Americans here and I want to visit my gf in St. Petersburg. I browsed reddit for recent threads on traveling to SPb and it’s all a bunch of seething Russia haters saying that there’s nothing worth seeing, that you’ll get arrested a la Brittany Griner, and that Estonia and Helsinki are better.
Any recent trip reports from Westerners?
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>since the war started
Nothing that would affect you as a tourist has changed.
>you’ll get arrested a la Brittany Griner
Just don't bring drugs over (you can get them here if you're feeling adventurous).
>Estonia and Helsinki are better
Estonia is nice, but there's probably 10x more things to see and and do in SPb and its immediate surroundings. Helsinki is just dull.
t. Russian
>Nothing that would affect you as a tourist has changed.
Not being able to use cards to pay or withdraw cash is kind of a biggie. I guess as a Russian you don't even know what that is.
>I guess as a Russian you don't even know what that is.
As a Russian all of my Visas and Mastercards were extended indefinitely and continue working seamlessly thanks to our globohomo-proof clearing system. Your third world woes are literally not my problem.
so if I went there as a tourist, my debit cards from abroad would work just fine?
Yes, if your debit cards aren't issued in the West.
Everyone loves myanmar, what do you know?
The word I got is that the ukraine war is tiny and none of it is being fought in Russia at all. Russia is also the biggest country in the world, so distant to ukraine in most parts.
Really the issue is low tourism after covid and poor economic situation. Rubble is back to to 90/USD.
>word i got
my guy it takes like 2 minutes of searching even if you know nothing about the whole issue to find out 99.99% of russia is unaffected (minus new territories)
>new territories
You mean the far east?
Well no it's not tiny, it's the biggest war in Europe since WW2 and like 50 thousand Russians have dies in less than 2 years. Imagine Vietnam, but on steroids. But a westerner can still visit Russia no problem, it's not North Korea.
>50,000
a little low imo. numbers vary widely from russian and ukrainian "sources", but if you look at most approximations from both sides, I think it's closer to 100,000 dead russians and 60,000-70,000 dead ukrainians
>Rubble is back to to 90/USD.
There is no free exchange of rubble so it's not back to anything. At best we don't know what's the actual value, it's most likely not pretty for the russians. All that talk about dedolarisation and what did that do for them? Stuck with piles of indian rupee they don't know what to do with.
They must be shitting brics right now.
kek
>
kek
>File: 1681914014100161.png (135 KB, 350x350)
>
There is no free exchange of rubble so it's not back to anything. At best we don't know what's the actual value, it's most likely not pretty for the russians. All that talk about dedolarisation and what did that do for them? Stuck with piles of indian rupee they don't know what to do with.
>They must be shitting brics right now.
The ruble is rubble.
Used to have parity with US dollar.
>Used to have parity with US dollar.
No it did not.
>There is no free exchange of rubble so it's not back to anything. At best we don't know what's the actual value, it's most likely not pretty for the russians.
It's almost 2024, yet schizoid nafosissies still keep repeating the most outlandish copes from 2022.
You've been already called out so it's kinda pointless, but I'll tell that I've easily exchanged a part of my salary into USD for my travel stash at a rate close to the Moscow Exchange in a fricking ATM of all things. Many changers now have older bills (series 2006-ish, not really ancient), that's about the only "problem".
And those who really needed the cards that work internationally have already got themselves one in the neighboring 'stans.
Foreign cards won't work (except UnionPay ones, probably, but in US the only issuer is ICBC and I have no idea about Europe), so bring US$ or EUR cash. You'll be able to get a Mir card issued once you're in if you need one.
Thanks, that's all I wanted to know.
Do not believe a word this Russian dude says. He posts utter lies and nonsense. His IP is from a Russian government source. As an American, you would have to be insane to go to Russia right now. You won't be able to use your credit card. You won't be able to exchange money. And there is a good chance that you will end up locked up, especially if you have some kind of pollical value.
How's the weather in Langley?
>that low government gdp/debt ratio at 19%
>rich in resources
>that €650 average salary
Those are Moscow salaries, average Pidorashkan in Muhosransk earns like 250€.
bylat! i kekd
kek. anyone have the video of the russian kid talking about how much they charge for blowjobs
of course
kek, probably why OP is going over
look how russia grows over the next 50-100 years compared to america
you mean how it fricking doesn't?
bullish, and early.
2 more weeks...
Better take your PREP before going
wouldn't have ever gone there even without the war.
