How “stupid” is it to visit Russia now?

29 comments

1. Very!

   But if want so much to be in Ukraine, you can go visit Russia and they will give you a free ride there!

2. Is there people from western countries still traveling and living around in Russia?

   I used to follow a vlogger from my country (Spain) living in Russia and at some point he decided that the best decision would be to just live Russia and go back to Spain.

   I don’t know if you might have problems if you’re around sensible areas (towns next to military complex for example) and they decide that even tho they don’t know if you’re an Western agent or not it’s better to be safe than sorry.

   But there is another guy also Spanish still traveling around un Russia by himself, but he has been living for more than ten years there and speaks perfect Russian.

   Yep vloggers are my only sources so…

3. Depends who you are. If you’re Serbian you’ll probably be fine. I have Russian citizenship, so I would not dare to step foot in Russia, even though the last time I was there, was in 2013.

4. Beograd has direct flights to Moscow, Saint-Petersbourg and Kazan and this is a very huge advantage. Also for Serbian citizens, Russia is Visa-Free for 30 days, which is also a very huge advantage. Look at the travel advises from the Serbian Government. If the Serbian Government don’t afraid to travel to Russia, you can go to Russia. By a negative travel advise, travel insurances willn’t work if you get problems in Russia.

5. There is few borders open and few flights from Europe and tickets might be expensive

   If your money is in US or European banks, it’s impossible to withdraw from them within Russia

   Your government might not be able to help you if you get in trouble in Russia. No one nows what Russian government might do

   I don’t think you will be denied visa to Schengen or other European countries after visiting Russia

6. You wouldn’t be the first foreigner to be rounded up and sent to the front lines

7. > Do you guys think it’s going to cause me problems later while traveling to other EU countries?

   It won’t cause even a single problem to you.

   As a reminder, every day thousands of people cross EU-Russia border in both directions.

8. Don’t give Russia money during the war. Don’t give them credibility. Understand that the dictator doesn’t need a truth to put you in prison.

9. Yes, supporting Russian economy and tourism is exactly what this country needs right now.

10. You would probably be fine, but I don’t see why you couldn’t wait 3-4 years to see if the situation becomes better.

11. Some random European in 1939: “Fellas, is it stupid to visit Nazi Germany right now?”

    It’s an authoritarian dictatorship that’s currently at war, it seems pretty stupid.

12. ~~Nah, but I think Israel is beautiful at this time of year. Especially Gaza Strip.~~

    If country is at war no one can guarantee you 100% safety. As of now, everything is pretty safe, but things may change. As someone said, since Russian banks were cut from SWIFT, you credit card may not work here.

13. You’ll be fine.
    Just don’t go to the war zone please. And bring cash, your card will not work here.

14. Less stupid than visiting Afghanistan, North Korea and perhaps a couple of other countries. But I wouldn’t do it. Also, if you spend money there, it is a small support for the Russian war. Also, you never know when the regime will fall.

15. Any individual is unlikely to have major issues, so I don’t want to exaggerate the odds of a problem.

    But you couldn’t drag me to Russia right now under any circumstances. I wouldn’t step foot there. It’s always been a kind of shady place, but it has changed a lot since the invasion of Ukraine. And even if you don’t personally run into any issues, do you want to be there supporting the Russian economy, buying their currency to spend there? Seems bad. Like I said, I wouldn’t do it. I would be surprised if anybody I know said they were going to visit Russia.

16. I recommend checking for travel information and alerts from your Government before you go.

17. You could but you do realise money spent in Russia is used to fund their treasury?

18. There’s an abnormal level of brainwashing in some of the comments. Come, don’t be afraid. The only problem is the inability to pay with visa and mc.

19. Visiting a dystopic regime in this moment and without a serious reason is irresponsible, imo.

20. I mean there’s dumber things to do, depending on how “stupid” you plan on being while you’re there (drinking, causing trouble , hookers etc )

    Depending on how “westerner” you look and how well you speak English , I’d imagine there’s someone out there with a quota of “western spies” to catch, and they don’t care if the ones they catch are actually spies or not .

    Also stay away from crowds/protests if you do go there .

21. Damn, the comments here are hilarious, am amuzed. Just bring cash and download Yandex. Taxi and Yandex.Maps so you don’t get lost

22. Don’t be daft. The world’s a big place go somewhere else.

23. Whilst it’s not something I’d do at the moment, don’t let me stop you. Check official travel advisories in Serbia (and maybe in Russia to Serbia?), and maybe stay away from areas close to the border for security/safety, and follow the advice from Russians on this thread. Only stupid thing I can think of is if you tried to enter Ukraine from Russia.

24. the people are awesome. the culture is cool. the govt needs to be in prison

25. I left in February 2022 and won’t be returning until the regime changes. From what I know, the dust has settled and everything is “normal”, so I wouldn’t call it stupid, but it’s riskier than your average trip.

    I think it would be a bit like travelling when COVID started kicking in. Something could change at *any* moment so keep an eye on the news if you can and maybe be prepared to leave via a different route if the way you entered closed (this is particularly the case if you choose to use a land crossing). During a short trip, you should be ok, but be prepared.

26. The last countries I would visit know would been Russia, North Korea and Isra🤮l

27. As a Ukrainian I wouldn’t recommend you to get close to the oil refineries)

28. Not a great idea.

    They can randomly decide you are foreign agent or anything and jail you or go ahead and send you to the front and there is literally nothing you or your country will be able to do.

    There is no rule of law there, just their own interests.

    They are quite chummy with India at the moment and it did not prevent them from tricking indien citizens into serving in Ukraine.

29. Like a 9, on a 10-point scale. But I imagine serbs on average don’t have a disdain for Russia in the same way other European countries have.