If you wonder how to go by hitchhiking through Russia, and do not want to take a full 30 days visa, there is a possibility to get a transit visa. E.g. coming from Kazakhstan going to Kaukasus. Here is how you would get one at the Russian Consulate in Uralsk.

As hitchhiking is not an option to state in your travelling method, there must be some fake included. Transit visa are only issued if you can show a valid driving licence plus car document, or if you have traain tickets for the entire route. We applied for a transit visa for a duration of 9 days, each day with a train ride. For this way, you need the following documents:
-Passport+copy
-1 Passportphoto for the application form
-train tickets showing the way
-health insurance
-itinerary for the 9 days transiting
(-Kazakh and Georgian Visa only if you are not from EU)

The transit visa will not show the entry and exit points, so you just can make up something.

The train tickets booked via http://eng.rzd.ru/ should be refundable. Even though we will not go this way, we booked 5 tickets via Samara, Syzran, Volgograd, Salsk, Mineralnaya Voda, Wladikavkas in order to get 9 days for Transit.
On the itinerary we said, we will go by taxi from Uralsk to Samara, and from Wladikavkas to Georgia – which was ok for the guy at the counter (so not the ENTIRE way must be provided by tickets). He speaks very good english and he told me that it is recommendable for the next time, not to mention Wladikavkas in the application form (where you need to state the cities you will visit). But it is not an issue either, he said, it just takes more time for checking.

Opening hours for the russian consulate in Uralsk to get visa: Tuesday and Thursday 9.30-11. We had to wait an hour even though we were there 9.20 so it might be helpful to come even earlier in order to be the first in the wainting line.
Express fee is 30800 Tenge which you pay directly beside the counter in the consulate. If you go on Tuesday, the visas shall be ready on Friday.

In case you need to do some paper work at the spot, there is a computer with internet, a printer, glue and pencils provided at the waiting lounge in the 3rd floor.

When we finally got our transit visa 4 days after, the guy on the counter gave us back half of the money because it was the „no express“ version: so we paid 15100 Tenge, in order to receive the visa actually on Friday after application on Tuesday (I cannot follow the calculation but obviously 1 day is counted as same day). In the end, the refunding of the train tickets was not for free, they charged a fee of 200 – 300 Rubles per ticket.

If you want to stay in Uralsk, there are a bunch of nice camping spots along the the rivers in the forest, otherwise there is Hostel Wigwam (bit gross and pricy I heard) or you can try this appartments if you speak some russian https://www.apartamenty.kz/en/uralsk/ho … ralsk.html. Uralsk is actually a funny but quiet town to hang out for a couple of days. To get some spirit of a very russianized rough Kazakh culture.

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