Practical Information for visiting Russia

The currency is the Russian rouble (RUB), and the critical practical fact is this: Visa, Mastercard and American Express do not work in Russia. Cards issued outside the country are blocked, foreign ATMs will not dispense, and Apple Pay and Google Pay do not function.

This means bringing all the cash you will need, in euros or US dollars, and changing it at banks or exchange offices. Bring clean, undamaged notes. Budget generously, because there is no way to top up once you are there.

Some visitors open an account with a Russian bank or use a card from a country outside the sanctions regime; the rules around this change and are worth checking rather than assuming.

Domestically, Russia is otherwise highly cashless — Russians pay for everything by phone — which occasionally makes handing over notes awkward.

Tipping is around ten per cent in restaurants.

Coverage for mobile networks is good across populated Russia, with 4G in cities and along major routes, and thin to absent across large parts of Siberia and the Arctic.

Buying a local SIM requires a passport and registration. International roaming may be affected by sanctions depending on your home operator — check before you travel rather than after you land.

The internet is filtered and increasingly so. Many Western platforms and news sites are blocked, VPN services are themselves restricted and periodically throttled, and mobile internet has been shut down regionally during security incidents. Install what you need before arriving, and do not rely on being contactable.

Wi-Fi is widespread in cities and frequently requires a Russian mobile number to authenticate, which visitors often cannot supply.

Read your government’s current advice before doing anything else. Many advise against all travel to Russia, and several warn specifically of the risk of arbitrary detention of foreign nationals. Insurance is frequently invalidated by travelling against that advice, and consular assistance is limited.

• Arbitrary detention is a documented risk for foreign nationals, including on charges brought without warning. Dual nationals are at particular risk, and their second nationality may not be recognised.
• Speech and social media. Laws criminalise what the state calls discrediting the armed forces, including retrospectively and including posts made abroad. Avoid the subject entirely, and be conscious that any Russian you discuss it with is taking a far greater risk than you are.
• Border regions with Ukraine, and areas that have experienced drone or missile activity, carry additional risk.
• Photography of military, transport, government and infrastructure sites is prohibited and treated seriously.
• Everyday crime is relatively low; pickpocketing in Moscow and Saint Petersburg is the usual extent of it.
• Cold is a genuine physical danger in winter across most of the country.

Insurance and evacuation come first

Travelling against the British government's advice against all travel to Russia is likely to invalidate travel insurance. Russia has no reciprocal health agreement with the UK and EHIC and GHIC cards are not valid there. Any foreign national has a legal right to free medical care in life-threatening circumstances, but beyond that, hospitals do not accept all cases and may request payment before treatment. Evacuation is complicated by sanctions and restricted flight routes — establish what your insurer can actually deliver rather than what the policy says.

Care outside the big cities

Medical care may not meet western standards. Private clinics in Moscow and Saint Petersburg are used by foreign residents; standards fall sharply in provincial and remote areas. In remote areas hospitals may not use disposable intravenous supplies, syringes and needles as standard practice, and carrying your own supply is a reasonable precaution.

Medication: translated and notarised, not just documented

If your medication contains narcotic or psychoactive substances, you must carry a prescription in your own name, translated into Russian and notarised. This is stricter than the usual advice to bring documentation, and drugs that are unremarkable elsewhere — including those containing codeine — are controlled here and have caused arrests at the border. Notarisation has to be arranged before you travel.

A health examination if you stay over 90 days

Foreign nationals in Russia for more than 90 days must undergo a comprehensive health examination, including tests for sexually transmitted infections and chest X-rays, and must submit fingerprints and other biometric data. This applies to visitors, workers, holders of highly qualified specialist visas and their family members including children aged 6 and over. Visitors must complete the first check within 90 days of arrival; those working or on specialist visas, within 30 days.

Vaccines, ticks and the cold

Routine cover plus hepatitis A. Tick-borne encephalitis is a genuine risk across the forested belt from spring to autumn, including around Saint Petersburg, Siberia and the Urals, and vaccination is recommended for anyone spending time outdoors. Rabies is present. HIV rates are higher than in the UK. Altitude sickness is a risk in parts of the country including the Western Caucasus. Cold injury is the seasonal hazard: at −20°C and below, exposed skin freezes in minutes, and layering with mittens and a hat covering the ears is the local standard rather than a precaution.

Water and air

Tap water is not recommended for drinking, particularly in Saint Petersburg where giardia has historically been a problem — use bottled. Air quality can worsen in some weather conditions; the regional Ministry of Emergencies sites carry the information.

The law has been widened to reach foreigners, including for things done abroad

On 28 December 2024 the Russian Criminal Code was revised to expand the scope of liability for foreigners believed to be acting against Russian interests. If the authorities suspect you of engaging in or supporting activities against Russian law — even where those activities took place outside Russia — you may be deported, detained, investigated or prosecuted. The advisory's own examples are displaying LGBT+ symbols such as the rainbow flag, expressing support for Ukraine on social media, making a financial contribution to organisations linked to Ukraine, and helping Russian nationals evade conscription. Detention can mean months or years of imprisonment, Russia has a track record of holding foreign nationals as leverage over other countries, and consular assistance in those circumstances is extremely limited.

