Russia

rye catcher

Hi all,
Anyone have any experience of an extensive travelling experience through Russia?
Its a counry that has always interested me and would love an opportunity to see it firsthand, both big cities and smaller towns.
I understand security is an issue, with many towns near the Urals actually having banned foreigners from entering.
If i were to do it, id make a real effort to get to grips with the language, which is no small undertaking i appreciate, but id really like to do it properly.
I know very little else about it so any information at all would be appreciated.
Cheers

Civilian_Target

Learn to read and write things in Cyrilic, you'll need it! Knowing the numbers wouldn't hurt either.

I've only been to Ukraine, not Russia, my experience there were that people were not very friendly, but if you could read and write a bit, it was generally possible to get by. For example, reserving trains, a written note with the origin, destination, class and times will get you what you need.

Very few people speak English outside the major cities, and even in the major cities it can be difficult. People are not very open, but if you get to know them a bit they can be very friendly.

dory

I've been learning Russian since October on my own and I'm able to have a basic conversation, could definitely get by in Russia so it is possible. I've been using Pimsleur and then a online tutorials. Youtube has great ones.
I haven't been to Russia though so I'll be no help there.

cailinoBAC

I've been to Russia and would love to go again, haven't been as far as the Urals. I went from Tallinn-Saint Petersburg-Novgorod-Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod-Kazan-Moscow-Minsk-Vilnius.
Well I've been to Belasus loads of times, could comment more on that. The lanugage would be a great help. Not only to get about, but to be able to speak to people. A lot of people say the Russians aren't friendly. They often aren't, when they're in some service job (working in a shop/train station etc.) but if you get talking to them (and language would help!) they can be very friendly. If you're travelling on trains, bring some food to share as people often offered to share with me, and I felt bad not having anything to offer back. Also, before my year in Belarus I never could drink vodka straight, but if you're a guy (not that I am) they will expect you to drink with them. Don't feel pressured to keep up though!
I'd love to go further East. Kazan was the first place where I really felt the fact that Russia extends into Asia, where I really felt I stood out as a foreigner. I remember one woman stopped me on the street and asked where I was from and when I said Ireland, she just said 'well done'!
One thing I can't really advise on is the registration process. Also, this might have changed in the last 5 years. Hotels will register you, otherwise I think you're supposed to go along to the office in each new place. I stayed in a hostel in St Petersburg and a hotel in Kazan, the rest of the time I was on trains/staying with a friend in Moscow/staying with hospitalityclub (like couchsurfing) people. If you stay somewhere under 3 days it's ok, so hold onto your train tickets, but in Moscow I wasn't and that was the only place I was a bit worried about getting stopped and asked to show my passport. The first time I was in Moscow somebody just advised me to carry stuff around in a plastic bag (rather than a fancy backpack) and actually you did stand out less like that! But at the same time, I've heard that some people have had questions asked when they left Russia, about the fact that they haven't been registered in all the places they've been. I didn't have that problem, because there are no border checks between Belarus and Russia (at least there weren't then) and the Belarusians didn't really care (as long as I hadn't overstayed my 48 hour transit visa, but then again, I didn't have a stamp to show when I'd entered).
Anyway, go for it!