After a record-breaking year for tourism, the world’s biggest country is to ease its visa rules from 2021 – but not for visitors from the UK.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia has just announced 5.1 million overseas tourists arrived in 2019 – one-fifth more than the previous year, when the nation hosted the World Cup.

Almost 30 per cent were from China – whose citizens do not need Russian visas. But visitor numbers will plummet in 2020, with the Kremlin imposing a ban on Chinese citizens due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Russia hopes the shortfall will be made up by tourists from 53 other countries taking advantage of a new online visa available from 1 January 2021. It will be valid for travel anywhere in the country for up to 16 days.

That would cover a short stay in both St Petersburg and Moscow, and a reasonably leisurely trip along the Trans-Siberian Railway to the Pacific.

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The e-visa is expected to cost US$50 (£38) – compared with over £100 for a British traveller obtaining a standard Russian visa.

But as with current e-visas for specific regions of Russia, UK visitors are excluded.

“Consider it the result of political tensions, if you will, but we suspect it’s more a tit-for-tat move by Russia in response to the unusually high visa charges which the United Kingdom demands even for short visits by Russians,” said Nicky Gardner, co-editor of Hidden Europe.

At present some foreign visitors qualify for specific regional visas to three locations in Russia: St Petersburg, the exclave of Kaliningrad (between Poland and Lithuania) and the country’s Far East.

These are available to European Union citizens, but not the British.

Ms Gardner said: “The existing e-visa scheme covering just those three designated Russian regions has one big plus: there is absolutely no charge. But the new nationwide scheme will have a fee.

“A real limitation of the current e-visa scheme is that it specifies permissible points of entry.

“The list for St Petersburg, for example, unfortunately excludes the high-speed rail route from Helsinki to St Petersburg. So here’s hoping that the new nationwide e-visa scheme will be a little bit more flexible.

“As the UK tightens its entrance requirements, the progressive relaxation of visa regimes elsewhere in Europe is of course very welcome.”

British visitors to Russia will still be required to attend to a visa application centre in London, Manchester or Edinburgh to be photographed and fingerprinted.

UK citizens can avoid the red tape only with the right ticket to a football match. Fans who have secured a ticket to one of the matches to be played in St Petersburg during the Euro 2020 football championships this summer qualify a “Fan-ID”.