Do not discuss the war or politics. That was already the right advice and the risk falls mainly on the Russians you speak to.

Dual nationals: the most serious rule on this page

If you hold Russian nationality as well as another, Russia will treat you as Russian. You are at risk of arrest, questioning or detention; your own government may not be informed of your arrest; and consular staff will not be allowed to visit you. Russian nationals must notify the Russian authorities of any second nationality within 60 days of acquiring it, or within 60 days of returning to Russia if it was acquired abroad, with parents responsible for children under 18. Failure can bring criminal liability, a fine of up to 200,000 roubles or up to a year of income, and up to 400 hours of compulsory work, and your foreign passport may be confiscated and not returned.

Conscription follows from the same principle. Men aged 18 to 30 with Russian citizenship may be called up for two years of compulsory service, campaigns run all year, and a partial mobilisation means anyone with Russian citizenship may be drafted. Russian law prevents eligible individuals from leaving the country once a draft notice appears on the federal electronic register, and failing to report within seven days of receiving one may bring penalties, restrictions or detention.

Publishing and social media

There are severe restrictions on publishing or distributing information about the Russian armed forces or any military operation, including images of the aftermath of drone, military or terrorist attacks, and people charged under these laws face heavy sentences. Publishing or distributing information considered "fake" or drawn from non-official Russian sources can bring a fine or a prison sentence of up to 15 years, and that explicitly includes posting or sharing on social media. Journalists have been arrested for gathering and publishing information.

Personal ID and drugs

Always carry your passport. Police carry out random checks, copies are not accepted, and failing to produce it can mean a fine or detention for up to 48 hours. Foreign visitors must also be registered at their address — hotels do this and a private host must. Possession of even small quantities of any drug, including cannabis, brings prosecution, a long jail sentence and heavy fines, including when merely transiting an airport, where baggage is scanned to a high standard.

LGBT+ travellers

Homosexuality is not illegal but the legislative position is severe. A Supreme Court judgment banning the so-called "international LGBT movement" and designating it "extremist" came into force in January 2024, with no definition of the term provided; displaying "extremist" symbols and donating to "extremist" organisations are criminal offences, and there have been reports of persecution for displaying the rainbow flag. The 2022 "gay propaganda" law bans promotion of "non-traditional sexual relations" to children and adults through the internet, film, advertising and books. Foreign citizens charged could face fines, up to 15 days in jail, or deportation. There are no anti-discrimination protections. The North Caucasus republics are particularly intolerant, with reports of the arrest, torture and killing of gay men in Chechnya.

Customs that still hold

Shoes off on entering a home, and slippers are provided. Bring a small gift, and flowers in odd numbers only — even numbers are for funerals. Vodka is drunk in toasts with a few words each time, the host makes the first, and refusing every round is noticed while declining with an explanation is accepted. Smiling at strangers reads as odd rather than friendly; reserve is normal and is not hostility. In churches women cover head and shoulders and men remove hats, there is no seating, and services should not be photographed. Racial discrimination happens in some areas, and visitors of African, Asian or Caribbean descent may receive unwanted attention, particularly late at night.

Numbers

112 reaches ambulance, fire and police nationally. Separately, 101 is fire, 102 police and 103 ambulance. English is unlikely, and your hotel is usually the faster route. The British Embassy in Moscow and the consulate in Ekaterinburg are open but the situation could change at short notice, and the FCDO's 24-hour helpline for consular services is +7 495 956 7200.

Consular help is limited, and for dual nationals it may be nothing

In-person UK government support in Russia is limited, and very limited in parts of the country because of the security situation and the sheer size — particularly in the North Caucasus. Several countries have reduced their diplomatic presence substantially and some have suspended consular services; establish before travelling what assistance would actually be available to you. If you are detained it may take time for the Russian authorities to notify your government or permit a visit, they will control your access to your family, and prison conditions are poor. A British-Russian dual national may not be reported at all, and will not be granted consular access.

The security situation

There are reports of drone attacks and explosions in Russia, particularly near the Ukrainian border but also in and near large cities and infrastructure sites across western and central Russia, and the associated air-defence activity may threaten civilian aviation. There have been several shootings in Moscow, often near apartment blocks, and a bombing near a Moscow railway station. The situation is unpredictable and could escalate without warning: check local media, and avoid political demonstrations and gatherings entirely.

Terrorists are active in the North Caucasus and have carried out attacks mainly in Dagestan — in June 2024 at least 20 people were killed when armed men attacked synagogues, churches and police there. Counter-terrorism operations happen at short notice across Russia and can bring travel restrictions.

If you are in Russia

Keep departure plans under constant review and travel documents up to date. Given the possibility of internet restrictions, agree a check-in schedule with someone at home and leave a copy of your itinerary outside the country. Keep offline copies of passport, visa, migration card and insurance, and enough hard currency to leave at short notice — remembering that foreign Visa and Mastercard will not work and clinics expect cash.