It's been nearly a month since I arrived in Moscow.
I spent one week in Moscow, a week in Nizhny Novgorod before I returned to Moscow for another week.
And for the past 7 days I've been in Saint Petersburg.
I can say that it isn't so different from other countries.
Sure there are bad people, but there are good ones too.
I was curious as to why there were so few Europeans and other western nations visiting especially during the world cup where the visa is wavered should you attend a match.
A local reminded me of the stereotypes surrounding traveling to Russia being a possible reason.
Ahhh... that sounds right.
Growing up in Australia, I've been fed all sorts of biased information about the country Russia. Of course history of being enemies did not help.
Here are some of the most common stereotypes for traveling to Russia.
• It's lawless and dangerous
This is partly true and partly not.
There is law and it is upheld for the most part. It is widely known there is corruption in Russia. But there is corruption everywhere in the world, just the scale is different.
Generally speaking, tourists will not be affected.
As for danger, this can be said about anywhere as well. As long as you are street wise, not wandering down dark alleyways, following strangers home, you'll be fine.
Of course do read up on potential scams and things to look out for before you visit (as you do with any country before traveling to).
Having said that, I've encountered a Mexican man who got robbed with a knife whilst walking home in the early hours of the morning in Moscow.
Once again it can happen to anyone. Be smart.
• People are scary and aggressive. They hate western people
This is not true from my experience.
Sure. Only around 5 percent of the countries population speaks English. And your average shop clerk will probably blast you with Russian with an expressionless face. However, there is no anti-western sentiment as much as perhaps there is an anti-russian one from the west.
People here are much often sheltered from the western countries with movies and media being their gateway to western culture. English education is learnt in school, but there is rarely any chance to use the language.
My experience says that there are plenty of Russians who are actually curious about tourists.
I've encountered old ladies who tried to help me even without me asking, simply because I looked lost following my map.
Younger people are also interested in learning English because of the job opportunities it brings them.
Language meetups and other mediums like couch surfing seem to be relatively popular.
• Everyone is drunk on Vodka
Actually this I've found to be mostly untrue, although it could be the people I've met so far.
(14 out of 14 did not enjoy vodka - 18yrs - 30yrs)
I'm sure there are plenty of people who do enjoy alcohol and vodka, but it seems to be a definite stereotype that all Russians drink it.
• It's cold
This is true.
However if you visit in summer, parts of the country reaches over 40 degrees Celsius!
Moscow was in the high 20s when I left a week ago.
A little warning on St Petersburg, summer is still rather chilly hovering around 15~20 degrees Celsius, dubbed the city of rain, the weather is very unpredictable with rain and freezing wind one day, followed by a sunny day in between. (Though sun is quite a rarity)
Those are all the ones I can think of for now!
If there are any questions concerning traveling Russia, leave a comment. I'm still here for 2 weeks and I'll try to find out for you.