Hi all,
So my 24 year old daughter would like to go to Russia solo. She does not speak Russian. I am not familiar with Russia at all and am reaching out to those who have been there about safety, and is not speaking Russian a problem. Her desire is to go to Moscow for three nights and then high speed train to St Petersburg for 3 nights. She is very interested in history and culture and is currently writing a fiction book which takes place in Russia, thus the desire to go there and experience it first hand.
So recommendations, warnings, etc.. She is planning on visiting in August. Thanks!

I don't mind solo travel but I would travel with a tour.
Not sure that's helpful in any way.

We were in St Petersburg last July and didn’t have any problems other than the taxi ripoffs which were difficult to avoid. Reading Cyrillic was helpful. Is she adding Russia to a trip with other destinations? She should apply for a visa as soon as she knows the dates of her trip. It’s a cumbersome and expensive process and consulate employees have probably been cut, lengthening the process. She may also want to stay longer than six days if she’s gathering background info for a book. There’s a lot to see for someone interested in Russian history!

I traveled to Russia solo in 2015 and 2016 .
i did study Russian for a few months before the first trip . It is not a must although
being able to read their alphabet was halpful in Moscow metro.
On my first trip I spent 5 night in SP and 3 nights in Moscow.
I found Moscow and its history more interesting ( I returned for five more nights in Moscow in 2016).
SP has more of a European feel, many signs are in English. Moscow is huge - staying in central area is recommended.
I took a fast train from SP to Moscow - 4 hours.
Both cities are great , I had no issues with safety even late at night.

If possible , your daughter should extend her stay in both cities ( especially in Moscow).
Taxis are not regulated..one basically has to negotiate the fare. I would recommend she familiarizes herself with metro systems and book hotels nor far from a metro stop.

I just plain full-out wouldn't grace Russia with my presence these days, and that's coming from an EU/US citizen who loves travel beyond pretty much all else.

Russia is on my no-fly list due to its current treatment of its LGBT community. Jamaica is also on that list. That being said, I wouldn't expect everyone to boycott it and it does seem like a pretty fascinating country. Good luck to your daughter.

I also protest, though eventually I will just have to go. Sorry, not helpful...

Thanks for the helpful information! She is trying to do this trip between semesters. She is a PHD student and works for the university. She can squeak out the one week in August. So she is limited to the one week.

Haha I answered here instead of Europe forum!

Ok so I am not going mad, this was moved and combined.

Here’s our visa saga:

Stumbling on the path to a Russian visa

I agree with Marija that knowing how to read the Cyrillic alphabet is very helpful. There are many cognates in Russian, so if you can read the alphabet, you're in good shape: Taxi is такси, Metro is метро, Supermarket is супермаркет, etc. It's helpful to know the difference between выход (exit) and вход (entrance) because those words look very similar and I've seen people quite confused by them.

Back in 2004 I (female) traveled solo across Russia by train, from St. Petersburg to Ulan Ude. I did have a travel agency arrange homestays and some transport. However, Moscow and St. Petersburg should be fine with no support.

I highly recommend learning the Cyrillic alphabet. I am lousy at languages but found the alphabet easy. Using the metro rather than taxis would be good, although there is less of it in St. Petersburg.

safeish if you are straight and not interested in politics, the economy or the working of any sort of criminal network including the government or the police, so let's hope eh?

"harsh" seems a little kind

Old-ish thread that was topped -- the OP's daughter was traveling earlier this month

Thanks everyone! Due to time constraints not working out with other obligations at school and work, she could not go this summer. She hopes to go in the future, next couple of years.

I went to Russia a couple of years ago, and will definitely come back. it is an amazing country. Although I was on a tour, I would say that it didn't seem neither unsafe nor too difficult to get around. In Moscow and St Petersburg they have very efficient system of public transport, so no real need for taxis. Anyway, she would probably be better off taking a couple of tours to be more informed and to save time (it is much quicker and more convenient when someone takes you from your place to the site, tells you stories about it and then takes you back). I would definitely recomment the tour of the Kremlin, and maybe Treatyakov gallery, if she is interested in art. That's for Moscow. In St Petersburg, a tour to Peterhoff and a guide for the Hermitage. All the rest is pretty easy to do on her own. She might also like to take a couple of day trips to nearby towns. The Golden Ring towns like Vladimir and Suzdal are close to Moscow, and Veliky Novgorod is near St Petersburg, all of them are very ancient cities.
Good luck to your daughter with her studies, writings and trip planning!

Will there be any chance to get a copy of her book when she is done? I love reading

In Moscow and St. Petersburg is no more dangerous than in many cities in Europe. In the center there is always a lot of people and safe.
But as elsewhere, it is advisable to follow the general rules for visiting any places.
1. Work out in advance your routes when traveling in the city itself.
2. Do not walk at night in deserted places or on the edge of the city)
3. Have in the arsenal a minimum set of phrases for a given region (how to pass, what it is, how much it costs, etc.)
4. To settle closer to the center and places of sightseeing.

I'm Swiss and I feel safer in St. Petersburg at night than I feel in Geneva where I can get mugged right in front of a police station (true story). It's really hard to get in trouble, you really need to want it and look for this kind of "adventure".

I hope the trip went well, would love to hear from the OP!