Advice for First-Time Travelers to Russia by Emily Owens Altman Posted by Maria on May 1, 2018 in when in Russia
This post is the first in a series of first-hand accounts and tips from people who have traveled to Russia. They will share their experiences and give prospective visitors some advice. Our first guest author is Emily Owens Altman, a librarian in Richmond, Virginia. The rest of this post is by Emily, with Russian spellings and translations of Russian words added in by me.
GUM department store in Moscow // image via Pixabay
Trips to Russia and Ukraine
I spent 10 months on Moscow in 2006-2007, during my junior year in college. I was at a small college which didn’t have a real exchange program with Russia, so I was enrolled directly at in a program of Russian for foreigners. I lived in a Russian общежитие (dormitory) with mostly Russian students, and I didn’t really know many other English-speakers. I always feel really proud of how much I grew up that year…it wasn’t easy, but it was definitely one of the most important experiences of my life. On that trip, I traveled to St. Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) and Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород; highly recommend!). The picture from July 2007 was at the very end of my Moscow-year.
I spent another month in Moscow and Ukraine (mostly Kiev and Lviv; Киев and Львов in Russian) in summer 2009. Also a good trip! I stayed with friends in Moscow, but spent most of my days solo. I went to Ukraine (Украина) on my own as well.
Emily in Russia // image provided by Emily Owens Altman
Are Russians hostile to foreigners?
That was not my experience while I was there. These were the Bush years, and I do remember one person (a friend’s father) getting pretty hot about “америкосы” (gringos, Yankees) and Afghanistan after a few drinks, but I didn’t feel physically unsafe. However, the current political atmosphere feels a lot more tense, so I’d probably be be cautious about identifying myself as an American around strangers. My other caveat would be that my experience was as a white person, which is unfortunately a privileged position when it comes to safe travel in Russia…I had a couple dark-skinned friends from the dormitory who were assaulted or harassed.
How can I stay safe?
Moscow is probably not different from other big cities in this respect. Stay aware of your surroundings, and don’t look naive. I had a “trolleybus (троллейбус) face”…No smile, eyes unfocused but always looking around. I used a small purse with a high arm strap for my money and passport, and I kept it tight under my arm at all times. If I was carrying anything bigger, I used an ugly-looking tote, or пакет. My friend was pick-pocketed on the bus, and she didn’t find out until it was too late because her purse was hanging around the back of her hip where she couldn’t see or feel it.
Image via Pixabay
How much Russian do I need to know?
It definitely depends on what your goals are and how well you handle discomfort and awkwardness, but I would recommend learning as much as you can. I think Russia is a much harder place to visit without knowing the language than Western Europe. Having money or sticking with a tour group or student group would be good ways around this.
I wanted to travel solo, make my own plans, and learn Russian, and I would not have been able to do those things if I wasn’t already at a pretty solid intermediate-level when I arrived. Even if your goals are less ambitious, I think you’ll get a lot more out of Russia if you can at least read a map or menu. Learn to read Cyrillic if nothing else…it really won’t take more than a couple hours!
How can I keep in touch with friends and family?
I’m sure this has all changed since I was in Moscow! I did not have a cell phone in the US at the time, so I bought the cheapest Russian cell phone I could find and a Russian SIM card as soon as I arrived in Moscow. I called home about once a month (minutes were expensive!) and mostly used the phone to text my friends in Russia. I didn’t have a computer at the time, but would stop by an internet-cafe once every week or two.
Are food and water safe?
I avoided cold tap water (as did my Russian friends) but drank tea made from tap water constantly. Russian food is great, and I ate all of it. I gained 20 pounds during my year in Russia! I ate lots of inexpensive cafeteria lunches, street food, mysterious pickles from open-air markets, and never had any trouble. Use common sense, but I wouldn’t worry too much about food poisoning.
By Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia – Moscow bus Ikarus-435 09469, CC BY 2.0, Link
What’s the best way of getting around?
I would be careful about taxis, especially as a young woman travelling alone. I had a couple unpleasant sexual harassment situations during my year in Moscow, and the scariest one was in a taxi, after the friend I had been out with that evening got dropped off. I haven’t researched whether Uber is safer now, but I would not hail an unmarked taxi or ride alone in one (especially late at night, especially after drinking).
In Moscow, I think the Metro (метро) is the best way to get around. I used it daily, often alone, after dark, or after drinking, and never ran into any trouble. The bus, trolley, and tram all felt safe and ran frequently also (and sometimes you get some great window-views). This was true in Moscow and in the other cities I visited.
We will continue this series in the future. I would like to thank Emily for sharing her insights. How does Emily’s experience compare to yours? What would you add?
