Russia might not be at the top of most peoples list of places to travel due to the current situation, but I successfully spent two weeks there as part of my big trip in July with very few issues. For anyone else looking to go, here’s exactly how I made everything happen.
Part 1: The Logistics
#1. Getting The Visa
This process was very straight forward, and I assume very similar to how it worked before the war as well. You fill out some forms, pay some money, and ship your passport to an embassy to get your visa. There was no difference in cost, so I opted for a 3 year visa. You’ll also need a letter of invitation from a hotel, but I used Let’s Russia for this and they handled everything for me. I had my passport back in about 2.5 weeks from mailing it out.
#2. Booking Hotels
You’re not going to be able to book hotels directly with an American credit card due to sanctions, but I was able to book through a third party travel site (ZenHotels) using my card without any issues. In Moscow, I stayed at the Marriott Grand Hotel (not actually associated with Marriott anymore) which was a very nice hotel – and only $56 per night. In Saransk, I was at the Radisson and in Saint Petersburg I stayed at Bazilevs Boutique Hotel. No issue at any hotel, but remember when you leave each hotel to ask for your proof of registration. You may need this when you leave Russia.
#3. Getting Into Russia
Direct flights from most of Europe are blocked, so you’re left with a few options. Serbia, Turkey, and the UAE are normally the top options. I opted to fly into Moscow from Istanbul, and I flew out of Saint Petersburg via Istanbul as well. Flights were moderately priced, I think $300-$400 each way in economy.
#4. Money
Western cards won’t work in Russia, so you have to bring cash and exchange it. The exchange rate of US dollars is good, but you must have crisp, spotless bills. I small mark of a pen on an otherwise perfect $100 bill kept me from exchanging it with one teller (though I found another later who wasn’t as meticulous).
There is essentially no way to get additional cash into the country, so make sure you bring plenty.
#5. Going Through Immigration
I’ve heard plenty of stories of people being stopped when going through immigration for up to 4 hours, and being questioned in-depth about their purpose and relationships in Russia, as well as having their phone searched. Personally, none of this happened to me. I went to the border guard, they asked if I was in Russia for business (I said “No, tourism”) and then if it was my first time in Russia (it was). She made a call, repeated my name to someone on the other end a few times, and stamped my passport and let me on through. My only other “question” was a short laugh with a customs official about the single backpack I brought to Russia for a 2 week visit. I just pack light.
#5. Getting Around Russia
“Yandex Go” is by far the best way to get around Russia, other than the metro. You can choose cash as your payment option, and book everything but the Business line of cars and scooters (a card 0n file is required for this). You should have close to exact change, as most drivers don’t carry cash to make change.
You can expect to pay about $4-$5 for a 15 minute taxi in a standard car. It’s very inexpensive in Russia.
Your other option is the metro. A 3 day unlimited pass is 540 rubles, or $5.53. You can buy this at a kiosk, but the kiosks surprisingly don’t have an English option so using Google Translates camera feature is helpful here. The kiosk allows payment by cash and coin, but only accepts 50 and 100 ruble notes (nothing larger).
Part 2: The Effect Of Sanctions
Other than having to pay cash for everything, the effect of sanctions is hardly felt. The Russian people have quickly adapted, and life goes on more or less how it did before the war.
Many western brands have left the country, but they’ve been replaced by Russian brands that offer nearly the exact same thing. I ate at the McDonald’s clone, Вкусно – и точка (which translates to “Tasty, period.”) and the food was just as good if not better than American McDonald’s. Like most European locations of the chain, there seemed to be less preservatives and food quality was just generally higher.
They also didn’t have Coca Cola at the restaurant (though you could still buy it in grocery stores), and in it’s place had something called Dobry Cola which wasn’t great. Tasted like a Walmart knock-off.
Other than that, it was generally how you’d expect a McDonald’s to work. The only frustrating part was the kiosk only accepted cards, so if you wanted to place an order with cash you’d have to speak with someone in person – which meant you have to speak Russian. I speak Russian enough to get by so this wasn’t an issue, but it could be annoying for some.
