longer stay in Moscow or elsewhere and suggest additional cultural activities.  Volunteers who decide to stay longer are responsible for their own food and accommodations. Please pay close attention to the dates on your visa. Usually our invitation includes the week before the project starts and the week after it ends. If you would like to stay longer please contact our staff members at info@russianexpedition.net

May I visit other cities, which are not included in the itinerary of an expedition (for example, St.-Petersburg)?

Yes. The group leaders may help you to organize (booking hotels and tickets) your trip to any place you wish.

May I have copies of collected folklore materials such as pictures, tapes, etc.

Yes, but not for commercial purposes.

May I purchase the products created from expedition activities? 

Yes. We give a 40% discount on all products that you volunteered in the creation of (for example, CD’s and films).