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Well, let’s see. I’ll answer from a local’s POV, an expat’s experience might be vastly different.So anyway, most Russians are born in state-owned maternity clinics. Childbirth assistance is free. CS is available, epidural anesthesia as well. However, everything past what’s necessary, including epidural anesthesia unless deemed unavoidable by the doctor, is paid for from the patient’s pocket (anesthesia costs some 5k RUB, that is, some 100 USD). Infant mortality rate is 6.8 per 1000 life births, down from 20.3 in 2000 (it’s 3.4 in Germany, 39.1 in India, for comparison).Maternity hospital is where a Russian gets his first vaccinations. Later on, he receives additional vaccines throughout school, when conscripted (if necessary), and at workplace (if profession demands). The parents do have a right to refuse their child’s vaccination, but it’s somewhat frowned upon: problems might arise for the kid when applying for kindergarten and school, and while legally that application cannot be denied, it’s going to cost the parents some nerves.The vast majority of male Russians aren’t circumcised, unless religious Jews or Muslims, or suffering phimosis. Female circumcision is considered mutilation and is, as such, a felony.A Russian receives her first documents shortly after birth, and it’s a birth certificate.Maternity leaves are mandated by the Russian law: the first year and a half is paid leave, a year and a half after that is unpaid, but with workplace kept for the mother. The employer pays the mother her wage, but no more than some 50k RUB [~1k USD] monthly; the state compensates the expense through tax deductions. There are also multiple social support payments for parents, low-income families, etc. The most significant of those is the maternity capital introduced in 2009; it’s some 450k RUB (9k USD) for each child after the first. Families with more than two children enjoy some additional social benefits.Normally, a Russian stays with her mother for her first year and a half, after that, she goes to a kindergarten. Some parents instead use the unpaid part of maternity leave, which means their children only go to the kindergarten at age 3; and some don’t send their children there at all. The kindergarten costs about 2500 RUB (50 USD) monthly.The state provides medicine for all citizens since birth. Supposedly, it’s free, but in fact the mandatory insurance doesn’t quite cover every eventuality. All niceties like a personal room at the hospital, additional painkillers past what’s necessary, skipping the queue for a surgery, etc - are paid for. Drugs are also normally paid, unless covered by social benefits for the elderly, the disabled, or the very poor. Medicine varies in quality across the nation, naturally, with the best hospitals gravitating towards larger settlements and, of course, the capital. The state medical system is supplemented by commercial clinics. Russia is somewhat of a destination for medical tourism, especially for dental work and cosmetic surgery, although it is not nearly as popular as Germany or Israel in that regard.At age seven Russian children enter school (it’s actually possible and quite common to enroll a bit earlier, at six or even less). Attending school is generally mandatory; homeschooling is possible through individual agreement with the school, and normally still demands a couple days of weekly attendance. Local state (public) schools are free to attend, and enrollment is guaranteed, however, looking for an alternative better school than what you have in your neighborhood often demands passing entrance exams. There are private schools, those demand tuition, naturally. Additionally, various specialized school types exist, such as board schools for the children of Siberian nomadic deer herders, cadet schools, correction schools for junior convicts, specialized schools for the disabled, and samesuch.Classes are held five or six days a week, normally about four to six lessons a day. A lesson is about 45 minutes, followed by a 15 minute break. The core subjects are the same for everyone, ranging from chorus singing to math and from arts to world history; however, as she progresses through school, a Russian might choose specialization: it isn’t possible to pick individual subjects to study, normally, but general direction is chosen, with related subjects receiving additional attention. Specializations include things like economics, maths, biology, etc; if the school has a contract with a university, profs from the uni can teach additional classes in the chosen specialization.Minimal education is nine years, and a state exam is taken after that. Depending on its result, a Russian can continue his education for two more years in school, enter a vocational school, or simply graduate and enter the workforce. A vocational school lasts 2 to 4 years, and sometimes allows entering a university’s second year without an exam.Most Russians choose 11 years of school, and graduate at 17–18 years of age by passing a unified state exam. By then, they have an internal passport, the document the state uses to interact with a citizen in Russia. Most interactions with the state are now done through an MFC (multifunctional center), which handles the forms and applications for most state services, then hands out the resulting documents when they’re ready.Traveling abroad requires receiving a “foreign” (international) passport; it’s issued all but automatically unless the citizen has access to top state secrets. Here’s a map of visa requirements for Russian citizens (the English version appears outdated, failing to reflect, say, China providing visa-free entry for organized tour groups).Since age 18 a Russian might apply for a driver’s license. That requires attending a driver’s school for half a year, which costs some 30k RUB (~600 USD), followed by an exam (multiple choice test on the traffic laws, standard exercises like backing up a slope or parallel parking, then driving around in the city with an instructor without breaking any traffic laws). A driver’s license can be used as an ID, but hardly everywhere, and the internal passport is preferred.Since age 18 a Russian might apply for a firearm license. Only longarms are allowed, with mandated minimal length and maximal magazine size. No auto fire. A firearm license requires passing a medical commission, and is refused to psychiatric patients, addicts, and former convicts. Initially, only shotguns can be purchased, but after three years without issue, rifles are legal to buy, too. Since age 21 “traumatic weapons” can also be bought, which require a license similar to that for a firearm, and are essentially pistols modified for only shooting rubber bullets, with the law limiting maximal muzzle energy. Crushing weapons are illegal to carry, but knives are legal, and the regulations on what is a bladed weapon as opposed to an utility knife are lax. Tasers and mace sprays are legal and require no license. Bows and crossbows, too; but their maximal tension is limited by law.At ages 18 to 27 a male Russian is due for conscription. Conscription is for 1 year, first an education course that lasts a couple months, then off to the regiment. Conscripts can also become sergeants. Alternatively, instead of 1 year conscription one might sign a two year contract with the army, or a 1 year one if a university graduate. Contract soldiers are treated better, generally, get better living conditions, and are more likely to gain actual combat skills rather than just washing, clearing, painting and servicing everything at the base like conscripts. Army service is a requirement for certain kinds of state employment, especially security services and law enforcement.Generally speaking, serving in the army is at best useless, at worst actively painful. Conscripts getting combat skills past the very basic firearm usage, fortification and using the hardware assigned for their MOS are few and far between. Generally speaking, unless living in some economically depressed town or federal subject with high unemployment, most Russians seek to avoid conscription, which makes it a huge source of corruption. Those who do seek to serve usually go for a contract from the get-go; and women might only serve voluntarily, either as contract soldiers or officers.At 18 years of age, having passed the school unified state exam and using the scores acquired, Russians might enroll in a university. Those who pass study free (no tuition, no book prices, no nothing); those who fail by a small margin might study if they pay; and those who pass spectacularly might get into the dorms. The best universities are state-owned ones in the large cities, those are hard to study in, however, there are also private unis who all but trade degrees for money. A university student in Russia doesn’t get to pick subjects, she picks her future specialty and attends the assigned standard set of courses. Every half a year, exams must be passed for each subject. Failing the exams leads to expulsion and having to take that same course next year.There’s a trick here, however: universities prevent conscription as long as one hasn’t been expelled, so for a male Russian, failing the exams can mean spending a year in the army before he can return to his education. Furthermore, certain universities have officer reserve corps courses, which make their graduates lieutenants, making them ineligible for conscription. The rest of the officer corps is made out of cadet school graduates, cadet school essentially being analogous to a university in lasting five years after 11 years of school.Universities can provide either a five-year specialist course, or a three year bachelor course and a two year master’s (“magister”) course, though. Russian advanced degrees differ from those in the West: should he decide