I'm pretty sure you won't ever get arrested in Russia as long as you:
>aren't (openly) gay
>don't (openly) do drugs
>don't (openly) support Ukraine
>aren't west/central Asian or look like one
I've been a few times on a US passport. Take the bus from Tallinn. Every once in a while you'll get held back for additional questioning, sometimes not. It's just annoying, but pretty standard stuff. Bring cash. Use Ostrovok.ru to book hotels. SPB is the most liberal and hipster place in the region so if you're coming expecting something edgy like a baldandbankrupt video and memes about gopniks you're going to be disappointed.
Have you been there since the war began and how easy is it to find a bus line that will take you there? I'm considering flying into Estonia and going to Finland(ferry), Latvia(bus), Lithuania(bus), and Russia(bus) from there next year.
I've been twice since the war started, but not StP. Been there before though and highly recommend that city. Loads to see and do. The Hermitage is amazing for instance.
from what ive seen the rooms are more impressive than the expositions quite often
Thanks, you saved me a lot of time with those links.
Anyone have experience with the tourist visa process as an American? I’m a Russian lit nerd and have a gf from Vladimir that refuses to go back to Russia because of her “moral principles” but frick her, I’m seeing Russia.
I just don’t really understand the sponsorship part. Do I have to make a strict itinerary and have sponsor letter from each hotel or is it less formal than that?
It's not a sponsorship, it's an invite letter that can be bought from "tour agencies" online or your hotel, if you're staying somewhere a bit upscale.
The only strict part on the itinerary are the entry/exit dates, you want to be sure to enter on or after the entry date and before/on the exit date, especially if time zones are involved.
Oh okay, seems like less of a big deal than what I initially thought from reading through requirements.
I just have to manage to enter and leave on proper dates and not smuggle a weed pen in my bag
I have a friend of a friend (American) who visited Russia recently. From what he told me, he just applied for the visa, he had it in no time, and that was pretty much that. He was not asked an inordinate amount of questions when entering the country, and everything went basically as smoothly as it would entering any other country that requires a visa.
Connecting flights are a bummer, but from US it's a small leg of travel compared to trans-atlantic or trans-pacific part. And I'm comparing to fat times of €40 Moscow-Köln roundtrips.
There's no connecting flights except in places like Abu Dhabi, which is a really long flight from the US. if you want to fly on reputable airlines instead of Air Azerbaijan or some such shit.
Is there any ground transportation? SPb isn't that far from Estonia or Finland but I thought they weren't allowing tourist traffic anymore.
What can i do to pre emptively have russian money? I feel that relying on application for a mir card as i get into Russia is not beneficial. I would prefer to have the RUB with me as i get off the plane.
>I would prefer to have the RUB with me as i get off the plane.
Why though? It's like Argentina. People don't trust their own currency and a crisp $100 bill will get you a pile of monopoly money to spend.
Because what if something goes wrong, what if i cant find the bank, or its far away from the airport and i dont have money for a cab.
Have you ever traveled internationally before? There will be somewhere to exchange currency at the airport albeit at shitty rates. And any russkie taxi driver will gladly take a $20 bill.
>Have you ever traveled internationally before?
No. I have my Russian tourist visa and i want to travel there before it expires in august 2024. Everyone here(usa) is trying to dissuade me telling me how ‘dangerous’ it is.
Why the hell do you have a Russian visa with no firm plans to travel there? Serious question from someone who is also interested in visiting Russia and not trolling. It's not an easy or cheap visa to get. Did you plan to go to the fifa world cup or something but never make it?
My concern isn't that Russia is "dangerous" its that the situation is currently unstable. If the Ukraine situation takes a turn for the worse, what happens? Are you stranded in a country that just declared war on the west? I'd still go but I'd keep the trip short and make it a part of a vacation to that part of the world, maybe visit Moscow, take the train to SpB, leave and see some european countries.
I got my visa in 2019. Since then my plans have been thrown through the ringer and then some. This is pretty much going to be my last chance.
Or what if for whatever reason my application for mir card gets declined.
Cards here are mostly debit, there's no way of getting rejected unless something is very wrong with your immigration papers.
https://www.sberbank.com/ru/person/bank_cards/debit/foreign/en
Sberbank offices are literally everywhere, and most of them do currency exchange, although the rate isn't as good as the other banks (not critically bad though).
You clearly don't know what you're talking about.
how many Americans have been arrested in Russia since the war started?
>0
Russia is in a bad way right now anon. They're losing and the cracks are really showing in the cities. not worth visiting
Source: twitter.com/NafoFella1999
>They're losing
how is Russia losing?
