skomie86

I'm an American living in Moscow and I feel safe here. I've spent over 6 years in Russia and I've never had any serious problems. Of course, don't flash money or expensive gadgets (although everyone has a smartphone) around in public like in every other big city where tourists can be targeted, but that should be common sense.
St. Petersburg is a beautiful city! There are many great places to visit in Russia. People are hesitant of the unknown, but once here you won't regret you visited Russia.

tower

Visited the old USSR three times, once quasi-covertly. Far East as Uzbek SSR. Took another visit after the unceremonial end of USSR....river boat Moscow to St. Petersburg...very enjoyable, but not as exciting as the three prior trips, when tourists were few and far between. We went on to Belarus and Ukraine on the recent trip...found Ukraine to be quite peaceful in '08...but Belarus, still a dictatorship, seemed third world in many aspects of life.

I would have no qualms about a trip to Russia even now.

AlisaSha

I live in St Petersburg and can say that coming here is not dangerous at all, there are a lot of tourists everywhere . I have heard from some people that it was rather difficult to get a visa, but then our Russian visas are quite notoriously known. There is no hostility to Americans or tourists from other countries, just use common sense. The main problem you can find in St Petersburg are pickpockets, but they can be found in all the major tourist cities around the globe.

Beckytroth

Is St. Peterburg less crowded than usual? We're taking a Baltic cruise there in two weeks and are hoping that it's both safe and less crowded.

Dukey1

Why would St. Petersburg be less crowded? Do you really believe that a whole bunch of people are not going to go there?

That cruise ship you are on will be the thing you should be worried about "crowds" on IMO.

ryanto

I live in Amsterdam and look a bit like a Latino and om Brown skinned. Is it safe for me to travel to st Petersburg.? I have a russian girlfriend and Will travel with her family this friday. Im a lil bit concern About racial attacks. Still not sure if I should cancel my trip.

Dukey1

I think perhaps the OP has been and returned by now or perhaps been and yet to be heard from.

AmericanVet

I highly suggest all Americans stay away from any part of Russia, it is NOT safe! I've been there several times as a body guard and I wouldn't even take an assignment there for the client's sake! Look at what's going on over there; Christian persecution against missionaries have always been common, the Americans demonstrating over Russia (under Putin) invading other countries, how Russia is holding Europe hostage by their reliance over oil,,, should I go on?

Russian policy on exit visas can be a terrifying experience. My last flight out was cancelled do to a blizzard and I was forced to sleep on the dirty concrete floor. The next day I was not allowed to leave because my Visa expired the day before, so they MADE me stay.

If you're lucky enough to have friends in all the wrong places (I hope you know who I'm talking about), then with enough USD I was allowed to leave the next day. If I didn't know these people, I had to wait a minimum 2-weeks!

Beware of the comments above saying how safe it is,,, who do you think is telling you that!? Russian propaganda is always alive and doing even better than ever. Yes, the Russian people are friendly but if you become friends with them, they will tell you horror stories of kidnapping, extortion, beatings and even killings! Are these ever placed on government censored media, OF COURSE NOT!

Any American who travels to that country could hire a Russian bodyguard but guess what, they are notorious for being the ones most likely to commit the crimes against you mentioned above!

Why would anyone want to go there, are you kidding me!!! With the poverty levels of most people, one can hire a hit man for a weeks wage, or to put it simple, $20

sparkchaser

Weird. I had two friends, both Americans, who just got back and they had no problems.

Odin

AmericanVet has been watching too many films and has probably never been to Russia, and if he/she has, it was probably 30 years ago. These old stereotypes just will not die.

Russian policy on visas is that if your visa has expired and you try to leave the country, you will get fined and then have to get an emergency exit visa which used to be valid for 3 days. It is not about having friends in the right places. Visa offenses in Russia are not taken lightly. Are there any countries that do not take entry/exit rules seriously?

Russia esp Moscow and St Petersburg are safe for normal tourism and business purposes. It always has been. This bodyguard stuff is nonsense unless you are an oligarch.

FYI Russians are not poor either. They are quite well off now and would make the average American/European look quite poor, $20 salaries have not existed for about 30 years. When I lived in Russia during the 90s, take home pay for Russian employees was about $2000 monthly for junior managers.

Sanches

>>Yes, the Russian people are friendly but if you become friends with them, they will tell you horror stories of kidnapping, extortion, beatings and even killings!

that's great that other countries have no crimes, kidnapping, beating and killing!!!

btw, there are bears on the streets in Russia! Look out!

fmpden

Does anyone ever bother to read the OP or the other responses before posting a bunch of BS? Of course not!! The OP asked the question in March for a trip in April. So they are either home or imprisoned in Russia trying to buy an exit visa from the CIA.

Dmitriy_Z

I want to state publicly that Mr.AmericanVet - liar.
I am ashamed because of people like him.

