KNNLE

Hello:
My husband and I (early 40s and African-American) are going to a SEPT wedding in Astrakhan for his best friend. This falls right around our anniversary so the plan is to attend the wedding and then spend 3 days in Moscow on our own. I have been doing basic research but his friend is scaring me a little. So bear with me here.
We will be leaving JFK to Moscow, then taking a 2hr connecting flight to get to what he is calling a "Russian village". He is adamant about us taking the same flights and never being without him and his bride to be. So we will essentially get to the village 3 days prior to the wedding and basically be shuttled back and forth from the hotel to his bride to be's family home (where none of them speak English). I have no problem being adventurous in a foreign city and love the aspect of stumbling into a unique cafe or just strolling on my own to take in the sights. I was hoping I could use my downtime to explore while they are doing wedding stuff (hubby is the best man) but the Groom has suggested against it. He is also African-American and has been here before, so I certainly trust him...but I feel like he isn't giving us the true lay of the land. He suggests getting a guide and translator if I want to get out and about in the village and even commented that there isn't that much to see anyway. He ended with "You just need to be safe." Ummm....from what exactly?
I bring up our race because I have been told by several AA friends that they aren't so friendly outside of the more touristy spots in Moscow. But I'm told all is well once we get back to Moscow for our own trip. So that is where I need some assistance. I'm excited but with all of this mystery and negative talk I've been hearing, I'm considering sitting this one out and planning a separate trip of our own. So any info here would be helpful. And please note that in no way am I trying to offend the people of Russia - it looks like a beautiful city & I adore architecture.
If all goes as planned, we would leave the wedding on Sunday headed back to Moscow for 3 days. I would like to do as much as possible and am eyeing the Kremlin Square neighborhood to get the most out of our days there. However, I also want to be relatively close to the Airport (SVO) so maybe my geography is a bit off. We're open to do their Metro and taxis but a hotel with a great view and in walking distance to the main epicenter, would be preferred. I want to get the most out of our short time there and trying to book this trip has been a near nightmare with the Groom wanting us to book everything right away without giving us the time to do the proper research for our own trip. Aside from his parents, we are the only other people making the trek to support them so the pressure is on.
Thx to all for any insight, information and recommendations. You guys have never steered me wrong.

FranknSense

To Russians from Cities like Moscow, a 'village' can be a city of 50k people. "Village" is a prestige thingy. Which village? maybe I have been there

Russian people are extremely nice especially towards westerners despite the geopolitical climate, so don't get over anxious

thursdaysd

It would help to know the name of the "village". Have you looked it up in any guidebooks? You don't want to stay near the airport. SVO is an hour by metro out of the center.

Russians don't smile at strangers, so they will look dour on the streets, but no reason to think they are hostile.

frogoutofwater

Good for you for supporting your friends by planning to travel to the wedding, and for having an open-minded and adventurous approach to travel.

I have travelled to some dodgy places (mainly for work) over the years, and have lived in some dodgy places (hello NYC in the early 90s). And I also used to have a job that involved developing a travel security policy for our executives who travelled abroad.

Unfortunately, I can't offer you current, specific advice for Russia (because the last time I visited was 1993), but I do have colleagues who travel to Moscow pretty regularly on business. One of the basic rules we follow is that we don't go to places that have a "don't travel here for any reason" or "leave here now" warning, but we do travel sometimes to places that have a "think carefully before travelling here" warning if there is a compelling reason to do so.

It seems hard, sometimes, to calibrate relative risk - comparing the familiar risks you're exposed to at home with the unfamiliar risks you might be exposed to abroad. After all, probably the biggest risk you face is a traffic accident - that's much more likely to happen to you than pretty much anything that could occur in a foreign country (unless you're entering an actual war zone). But that doesn't mean you should ignore risks about specific locations or situations when you travel abroad.

One thing I do when I'm contemplating a trip abroad to a place with a perceived security or other risk is to read more than one country's official travel advisory. So I don't just look at the State Department report - I also read the Canadian report (DFAIT-Canada) and maybe the UK FCO report or Australia's reports (for APAC countries). You get slightly different flavors in those reports and that can be helpful in collecting information for you to consider.

