Would it be unsafe for an American to go to Moscow right now?

Being British and living in Moscow fifteen years on and off I will say it is far safer than London (the city I was born and raised in).

Even the Militsia seem to be approachable nowadays and Moscow has just gotten 200 Tourist police (50% speak fluent English) with many more to come.

It’s safe and it is awesome.

I live in Moscow and my colleague is American. I do feel a little awkward talking on public transport systems. It feels more comfortable to be silent and blend in. The Moscow times reported two Americans found dead in the city last weekend but that could be coincidence. We have been here since June and things are pretty relaxed. Keep an eye on the foreign office.

It depends on what and where you are going to do.

• If you are making a tour, it will be fine, there are no mobs on the streets hunting for Americans. If you are going solo and visiting Moscow / St Petersburg, mainly tourist attractions, you should be fine, as long as you don’t go off your planned route.

• If you are planning to explore the lesser known towns and have urban walks, I wouldn’t say it is entirely safe, which is probably no different from what it was before Ukrainian events. In such case:

  • Don’t take walks after dark, it is not safe for any person who looks like he or she has some money to take from. And for many ignorant people American is by default rich. Robberies are quite common, even on the central streets of Moscow.
  • Don’t go into suburban streets. Locals do know where convicts on the run and criminals are gathering, you don’t, so, don’t test your luck. There are districts where I wouldn’t show up at all (i.e., Izmailovsky Park in Moscow) if you can avoid it.
  • Don’t engage into conversations with drunk people; don’t accept invitations to have a drink together. It so often ends with fights, again, not particularly because you are American, although that adds yet another reason to have a fight with you.
  • In general, avoid criticizing Russian ways or talk politics. Yes, this kind of became more intense recently – people are starting to lose friends and have arguments out of nothing because of the disagreements about recent events… Don’t engage and you’ll be fine.

PS If this is a real photo of you on your avatar, then just smile less and you’ll pass for local 😉 There are issues with racist attitudes in Russia, but then you won’t notice.

Regarding interactions with Russian citizens, I would not expect significant increase in hostility. Most people believe that US meddles in Russian and/or Ukrainian affairs more than it should, but this sentiment is generally directed at government, not at common Americans. Should you somehow be dragged into discussion of current events, your optimal position would be “none of my business, information in our media is scarce, i’d rather listen to you guys”. Oh, and you were definitely against wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bombings of Serbia, but nobody in White House listened to you 🙂

There are talks of possible sanctions in both directions. To you as a traveler I see the greatest threat in problems with credit card systems: there are talks of Visa and/or Mastercard shutting down operations in Russia. Hopefully, this will not happen, but I’d have an emergency reserve of cash just in case.

Like with many other countries, you can look to your State Department for travel advice for you and your fellow citizens.

In the case of Russia, the US has indeed issued a Travel Alert. It’s wise to remember, however, that they tend to be overcautious – if something – anything were to go wrong, and they hadn’t alerted the people, there would be outcry. So even if the chance of problems is tiny, they’ll likely issue something.

In this case, some of the key points:

The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens in Russia to the ongoing
tensions in Ukraine and the potential for increased public
demonstrations and anti-American actions in Russia in connection with
Russian actions in the Crimea.

their advice to US citizens:

U.S. citizens considering travel to Russia should evaluate their
personal security situation in light of current political tensions and
the possibility of violence or anti-U.S. actions directed against U.S.
citizens or U.S. interests.

Steps to safeguard one’s travel:

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in
Russia enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment
Program (STEP). STEP enrollment allows you to receive the
Department’s safety and security updates, and makes it easier for the
nearest U.S. embassy or U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency.
If you do not have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest
U.S. embassy or consulate.

Ongoing monitoring:

Regularly monitor the State Department’s website, where you can find
current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution, and
read the Country Specific Information for the Russian Federation.

But I suggest you read the whole page and based on that, make an informed decision. If it were me, I’d likely still go, but everyone is different in their risk-taking levels.