I haven’t been since before Russia invaded Ukraine and I wouldn’t go now.
The people there are not their government, yada yada, but there are quite a lot of people there who do agree with the Russian government. I have no interest in dealing with the inevitable person who wants to preach at me about how Russia is justified in their invasion, the potential person who takes their preaching too far, or the potential Russian law enforcement officer who finds it fun to harass a US tourist.
The US travel advisory against unnecessary travel to Russia is posted for a reason. The US embassy is going to be limited in their ability to help if something goes wrong. There are a hundred other countries I can visit that are more welcoming and safer right now.
Pre-Ukraine invasion, I found Russians to be more friendly to US tourists than Parisians, and less friendly than French people from outside of Paris. Russia is a big country, so take my evaluation with a grain of salt; it’s like judging all of the US based on trips to New York City and Syracuse, NY and extrapolating what Texas and California must be like.
I haven’t been since before Russia invaded Ukraine and I wouldn’t go now.
The people there are not their government, yada yada, but there are quite a lot of people there who do agree with the Russian government. I have no interest in dealing with the inevitable person who wants to preach at me about how Russia is justified in their invasion, the potential person who takes their preaching too far, or the potential Russian law enforcement officer who finds it fun to harass a US tourist.
The US travel advisory against unnecessary travel to Russia is posted for a reason. The US embassy is going to be limited in their ability to help if something goes wrong. There are a hundred other countries I can visit that are more welcoming and safer right now.
Pre-Ukraine invasion, I found Russians to be more friendly to US tourists than Parisians, and less friendly than French people from outside of Paris. Russia is a big country, so take my evaluation with a grain of salt; it’s like judging all of the US based on trips to New York City and Syracuse, NY and extrapolating what Texas and California must be like.
Similar experiences when I visited Moscow a bunch of years ago. Some were very vocal Putin fans. All seemed friendly enough.