Alexander_Spb

Mr.AmericanVet probably psychically ill. I live in St. Petersburg, and I can say that he is wrong.
Attitude towards tourists are very friendly. Conflicts are unlikely. Although there are exceptions. Conflicts are possible in the night youth clubs, especially if you drink heavily. But the list of clubs with a bad reputation will give you in any hotel. Also, there may be problems for black tourists in some areas of the city.
But agree, in any city of the world, there are places that tourists do not visit better. I was often in Europe, such as Paris or Barcelona personal safety in these cities on the worst level than in St. Petersburg.
Good trip!

sparkchaser

<i>Conflicts are unlikely. Although there are exceptions. Conflicts are possible in the night youth clubs, especially if you drink heavily. </i>

This is generally true of anywhere, really.

BarbaraAllison7911

OK, have read all of the comments. I am Canadian, and would consider going to St Petersburg in the fall of 2015. Now I realize that this is quite a ways away, but have any other Canadians or Americans travelled recently and what was your experience? We would be travelling indepently but are experienced travellers. We only speak English.......would that be a problem in the tourist area of St. Petersburg?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cimbrone

Given the recent denial of civil rights and persecution of gays in Russia, I can't imagine anyone visiting that country until it gets its act together.

Alexander_Spb

If you will be in the English language book hotel, apartments, buy tickets to museums, clubs, order a taxi and so on, then you come up with more language problems.
In this case, you had better find a student interpreter for a small fee and spoken English practice.

As far as communication on the street, the situation is better:
approximately 10% of youth speaks very good English,
40% good or satisfactory, and 50% do not speak English.

Eyesocket123

Dear travelers,

I see there are still people in this forum asking about the situation for traveling to Russia.

I am an American who has been living and working in St Petersburg for 13 years. I travel extensively in Russia and I can tell you that you won't have any issues and your Visa most certainly will not be canceled.

If you really want to be safe I suggest you to use registered tour operators who will be with you during your trip.

When my mother came to visit me we took a tour (as I am not much of a guide) and the experience was wonderful and insightful even for me.

For a private tour we used Dancing Bear Tours - http://dancing-bear-tours.com

We also used a group tour from TJ Travel - http://st-petersburg-tours.ru

One other tip is to make color copies of your passport, Visa, registration, etc. Leave your originals either on your ship (if you are taking a cruise) or in the safe at your hotel. You should always have documents with you but copies are acceptable.

By the way, now that the Ruble is falling your trip to Russia will be very cheap.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about coming to Russia. I hope I have helped some of you to decide and make the trip as Russia and specifically St Petersburg is really amazing.

Lightstrider

So I am planning a trip to Russia late Jan or sometime in Feb, taking full advantage of the 30 day tourist visa. I have never travelled before. I have a friend there who will meet me at the airport and pretty much be with me the entire time as we explore together. I've also started to learn Russian using Rosetta Stone and dictionaries, but my friend knows English.

We are planning to start in St. Petersburg where I would like to just explore, take pictures and experience the city. The same with Moscow. Then we will go to her hometown in Nalchik, and maybe also go into the Caucausus and Georgia with her father.

Besides thinking I'm just going for a Russian bride or being scammed, which just isn't the case because I've weeded through many ladies all year and have been talking with her on Skype for months now, my friends tell me I am going to get robbed, extorted or killed by Russian mobsters, the police or Caucausus terrorists.

I understand the risks just like I understand the risk of walking through certain neighborhoods or backwoods areas in the US. I don't drink and do not act flashy with money like an idiot. One tells me I will have a target on my back as soon as I land off the plane, and that he would never go to Russia without a massive security detail because of the current political situation. It makes me laugh because its all entirely based on fear and not reality because none of them have been to Russia or know anyone who has.

Everyone I have talked with, and have read suggests Russia embraces tourists and love American culture even if they do dislike our government. I am realistic and realize that yes there may be an increased risk of random acts of violence which is why I may go as far to strap money and my passport to my legs or something. But can anyone actually tell me of bad experiences they've had?? I read above about being mugged on the metro? You can get mugged, robbed, pickpocketed anywhere though.

I do have another friend who has spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe and he basically told me just to watch out for my money, that I can spend more in a day there than some can spend in a month, so be respectful and not act like a big shot. Since I don't drink, that avoids the bar/club scene entirely. So I am thinking I'd be fine walking around and taking taxi or the train around Petersburg during the day, same with Moscow, but going into the Caucausus obviously could present more threats, but that is why we would be with her father because he knows the mountains.

So is there the equivalent to the American Russophobes in Russia? Like, these guys here are still scared because of the Cold War, this and that. The US State Dept warns of being in large demonstrations and areas of high military presense, as well as the Caucausus region in general. I am planning to go through 'GoToRussia.com' for my visa and understand the need to leave before my visa expires.