to stay at the uni and devote himself to science, a Russian first gets a candidate of sciences degree (equivalent to a PhD), then a doctor of sciences degree. Both require writing a thesis. Candidates of sciences are ineligible for conscription.This way or another, having completed his education and performed his military duty, a Russian enters the workforce pool. Overall unemployment in Russia is low, at about 5%, but it differs vastly across the nation (see here, note that the numbers on the map correspond to federal subject number in the table on the right). Average wage is 38k RUB (~675USD), but again, differs vastly, with the highest wages paid in Moscow, St.Petersburg, and the oil-producing provinces. Average wage is some 2.3 to 5.7 times the subsistence wage (as per the map here). Average wages also differ between professions, doctors making about 50k, nurses 25k, teachers 30k, university professors 50k, drivers 20k, jet pilots 300k, contract soldiers 25k, mechanics and electricians 40k, office workers 30k, IT professionals 60k. It should be noted that those numbers are all final, as in, what the workers get at the end of the day, because it’s the employer who pays the taxes (including even the income tax) and the social security payments. Income tax is 13%, and taxes plus social security payments cost the employer about again as much as a worker’s wages.So, if the average wage is 38000 RUB, what does it buy? A liter of gas is some 35 rubles, a kilo of potatoes or rice about 50, chicken 180, pork 250, beef 400.A pack of Marlboro cigs is 120 rubles, half a litre of Heineken in a tin 85, a bottle of Crimean wine 500, half a litre of Absolut vodka 700 (all can only be bought from 8 am to 10 pm, even though most Russian shops work around the clock), weed a 1000 per gram (illegal to sell, illegal to own more than six grams, illegal to grow).A coat is some 2000, jeans start at 1000, shoes easily 3000 (naturally those three are all very approximate, and given for new items, not second-hand).Renting a one-bedroom flat in Moscow starts with 20k a month, and down to half that in the regions (but about 80% Russians own their flats, and pay about one tenth that in taxes instead). Electricity, water, gas, sewage and such are at least 2000 rubles a month. Heating is normally centralized in cities, turned on centrally for the whole block of flats once it’s cold enough, and turned off once it’s warm enough for that. Generally speaking, it’s very warm in Russian homes even in winter, many Westerners actually find it uncomfortable. An internet connection with unlimited traffic and 60 mbits costs some 400 rubles; cell phone internet costs about 300 for 5 GB (4G is available in cities, otherwise the connection can be pretty slow - here’s a map of coverage by MTS, for instance).Last year, Lada Granta was in top-3 of cars bought new; it costs upwards from 240k (you can see prices for other models here). Second-hand cars are much cheaper, and a ten-year Mersedes can cost as much as a new Renault sedan. On average, Russians have one car per family.About 75% of Russians live in towns and cities; thus rural population is some 25%. A one-bedroom flat in Moscow costs at least 5 million rubles, 7 for two-bedroom, 9 for three-bedroom (this is all for Khrushev-era blocks of flats, better houses naturally cost more). Provincial real estate can cost as low as half that, but that strongly depends on location - say, Crimea is as expensive as Moscow, if not more! One ar (100 square meters) of land for building starts at some 100k and can get into millions per ar for prime real estate under Moscow. Some 40% Russians own dachas - small suburban houses which normally come with six ars of land. My own dacha is 15 km from Moscow, reachable by suburban train, and an ar in the village costs upwards from 500k. Farming land is much cheaper, starting at 100k a hectare in the arable provinces, but it’s only sold in large chunks and cannot be legally built upon.Money is relatively expensive in Russia. Inflation is high, floating at about 7% (4% this year, 7% before that, 14% in 2015). Consumer credit rates are at about 12–15%, mortgage starts at 7%. Consumer credits have been significantly growing lately, and an average citizen owes the banks some 70k by now (but those are generally paid in time).Hm, let’s end this rant with some more numbers. An average citizen’s life savings are now at 130k rubles; average age is 40 years; on average, a Russian owns 24.4 square meters of real estate (per person).At age 60 for men and 55 for women the state starts paying pensions to Russian citizens depending on how long they’ve worked and how much they earned. The pensions are pretty meager, some 10 to 15k rubles, and minding that most drugs (outside, of course, of emergency care and hospitalizations) have to be bought, surviving on these without kids helping can be challenging. There are additional social payments, but those are rarely significant, either.Life expectancy for males in Russia is 67 years, for females 77. About half the dead are cremated, the rest buried in coffins.tl;dr: life in Russia sucks, avoid if possible.

Updated on December 30, 2020.If you have ANY Russian passport it means that you are a Russian citizen. International travel passport (a.k.a. “foreign passport”) is a legal ID in many cases even within the country. If you are a Russian citizen, you have an automatic and unquestionable permission to work in Russia as well as be engaged in any other lawful activity. There are certain limitations on who can work at which position but those are evident and natural in many other countries: certain government, law enforcement, military, or research jobs imply that you have not only citizenship and skills but certain other credentials, qualifications, and permissions.Here is a LENGTHY explanation of Russian passport system that digresses from the main topic but hopefully clarifies a lot of things to you and other readers. At least you asked for details about Russian passport.Under the wall of text there are scans of my own and some other passports with detailed explanations. Sensitive data removed unless I took an image from other sources on the web.In Russia internal (domestic) passport is similar to a citizen ID card in the majority of other countries (most notably in Europe and Mainland China, or what is in the US and UK is known as “government-issued photo ID”).It is the principal and most universal form of identity document, compulsory for each and every citizen age 14 and up (no exceptions, except maybe extremely hard mental patients).Almost the only people who can’t have their internal passport with them are patients of mental hospitals, military conscripts and jail inmates — their passports are stored at, respectively, office of chief doctor (i.e., hospital director) or relatives of the patient, commander of military detachment, or chief warden. Once conscription or jail term ends, or in case a mental patient is deemed sane enough to live outside institution, their passport is returned to them.Another case of a Russian citizen who is not mandated to have an internal passport is if one lives abroad permanently, did not forfeit Russian citizenship but has no residence in Russia. It is recommended to have one though. It is even possible to replace one via Russian embassy or consulate, but in this case the process may take up to six months.With military the only ID of the drafted soldier is so-called “Military ticket” (literal translation of военный билет), a passport-format booklet that contains a different set of information but also includes principal identification data and a photo — and you can buy a bus/train/plane ticket with it. Can’t marry with it though. At the age of 16 conscription offices issue “Conscript ID” to all boys. It is without a photo so it is not considered a valid ID and, upon either conscription or release from it, is replaced with the “Military ticket”.Conscription age is 18 to 27 for all males deemed suitably healthy unless they are:1) full-time students of higher or tertiary education, candidates and doctors in sciences;2) or have more than 3 children under 18 in their custody (either as a father or the only able adult of the household, the latter is quite shaky ground — sometimes social services prefer to draft a boy and put his younger siblings into orphanages — and different at that);3) the boy had his father or older sibling killed or injured to disability either in action or during the conscription service;4) the young man has other citizenship(s) in addition to Russian and/or lives abroad permanently;5) the young man already served in the army of another country — which implies that he: a) may possibly spy for a foreign military or intelligence service; b) already pledged allegiance to a different state.Pledge of allegiance, while being mostly a formal, if often solemnly festive, procedure, is taken very seriously by military and law enforcement, and not only in Russia but almost anywhere in the world. So seriously that the breach of it, a treason, in Russia is considered more serious a crime than a particularly violent multiple manslaughter. There is a way to obtain Russian citizenship in five years for foreigners via signing in as a contract soldier, but it is so tricky and rare that I can’t even remember anyone doing so, although such people indeed exist.Higher-ranked officers (sub-lieutenant and higher, up to Marshal — which is higher than a four-star General of Army and in Russia for the moment is the highest military rank possible in theory, although after numerous reforms of the Russian Army there are no Marshals left with the General of Army being the highest rank, the next is only the Supreme Commander, which, constitutionally, is the president of the Russian Federation. Throughout all history we had four men in