There is an article in this week's New York Times travel section about Aeroflot and safety:<BR><BR>http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/travel/20REP.html<BR><BR>(registration required but free). The article does wisely point out the differences between Aeroflot and the lesser-known carriers with one or two planes in their fleet.

Marc--given the recent news of the hostage situation at a Moscow theater--how would you rate safety in Moscow for Americans?

Mary Anne, we live in a world that has changed greatly in the last 14 months. I never thought I would see fighter planes circling Manhattan, ready to shoot down stray civilian aircraft; last week people were stooped behind their cars in the DC area for fear of being the victim of a sniper. There is no absolutely safe place in the world, but as far as safety as an American in Moscow, I don't think there is any more risk there than other world cities. Western Europe had many terrorist incidents in the 1970s and 1980s, but people still visited its major cities, mostly without incident. Without taking foolish chances we shouldn't let the fear mongers take over our lives.<BR><BR>I don't feel that being an American in Russia makes one any more at risk than being a native. The theater where the hostage incident took place is visited by relatively few Westerners (as opposed to the Bolshoi; I saw the musical in July of this year), and most terrorist incidents in Russia previous to this were not aimed at places frequented by Westerners. <BR><BR>This summer one American diplomat told me that the consulates throughout Russia were covered with flowers and other tokens of respect after September 11; truly the United States and Russia share more today than ever before.<BR><BR>Incidentally between 6-7 AM on Saturday morning the terrorists allegedly started to execute hostages; shortly after the Russian militia stormed in, and fortunately freed most of the hostages. Any bloodshed is tragic, but this nightmare is now over.

Thanks Marc. The theater incident would not have deterred us from going. I just wondered if any additional cautions would need to be taken.

Hi, Mary Anne!<BR><BR>My wife &amp; I just returned from a week trip to St. Petersburg &amp; Moscow. <BR><BR>As we looked in the papers &amp; read on the Net about the Chechen rebels in Moscow &amp; the hostage situation, we were obviously thankful that we were not in that situation. But we agree 100% with Marc that basically if you want to see the world, you've got to go do it.<BR><BR>We felt secure in Moscow as we did in St. Petersburg during our week. And we would go back there if we had the opportunity.<BR><BR>If you are planning to go, don't change your mind. Moscow is an unbelievable city to visit. I wish we had had more time to spend there.<BR><BR>Best of luck to you and happy and safe trails for you as well.<BR><BR>Bob