Non-white traveller going to Russia, should I be worried?
Replies: 2 - Last Post: Dec 3, 2012 6:48 AM Last Post By: Paanwallah
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Non-white traveller going to Russia, should I be worried?
HiI’m a solo female traveller going to St Petersburg and Moscow next year, I’ll be staying in hostels in central locations and will be visiting the main sites, I don’t intend on going off the tourist trail and definitely won’t be going to the suburbs, I may walk about after dark as it would be a shame not to see these 2 cities at night, but do not intend to wonder back to the hostel very late at night i.e. 12 am onwards and I may also go to Irtustuk for a day or two. Does anyone know if the Russians treat non-white people (I'm Chinese) as bad as the Lonely Planet and other guide books and the media has made it out to be and does anyone think that I’ll have any major problems in these cities?
Thanks for your help in advance
Liz
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Hi,I'm dark, long hair, and after 2 weeks of holiday was well on my way to a fully grown beard, and didn't have any issues in Russia.
The police may show interest in you as Russia borders China : so they might think that you sneaked across the border, but I ( despite their scary reputation ) found them to be polite and professional.
Regarding walking around after dark : when I was in St Petersburg, they only had about 3 hours of darkness per night, so if you're worried about going out at night, north Russia in April / May time will be perfect for you.