Generalissimo rank: Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov, Joseph Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev, in the two latter cases those ranks were not field ranks, and with Brezhnev it was pure decoration) also have “Officer’s ID”, which can also be used as an official ID in many cases — but not civic acts like marriage/divorce, residential registration and employment/business contracts (a serviceman is employed by default).Technically all men and some women (including many, if not all, medical professionals regardless of gender) must have military ID, but practically that is not exactly compulsory: I, for example, being an able male, have no Military ID, only obsolete Conscript ID — but that is rather because I ditched not only conscription but actually almost all contacts with my local military office. Without the Military ID I can’t be a full-time employee of a government, a state-owned institution, and a non-foreign company that has more than 1000 employees (and thus must have its own military supervisor) — but I never had neither need nor desire to work there, I’m self-employed (and before that I worked in smaller collectives) — so the only case the army would want me is nationwide mobilization with martial law — and THAT is highly unlikely in the coming 6 years: I am 39 now, and after 45 non-military are de-listed from army ledgers regardless, and can only volunteer in case of all-out war, which did not happen since the World War II.How I ditched the army? Well, I was a full-time (sort of) student in 1999–2004, and then (I didn’t graduate formally, just abandoned the university after 4.5 years for various reasons) it was a classic no-show. Current laws do not allow that but in 2000s it was possible because of a legal loophole — which I exploited in earnest.If a young man who is already 18 but not yet 27 wants to get a passport for foreign travel — which is what “passport” is for the rest of the world except Russia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, partially (since 2016) Ukraine and (since 2019) Uzbekistan — one must provide a reference (which is practically a permit) from his local military office together with his internal passport, two passport-type 35×45mm color photographs on white background, and an application form.In Belarus, there is only one passport that is both a universal domestic ID and a passport for international travel. Previously Belarusians had a stamp in their passports that read “Can be used for foreign travel” but about ten or so years ago that practice was abandoned and Belarusian passport is now valid for foreign travel by default.In Ukraine, there was a similar system until 2016 with a Soviet-style passport (issued at 16, additional photos glued in at 25 and 45), which was inherited from the USSR, but since 2016 the country started transition to the European system of internal ID card and travel passport; previously issued passports are still valid.In Uzbekistan, until 2019 there was similar system too, and exit permits, but exit permits were abolished and two-passport system is now being gradually replaced with card+passport system.In Turkmenistan, the Soviet system remained intact: internal ID is a USSR-style passport book that is issued at the age of 16 with additional photographs glued in at the age of 25 and 45, and passport for foreign travel with exit permit that may be very tricky to obtain.Now, to the picture part. Here is my own passport with sensitive information masked. I got it to replace my previous one that I’ve got after my 20th birthday and which became so worn and torn for 17 years that it was not quite legal to use it.Passports are replaced: on 20th and 45th birthdays, after loss or serious damage (anything except allowed stamps and marks is a damage), upon name change.Last name change (including marriage/divorce/adoption — anytime upon application), first name change (usually happens with 20-year-olds), patronymic change (extremely rare, usually in case of adoption or upon very strongly motivated application backed by a crapload of paperwork) — that is done via ZAGS (civil registry). Since recently you don’t need to go specifically to ZAGS other than for marriage and divorce, as almost everything is now handled by “My Documents” MFC (multi-functional government service centers), at least in Moscow — and yes, the brand name of the MFC was directly influenced by Microsoft — specifically, My Documents folder in Windows, which is the most popular OS in Russia.The title spread (2nd page of cover with the view of Kremlin from the South-West and 1st page of booklet with the coat of arm) is universal for everyone and can be easily found online. It contains the title: PASSPORT OF A CITIZEN OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. The cover is universal, dark crimson leatherette with slight variations from batch to batch. “Foreign” passport is of a brigher shade of red and has the twin-headed eagle on a heraldic shield: like here below on the right but embossed.This is the most modern (as of June 2020) form of Russian internal passport with the main spread spread filled exemplary in rather neat dot matrix print.Here above is the main ID spread, and that is how you show your passport to anyone who wishes to see it for identity or age proof.Line by line translation:RUSSIAN FEDERATIONPassport issued by: HQ of MIA of RUSSIA in the C(ity) of MOSCOWDate of issue: XX.XX.2018. Detachment code: 770-XXX (detachment names change from time to time due to bureaucratic motions but codes are permanent since 1994 or so).The red stamp reads: Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Stamp for the main document that confirms the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation at the territory of Russian Federation. 770-XXX. (and to the left from the eagle’s sceptre is the number of the stamp).Then goes the always-empty Personal Code field. Technically it is taxpayer’s number (INN) or social security (SNILS) number that would fit but the idea of a personal code met so fierce opposition by radical Orthodox Christian fundamentalists, very few but extremely vocal in all matters that religion has no place in (they quoted Revelations 13:16–17 — by the way, some most radical of them even refuse passports which is highly illegal, but Russia is vast and there are some places in Siberia and woods of Northern European Russia where such people supposedly live in their own private 17th century), that government decided to abandon the idea completely — but did not change the design and the layout of the passport.Red number is series and serial number.Then (masked) there are six digits of the passport serial number.Series and serial number together are what is called “passport number” in Russia because one makes no sense without the other.The third page is the MAIN PAGE with the photograph. This is the only laminated page of the passport, since 2008 it has a fancy hologram but initially some passports of the second generation (legally either generation is equal as long as the passport itself is valid) had bad lamination film that peeled off. One of my friends had such trouble and had to replace his passport much sooner than expected.Previously the passport photograph could be only black-and-white but after 2002 or so color photographs were also allowed, and since 2008 they are preferred. Also, in the first generation of Russian passport the photograph was 37×47 mm, but later the requirement was switched to standard European 35×45 mm.To the right from the photograph:Family (last) name: SOLOVEYFirst (given) name (may not coincide with the name Christian monks get after taking the veil, but ecclesiastical names have nothing to do with real names): IGNATPatronymic: ANDREEVICH (NB: patronymic is not the second name).Sex (male or female, no other options). Date of birth: DD.MM.YYYYPlace of birth. In my case it is just MOSCOW but people from smaller settlements have quite long strings there, like NNNN PLACE of NNNN DISTRICT of NNNN REGION. For example: пос. Бердигестях Горного улуса Республики Саха (Якутия).And again the number on the right.Below is the machine-readable stripe that wasn’t filled in the 1st generation passport. The transliteration is a horrendous creation of some obscure programmer in Internal Affairs who supposedly still is preoccupied with 1980s Soviet computers, but they managed to pull this disgusting madness into IATA standard. Luckily, in “foreign” passports transliteration is a bit more sensible, but just a bit. This year, when I replaced my “foreign” passport, I raised a little fuss because they tried to write my last name as Solovei instead of proper Solovey, but I won thanks to the clerk’s wit and assistance.Notably, there is no “entry number five” — ethnicity — in Russian passport, unlike all versions of Soviet passports (1932, 1947, 1974). It was decided in the 1990s to forfeit it to subdue nationalism and xenophobia. Legally (and mostly practically, although there are some xenophobic issues) if you are a Russian citizen, your ethnicity is of no consequence whatsoever. At that, there are people who are overly proud with their ethnicity and there is sort of a movement to return ethnicity into passport, quite notably both radical communists and some far right agree on that, but that will probably not happen in any foreseeable future.45 is the code of Moscow according to OKTMO. 