Russian Bureaucracy, Part nine million and three

by Andy on June 14, 2005

Megan Case has been trying to change the subscription service on her mobile phone:

Aunt Kelly gave me my mobile phone for Christmas and she and her assistant had set up my subscription for me. My current subscription does not enable me to make calls outside of the Russian Federation. I want to be able to send texts while I’m in Helsinki next week. I go to my mobile provider’s office to change my subscription type, a process which I imagine requires them making a change in their computer and me forking over some money.

No. It requires my aunt to come in with her passport, a credit card, and something about our Russian residency registration forms. I stare at the woman incredulously, then I walk out of the office.