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/russia
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia
https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...ry/russia.html

When I look at those reports, it seems like the main risks you're facing are risk of violent crime, risk of terrorism and risk of police corruption - and that these risks aren't necessarily exacerbated for African Americans in Moscow (as compared to certain other regions). Those aren't risks to be dismissed lightly - but if you have experience (now or in the past) living in a US city with a crime problem in some or all areas, you probably already have a lot of the street smarts you need to at least be sensitive to the risks. And unfortunately, you may also have some experience in interacting with police who are less than straightforward.

That said, you may want to take extra precautions on this trip, such as exploring the city with a recommended guide, or at least joining small group tours. Be particularly careful on side streets, in the evening, on public transit, don't pick up taxis on the street, etc.

FWIW, although Russia wouldn't be at the top of my travel list right now, I would do what you're planning to do - go to the wedding to support my friend and enjoy a few days in a city like Moscow or St Petersburg afterward.

danon

As said , you do not wish to be close to the airport... stay the central Moscow
close to to the metro.( you can take metro to the train station for SVO.)
I did it last year with ease.
What is your hotel budget? A number of hotels are next to Kremlin and Bolshoi
which is the best location for a short stay.

Learning the alphabet is not hard....do it before you go...VERY helpful.
I found the people in Moscow perfectly fine ( no more "unsmiling " then the rest of the world)
When I asked for directions ( in my limited Russian) everyone was helpful .
I am going to Moscow again in July ..a great city.

KNNLE

Thx for the responses thus far.
The Groom has been hesitant to give us much information, just says that he has it all under control - just get our tickets. I've asked for the name of the hotel we are staying in and the general name of the province/village. NOTHING.

I only have the information from the invite - Astrakhan. Its where both her family and the wedding will be held.

I am a super researcher and as a couple, we have done our share of traveling. I loved the idea of Moscow based on what I've only seen in books...I have yet to get a clear impression of the culture and have found my circle of Russian travelers to have very biased information, leaning toward the negative. I want to be open minded and have my own experience. I'm trying to do as much as research as I can and its not how I usually plan any trip with this kind of hurry up and buy theory. Foods has been very helpful with Tips before traveling and that guide thing might not be such a bad idea as I get the impression that Russia may not have a very tourist-based infrastructure like some of the other countries we've visited. And that's fine, actually makes it more alluring. I think that's where the its "difficult" to navigate has come from.

If you could pick one neighborhood, that's not going to have me hours from the airport, but would give me the most bang for my buck with a min 4 star hotel and will give me the Moscow experience (sights, shopping), what would you say? Do you agree with Red Square?
THANK YOU!

danon

btw, I felt perfectly safe in central SP and Moscow even late at night.

janisj

OK -- I'm a little confused. How can you get a visa w/o knowing where you will be?

thursdaysd

I thought about this some more. I visited Russia, traveling by train clear across the country, back in 2004, so things will have changed some. I (white female) was traveling solo, although I had my accommodation and train tickets booked ahead of time by an agency, and I was met off the train most places. I wrote this about my time in Moscow:

"I lunched in the underground mall [near Red Square] with a man from the World Bank whom I met on the tour [bus tour booked locally]. His parents were from Bangalore and I think he was the only dark-skinned person I saw in the whole of Russia - I felt that we attracted considerably more attention than I had done on my own."

I don't know that it was necessarily hostile attention, though, more interest.

FranknSense

imo_ You aren't going to find better advice here than what the Groom can provide

KNNLE

THAT was my reasoning for wanting more information on exactly where we are going. He wants us to get the tickets first...then I'm assuming all of the other information will be forthcoming. He is being very weird about all of this and what perked my ears and caused some pause.

YES, I did hear that as a person of color, you will definitely get more than usual attention. Never heard hostile though - more interest. I'm a pretty, brown girl...nothing out of the ordinary.

Hotel budget - don't want to spend more than $200 per night.