77 is the code of Moscow according to the Constitution. Here is the cross-reference table of all regional code systems (in Russian).Constitutional codes are used in everything except passports and some other registries. Car plates, INN (taxpayer’s numbers), medical insurance policy numbers, etc., use constitutional codes.18 is the year of issue. My first passport had 97 there (although I’ve got it in January 1998, but it was the very-very first series of this type of Russian passport, and mine had a number within the first 5000, so I was an early adopter).With my first passport I got into a transition period, like many people in Russia did in many other cases in 1990s–2010s: when I turned 14, it was late 1995, the passport law was still Soviet (despite the USSR was officially dissolved on December 8, 1991, and practically on December 25, 1991), and Soviet passports were valid. In 1994 or so, newly-issued passports started to get Russian Federation inlay. I turned 16 in the late 1998 and next day after birthday rushed to the passport office to apply. I filled the form that presumed “transitional” passport — Soviet-style with Russia inlay… and waited. New passports were already widely advertised but there was a huge mess about it, delays, shortages and whatnot. My slightly older classmates got their “transitional” passports earlier. Yet, in about three weeks I’ve got a call from the passportist that I should re-apply for a new, all-Russian, passport, bring new photographs — and WAIT. So I waited. Finally, I have got my red-bound booklet in mid-January 1998 — and was, as I already told, among the first people in Russia with that. Notably so, police database that I had a sneak peek into, lists my first passport as issued in February 1997, which could not be.Technically it was (and is) sort of illegal to not have a passport for longer than 30 days after the the 14th, 20th, and 45th birthdays but, first, absolutely everyone knew about the passport havoc, and, second, no one in their right mind then would ask a schoolboy for a passport — birth certificate at most, that, quite obviously, has no photo in it — contrary to “foreign” passport that even babies must have… During a short, but eventful period in my life that I worked as an ID photographer, I did take pictures of babies for their passports several times, and sometimes do it now when my relatives, friends, or colleagues need quality ID photos of their babies — and that is a task. Luckily, no police or border control officer anywhere in the world is exactly picky about the angle and facial expression in this case. Ah, by the way — it is HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED to smile on ID photos in Russia… and, since 2005, in Canada, as I was told.Here, for comparison, is my previous (2001, 1st generation) passport, issued by a different passport office.Already neatly printed but the photograph is classic black-and-white and machine-readable stripe is clear. The rest, apart from the number and place of issue, is the same. I scanned it in 2009 or so not removing my custom cover, so you see some wear on it. Internal passports that are not valid anymore, are taken away from you by the passport office. Technically the passport is a government property, not the citizen’s. In 1998–2002 most passports were filled by more or less neat handwriting in black ink, dot matrix printers are used since about 2001.Here is (randomly googled) scan of the title spread of the first-gen passport, filled by hand in black ink. The empty personal code field is marked (on this scan, not in actual passport) with a red frame. This scan has no concealed information, contrary to mine, but it is not valid anymore anyway. My first passport looked like this. Here the guy is 15 years old, which happened a lot in 1998 and early 1999 with kids born in 1983 and early 1984.Below is the second spread (pages 4–5). Also very important: PLACE OF RESIDENCE. A.k.a. propiska. Officially it is “registration at the place of residence, permanent”, and not “propiska” since 1993 but the name stays, even in some semi-official paperwork.I confess, only once I have seen anyone’s passport with the page 4 filled — but the guy married and divorced so often that he ran out of space in all designated pages. This stamp is dot-matrix-printed, but probably all subsequent ones, if they ever happen, will be traditional rubber stamps with handwriting……like in my previous passport when I have got my current apartment from the city and moved (legally; practically I lived with my parents) from a very central but very decrepit location into a brand new block in the outskirts. Still South-East but quite nice area, especially compared to more recent projects. So here you see the registration stamp (there is no my parent’s address here because when I’ve got that — second — passport, I was registered in other place… exactly with the purpose of getting the new and better flat, even in less convenient location than a 20-minute walk from the Red Square within the Garden Ring. The stamps are registration, un-registration (smaller), and, on page 6, new registration (which is my current address).Pages 5 to 12 are dedicated to residential registration. Here again are pages from my current passport and you can see the difference: in 1–2-generation passports the number was printed in red on all pages by a special numbering machine, and in 3–4th-gen passport it is laser-perforated on pages 5 to 20. The pages are laser-punched in stack at specific power to avoid burning them, so in the end you’ll see that the perforation is much less prominent.Page 13 is dedicated to military service. Usually there is one stamp, two at most: registered with military, or non-draftable, and, sometimes, unregistered with military. Blank in my case because I ditched the army completely and they don’t care (see above). Military un-registration stamp usually doesn’t happen because the passport is replaced at the age of 45 which coincides with de-listing from military anyway.Here is how page 13 usually looks (here it is in the 1st generation passport). The stamp says: “Liable for military service”. Such stamp appears after the conscritoion service. In this case it is done with a dot matrix printer.Pages 14 and 15 are dedicated to marital status. I am single, had always been and probably will be, so in my case those are blank. Those who have information there have a stamp (either traditional or printed) stating that the civil a registry office (location) registered a marriage with other person, last name changed or not changed, when it happened. Often that stamp is followed by a similar divorce stamp and, not quite seldom, a new marriage stamp. Marriage and divorce cerificates are issued as well but they are rarely required in daily life, only for visa purposes sometimes, and and some complex paperwork. In the visa case originals are not always necessary because consulates are fine with copies or scans.Here is an example (randomly googled) of the filled marital status spread. The marriage stamp is printed because the girl supposedly turned 20 shortly after the marriage or lost her previous passport and, thus, replaced it. The divorce stamp is conventional. It is evident that the marriage lasted for only 8 months (not 9, because divorce application is filed in 30 days prior to the date of actual divorce… and it is a very common story in Russia, more than 50% of marriages end with divorce, especially among people under 25 — and that is one of the reasons I prefer not to engage myself in commercial wedding photography) and she did not change her last name.Pages 16–17 are about children. Again, empty in my case, but not only in my: it is not exactly required to list kids in your passport, and often only mothers are doing so, if at all. The table reads as the following:CHILDREN:Sex | Last name, first name, patronymic | Date of birth | Personal code (always empty for the reasons explained above). This table has space for six children at most but families with more than 1 or 2 children are quite rare, and even more rare are those with more than 3. But, again, it is not really necessary to fill that.Here is an example (randomly googled) of a (still) happy father holding both his and his wife’s passports, together with the birth certificate in the background, and the newborn’s name is put into both passports:Here is an example of a completely filled “Children” passport pages with six names. It is so unusual that it hit the news (hence the newspaper logo in the top right corner of the picture). The stamps are dated with one (and later) date because the passport was replaced for whatever reason and all the records were put afresh. This is, by the way, one of the last 1st-gen passports, judging by the date (pre-2008) and newer printer font.Then, the last spread. Pages 18–19 are designated for miscellaneous information: previous passport(s), “foreign” passports (as you can see, I have one previous listed and two “foreign”, and the most recent one is with a rubber stamp and handwriting. The date is March 20 but actually it happened on June 1, because the “foreign” passport itself was issued on March 20 and was delivered to my local MFC on April 3 — but between March 30 and May 31, 2020 government service offices were shut down completely because of the pandemic.There are two more bits of information that can be put on pages 18 or 19.One is the information of your blood group and Rh. Very few people bother to do it, I did not either (although I think, I can do it, even out of sheer professional curiosity).Here is a randomly googled example of the blood information on page 18 put in by a commercial lab……and by a government-owned public hospital:Blood information can be written in passport by any organization with medical license — public or private clinic or hospital, bioanalytical lab, blood transfusion station (like below). Police, civil registry, government offices or citizens themselves can’t do it, only medical professionals.Another piece is INN (taxpayer’s numer), that is done at the Tax Service office. Here is another googled example — and it seems that the guy was on a mission to fill his page 18 completely, as well as he did not bother to conceal his private information.Page 20 contains the excerpt from