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St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square

Tourism in Russia has seen rapid growth since the late Soviet times, first inner tourism and then international tourism as well. Rich cultural heritage and great natural variety place Russia among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Not including Crimea, the country contains 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, while many more are on UNESCO's tentative lists.^[1]

Major tourist routes in Russia include a travel around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the big rivers including the Volga, and long journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway. Diverse regions and ethnic cultures of Russia offer many different foods and souvenirs, and show a great variety of traditions, including Russian Maslenitsa, Tatar Sabantuy, or Siberian shamanist rituals. In 2013, Russia was visited by 33 million tourists, making it the ninth-most visited country in the world and the seventh-most visited in Europe.^[2]

Land and climate[edit]

Birch forest in summer in Central European Russia

Central European Russia (e.g. Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, etc.) is in the same climate zone as the Baltic states, Belarus, and northern Ukraine. The climate of south-west Russia (the lower Volga, and the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) is more arid, with hotter summers and shorter winters. The climate of Russia's Far East along the Pacific coast is similar to that of Hokkaido, Japan and north-east China. The most severe climate is in Siberia where winters are very cold and summers are very hot, and in Russia's Far North where temperatures are always low, with the exception of Murmansk, where the sea never freezes due to the influence of the warm Norwegian Current. The climate of Russia's Black Sea coast is subtropical.
Contrary to popular belief, the climate of most popular tourist areas of Russia is not severe and is similar to that of Eastern Europe. The mean temperatures of December, January and February in Moscow are −4 °C (25 °F), −7 °C (19 °F), −6 °C (21 °F) respectively, but colder weather is common. Over the past few decades spells of extremely cold weather (below −20 °C/-4 °F) in central European Russia have become rare (in the winter 2016/2017, Moscow had temperatures below −20 °C only for three days), while the number of wintry days when the temperature is close to or slightly above the freezing point has grown significantly. In coastal areas wintry temperatures can feel somewhat colder than they actually are due to high humidity.
Unless you are allergic to the pollen of certain trees and herbs (such as birch, horse chestnut, alder, lilac, cherry tree, ash tree, rowan tree, lime tree, dandelion), the best time for travelling to central European Russia is late spring when the temperatures are pleasant and many trees are in bloom, and early and mid autumn when trees change their colour and it is not cold yet. Summer months are also good except for June in cities in central and south Russia when poplar fluff can be a nuisance, but recently the authorities of many Russian cities have taken action against the fluff by cutting and removing poplar trees and the situation has improved dramatically. Late autumn, winter months, and early spring will be enjoyable if you wear appropriate clothes and shoes. If you are interested in winter activities, in central European Russia it usually begins to snow in late autumn and snowpack usually doesn't melt away completely before early April, although spells of warm weather do occur and snow can temporarily melt away in mid-winter. Ski resorts in mountainous areas have snow throughout the winter season. Central European Russia sometimes experiences cold spells in early May when the temperature can go from +15 °C/59 °F to the freezing point for a few days.

Tourism[edit]

Visa and Entry Requirements[edit]

The citizens of CIS member states, most Latin American countries, Israel and South Africa, can travel in Russia for 90 days without a visa; visitors from South Korea can visit Russia for 60 days without a visa; while tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, Laos, Macau, Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Seychelles and Thailand, can visit for 30 days without a visa.

Free e-visas for visiting three regions in Russia's Far East (Primorye, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka) are availabale for tourists from China, Japan, India, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Mexico, and some other countries.

Tourists from other countries are required to visit a Russian diplomatic mission to purchase a visa. Tourists are required to have a valid passport when crossing the Russian border. Russian visas cannot be purchased at the border. For more information see visa policy of Russia.