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About the Author: Maria
Maria is a Russian-born translator from Western New York. She is excited to share her fascination with all things Russian on this blog. Maria's professional updates are available in English on her website and Twitter and in Russian on Telegram.
Comments:
Alan Sargeant:
This very much mirrors my experience. I have been many times to Russia and travelled solo to many cities (where in most of them I have friends). Metro travel is better than buses – have been pickpocketed twice on the Nevskiy Prospeckt – they got almost nothing the second time and didn’t get much the first time.
I had my appendix removed in Omsk and had no complications from my stay in hospital and have also seen a medical specialist in St Petersburg (his diagnosis without the latest scanning devices was 100 percent accurate.
I have rarely had stomach upsets from food and drink hot drinks or bottled water.
Trains are ideal for intercity traqnsport and you can virtually set your watch by their arrival and departure times. They are also clean but tend to be a bit hot both in summer and winter.
Outside of the main toruist areas Russian is very useful and I have had to act as an interpreter on several ocassions (primarily hotels and restaurants).
I will be going back again in June when the World Cup is on. As an Australian I make clear that I am an Australian and not an American and have never had problems.
Maria:
@Alan Sargeant Alan, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, pickpocketing does happen — it happened to me twice while I was in university! I’m glad you had a positive experience in Russia and keep going back.
Sean Monahan:
Dear Maria,
While I cannot say that I have had the pleasure of traveling to Russia yet, I have been to almost every country that borders it to the west. Firstly, I want to say that I love the way you transliterate the Russian to English. Many people simply swap vowel for vowel and the emphasis is lost, thereby mispronouncing the word.
Having befriended many Russians along my travels, there is definitely a difference in the way that Americans sometimes act toward strangers, especially in customer service situations; we are notorious for the “fake smile”, what advice can you give to Americans traveling to Russia who are not used to the more “real” way that most cultures approach strangers?
Spasiba! Sean
Maria:
@Sean Monahan Thank you, Sean. For the proverbial surly waiters, I’d just say know what you want and don’t let other people’s attitude ruin your trip. I find that many commercial/non-governmental places, like restaurants, especially their younger staff, do offer decent customer service. It may not come with a smile, but it will get you what you need.
Good luck in your travels!
Madeline:
I have an interest in traveling to Russia, too, so I found this article to be very useful and look forward to future articles about this topic.
I wonder if difficulties with travel to and around Russia vary depending on any specific variables. I am a middle aged woman who is interested in traveling to Russia for primarily religious reasons but also cultural reasons. I am Orthodox Christian and would love to see (and attend liturgies) at some of the different churches and even visit monasteries (if possible). I would like to couple that with more ‘typical’ touristy activities and also, if possible, have opportunities to have more cultural immersion opportunities. I do not speak any Russian (I am planning on starting lessons) except my familiarity with religious related Russian phrases.
How would one approach setting up a trip especially with specialized interests? Is this even possible now with the political climate? Should I attempt this through the church?
Thank you for any guidance or suggestions or feedback.
Maria:
@Madeline Madeline, thank you for your comment. I would probably recommend booking a tour through a travel company. I cannot name any specific agencies, but I’m sure there are some that feature churches in their tours. They would take care of the logistics, the language barrier, and your safety.
Good luck with your search! Let us know what you end up doing.
David Rex-Taylor:
Mausoleum
I was the first interpreter-manager in Moscow of British European Airways (now BA) in the late fifties. I visited Stalin + Lenin in the Mausoleum**– and, in the course of our negotiations, met Anastas Mikoyan (then Kremlin No1); and also the C-in-C of the Soviet Air Force, who was then additionally head of Aeroflot, as they had over 1,000 civil aircraft which he could immediately order to be converted for military use.
**I was preemptively escorted willy-nilly, from the back of the queue to the front, by two formidable plain-clothes КГБ officers to prevent their seriously considered high-risk probability that I would be sneakily and surreptitiously plotting improperly to spend at least one hour vilely contaminating and foully indoctrinating innocent, upstanding, faithful Soviet citizens — as I was indisputably considered inevitably to be the very apotheosis of the archetypical, quintessentially subversive, anti-Soviet, criminally dangerous, decadent, western bourgeois capitalist imperialist warmongering British propagandist thug, wallowing in filthy espionage!
Significantly, Stalin, in his Generalissimo’s dress-uniform, a large gold star on each epaulette, had the hint of a wry smile, surprisingly appearing as though he was actually just napping and even about to sit up at any moment, duly to preserve and sustain his loving awesome inheritance, now humbly gifted to the Motherland! Lenin just lay there, comfortably ensconced, but looking distinctly sick.
Happy days!
Maria:
@David Rex-Taylor David, it’s a fascinating story. I’m definitely not sad to have missed those times.