the Passport Statute. There is word РОССИЯ (RUSSIA) in the top brown stripe, visible under the angle (another way of protection)3rd page of cover is blank (in contains the state print shop mark and the year of design, this is a 2nd-gen passport). The back cover is plain leatherette.Russian internal passport, as of 2020, is valid to travel not only within Russia, but around five EAC countries: Belarus, Armenia (only when arriving via Yerevan and Gümri airports), Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — but putting border crossing stamps in Russian passport voids it — and that was a constant source of annoyance generated by Ukrainian border guards who still put such stamps until about 2011 — later they mostly ceased to do it, and since 2015 Russian citizens can (barely) enter Ukraine only using their international passports.To finalize this answer, here is a scan of the ID page of my brand new international passport with sensitive info omitted. The first page is plastic and contains the biometric chip. The chip now holds a scan of color photograph I provided upon application, and data of two index fingers that conforms to ICAO standard, like in the EU — but not yet a retina scan. The black-and-white photograph is done in an automated booth at the passport office (that’s why the quality is rather poor) and laser-engraved at the factory where biometric travel passports are mass-produced. My lower signature is also engraved and is done digitally with a special tablet similar to artistic or rather the one you sign for your credit card payments sometimes. The chip is embedded under the globe with compass on the right, and that is covered with another photograph of me that is printed using different technology (looks like negative on a scan).Apart from citizen passport there are service passports for officials — those are used by government officials and those military who are eligible for business trips abroad, they have a dark blue cover; and diplomatic passports with green covers — and the latter sometimes confuses border control and security in places where they see conventional green passports (of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Pakistan) much more often than Russian diplomatic ones.Talks that Russia should abandon internal passport in favor of plastic credit-card-size IDs are going on since about 2010, but practically it is still nowhere to be seen. Yet, current prime minister Mikhail Mishoustin is a former IT entrepreneur and a technophile (he was the man behind the IT reform of the Federal Tax Service that he ruled with an iron hand of a progressor in 2011–2019, and it is now much easier to deal with that authority online or in apps) — so recently he announced a “digital passport” mobile app (the idea met quite serious opposition, by IT professionals not in the least), and also that starting 2021 (maybe) a replacement of passport books with proper ID cards will commence. We’ll wait and see, but I think I’ll be among the first applicants when ID cards appear and it becomes possible for me personally.

Full List of VR Hardware EcosystemVR Head-Mounted Displays & DevicesANTVRANTVR is a startup based in Beijing that produces virtual reality and augmented reality wearable devices. The ANTVR headset was launched with the Lenovo K4 Note in India last month. ANTVR raised $260,834 on a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. The startup was founded by Qin Zheng.http://www.antvr.com/Baofeng MojingChinese video streaming service Baofeng, through its subsidiary, Baofeng Mojing, launched its first virtual reality headset in September 2014. The Baofeng Mojing IV VR 3D Headset has two versions, and supports Android or iOS systems. The headset is built of ABS Heat resistant material with adjustable head band and support for eye glasses. Earphones are also included on the package and a Bluetooth controlled remote control for proper adjustment. It’s also one of the cheapest VR experiences on the market. Baofeng Mojing has raised a US$10 million round in April 2015. Feng Xin is the founder of Baofeng Technology. The company is based in Beijing.http://baofengmojing.cn/Carl ZeissThe ZEISS VR ONE by Carl Zeiss is a headset for mobile VR. The headset comes with precision optics that provide a premium immersive experience with a 100-degree view. It’s powered by IOS or Android smartphones. It comes with a custom-made tray where the phone slides in. Users can download apps for made for VR from Google Play and Apple App Stores. No lens adjustment is necessary – you can use it while wearing your glasses. The VR ONE is now paired with a drone application that allows the user to have the same views as the camera on the drone. Carl Zeiss is a German manufacturer of optical systems, industrial measurements and medical devices, founded Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. The global company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.http://zeissvrone.tumblr.com/#vr-for-everyoneCriffenCriffin is developing omnidirectional movement and full body tracking devices for virtual reality applications (especially for computer games) and other VR devices. Criffen manufactures the locomotion platform called RUNPAD with wireless IMU sensor based technology that allows precise full body tracking for VR simulations. Criffin is researching SLAM and UltraSonic technologies for positional tracking. The founder of Criffen is Peeter Nieler. The Estonian company was founded in 2012.http://criffin.comEyefluenceEyfluence has created a unique eye tracking system for use with virtual reality and augmented reality headsets. The company claims its technology transforms intent into action through the eyes. The company has raised $21.6 million in two rounds from five investors. Jim Marggraff and David Stiehr are the founders. The company, based in Milpitas, California, was founded in 2013.http://eyefluence.com/FibrumFibrum is a Russian company based in Moscow that manufactures the mobile headset for smartphones by the same name. The company is also active in developing VR apps and games. The VR-headset is compatible with smartphones screen sizes of 4.4 inch to 5.5 inch. The company was founded in 2013 by Ilya Flaks.http://fibrum.ru/FOVEFOVE is the world’s first consumer-oriented head-mounted display that uses eye tracking. The Japanese startup was founded in May 2014 by CEO Yuka Kojima and CTO Lochlainn Wilson. FOVE reads subtle eye movements for more precise control in VR. FOVE raised $480,650 via a successful Kickstarter campaign which included investments from Samsung Ventures and Valve.http://www.getfove.com/H2LH2L is a Japanese hardware startup spun off from the University of Tokyo. The startup developed an advanced haptic feedback armband able to target the muscles in the arm that control each finger and deliver precise responses that mirror onscreen actions. The device is called UnlimitedHand. In a successful Kickstarter campaign the startup raised $74,952 from 333 backers and the video game controller with haptic feedback is now on pre-order. The team is Ken Iwasaki (President and CEO), Tomy Kamada (Director) and Emi Tamaki (Chief Researcher).http://h2l.jp/en/HomidoThe Homido is an affordable headset for mobile devices. It’s comparable to Google Cardboard, the same small size, but is more high-tech and feels more immersive. It fits most phones from the last couple of years from Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony, LG and OnePlus. The quality of the VR experience depends on the size and resolution of the mobile device: the higher the resolution and the bigger the screen, the more immersive the experience. The Homido comes with the Homido Center app that serves as a central hub for all the Homido apps and VR content, including video from the web via the Homido 360 VR player. Homido is headquartered in Lille, North of France. The product is designed in France and the hardware is produced in China. No funding information could be found.http://www.homido.com/enHTCHTC is a multinational high-tech company based in Taiwan that, in partnership with Valve, manufactures the HTC Vive, an integrated head mounted headset for VR capable of motion tracking. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. HTC went public in 2002. HTC has formed a partnership with Valve, an American video game developer and digital distribution company and creator of the Steam entertainment platform. The HTC Vive is powered by Valve Steam VR.http://htc.comHuaweiChinese electronics giant Huawei makes a virtual reality (VR) headset. It differs from other mobile headsets in the sense that while it uses the power and processor of a smartphone, it doesn’t use the screen of the smartphone, but a built-in screen in the headset itself. The headset is connected to the phone via a USB cable. Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider founded in 1987. The company headquarters is in Shenzhen, China.http://huawei.comImmersiON-VReliaImmersiON-VRelia focuses on the creation of wide field-of-view 3D Stereoscopic Head Mounted Displays and Heads Up Displays for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for multiple industries. ImmersiON-VRelia makes the GO HMD for Android or iOS smartphones. The GO is a personal immersive virtual reality HMD with an advanced optics correction system and comes with a gamepad controller for smartphones up to 6″. The company also makes the PRO-DG1 HMD|HUD, an augmented virtually device and the BlueSky PRO HMD, a ruggedized HMD for entertainment and promotional applications. ImmersiON-VRelia was founded in 2014 by Manuel R. Gutierrez, Ethan D. Schur, Isidoro Pessah and Paco Álavres Beltrán. