Is It Safe To Be A Tourist In Moscow


by Nat Lavrentyeva - Date: 2006-12-15 - Word Count: 668 Share This!

Though Moscow isn't the safest city in the world, many foreign guests still visit it. Even terrorism and the high criminal level of the capital can't stop curious tourists. Skinheads are another problem of Moscow and Russia on the whole: according to some international reports, Russia is number one in the world in the quantity of skinheads. Russia is visited by people from a lot of countries, but most tourists come from Germany, the USA, France, Italy, Great Britain, Turkey, China, Japan, Israel and South Korea.

The safest way to stay in Moscow and not be robbed is not to look like a tourist. If you wear modest clothes and don't look wealthy you will increase your chances to enjoy your trip to Moscow without any accidents. You'd also better learn some phrases in Russian, such as for example "Somebody, help me!" or "Somebody, call the police!".

Thieves, muggers and pickpockets can be divided into several types: money changers, children, gypsy, swindlers involving you into complicated stories and some others. Gypsy is a disease of the streets in the capital. You should be very careful of them, never stop if they are trying to attract your attention or speak with you, you'd better even not look at them. Gypsy people tend to be very aggressive, bold. If you're drinking something in the street a gypsy child can even try to rob your drink, so bold they are. But be especially careful of adult gypsy women. If a gypsy chose you as a target, the only way to get rid of him is to show your aggression. You can shout "po`shol von!" or "mi`litsia!". Never show sympathy with poor looking children.

Another dangerous category is swindlers. They make up various unbelievable stories to attract your attention and make you give them some money. It's hard to describe all types of this kind of crimes, but the best way to predict being cheated is to never get involved into any conversations with strangers and just ignore them. Never accept any offers made by strangers. Never pick up any things, especially purses from the ground.

If you are traveling by metro, especially during rush hours with crowds of people in the trains, you should hide your money into inner pockets of your suite or coat, but not keep any valuable things in places which can be reached easily. Remember, that thieves often cut bags with sharp objects, so you'd better keep your bag in front of you close to your body. Also some foreign tourists have the manner of speaking too loud in a train carriage. Of course, some Russians do same as well, but it's considered to be a bad manner and if you don't want others to stare at you, you'd better not let other passengers into the details of your personal life and thoughts.

Rush hours in public transport in Moscow could be compared to an extreme marathon: people are running, trying not to bump into each other, everyone is willing to get into a train carriage or bus and take a seat first. One must be prepared and watch out not to be pushed by someone and not let other people step on his feet.

If you are not eager to get a food poisoning and suffer from diarrhea, there's the way to prevent these unpleasant secondary effects of being a tourist in Moscow - just don't buy cheap food and fast food sold in the street. Usually the conditions of cooking leave much to be desired. That's why it's better to pay a higher price for food in a good cafe and not spend the rest of the evening hugging a lavatory bowl.

For more safety you should learn some Russian expressions and words and have a book of conversational Russian, use public transport instead of hitchhiking and travel not alone but with a tourist group or with a couple of friends. However, not everything is so pessimistic. Every capital can be to some extent dangerous, and Moscow is just not an exception.

Lavrentyeva Natalya


Related Tags: safety, tourist, russia, moscow

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