Russia is the largest country in the world. It stretches from the golden domes of Moscow and the imperial palaces of St Petersburg to the volcanoes of Kamchatka, Lake Baikal and the far reaches of the Far East. Important: because of the war in Ukraine and international sanctions, travelling to Russia today comes with heavy restrictions (limited flights, payment methods cut off, insurance that doesn't cover the country) and many official travel warnings. This guide is for information and culture only. It's meant to help you get to know the country, its history and its heritage, not to plan a trip while this situation lasts.
Russia is the largest country on the planet. It stretches across eleven time zones, from the golden domes of Moscow and the imperial palaces of St Petersburg to Lake Baikal, the Siberian steppes and the volcanoes of Kamchatka in the Far East. It's a land of immense heritage that fascinates from afar: literature, music, ballet, Orthodox architecture and Tsarist and Soviet history. This page is for information and culture only. It's meant to help you get to know the country and its riches, not to plan a trip while the current situation lasts.
Important, and put plainly: because of the war in Ukraine and international sanctions, travelling to Russia today comes with serious difficulties. Many governments advise against travel or have raised their alert to the highest level. Russian airspace is closed to airlines from many countries, and there are no direct flights from much of Europe and the Americas. Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside the country don't work, and most travel insurance doesn't cover the destination. All of this makes any possible trip complicated, expensive and uncertain.
That's why this guide is best read as a window onto Russian culture and geography (what makes the country unique, its history and its heritage) and not as a travel recommendation. Any decision to travel means first checking the current official alerts from your own country's foreign ministry and weighing the real risks at that moment.
The currency is the Russian ruble (RUB). Because of sanctions, Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside the country don't work in Russia, and services like Apple Pay or Google Pay with foreign cards don't work either. In practice this makes handling money very hard for a visitor from abroad. Before anything else, it's worth getting good information on the current situation.
Full converter for RUB →Safety note: because of the war in Ukraine, many governments advise against travelling to Russia, and several have raised their alert to the highest level. Russian airspace is closed to airlines from many countries, there are no direct flights from much of Europe and the Americas, and most travel insurance doesn't cover the destination. On top of this there are payment and consular restrictions. The information in this section is cultural and informative and is not a travel recommendation. Before considering any trip, check the current official alerts.
Looking only at the weather, the best time to see European Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg) is May to September, when the cold eases and the days get longer. In St Petersburg, June and early July bring the famous 'White Nights', weeks when the sun barely sets and the city is full of festivals. Early autumn (September) offers golden forests and fewer people. Winter (December to March) is very long and very cold, well below zero and extreme in Siberia. But it shows the cities under snow, and it's the only time of year when you can cross Lake Baikal on its ice.
That said, any thought about 'when to go' matters much less today than the overall situation. Because of the war and the sanctions, access, flights, payments and insurance are all seriously restricted, whatever the season. The weather information in this section is a general guide for cultural purposes. Whether to travel depends above all on official alerts and on how the situation develops, not on the calendar.
Russian food is comforting and made for the cold. Among the best-known dishes are borscht (a deep-coloured beetroot soup), pelmeni (a kind of meat-filled dumpling), beef Stroganoff, blini (thin pancakes eaten with caviar, salmon or sour cream) and Olivier salad, a holiday favourite. Meals usually come with black bread and pickles and, of course, vodka, which is deeply tied to the country's culture. Tea served from the traditional samovar is just as typical.
On reference prices, it pays to be careful. Eating out may be affordable in rubles, but the real problem for a foreigner isn't the cost, it's getting hold of money, since cards issued outside Russia don't work in the country (see the budget section). So rather than a guide to what a meal out costs, the key point is that carrying cash becomes almost essential for any everyday expense.
The main warning isn't about health, it's about the situation. Because of the war in Ukraine, many governments advise against travelling to Russia, and several have raised their alert to the highest level. They cite security risks, the possibility of arbitrary detention of foreigners, limited consular help and general uncertainty. These alerts, not the usual tourist conditions, are what to check first. Most travel insurance also doesn't cover the destination while the situation lasts, which makes any mishap worse.
Leaving that exceptional situation aside, in big cities like Moscow and St Petersburg, common crimes against tourists (pickpocketing, scams) are similar to those in any large city. No special vaccinations are required to enter. It's best not to drink tap water unless it's boiled or filtered, so stick to bottled water. The single emergency number is 112, although the service is usually only in Russian, which makes communication hard if you don't speak the language (verified July 2026). To say it again: this information is cultural and informative and is not a travel recommendation.
For a visitor from abroad, the biggest money problem isn't the price level, it's getting access to money. Because of international sanctions, since 2022 Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro and JCB cards issued outside Russia do NOT work in the country. They can't be used in shops, restaurants or ATMs, and Apple Pay and Google Pay don't work with foreign cards either. In practice, this means a foreigner can't withdraw money locally and has to bring in all the cash they'll need, which is awkward and risky (verified July 2026).
Some travellers open a local Russian account and card (on the MIR system) or use payment platforms that work in yuan or dirhams. These are complicated procedures, not always available and subject to change. Add the fact that flights, where they exist, involve long and expensive layovers because of the airspace closures, and the total cost and logistics of any possible trip are today much higher and less certain than for any comparable destination. More than a rough budget, the key thing to understand is that handling money is one of the big barriers in the current situation.
The language is Russian, written in the Cyrillic alphabet, which is different from ours. Reading signs, menus or station names can be a challenge, although many tourist signs in Moscow and St Petersburg are also in the Latin alphabet. English isn't widely spoken outside tourist circles and among young people in the big cities, and Spanish is spoken very little. Having a translation app on your phone and a few basic words in Cyrillic helps a great deal. Russian culture is enormously rich (literature, ballet, classical music, opera), and seeing a performance at the Bolshoi or the Mariinsky is an unforgettable experience.
Plugs are type C and F, at 220 V and 50 Hz, similar to the rest of Europe, so from much of Latin America you'll need an adapter (and check the voltage if your device runs on 110 V). On connectivity, keep in mind that getting a local SIM card requires your passport and registration, that some Western apps and websites are blocked or restricted inside the country, and that VPNs are widely used but also restricted. All of this underlines that any possible trip needs specific preparation and, above all, up-to-date official information.
Russia is the largest country on the planet: eleven time zones, two continents and a history that begins in the forests around Novgorod and today ends up in the headlines. It is the land of the Varangian princes and Kievan Rus, of the Mongol yoke that kept it on its knees for two and a half centuries, of Muscovy rising from those ashes, of tsars who had themselves crowned like Caesars, and of a revolution that in 1917 split the 20th century in two.
Understanding its history means understanding why St Petersburg looks towards Europe while Moscow stands firm at the centre of Eurasia; why golden domes sit alongside red stars; why a country so vast feels both the pull of empire and the fear of invasion. This is the history of Russia told in one go, from medieval Rus to the war in Ukraine, with real names, dates and figures, without hollow heroics or convenient myths.
Read the full history of Russia →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