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California with offices in Murcia, Spain.http://immersionvrelia.comIntel RealSenseIntel RealSense is a platform for implementing gesture-based human to computer interaction techniques. It consists of three cameras that act like one—a 1080p HD camera, an infrared camera, and an infrared laser projector. Like the human eye the cameras can sense depth and track human motion. Users can scan real objects and place them into a virtual gaming world or share it on social media or print it to a 3D printer or remove backgrounds when chatting online. Intel has also developed apps to enhance the user experience, like scanning your face and replacing the image with an avatar. Multiple devices come with the Intel RealSense camera built in.http://www.intel.com/LeVR COOL1Leshi Internet Information and Technology Co. makes the head-mounted VR device Cool 1. The Cool 1 sells for 149 yuan ($23), and is currently only compatible with LeTV’s own smartphones. Leshi Internet Information & Technology, also known as Letv, is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest online video companies in China. It is headquartered in Beijing.www.letv.com/LG 360 VRLG 360 VR is a mobile headset made by South Korean multinational, LG Corporation. The LG 360 VR is lightweight, foldable, has dual screens and connects to the new LG G5 phone. The headset is sold as part of a range of peripherals for LG’s new G5 flagship smartphone.http://www.lg.com/Merge VRMerge VR manufactures a system for mobile virtual reality, comprising a comfortable and durable VR headset, compatible with any iOS or Android smartphone. Merge VR also manufactures a proprietary motion controller. The company was founded in 2014 by Franklin Lyons and Andrew Trickett and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The company has raised US$2.7 million since January 2014.http://www.mergever.com/NodNod is a product of Nod Inc. a small company based in Mountain View, CA. Nod is a gesture control ring that uses natural hand gestures to control or engage with objects in virtual reality. Nod is a universal controller that works with phones, tablets, Google Glass, watches, home appliances, TVs, computers and more. Nod Gesture Control Ring was launched in 2014. A new product, the Nod Backspin, a gaming ring that can be used to control VR headsets, was introduced in 2015 for which Nod received $13 million in funding. The company raised a seed round of $2.5 million in 2013.https://nod.comOculusOculus is a technology company that develops interface software for the cloud-based gaming industry. The company was founded by Palmer Luckey who, while still a teenager, invented the Oculus Rift, a head-mounted display for virtual reality. Oculus was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for US$2 billion and currently operates as a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. Before the acquisition Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Formation 8 had invested a $91million while the Oculus also raised more than $2.4 million on Kickstarter. The company develops virtual reality products including the Rift VR headset, the Oculus Touch, as well as the DK2, a development kit for the Rift.www.oculusvr.comOSVR by RazerFounded in 1998 in Carlsbad, California by Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff, Razer is the world’s leading brand in high-end precision gaming products. Razer has developed the OSVR Hacker Dev Kit. OSVR stands for Open-Source Virtual Reality. The OSVR virtual reality open-source device enables programming for any variety of VR technology. The aim is to set an open standard for Virtual Reality input devices, games and output to ensure the best possible game experience in the Virtual Reality space.http://www.razerzone.com/osvrPlayStation VRPlayStation VR (originally called Project Morpheus) is a virtual reality headset produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is being built exclusively for PlayStation and uses Sony’s Move accessories to bring motion control to players’ VR experiences. The headset is credited with being one of the most ergonomic headsets for VR. The product is expected to be launched in fall.https://www.playstation.com/en-za/explore/ps4/features/playstation-vr/SamsungDeveloped by Samsung Electronics in collaboration with Oculus VR, Samsung Gear VR is a mobile virtual reality device compatible with the 2015 Samsung GALAXY flagship smartphones. The smartphone, sold separately, acts as the headset’s display and processor. The Gear VR is powered by oculus and users have access to content and apps on the Oculus store. Samsung Gear VR, selling at $99, is billed as the VR set that will open up virtual reality to the masses. Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Suwon, South Korea.http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/wearables/gear-vr/SensicsSensics is a head-mounted panoramic virtual reality display company producing HMDs for a wide spectrum of training, medical, consumer and research applications. The company offers augmented reality solutions that combine high-quality video feeds with computer generated imagery; motion trackers that track users’ movements and change the images; and eye trackers that measures the point of gaze, which allows a computer to sense where the user is looking. Sensics is a founding contributor to OSVR. OSVR is an open-source virtual reality initiative that is the result of a partnership between Sensics and Razer, a global leader in products for gamers. Sensics architected and built the initial OSVR software platform and continues to enhance and maintain the open-source project. Sensics is a privately-held company based in Columbia, Maryland founded in 1999. The company has raised $2.27 million from two investors in six rounds. Yuval Boger is the CEO.Open Source VR - Location-Based VR | Virtual Reality AdvertisingSerious SimulationsSerious Simulations provides mixed and virtual reality training systems for the military, law enforcement, firefighting and medical services. The company, started in 2014 by founder and CEO Chris Chambers, is based in Orlando, Florida. The management team is comprised of former US Army and US Air Force officers and combat veterans. Their products include the Zero Frame Latency Wireless Video Formatter, the Wireless Head/Helmet Mounted Display and Wireless Data-sensing Skins and interfaces.http://www.serioussimulations.com/Shoogee GmbH & Co. KGShoogee GmbH & Co. KG is a German company headquartered in Muenster, Germany. The company was founded in 2011 by Arne Voigtlaender and others. The company provides IT consulting and security services, specialises in software and embedded systems development and develops smartphone applications for the Durovis Dive, a 3D Virtual Reality Gaming device for smartphones. The Durovis Dive is the world’s first hands-free smartphone holder for virtual reality. No funding information available.www.shoogee.comwww.durovis.comStarbreeze StudiosStarbreeze Studios is a publicly listed game development company with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and studios in Paris and Los Angeles. Startbreeze Studios is one of northern Europe’s largest independent game development studios known for blockbusters like Overkill’s Walking Dead. Overkill is a Starbreeze studio. Starbreeze works to develop truly immersive virtual reality experiences, integrating software and hardware through its Project StarVR and the StarVR head mounted display. Starbreeze was founded in 1998 and has raised $40 million in funding in one round.www.startvr.com/StarVR from Starbreeze StudiosStarbreeze Studios is an independent creator, publisher and distributor of computer games, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Starbreeze has formed the Project StarVR, and has developed the 210 degrees StarVR Headset with special eye tracking. Starbreeze works to deliver top quality VR entertainment experiences. Starbreeze also plans to establish a VR arcade venue in Los Angeles where customers can enjoy VR experience using the StarVR headset. Starbreeze has raised $40 million in one funding round. The company was established in 1998.www.starvr.comTesla StudiosTesla Studios makes the Teslasuit, full-body haptic feedback suit for virtual reality. The multidisciplinary team of developers and designers are experts in AR and VR. The UK Perthshire-based company has worked for Sony, Unity, Nestlè, CityBank, Johnson and Johnson. The Studio was co-founded by Dimitree Marozau and Serge Khurs 2013. The Teslasuit is on pre-order now.http://www.teslasuit.com/VirtuixBased in Austin, Texas, Virtuix makes a line of VR products under the Omni brand for virtual reality experiences. Its most prominent product is the Virtuix Omni, a virtual reality platform that enables movement in 360 degrees in VR. The company was founded by Jan Goetdeluk in 2013. Virtuix started with a $1.1 million Kickstarter campaign in 2013 and then went on to raise $3 million on Seedvest and has now raised a total of $8 million.http://virtuix.comVirZoomVirZoom is a virtual reality technology startup founded by Eric Janszen and Eric Malafeew. The startup makes the VirZoom motion controller. Users pedal the VirZoom Controller which propels them through games in virtual reality while they exercise. The VirZOOM Dongle is plugged into a PC USB port or PS4 and used with the VirZOOM Active Play game app and one of these headsets – Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStationVR. There are plans to support mobile options when they support position tracking. Virzoom has raise $1.83 million in Round 1 from one investor. The startup is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.http://virzoom.com/VrizzmoVrizzmo was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Krakow, Poland. The company develops VR goggles that turn a smartphone into a wireless VR headset. Vrizzmo’s unique, patents-pending solutions provide the best optics among similar available products. Its dual lens