What would you have done had you been in my situation
 

Last week I visited the Hermitage art museum in St. Petersburg as [part of a group from a cruise ship. None of us had a Russian visa because as long as we toured as a group under the supervision of a licensed guide, we did not need one.

Once we had cleared passport control at the pier, we were taken by a tour bus to the museum where we were checked in.

Because of declines in my physical health I no longer walk very fast and I use a walking cane for support. The guide for our tour fgroup felt like I would not be able to walk fast enough to keep up with the group. She therefore told me to ride in a wheelchair.

After the guide issued her wheelchair directive, someone in authority at the museum told me I had to surrender my passport. At that I balked. I offered a cash deposit, but the staff of the Hermitage refused my counter offer. Basically the situation was surrender your passport or you don't get the wheelchair. Touring the museum in any other way was not an option.

Our guide finally worked out a deal, and off I went on a whirlwind journey of the Hermitage being pushed like a total invalid.

Here is my question to the members of this forum: Under the circumstances I have described, would you have surrendered your passport to the Russians?

It's common procedure to leave a passport or driver's license when you pick up rental equipment most places, not just Russia. Even when you rent an audio guide at a museum. It insures they get their equipment back.

A rental car is much more valuable than a wheelchair. I have never been asked to leave valuable personal property as a deposit for a rental car.

I knew why the officials at the Hermitage wanted some kind of security, but my questions was "What would you have done?"
I did not equate the value of a passport with that of a 3nd class wheel chair.

I would have left my driver's license, money, or even my watch as collateral. But being asked to leave my passport touched off alarm bells.

Just where the heck did those people think I would go with a wheelchair?

Lots of museums ask for a passport or drivers license when you rent audioguides, so i dont think its that strange...

I carry a copy of my passport in case I need it to rent an audio. I would have given the passport. Did you think you wouldn't get it back? It would have been inappropriate for a museum official to take money from you and what the heck would they do with a watch.

The museum person was just doing her/his job. Why should they jeopardise their job because you don't want to follow the rules or think the rules are strange?

Don't go to Italy - you'll freak when the hotel clerk wants your passport before you get your room key.

I would have given the passport. Though I did get a lecture once from Canadian passport officials for even giving my passport number to a tour agency prior to a trip to Peru. They really did not like that.

So you would turn over the most valuable document in your possession to the Russians? I rented an audio guide in Vienna at Schöbrunn Palace and was not asked to surrender a document as valuable as a passport.

Hotels in Spain also have to register your passport with the police . If they are very busy you can ask them to make a copy and give your passport back to avoid any of you forgetting to retrieve it later.

I would have left my ID, be it passport or ID card of residency in Spain.

I certainly would not be worried they do anything incorrect with it.

I guess I dont see the problem, they were doing their job, you gave them your passport, you got to enjoy the museum and you got your passport back no problem (I assume?) Sounds like happy days to me!

You may not like the policy, but I think it is common in Europe. Like adrienne says, in Italy the desk clerk takes your passport to register you with the police as a matter of law. If they are busy sometimes they keep it for hours, or overnight. I've always had it returned.

>>>A rental car is much more valuable than a wheelchair. I have never been asked to leave valuable personal property as a deposit for a rental car. <<<

What does a rental car have to do with anything? A rental car already has your credit card to insure they get their money if you steal their car.

It's common to be expected to leave your passport even for a cheap audio guide just as it's common to hand your passport over to hotels when you check in (usually given back the next morning) or give to train personnel on overnight trains.

Agree, when we took the overnight train from Paris to Venice the train conductor took our passports and kept them all night and gave them back just before we got to Venice

There are many countries where you have to submit your passport to the hotel staff when checking in. I also just returned from Italy, where that is the law. Also, there are many places where a passport is required to rent equipment.

Personally, I would not have had a problem with their request.

Al_Godon, sorry about your situation, but did you enjoy the HERMITAGE itself? I have never been but hear that it is spectacular.

Check the website of your national authority or of the department which issued the passport.

As you are not the owner but only the bearer of that passport, you usually don't have the liberty to surrender that document which is not your property to Russian museum employees, Italian concierges or to anyone else at your own discretion. At least not in theory, or if you wish to stick to the law 100pct.

If that means that you cannot rent a wheelchair or encounter other inconviniences, well, that is probably your decision how you weigh your responsibilities against what you plan to do.

While it is common procedure that hotels in many countries must take down your personal data for registration purposes, even in Italy it can be done by making a photocopy at check-in (as there is hardly one hotel reception without a printer/scanner/copy machine) or writing it down.
That is at least what I tell them to do, and do not wait until next day or hours later. After all, it is not such a challenging task.

Cowboy I agree with making the copy at hotels, but on a train that was not an option! It is give up the passport or get off the train hahaha!

In Italy I believe you have to leave your passport with the staff at internet cafes due to their terrorism laws.

True enough that it is always your choice if you are not comfortable with it - but unfortunately that my mean missing out on stuff.

I hope you enjoyed Russia - its somewhere that is on my bucket list!

While a hotel may accept a copy (they just need to record your info), rental desks won't as they want to hold something that will assure you return the item.

No, I would not hand over a legal document to a jumped up museum puppy. Though I might have used honey rather than vinegar.

My husband had the same experience; same place, same requirement. He handed the passport over to the museum. He got a wheelchair. The museum was so horrendously innaccesible (Circa 2005) that he still did not see a lot. He returned the chair, got his passport. Total dissapointment.

Bottom line, I would had say to the group "tell me where and when to meet up with you" and then head out at your own pace. A no brainer.

You seem kind of fixated on the idea that it was "the Russians" who were after your passport, not just a matter of museum policy (and I agree, I've had to leave similar collateral for audioguides in various parts of Europe before). I once had a multi-entry working visa for Russia, and in that case you really do have to entrust your passport to "the Russians" for an extended period of time (couple of weeks, if I remember rightly). You might not like doing so, but it's probably not part of some infernal government scheme.

"A no brainer."

If it is a no brainer, why didn't your husband do it?