Security/Safety for travelling in Russia

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Posted by Marco Ziegler on May 17, 2000 at 14:38:16:

Safety is an important issue if you are going to travel in Russia. Since the bombings in August 1999 and the war in Chechnya, Moscow has seen security measures and military presence as in the old Communist days. This is both a good a bad sign of course. I myself feel rather puzzled by their presence, on the other hand, it really is the only way to prevent further terrorist attacks. I would say, Moscow is not more dangerous than going to any big city in the US. If you are staying in reasonable hotels, walk with the crowds, avoiding dark streets at night, i.e. the usual precaution measures, Moscow is safe. This is true for any other larger Russian city.

I consider travelling on the Transsiberian as very safe (and I have returned safely from three extended trips) if you take a number of precautions which I have put together as advice:

Always lock the train cabins if you leaving or sleeping.
Put your begs under the sleeping bench
Don't show that you have valuable things with you (money, expensive , cameras (especially video cameras)
Only carry small amounts of roubles/dollars in your wallet and pockets.
Do not change money in the train (it is wise not to exchange money on the street with private persons anyway)
Always wear money and important documents in a money belt under your clothing
Be aware of thieves who are selling newspapers in the train (the usual trick is to put a bunch of papers in the compartments to let you choose)
On the train stations, the most agressive thieves are gipsy children who are trained by their families to be thieves, it is very sad ! Just walk away and ignore them, if you are being begged. They tend to appear in large numbers and grab into your pockets/bags/luggage
Other unpleasant encounters in the train stations are drunk people and urchins.
However, don't get a false impression. Train stations are extremely busy with thousands of normal travellers!
Unless you speak Russian, do not attempt to buy tickets at local train stations. We have had reports of people being issued false tickets and being massively overcharged.
Taxis. Only take official taxis and make sure that all your luggage is loaded into the car. A drivers trick is to leave some luggage behind (accidentally!) and then to return back to look for it with you paying all the taxi bill. The best solution if you already have hotel reservations is to arrange for a hotel pick up. In China, always carry a written address (in Chinese!) where you want to go with you and show it to the driver. No taxi driver speaks English!
Hotels. We advise you to stay only in official hostels / hotels. These are listed in a number of travel books (see our bookstore on the web). Do not follow people at the train stations who want to provide you with cheap accommodation (usually you will sleep in a kind of private home, where 20 people are distributed and no doors available to lock a room. Aside from safety issues, this is not very convenient either). You can usually book rooms right at the hotel.
In high season (June-September), some hotels are very crowed and may not have rooms available. So, advance booking is certainly an option.

I hope that gives you a short overview. Please feel to post your own experiences.

Marco

Follow Ups:
- Re: Security/Safety for travelling in Russia Rodney Stone 11:49:59 9/18/02 (31)
  - Re: Security/Safety for travelling in Russia Marco 02:26:01 9/20/02 (1)
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: Safety is an important issue if you are going to travel in Russia. Since the bombings in August 1999 and the war in Chechnya, Moscow has seen security measures and military presence as in the old Communist days. This is both a good a bad sign of course. I myself feel rather puzzled by their presence, on the other hand, it really is the only way to prevent further terrorist attacks. I would say, Moscow is not more dangerous than going to any big city in the US. If you are staying in reasonable hotels, walk with the crowds, avoiding dark streets at night, i.e. the usual precaution measures, Moscow is safe. This is true for any other larger Russian city. : : I consider travelling on the Transsiberian as very safe (and I have returned safely from three extended trips) if you take a number of precautions which I have put together as advice: : : <ul> : <li> Always lock the train cabins if you leaving or sleeping. : <li> Put your begs under the sleeping bench : <li> Don't show that you have valuable things with you (money, expensive , cameras (especially video cameras) : <li> Only carry small amounts of roubles/dollars in your wallet and pockets. : <li> Do not change money in the train (it is wise not to exchange money on the street with private persons anyway) : <li> Always wear money and important documents in a money belt under your clothing : <li> Be aware of thieves who are selling newspapers in the train (the usual trick is to put a bunch of papers in the compartments to let you choose) : <li> On the train stations, the most agressive thieves are gipsy children who are trained by their families to be thieves, it is very sad ! Just walk away and ignore them, if you are being begged. They tend to appear in large numbers and grab into your pockets/bags/luggage : Other unpleasant encounters in the train stations are drunk people and urchins. : However, don't get a false impression. Train stations are extremely busy with thousands of normal travellers! : <li> Unless you speak Russian, do not attempt to buy tickets at local train stations. We have had reports of people being issued false tickets and being massively overcharged. : <li> Taxis. Only take official taxis and make sure that all your luggage is loaded into the car. A drivers trick is to leave some luggage behind (accidentally!) and then to return back to look for it with you paying all the taxi bill. The best solution if you already have hotel reservations is to arrange for a hotel pick up. In China, always carry a written address (in Chinese!) where you want to go with you and show it to the driver. No taxi driver speaks English! : <li> Hotels. We advise you to stay only in official hostels / hotels. These are listed in a number of travel books (see our bookstore on the web). Do not follow people at the train stations who want to provide you with cheap accommodation (usually you will sleep in a kind of private home, where 20 people are distributed and no doors available to lock a room. Aside from safety issues, this is not very convenient either). You can usually book rooms right at the hotel. : In high season (June-September), some hotels are very crowed and may not have rooms available. So, advance booking is certainly an option. : : I hope that gives you a short overview. Please feel to post your own experiences. : : Marco
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