Driving Licence In Russia
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Driving licence in Russia () are
driving licence A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...
s issued by the
State Automobile Inspectorate The State Automobile Inspectorate (, GAI), formerly known as the Main Directorate for Traffic Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (, GUOBDD, or , ГИБДД, GIBDD) is a federal law enforcement agency of Russia specializing in hi ...
which authorises its holder to operate
motor vehicles A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such as airplanes ...
on highways and other public roads across the
Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Driving licences in Russia issued since 2011, appear simimar to European driving licences.


History

The
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
was one of the first countries to create a
driving licence A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...
. Russia's first licences were issued in 1900 by
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
authorities by the decree of the St. Petersburg mayor "On the regulation of passenger transportation by car", and Russia joined an the 1909 Paris Convention. However, due to relatively small number of cars, the attempts to create a standardised Russian licence were rather sporadic and limited to major urban areas. No comprehensive system of driver licensing was present until 1936, when the Soviet government organised and standardised traffic and driving regulations, with the state-wide system regulated by specialised traffic police authorities. In 1963, when the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
joined the
Geneva Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty promoting the development and safety of international road traffic by establishing certain uniform rules among the contracting pa ...
, international driving permits were introduced in the country. File:Russian driving licence 1908.jpg, A driver's license issued in Moscow to the capitalist Yuli Gouzhon (1908). This license is tied to a La Buire automobile. File:Gulag drivers licence.jpg, Driver's license issued to a
Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
prisoner, January 1941 File:Удостоверение шофера.jpg, Soviet Driver's license, 1955 File:Удостоверение шофера 3 класса.jpg, Soviet Driver's license cover, 1955 File:Водительское удостоверение СССР образца 1989 года. Водитель мотоцикла.jpg, USSR driver's license, 1989 File:Prava Tver.jpg, Russian driving licence (old), 2008


Modern driving licences


Standard data field labelling since 2011

Each of the data fields on the front of Russian licences since 2011 are labelled with a number, very similar to European driving licences. 1.
surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
in
Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
and
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

2. first name and patronymic in Cyrillic and Latin
3. date of birth (dd.mm.yyy), place of birth in Cyrillic and Latin
4. a) date of issue, b) date of expiry, c) issuing authority in Cyrillic and Latin
5. licence number
6.
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...
of holder
7.
signature A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, Handwriting, handwritt ...
of holder
8. City of residence
9. licence categories
At the reverse of the card:
10. first issuing date of the category (in a table, listed per category)
11. expiry date of the category (in a table, listed per category)
12. restrictions (number coded, in a table, listed per category, and once for information applying to all categories)
14. space reserved for additional information