If shills on Twitter say they're losing then they're losing, simple as.
>Russia tries to take Ukraine
>Can't take Ukraine
>Ukraine tries to stop Russia from Taking their country
>Russia hasn't taken their country
funny how 3 days turned into 2 years? is that what winning looks llike?
>Feint of Kyiv
>Feint of Kharkiv
>Feint of Kherson
>NATO expansion
>Russian hard power exposed as paper bear
>RIP VDV and Black Sea Fleet
>Wagner coup
>international pariah status
>rebirth of Ukrainian nationalism
>all of this against the poorest country in Europe, 1/4 Russia's size, on Russia's own border
I could go on, but it's quite obvious the 3-Day special denazification operation was an absolute cluster-frick. Goalposts have now been shifted from "demilitarization and denazification" to "It was ALWAYS about the land bridge! We never actually wanted to remove Zelensky! Mission accomplished!"
Anyway you slice it, Russia has failed in its objective to reassert itself as a Super Power.
Black person like 50,000+ Russians have died in like 2 years, that's almost as much as the US lost in Vietnam after 20 years of warfare. The absolute max Russia can hope for is a pyrrhic victory.
>50,000+
It's impossible to get the real number at this point, but most non-Russian/Ukrainian sources estimate it's closer to 100,000
must be easy to win arguments when you make things up
not even 5% of their army
Pentagon believes 140,000 Russians and about 70,000 Ukrainians have been killed... Let's say that's an exaggeration and it's an even 60k on both sides. That's totally worth capturing 2 provinces of an irrelevant country, right. The USSR lost like 30,000 guys in Afghanistan, a huge country, over 10 years, an event that's considered pivotal in the failure of the Soviet Union.
The pentagon knows the color of texture of Putin's last shit. If they say it's 140,000 Russians killed, it's probably 140,000.
>the government never lies
>what is covid
>what is 81 million votes
Take your meds no schizo and return to /misc/ and never come back here. This board is not for basement dwelling neets like you.
He's literally posting from a Russian government IP in Moscow.
Are these Russian government IPs in the room right now?
you'd think Russia's online warriors would at least be using VPNs lmao
They're probably cut off from some of them. Kinda sad that the once mighty KGB has been reduced to shitposting about how great Russia actually is on a website nobody takes seriously.
you're moronic
just looking at events that happened its obvious
1. nordstream pipeline sabotaged
2. economic sanctions
so russia shouldn't sell resources to europe, and germany (highest economic exporter in europe) is usa's b***h for forseable future
The dumbest thing about that incident is it's looking like the ukies did it with rudimentary planning, a rented yacht and a dive team. Huge intelligence fail on part of both Russia and the west.
I used to think Russia was a world power but they have a smaller economy than California and are weaker than Ukraine.
>the probability of Russia collapsing in "two more weeks" is zero
Two more weeks? Sure.
There is a ZERO probability of Putin's regime collapsing by the war's end? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, buddy.
>the worst has passed already long time ago
>the future it will only get easier
That sounds a lot like copium, Ivan. The war can go in any direction, and there is no way of knowing how it ends. I'm personally of the belief that the war is still in its early stages, but I could be totally wrong (and so can you).
>The war can go in any direction
Not at this point, unless NATO intervenes directly.
2 more weeks to Kyiv?
2 more weeks to Crimea?
>war is unpredictable, i.e., Russia can still win/lose the war, Putin's regime can stand/crumble
>"XAXAXA THAT'S COPIUM!!!"
If we are speaking about the economy, it was just dumping 2 months back. Russia installed MORE controls that brought it up temporarily, but to claim for certainty that the worst is over for the Russia and its economy is completely delusional
It will be like the collapse of the Soviet Union, obvious in retrospect, but seeming coming out of nowhere, slowly at first, but then all at once.
The first sign might be Russian shills stop posting here after their pay stops.
Their economy is in the shitter. It is only being artificially propped up by temporary measures, it's in war economy mode which is not sustainable at all. The only question is how long they can last. Putin is hoping that they can get Ukraine to give up before his reign collapses.
>russian economy collapse
lmao, dude their debt to GDP is like 19%. they're insanely rich in resources. their economy isn't measured in american ponzi dollars but commodities.
get with the program old man
>Putin is hoping that they can get Ukraine to give up before his reign collapses.
Or before his heart collapses, the stupid monkey is in his 70s now and is probably stressed 24/7.
