Russia to Belarus, via Lativa
After some Google, and "seek for advice" in TripAdvisor's forum, it is almost confirmed that it is "illegal" to cross the Russia-Belarus land border no matter if you have the visa or not (Maybe some hope if you are just transiting through Belarus, without getting off the train). The reason behind is political, and I won't address this in details. While applying a Belarus visa doesn't help, and it is less preferable to re-route through Ukraine, after checking all possible railway connections, RÄ«ga is selected, and I don't need to apply a Belarus visa. It is costly to re-route through RÄ«ga, as there is an overnight train from Moscow/Saint Petersburg to RÄ«ga, and from RÄ«ga to Minsk. I have to revise my overall plan so far. Once again, hope I can complete my plan in 24 hours. Sleeper Train from Lativa to Russia, from RÄ«gas CentrÄlÄ dzelzceļa stacija