Driving on-road vehicles

Since March 2011 there are following categories that require a driving licence: *A: any type of
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
s **A1:
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
s with engine capacity not more than 125 cc and engine power not more than 11 kW *B:
car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
s (automobiles) with permissible maximum weight not more than 3.5tons and number of passenger seats not more than 8 (optionally with trailer with permissible maximum weight not more than 750kg) **B1:
tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...
s and
quadracycle A quadracycle (also spelled quadricycle) is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms. Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown int ...
s *C:
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
s (automobiles) with permissible maximum weight over 3.5tons (optionally with trailer with permissible maximum weight not more than 750kg) **C1:
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
s (automobiles) with permissible maximum weight over 3.5tons but not more than 7.5tons (optionally with trailer with permissible maximum weight not more than 750kg) *D:
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es with number of passenger seats more than 8 (optionally with trailer with permissible maximum weight not more than 750kg) **D1:
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es with number of passenger seats more than 8 but not more than 16 (optionally with trailer with permissible maximum weight not more than 750kg) *BE:
car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
s (automobiles) with permissible maximum weight not more than 3.5tons and number of passenger seats not more than 8, coupled to trailer with permissible maximum weight over 750kg but not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum weight of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed 3.5tons *CE:
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
s (automobiles) with permissible maximum weight over 3.5tons, coupled to trailer with permissible maximum weight over 750kg **C1E:
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
s (automobiles) with permissible maximum weight over 3.5tons but not more than 7.5tons, coupled to trailer with permissible maximum weight over 750kg but not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum weight of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed 12tons *DE:
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es with number of passenger seats more than 8, coupled to trailer with permissible maximum weight over 750kg, and also all types of
articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...
es **D1E:
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es with number of passenger seats more than 8 but not more than 16, coupled to trailer with permissible maximum weight over 750kg but not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum weight of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed 12tons *M:
moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...
s (small vehicle with engine capacity not more than 50 cc and with maximum design speed not exceeding 50 km per hour) and light
quadracycle A quadracycle (also spelled quadricycle) is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms. Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown int ...
s; this category is assigned automatically if person have any other category open *Tm:
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
s *Tb:
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es The current licence style, introduced in 2011, is a laminated
plastic card Plastic cards usually serve as identity documents, thus providing authentication. In combination with other assets that complement the data stored on the card, like Personal identification number, PIN numbers, they also serve authorization purpose ...
similar to the European driving licence card in dimensions and outward appearance, with the bearer's photo and name (in Latin and Cyrillic scripts), place/date of issue, allowed categories, and signature. The reverse of the card features a detailed list of allowed categories. This new style is fully compliant with the
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the co ...
, and therefore is acceptable in all its signatory states and countries. Older credit-card-style and booklet-style licences are also occasionally seen although they are no longer issued and are increasingly rare as a result. The Russian driving licence is also sometimes supplemented by a special card called "временное разрешение" (temporary permission), which serves for registering offense points and as a temporary licence if the primary licence has been seized by the authorities for serious traffic offences. This supplement has been abolished and reinstated a countless number of times as the views of the traffic police change. The legal driving age within the Russian Federation is 18 years (16 for motorcycles and 20 for buses) and to obtain a licence one must be physically fit to drive (including certificates of mental fitness and no record of
substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...
). One must also pass a test administered at a local traffic police authority and pay a fee. Tests are divided into theory and practice. The theory test is usually a computerized multiple-choice test on various
traffic rules Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and ...
. Twenty multiple-choice questions are asked, only one incorrect answer allowed in two different test topics (for a total of two incorrect answers) for a passing grade, after the main part of the test is finished, five additional questions are added for every incorrect answer, bringing a total maximum of questions to 30. Practice part of the test is divided into two parts: basic skills test conducted in an isolated area (steering, slope starting, backing-up, parallel parking and an obstacle course) and a road test conducted on public roads. Four minor errors are allowed for the road driving examination. The number of retries is virtually unlimited, but there is a mandatory grace period of one week for the first three tries and a month for any subsequent ones. Driver's licences are issued by subdivisions of the General Administration for Traffic Safety of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...
and grant the right to drive on-road vehicles only.


Driving off-road vehicles

The right to drive off-road vehicles is granted by a tractorist-machinist's licenc

which is issued by state inspections of the supervision of the technical condition of self-propelled machines and other machiner

(these state inspections are parts of the regional governments of
federal subjects of Russia The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...
and may have different names). The
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
approves the form of the licence and the procedure for issuing it. There are the following categories in tractorist-machinist's licence: *AI:
quad bikes An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...
,
snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...
s and other
off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle (ORV), also known as an off-highway vehicle (OHV), overland vehicle or adventure vehicle, is a type of transportation specifically engineered to navigate unpaved roads and surfaces. These include trails, forest roads, and ...
s with steering that is similar to
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
's steering *AII: wheeled cross-country vehicles weighing less than 3.5tons, including
amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
snow-and-swamp vehicles ( TREKOL-39294, VIKING-29031, etc.), *AIII:
haul truck Haul trucks are off-road, heavy-duty dump trucks specifically engineered for use in high-production mining and exceptionally demanding construction environments. Most are dual axle; at least two examples of tri-axles were made in the 1970s. Hau ...
s *AIV: off-road
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es *B: wheeled and caterpillar
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
s with engine power less than 25,7 kW *C: wheeled
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
s with engine power from 25,7 kW to 110,3 kW *D: wheeled
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
s with engine power over 110,3 kW *E: caterpillar
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
s with engine power over 25,7 kW *F: self-propelled
agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the machine (mechanical), mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are list of agricultural machinery, many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractor ...
To obtain the tractorist-machinist's licence with AII category applicant must have at least 1-year driving experience by category B of driver's licence, AIII category – category C of driver's licence, AIV category – category D of driver's licence. For getting the tractorist-machinist's licence applicant has to pass theoretical and practice exam on the program approved by the
Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
. If applicant does not have the driver's licence he also has to pass theoretical exam on the program approved by the General Administration for Traffic Safety of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...
(knowledge of
traffic rules Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and ...
).


References

{{Asia topic, Driving licence in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
Road transport in Russia