system causes less image distortion and has a 110 degree field of view. The latest product is the VRIZZMO Volt.http://www.vrizzmo.com/VrvanaVrvana is a Canadian VR startup based in Montreal. Vrvana makes Totem, a 3D immersive VR/AR headset with on-board cameras and a Mixed Reality Processing Unit. The company was founded by gamer and engineer Bertrand Nepveu in 2005. Vrvana has raised $350k.http://vrvana.com/WearalityThe Wearality team has spent five years developing patented technologies for virtual reality (VR) for the defence and aerospace industry and is applying this patented technology to consumer and commercial head wearable displays for immersive experiences. The Wearality Sky ™ is the company’s first product. It is a pair of affordable, lightweight, foldable, 3D glasses with wide a FOV that works with any 5” or 6” smartphone. The company has raised $1.7 million in funding. Wearality was founded by David Smith. The current CEO is Michael Jones, former chief technology advocate for Google. Wearality is based in Los Altos, San Francisco.http://wearality.com/Zero LatencyZero Latency is a VR startup that uses its inversion VR System to provide users with an integrated ‘Studio Experience’ to VR. Zero Latency gamers wear a backpack that houses a lightweight Alienware gaming laptop. The cables are plugged into the laptop, which communicates wirelessly with the system and other players. Users can move freely around a 400-square metre area playing virtual reality games. The founders are Tim Ruse and Scott Vandonkelaar. The Melbourne-based startup has attracted $1.08 million in two rounds of funding from one investor.http://zerolatencyvr.com/3Glasses by Virtual Reality TechnologyVirtual Reality (VR) Technology Limited focuses on the research and development of smart wearable devices for virtual reality and augmented reality. 3Glasses makes VR headsets, the flagship device being the D2 Vanguard Edition. The 3Glasses line also includes the Blubur S1 especially for gaming and the Blubur W1, an all-in-one device that offers a standalone, computer-free VR experience. VR Technology, the parent company of 3Glasses, has offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.http://the3glasses.com/usd/showpage/VR Cameras360Heros360Heros provides a variety of 360 degree video products and services for professional producers and hobbyists to create fully-spherical and interactive content. Founder of 360Heros, Michael Kintner, has designed a 360 degree camera rig that mounts 7 GoPro cameras to produce a 360 degree image. The 360Heros services include the production and sale of 360Heros GoPro arrays (holders), on-site 360 video production, 360 video post-production and 360 video hosting. 360Heros was founded by Michael Kintner in 2011 and is based in Olean, New York.http://360heros.com/BublToronto-based Bubl has created the world’s first spherical camera, called the Bublcam. The Bublcam captures 100% of the spherical range through panoramic photos and videos. The innovative tetrahedral design allows the four 190 degree lenses to overlap capturing everything inside what the company calls a digital bubl. The Bubl is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The startup has raised $ $4.6 million in seed funding by Samsung Ventures, J-Tech Capital and other strategic investors. The company was founded by Sean Ramsay in 2011.http://bublcam.com/FeelrealFeelreal has created a virtual reality mask and a helmet that lets users smell virtual environments. The devices stimulate both the olfactory (smell) and tactile (touch) senses, thereby creating the ultimate immersive experience. Feelreal has two products, the Feelreal VR Mask and the Nirvana VR Helmet. Gary Mostovoy is president and CEO of Feelreal. The company is based in Brooklyn, New York and was founded in 2014. The products are on pre-order.http://feelreal.com/GiropticGiroptic is a private electronic R&D and manufacturing company based in Lille, France and founded by Richard Ollier. The French startup makes the Giroptic, a mini 360-degree-view camera. Giroptic is a palm-sized, device with three built-in lenses for capturing 1080p HD video or stills in 360 degrees. It can be used with standard camera accessories like tripods and can also be used underwater. GIROPTIC has an international team experienced in semiconductor and visual computer design engineering and specializes in 360° vision technology. According to CrunchBase, the company received a total of $4.5 million in equity funding from seven investors in December2015.http://www.giroptic.comGoProGoPro produces the HD HERO® line of wearable and gear-mountable cameras and accessories. The company also makes the GoPro Odyssey, consisting of an array of 16 GoPro Hero4 Black cameras for professional virtual reality content creators. The company was founded in 2003 by Nick Woodman and is headquartered in San Mateo, Canada. GoPro is a publicly listed company.http://www.gopro.comHypeVRHypeVR is a cinematic live action virtual reality technology company that delivers ultra-high quality 3D footage. HypeVR’s proprietary system consists of 14 Red Dragon, 6k Video Cameras rig-mounted to capture a 360 degree field of view. The system also employs a Velodyne LiDAR scanner, capable of capturing up to 700,000 points of 3D depth information every second at a range of up to 100M. This ultra-high resolution capture results in very high quality digital image. HypeVR’s patent-pending capture method is camera agnostic. The CEO and co-founder of HypeVR is Tonaci Tran. HypeVR was founded in 2015 and is based in San Diego, Los Angles.http://hypevr.com/Lucid VRLucid VR makes the LucidCam, a stereoscopic 3D camera that captures the world as you see and hear it. The 180 degree wide-angle lenses enable an active view and special audio enhances the experience. Stereoscopy (3D imaging) is used to capture immersive images and videos which are viewed through virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift or a mobile phone with a Google Cardboard. The Lucid app allows anyone with a Google Cardboard to share videos and images. The company has raised $100k from one investor. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the company was founded in 2014 by Han Jin.http://lucidcam.com/Lytro ImmergeLytro, a light-field camera startup, makes the Lytro Immerge, an end-to-end VR hardware and software solution for professional storytellers. The system comprises a camera, (configurable dense Light Field camera array), a server for storage and processing, a light field editor and a light field video playback engine for leading VR headsets and platforms. The company was founded in 2006 by Dr. Ren Ng, whose research in light field photography won best PhD dissertation in computer science at Stanford in 2006 as well as the internationally recognized ACM award. Lytro has raised around $50 million from amongst others Andreessen Horowitz. The company is based in Mountain View, California.https://www.lytro.com/MatterportMatterport is a 3D media technology company that uses computer vision and 3D sensor technologies to capture interiors and other environs in 360 degrees. It makes and sells The Matterport Pro 3D Camera. Matterport is also investing in developing the software layer that stitches images together into VR. In addition the company is working on mobile VR solutions that will allow users to use their smartphones to capture anything in 3D. Matterport applies its technology to the real estate, retail, construction management, hospitality and insurance industries. The company, based in Mountain View, California, was founded by Matt Bell, Dave Gausebeck and Mike Beebe. The company has raised $56 million in five rounds from 16 investors.http://matterport.com/MechdyneMechdyne Corporation offers large-scale visualization and audio-visual technology for a range of industries worldwide. Based in Marshalltown, Iowa, Mechdyne is a privately held global company with a presence in more than 50 countries. Mechdyne was founded in 1996 by Dr. Chris Clover. Products include the Mechdyne CAVE™, Mechdyne’s CURV™ technology, a wrap-around imaging, and TGX Remote Desktop software amongst others.http://www.mechdyne.com/NokiaNokia makes the OZO virtual reality camera. It’s a professional-level device capable of recording its surroundings in 360-degree spherical video. The OZO was conceptualized for professional content developers. The camera captures stereoscopic 3D video and spatial audio through eight synchronized shutter sensors and integrated microphones to a 500GB solid state drive that can hold up to 45 minutes of footage. The OZO can also be used to record and broadcast live sporting events and live performances. Nokia is a multinational communications company based in Helsinki, Finland. The company was founded in 1865 and went public in 1994.https://ozo.nokia.com/Purple Pill VRPurple Pill VR produces cinematic VR content, and creates powerful tools and resources to help other producers do the same. Purple Pill VR developed its own 360° stereoscopic 3D camera system and unique post-production workflow. The company’s hyper-realistic video content can be viewed via virtual reality headsets using the company’s proprietary 360° video player applications. The company offers a cinematic VR and 360º filmmaking crash course online. Purple Pill VR is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and was founded by Nik Kraakman and Thierry Pul in 2014.http://www.purplepillvr.comSulon TechnologiesSulon Technologies in an augmented reality company based in Toronto, Canada. Sulon makes an HMD called, the Cortex, an augmented virtual reality headset that offers an untethered experience. All rendering and processing hardware is in the device. The wireless, wear-and-play device transforms any physical space into a dynamic augmented environment, allowing users to step into worlds adapted to their surroundings. Sulon Technologies was founded in 2012 by Dhan Balachand.http://www.sulon.com360Heros360Heros provides a variety of 360 degree video products and services for professional producers and hobbyists to create fully-spherical and interactive content. Founder of 360Heros, Michael Kintner, has designed a 360 degree camera rig that mounts 7 GoPro cameras to produce a 360 degree image. The 360Heros services include the production and sale of 360Heros GoPro arrays (holders), on-site 360 video production, 360 video post-production and 360 video hosting. 