Intourist Hotel, Krasnodar, Kuban River district, south-western Russia, near centre of city. July 2002 (summer). During the old days before Perestroika, foreigners to Russia were carefully supervised and escorted during their stays as well as carefully guarded. There were no strays those days! All foreigners before they even arrived in the country, were forced to buy tickets in order to stay in Intourist Hotels, in order to obtain a visa and to come to the country., No Intourist ticket, no stay in Russia! This has all changed now and foreigners are not supervised (unless they are males looking for Russian wives!!) and can stay anywhere they like! This is the Intourist Hotel in Krasnodar where many foreigners stay in any case.

(Photograph: T.J. Hawkeswood)