You guys are fab - appreciate all the insight. This is helping me a great deal.

danon

Red Square is as central as you can get.
I stayed at the Intercontinental last year ( one metro stop to RS)
and will be at Metropol this July . Both are 5 star
hotels, not terribly expensive compared to Paris, Rome , London.. etc.
Take a look at booking.com.
It is only a few metro stops to the train station..for SVO.( about 30 min on the train
To the airport)
I purchase the train ticket on-line for about 8 dollars. Metro is dirt cheap.
Taxis are not regulated.. If you can, avoid taking them.

Gretchen

If nothing has changed these folks have to have an ivitation and visa and stuff. It is fine for the groom to take care of it, but it better be buttoned up. chances are there is some money crossing hands.
I think they also need some documents to stay on in Moscow--I'd choose St. Petersburg.
AND as for safety, I think you still need to be very aware of surroundings.
Can't speak to the color issue with authority, but I would think it not a problem. People "stare" not out of hostility necessarily but of curiosity. Friends went to Russia in the 70s with a black child in a choir with them--people did come up to him with their fingers to see if it would come off. True story.
Get a Russian-English dictionary and your Russian counterparts can point to a word.
LEARN the cyryllic alphabet and spell out names you see--many are adapted.
For example PECTOPAH in russian is RESTAURANT and pronounced much the same.

MmePerdu

I wouldn't "just get the tickets" unless those simple questions were answered, good friend or otherwise. I just wouldn't. That's me, but I simply don't understand his issue with the information. It's disrespectful, particularly considering your willingness to go to great lengths as his friend.

danon

"I think they also need some documents to stay on in Moscow"

When you apply for the visa , you will find out about then documents you need.

People would be suppressed at how cosmopolitan the central Moscow is .

thursdaysd

You definitely need to sort out the visa situation. Will you be applying for a tourist visa or a homestay visa?

See:

http://russia.travisa.com/Common/TVS...velertypeid=HS

And:

http://russia.travisa.com/Common/TVS...velertypeid=TO

I have used Travisa, although not for Russia. There are other agencies, but this gives you an idea of the paperwork.

You also need to register with the authorities once you are in Russia. If you don't you are liable to have problems when you try to leave. Used to be you had declare all your money on entry, but I think that has stopped.

http://waytorussia.net/RussianVisa/Registration.html

danon

No one asked me about money , I was given a document ( just one sheet of paper ) I
had to show at hotels and at passport control when leaving the country.
You are combining a home stay with a tourist stay which might be different
than just a tourist visa.
In any case, there is an application to fill, photos, other documents and 150-200 dollars
pp.

traveller1959

Astrakhan is a city with a population of over half a million. Not exactly a village. It is located in the Volga delta and used to be famous for the production of caviar. Maybe the above mentioned village is outside the city, somewhere in the countryside.

Astrakhan is 1,329 km away from Moscow, so you fly to Moscow from there.

BTW, the most beautiful city in Russia is Sankt Petersburg, the old capital city.

But let's go back to your wedding. I have been several times to Russia, and I perfectly understand the groom.

As a Westerner, you will be lost in the Russian countryside.

No one (yes, no one) speaks English. You can quickly learn the Cyrillic alphabet, but you hardly find signage in the Russian countryside. You will find that many things are totally different from anything that you know and expect. One of these things is Police. Another is bribe.

You are totally dependent on a guide and translator. And this is exactly what your friends wants to provide for you. He knows why.

And I have been there. I can confirm his position. The only chance you have is to trust him.

thursdaysd

Astrakhan is also an oblast (think state, or at least county). The village is no doubt somewhere outside the city. Lonely Planet claims there is considerable tourism in the oblast in the Volga delta.

See: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/russia/...gion/astrakhan

FranknSense

I surprised so many think their alphabet is so easy to learn in weeks, I still don't understand it after decades but I'm told I speak Russian well

Anywho, I've been to the area and think the village is a nearby city. Further, I think if one is to venture thousands of miles to a foreign land for a wedding, one should trust the honored at the wedding