360Heros was founded by Michael Kintner in 2011 and is based in Olean, New York.http://360heros.com/VR Haptic DevicesDexta RoboticsDexta specializes in hand VR interaction and hand force feedback. The company makes Dexmo, a consumer-friendly hand exoskeleton for use in VR. Dexta Robotics holds a U.S. patent and four Chinese patents on their haptics technology. Aler Gu is the founder and CEO of Dexta Robotics. He is a roboticist and a researcher from University of Cambridge.http://dextarobotics.com/KAT WALKChinese virtual reality startup KAT makes the KAT WALK, an omni-directional treadmill that lets users physically explore worlds in virtual reality. KAT has raised $1million in a round of angel investment led by Unity Ventures. Last August the company ran a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, raising $149,278 USD. KAT was founded in 2013 by Kay Pang (CEO), Kyle Wang (CTO) and Kevin Pan (CSO). KAT is based in Hangzhou, China.www.katvr.com/MiraisensMiraisens, a Japanese company, has developed a motion controller with 3D haptic feedback. The technology allows users to experience the presence of virtual objects as if they existed physically. The company was co-founded by CEO Natsuo and KODANorio NAKAMURA in 2014 as a spin-off of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and is based in Tsukuba, just outside of Tokyo.http://www.miraisens.com/NullSpace VRNullSpace VR is a startup formed at the Rochester University Robotics Club. NullSpace is developing an upper-body haptic suit and gloves that will allow users to feel virtual worlds. The suit has 32 ‘vibration pads’ situated in the chest-based harness, fingers of the glove and straps on the arms. The startup was formed in 2015 by co-founders Morgan Sinko (CEO), Lucian Copeland (CFO) and Jordan Brooks (CTO). No known funding rounds. NullSpace is based in New York.http://nullspacevr.com/Tactical HapticsTactical Haptics was founded by Dr. William Provancher in 2013. The objective of this company is to commercialize Reactive Grip™ touch feedback, which was originally developed at the University of Utah. Used in combination with the Oculus Rift, Reactive Grip™ touch feedback brings a new level of interaction and immersion to consumer virtual reality. Tactical Haptics is based in San Francisco.http://tacticalhaptics.comMotion Capture & Sensing HardwareARTART is a leading manufacturer of high-end optical tracking systems for virtual and augmented reality. ART stands for Advanced Realtime Tracking. Founded in 1999 and located near Munich, Germany, ART offers a variety of tracked input devices, such as Flysticks and Fingertracking, particularly designed for virtual reality applications. ART also provides a dedicated solution for optical tracking inside multi-sided projection systems.http://www.ar-tracking.com/AutonomousAutonomous designs and manufactures everyday smart products like the SmartDesk and the Personal Robot. The company also makes the Teleport VR Kit that lets users capture and relive the best moments of their lives through the power of virtual reality technology. The kit consists of a Teleport VR Camera and a Teleport VR Headset. The kit can be ordered from Indiegogo. The company is located in New York, California, China, and Vietnam.https://www.autonomous.ai/teleport-vr-kitCyber Glove SystemsCyber Glove Systems is a leader in data glove technology and offers sophisticated hand-centric 3D motion capture solutions. The company’s products include four different data glove solutions and the VirtualHand Software Development Kit (SDK). The products allow users to capture detailed finger, hand, and arm movement in virtual reality, allowing users to interact with digital objects in the virtual environment. Established in 1990, the company is based in San Jose, California. The CEO is Faisal Yazadi.http://www.cyberglovesystems.com/Intellect MotionIntellect Motion is a VR company based in Singapore. The company developed Hapto, an intuitive controller for virtual reality. Hapto is a hand-held controller that allows you to explore virtual reality through natural and intuitive gestures. The controller is compatible with Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Intellect Motion was founded by Alex Khromenkov in 2015.http://hapto.me/Neuron PerceptionNoitom makes a small, versatile, adaptable and affordable motion capture system called Perception Neuron. Noitom was co-founded in 2011 by mechanics, software, robotics and sensor engineering experts Dr. Haoyang Liu and Dr. Tristan RuoLi Dai. Noitom is based in Beijing. The company received $25 million in equity funding from two investors.http://noitom.comOptiTrackOptiTrack is the largest motion capture provider in the world. The OptiTrack product line includes motion capture software and high-speed tracking cameras, as well as contract engineering services. The motion capture technology is used by facilities worldwide in a variety of markets ranging from film and games to sports training and biomechanics. The privately held company was founded in 1996 and is based in Corvallis, Oregon.https://www.optitrack.com/PhaseSpacePhaseSpace has developed the Impulse X2 System, a new generation 3D optical motion capture system designed to be affordable for small companies, universities and individuals, making it financially feasible for a single artist or researcher to own and use. Privately held, PhaseSpace was founded in 1994 by Tracy McSheery. The company has developed motion capture solutions for the research, entertainment, defence, sports and medical fields as well as education. PhaseSpace sells its motion traction software and hardware worldwide. Clients include UC Berkeley, Boeing, Eden Games, Honda, Lockheed Martin and others. The company is based in San Leandro, California.http://www.phasespace.com/PrioVR by YEI TechnologyYEI Tehnology, based in Portsmouth, Ohio, uses high-performance inertial sensors to provide 360 degrees of low-latency, real-time motion tracking without the need for cameras, optics, line-of-sight, or large, awkward equipment. PrioVR’s sensors are placed on key points of the body to capture movements and translate them on-screen in real-time. The PrioVR bodysuit is wireless and comes in three versions, the Core, the Lite, and the Pro. Paul Yost is co-founder of the privately held company.http://www.yeitechnology.comSolitonSoliton Technologies LLC is a technology company focused on the development of wireless motion capture sensors that can be used in an array of different applications including medical, sports, entertainment and gaming. The company is a partnership between IKOVE Venture Partners, the Ohio State University and the Inventors Dr. Furrukh Khan and Jessie Zhao. The company has developed the SolitonReach, an affordable, completely wireless, small, lightweight and long battery life motion capture device worn on the forearm and biceps. Solitonreach integrates with desktop and mobile virtual and augmented reality systems to interact with the virtual world. Soliton is based in Columbus, Ohio.http://www.solitonreach.com/The Virtualizer by CyberithCyberith GmbH is an Austrian start-up company headquartered in Vienna with offices in Redwood City, California. Cyberith has developed the Virtualizer, a virtual reality device that allows the user to walk through any kind of virtual environment in real-time. It does so by combining a revolutionary low-friction principle and high precision sensors with a special mechanical construction, resulting in a new form of omni-directional treadmill. The Virtualizer solves one of Virtual Reality’s key problems – how to move through and unlimited virtual space in a limited real world space. The company was founded in February 2014 by Tuncay Cakmak and Holger Hager. Cyberith has raised $1.24 million in two funding rounds.http://cyberith.com/Thalmic LabsThalmic Labs developed the Myo, an armband that provides gesture control by reading muscle movements. Through Myo users can wirelessly control their computers, phones, and other digital technologies. Thalmic Labs was co-founded by mechatronics engineers Stephen Lake (CEO), Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant in 2013. The company is based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.https://www.thalmic.com/en/myouSenseSan Jose-based uSens, Inc. provides inside-out, 26DOF hand and 6DOF head position tracking technologies for augmented and virtual reality experiences. uSens Impression Pi is a new generation mobile AR and VR HMD. uSens has raised $26.7 million in three rounds from 14 investors. uSens was founded by Yue Fei, Anli He and Chris Shi in 2013.www.usens.comVuzixVuzix is a leading developer and supplier of smart glasses and video eyewear products in the consumer, enterprise and industrial markets. The company makes personal display devices that offer users a portable high quality viewing experience. Vuzix holds over 41 patents and has 10 additional patents pending. Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a Nasdaq-listed company with offices in Rochester, NY, Oxford, UK and Tokyo, Japan. In January 2015, Vuzix received a $24.8 million investment from Intel Corporation to accelerate the introduction of Vuzix next generation wearable display products to the consumer market.www.vuzix.comSource