Wold you still travel to Moscow?
Oct 26th, 2002, 12:26 PM
#2
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Basically a repeat of an earlier posting from me:<BR><BR>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.<BR>
Oct 26th, 2002, 12:43 PM
#3
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<BR>What place is 100% safe? Even if it's not a terrorist attack, you can get hit by a car in any city in the world...except, of course, Venice. <BR><BR>Just saw an interview with Paul McCartney's new bride, Heather Mills, last night. She had a freak accident in London years ago where she was hit by a police motorcycle, an impact which ripped off her leg and knocked her quite some distance. Thousands of people die in automobile/motocycle accidents every year, probably far more than die in any kind of terrorist attacks. <BR><BR>Not that there aren't very high-risk places to avoid. Robert Pelton-Young, author of "The World's Most Dangerous Places" says that Algeria, for example, is one country he wouldn't go back to.
Oct 26th, 2002, 01:51 PM
#4
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I was in Moscow 9 years ago and while I did not feel exactly "unsafe", everything I have read since has not been encouraging me to make a return trip. It is not so much the possibility of a hostage situation as it is the pervasive sense of violent crime and the feeling that much of the daily commerce is controlled by Russian<BR>"Mafia". I have the strong impression that things have gotten worse since I was there.
Oct 26th, 2002, 02:26 PM
#5
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I'm afraid too stay in the USA I just found out tha "there were an estimated 15,517 murders in 2000"<BR>from the US department of justice..<BR><BR>give me a break there is crime just about everywhere.. <BR>Antarctica seems like the safest place too go too. that is untill the panguin uprising begins .
Oct 26th, 2002, 04:16 PM
#6
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Connie:<BR><BR>Get a grip! You think home is safe??<BR>When you go, just keep your whits about you and observe your surroundings. You will be as safe in Moscow as you would be in New York as long as you do not fall into that tourist mentality of<BR>failing to observe all of the precautions that you would at home.
Oct 28th, 2002, 08:55 PM
#7
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Hmm. I seem to recall that in the US of A two very tall buildings fell down after somebody flew airplanes into them. <BR>As I also recall, quite a few people were killed.<BR>So if you count who came out dead, the USA is unsafer by a wide margin.<BR><BR>I will admit, however, that the rescue effort was slightly flawed. The attack was successful, but the aftermath was dreadful, particularly the way families could not contact their family members who were in the hospital.<BR>
Oct 28th, 2002, 09:14 PM
#8
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I understand your concern. The world does feel like a scarier place now. However the US is one of the unsafest developed countries in the world. 15,000 people are killed in America by people with guns a year. That's more than all of Europe combined.
Oct 29th, 2002, 02:13 AM
#9
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I just canceled my Dec trip to Moscow and St. Petes(100% refund)...this country still has too many problems. People were killed when they rioted and looted after the world cup and now this fiasco. I have been to Bosnia and some of the stuff that comes out of this country is akin to being somewhere where anarchy and chaos rule. I told my husband that the Russians would storm the theater and this would end badly, how sad that I was right. My German friend told me the Russians do not think, they act first and refuse to ask other gov'ts for help. She had a very valid point. I would also nix Jordan and the rest of the middle east from my fantasy dream vacations. I studied pre-revolutionary Russian history before 1917 in college and this trip was lifetime dream, but it can wait a few more years...To those who bravely go, please be safe and take care...
Oct 29th, 2002, 05:14 AM
#11
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I just returned from Russia and Moscow yesterday, I would not be afraid of going back. On Sunday almost eveything seemed normal. The subways were running. The theatres still operating, we went to two on Sunday, the Bolshoi and the Moscow Circus, both had full houses. The only noticeable activity was the increased security around the Kremlin and the closure of Red Square, also yesterday vehicle traffic at the airport was restricted.
Oct 29th, 2002, 06:47 AM
#14
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Like MH a few posts earlier, I have studies Russian history and language. I wrote my thesis on one aspect of Russian history. I think there is no unusual problem in Russia if you realize that the people have lived under a somewhat repressive, and extremely bureaucratic, government in recent history, and under an extremely repressive regime previous to that. Many government employees were dishonest, and in Russian many things were done through passing of extra money under the table. Once the strict regime vanished, the Mafia and similar mobs moved into the power vacuum. This had nothing to do with the average Russian citizens; it was simply a matter of the dishonest people (many of them immigrants) taking advantage of the situation. In time, the government will straighten this out. And in time, situations such as Chechnya will be resolved.<BR><BR>Meanwhile, you are just as safe in Moscow or other Russian cities as you would be in New York, Washington DC, or other major metropolitan areas. In fact, is is alarming to me that our nation's capital is overrun with Muslim immigrants, many of whom seem to have no reason to be here.
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