Nope.
Russia’s safety score jumped to 39 today from 27, but the US, UK, and Canada all maintain level 4 do-not-travel advisories alongside a global measles alert.
Governments, one trip
What they're telling their own citizens about Russia
The real score
The breakdown
See it from your perspective
Nope.
The general Sketch Score, unweighted for any specific traveler.
Don't fall for it
Scams to know
Bogus trolley inspectors
Individuals pose as inspectors checking for trolley tickets to extort bribes from passengers.
Unmarked taxi robbery
Passengers using unmarked taxis face risks of robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and theft. Use only authorized services, especially at major airports.
Don't do this
Laws that jail tourists
Police corruption
Some underpaid policemen remain corrupt and may target lone travelers at night for extortion.
Staying healthy
What to watch out for, health-wise
Active notices
- • Global Measles
Vaccines
Recommended:
From people who've been there
Local know-how
Staying safe
- •Crime: For the most part, Russia is a moderately safe country to visit.
- •The crime rate has fallen dramatically since hitting an all-time high in the 1990s.
- •The infamous Russian mafia (ма́фия), also known as the Bratva (братва́), are still active, but they rarely engage in street crime, and it takes quite some effort to get involved with them as a tourist.
- •Foreigners who have been drinking alcohol are especially vulnerable to assault and robbery in or around nightclubs or bars, or on their way home.
- •The use of unmarked taxis is also a problem, as passengers have been victims of robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and theft.
- •Russia's law enforcement are generally well-trained and professional in their jobs.
Staying healthy
- •Medical facilities in general vary.
- •Ensure that all of your vaccinations are up to date, and you have sufficient amounts of any prescription medicine you may be taking.
- •Quality of tap water varies around the country, and may even be variable within cities.
- •Besides local doctors (generally good quality but often working in poor facilities) there are several Western-styled medical centres in major Russian cities.
- •Be careful not to buy fake vodka, which can be dangerous (seriously here, 'dangerous' doesn't mean 'strong'; it can contain methanol).
- •Significant number of food stores, including some food/goods chains, standalone food shops, kiosks and food markets are famous for selling food of bad quality, including out-of-date or even out-of-date with expire date reprinted with a later date.
Adapted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA — edited by travelers, not us.
Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / F · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 102 or 112 / ambulance: 103 or 112 / fire: 101 or 112
Zoom in
5 Russia cities on SKETCH.WORLD
Real, resident-submitted Numbeo crime data at the city level — the same national picture above, with crime swapped for what people who actually live there report.
Show the receipts (11 sources)
- us-state — observed 2026-07-12
- uk-fcdo — observed 2026-07-12
- ca-gac — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-political — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-policeTrust — observed 2026-07-12
- cdc-health — observed 2026-07-12
- wikivoyage — observed 2026-07-12
- reddit — observed 2026-07-12
- unodc — observed 2026-07-12
- acled-hdx — observed 2026-07-12
- lgbtq-legal-wikipedia — observed 2026-07-12