The other brand with a noticeable replacement was Starbucks. In its place is a new chain called Stars Coffee, which is exactly the same as well.
Both KFC and Burger King are still operating in Russia exactly as before.
For me, this is where the sanctions and companies withdrawing from Russia to show their “solidarity” didn’t make sense. Before, a western brand would operate in Russia and a nice percentage would be kicked back to America in terms of royalties. Now, the company still operates exactly as before but all the money stays in Russia.
This attempt to isolate a countries economy seemed to only really work at the bank transfer level. Many Russians just used cryptocurrencies to get around the bank transfer issue, so the only people who really struggled to get money into the country were people like me who didn’t have a Russian bank account to withdraw money from.
Things like Apple Pay that got blocked were quickly replaced as well. I saw quite a few Russians with NFC stickers on the back of their phones from their bank so they can still tap their phone to pay.
How have any of these sanctions and companies withdrawing punished Russians? I could only find a few instances where it actually worked. Paying for extra iCloud storage, and Netflix were impossible. That was really it amongst the young Russians I talked to.
The stores in Russia all still have shelves overflowing with food. Much of it from western countries. You can still buy a large can of Coke for 89 rubles ($0.91), or a large Red Bull for 129 rubles ($1.32). A tall can of Budweiser beer was roughly $0.80.
Part 3: The People of Russia
The people of Russia didn’t seem to mind at all that an American was visiting, everyone was incredibly kind. There were tourists from China and a few from Africa, but I was really the only western tourist I met the entire trip. Most people were just surprised to see an American, like I was a bit of a novelty.
A few people had warned me about my safety and that Russians may not like Americans due to the current situation, but it seemed most were able to separate the people of a country, and their government.
I did get a lot of strange questions about American culture, mainly my thoughts around cancel culture and Joe Biden.
I visited one bar that was having a language group, where a bunch of Russians were trying to learn English. I thought it would be funny to join, and was immediately accepted and people were genuinely excited to get to practice their language skills with a native speaker.
Outside of that bar though, English was rarely spoken. Most places I went didn’t have anyone that spoke English, so I spoke Russian the entirety of my trip. Which was fine for me, but you’d definitely struggle there if you didn’t at least know the basics.
I also randomly met @glebasee on the Russian metro, which I found incredibly funny. It seems he’s more popular in America than Russia for his videos, and was kind enough to take a picture with me.
Part 4: Safety
The effects of the war aren’t really felt in Russia. Moscow, Saransk, and Saint Petersburg all seemed completely safe outside of a slight drone issue in Moscow.
In Moscow, there were 2 different drone attacks and I did have a slightly close call with one of them.
The first one targeted the Ministry of Defense, and seemed to do very little damage. I visited where the drone struck, and aside from a few broken windows and some crumbled brick it was hard to tell a drone was even there.
The news wrote that Russians were in a panic, but people walked right past the damage without really even noticing it. Life went on as normal.
My last night in Moscow was a little different.
I decided to go out and have a drink with a friend in Moscow City. We left around 1 AM.
The next morning, I checked the news and saw there had been a drone attack in Moscow City overnight. I headed that way to see where the damage was.
The first building I saw was a few blocks from where I had been the night before.
They say some government building had been the main target, but it seems like a lot of damage was done to apartments also nearby. I still don’t understand why this part of the city was a military target.
Then, I head to where the second drone had hit and realize that it was the same building I was at the night before.
Why this area was targeted I still have no idea. Some have hinted it’s a sign of desperation by Ukraine, targeting less guarded civilian areas because they’ve had challenges using the drones against the military targets they’d want to hit.
Either way, it seems like there weren’t any deaths or even serious injuries thankfully.
Part 5: Overall Thoughts
Overall, I really did enjoy my time in Russia. The people were nice, the food was cheap, and there was always something to do. Even with the drone attack, safety was never really a concern. And if you plan on visiting and are concerned, stick to Saint Petersburg where it seems no attacks have taken place. But I’m not deterred, and I plan on visiting again soon when the opportunity arises.
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