Don't think anyone mentioned this, but: God I'd hate the entrance interview when I get back to the states, or even to a connection in Europe. Anyone have this experience, tips or is it not as bad as I'm imagining?
Just tell them Russia is upcoming. Your forefathers emigrated for opportunities.
I've gotten the "third degree" from US Customs many times. Was even pulled out of my truck once, physically escorted to a cell, and shackled hand and foot to a bench. I just laid down and took a nap, LOL.
Keep your responses as short and simple as possible. Stay neutral, never show antagonism or friendliness. The more you talk, the harder they will try to catch you in a lie.
>in Soviet Union there were rationing of basic stuff such as food years before the collapse
It will get like that soon because
Russia doesn't make anything. The soviet era military electronics were all made in Ukraine, kek. The Sukhoi Superjet for example, is all designed around western components that Russia doesn't make and won't make because they're too moronic to figure it out. So once they're done cannibalizing their existing airplanes they'll start rationing things like air travel.
He's rumored to have some kind of autoimmune disease.
Imagine actually believing that
No, but I started talking to a russian girl a few months back and I would like to go there to meet her. I don't know if a girl is worth becoming a political prisoner over though since my country is actively supplying Ukraine with weapons and military hardware
1. there's like 4 billion girls in the world
2. see 1
do whatever you feel though
It's very easy to avoid any such danger...avoid talking politics while in Russia. If someone tries to bait you into a political discussion, refuse to engage.
>How's the weather in Langley?
I went to Kaliningrad as a German recently. Basically the only thing that sucked was the credit card thing. I just brought a bunch of cash with me, you can find exchange offices in every major russia city. I found out later that you can actually get a Tinkoff-credit card on your Apple Wallet and pay that way. Russia is actually safe for foreigners, you are not that special and nobody gives a frick where you're from as long as you don't do stupid shit there.
But why would you want to? Of all the amazing places in the world you could visit, you went to a depressing third world shithole in the middle of a war where you could have been conscripted, kidnapped and held for ransom, used as a pollical pawn, or killed for no reason. Sounds like a moronic vacation.
You still haven't answered how the weather is in Langley.
Take your meds schizo
holy schizo
russia is 100% kidnapping random tourists all the time and forcing them into penal battalions to throw in some trench
hear about it all the time
this is your brain on western media
> you could have been conscripted, kidnapped and held for ransom, used as a pollical pawn, or killed for no reason
how is such mental moronation possible?
I know that you have a hard time clicking on news websites in Russia, so I'll take a screencap for you. You're either lying about what's going on in your cesspit of a country, or you're unaware. But either way, you're wrong. Shit is really bad in Russia. You guys are losing the war. Putin is unhinged and desperate.
https://explorersweb.com/british-adventurer-arrested-spends-a-month-in-a-russian-prison/
This was also a thing.
here's another brainlet. calculate the percentage of being detained my doing number of detaineds/number of tourists (also calculate the average detention time for those detained by collecting as much cases as possible)
come on homosexual
I didn't make any claims about the odds of something bad happening Ivan. Just showing that there ARE examples of Westerners getting fricked over for arbitrary reasons in your slavBlack person country.
i'm not Russian (i wish i was, i wouldn't have to look at Black folk and homosexual flags every time i go out) and
>there ARE examples of Westerners getting
there ARE example of Westerners getting hit by meteorites and lightnings but it doesn't matter because WHAT'S THE CHANCE
>i'm not Russian (i wish i was, i wouldn't have to look at Black folk and homosexual flags every time i go out)
I'm Russian and it's really hilarious. You people do really think Russian is the last stance of white Christian power?
>you could have been conscripted
>there is genuinely not much to see
jeez the average iq here is below room temperature. i'm so glad i was born with a semi-functional brain unlike these morons
By car from poland?
If you are American there is genuinely not much to see. I was in St Petersburg and Murmansk and they're both kinda meh. Typical French architecture, typical commieblocks you can find everywhere, you are not guaranteed to see the northern lights, unless you have friends/family you will not get to try authentic food.
I have great memories from my trip but it's from playing in the snow with my nieces/nephews, and seeing my fiancé's hometown. Russia itself did not present anything exotic or unusual for me, especially as I see more of the ex-USSR region.
Visit your GF but don't expect anything mind-blowing. Consider taking her on a vacation to a 3rd country.
Will my Russian friend face any trouble flying solo out of the country right now? He's worried customs won't let him leave because of the political situation. He doesn't know anyone who has done any travel recently.
from which country?
you don't go through the customs when leaving the country