Yet Another Russia-Refueler

I finally got my long-term visa so I've started refuelling in Russia.

Picture taken in Svetogorsk.

The Finnish "fuel rally" to Russia is a phenomenon as old as the post-USSR Russia itself. Gasoline is so much cheaper there than in Finland, it makes sense to pay for the visa, pay for the trip and sit in a border queue for hours, just to buy a tankful of gas.


I drove 50 km with the fuel light on and once there, refueled 82,51 litres and a 10 litre canister at 89 eurocents / litre. This was 95 octane, since Russia is not in the EU, and thus there is no ethanol in their fuel. This means it's better quality and less "dry", therefore nicer for old engines.

The trick is to gather experiences from friends and acquintances who have been doing this a long time and know the local fuel stations. A good friend of mine has been going there for 15 years to refuel. For instance, he told me he knew some people have bought bad gas from the nearest Russian gas station. No experiences like that from the next one over, about 10km further. Also, Lukoil gas stations are generally pretty trustworthy. Lukoil is a very large Russian oil company who also owns at least parts of the Finnish oil company Neste.

I asked him a while back whether he'd ever been overcharged for a tank, or heard such. The answer was no to both. Really, so many Finns go to the nearest gas stations at the border that the companies can't really operate like that. Of course, I also counter this by buying Rubles in Finland and paying in cash at the station. Take the total amount that's displayed on the pump display and that's that. I guess it'd be easier to overcharge if you pay by credit card, and then you also run the risk of someone duping your card. 

I saved 55 eur on this tank including the trip there and excluding the extra canister.