A trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway will have to wait for Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins.
The mayor and 31 other people in New Zealand have been banned from entering Russia for supporting a "Russophobic agenda".
"Unfortunately, I haven't received anything on official letterhead that I could get framed, and had to read about it instead in this morning's news," Mr Hawkins said yesterday.
The "black list" barred the targeted individuals from entering Russia indefinitely, the Russian foreign ministry said. Other people on it include the mayors of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and journalists.
The Russian foreign ministry said the ban, which followed another list in April, was "in response to New Zealand government sanctions that apply to an increasing number of Russian citizens".
Mr Hawkins said he was unsure what the Russian move was about, but whether it was Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine "or the treatment of rainbow communities back home, I don't see a moral compass worth having any stock in".
"I want to make it clear that my issue is with the Putin regime, and not the Russian people," Mr Hawkins said.
"It's always been on my bucket list of places to visit, and the Trans-Siberian Railway is a lifelong dream.
"Maybe one day when there's stronger values alignment we can still make those things happen."