Cultural tourism[edit]

Kizhi in north-west Russia

Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod

The most popular tourist destinations in Russia are Saint Petersburg (which appeared in the list of top visited cities of Europe in 2010) and Moscow, the current and the former capitals of the country and great cultural centers, recognized as World Cities. Moscow and Saint Petersburg feature such world-renowned museums as Hermitage and Tretyakov Gallery, famous theaters including Bolshoi and Mariinsky, ornate churches such as Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood, impressive fortifications such as Moscow Kremlin and Peter and Paul Fortress, beautiful squares such as Red Square and Palace Square, and streets such as Tverskaya and Nevsky Prospect. Rich palaces and parks of extreme beauty are found in the former imperial residences in the suburbs of Moscow (Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno) and Saint Petersburg (Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk Palace, Tsarskoye Selo). Moscow contains a great variety of impressive Soviet-era buildings along with modern skyscrapers, while Saint Petersburg, nicknamed Venice of the North, boasts its classical architecture, many rivers, channels and bridges.

Grand Cascade in Peterhof in Saint Petersburg

Nizhny Novgorod is the capital of the Volga region. It is considered to be "younger brother" of Moscow because it has its own Kremlin, the metro, the so-called "Nizhny Novgorod Arbat" (Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street) and even a copy of the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, the original of which is in the Russian capital. Nizhny Novgorod is divided into two parts by the Oka River. The Upper City is its historical part. Here are the Kremlin, Minin and Pozharsky Square, Bolshaya Pokrovskaya and Rozhdestvenskaya streets, nightclubs, open spaces, a large number of monuments and simply historical places. The Lower City is its industrial and commercial part. Here are the Fair, the old Sormovo and Kanavino, GAZ and Sotsgorod (the so-called "city in the city"), the railway terminal, the airport and many attractions for people who want to see the styles of underground, industrial and grunge. The city is the main starting point for cruises along Volga River. From here begins shipping to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, shows a unique mix of Christian Russian and Muslim Tatar cultures. The city has registered a brand The Third Capital of Russia, though a number of other major Russian cities compete for this status, including Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Samara, all being major cultural centers with rich history and prominent architecture. Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Dmitrov and the cities of Golden Ring (Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma and others) have at best preserved the architecture and the spirit of ancient and medieval Rus', and also are among the main tourist destinations. Many old fortifications (typically Kremlins), monasteries and churches are scattered throughout Russia, forming its unique cultural landscape both in big cities and in remote areas.

Sakha Republic proposes to use former forced labour camps as a tourist attraction.^[3]
Poles visit places of Communist crimes, e.g. of the Katyn massacre and Solovetsky Islands.^[4][5]

Notable museums[edit]

Russia enjoys a rich cultural heritage and is home to many museums. The most notable include the Tretyakov Gallery, the Kremlin Armoury and the State Historical Museum in Moscow, the Hermitage Museum, and the Russian Museum in St Petersburg, the Kazan Kremlin in Kazan, etc.

Russia is also famous for having many museums related to its literary and classical music heritage, such as Yasnaya Polyana associated with Leo Tolstoy, the Mikhaylovskoye Museum Reserve associated with Alexander Pushkin, the Dostoyevsky Museum, the Tchaikovsky State House-Museum. the Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment and Museum, the Mikhail Glinka Museum in Moscow, the Sergei Rachmaninoff Estate Museum in Ivanovka, Tambov Region, the Alexander Scriabin Apartment Museum in Moscow.

Museums related to Russia's military history and military hardware include the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill, the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Russia in Moscow, the Central Museum of the Russian Air Force in Monino, Moscow Region, the Central Naval Museum in St Petersburg, the Battle of Stalingrad Museum in Volgograd.

Famous museums related to science and technology include the Polytechnic Museum of Moscow, the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, the Museum of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation in Korolev, Moscow Region.

The State Historical Museum

Russian Museum

Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow

The Hermitage Museum

Transport[edit]

For security reasons, Russian ticket offices sell tickets for trains, airplanes and coaches only if you show your passport.^[6]

Railways[edit]

Sapsan train

The state-owned company Russian Railways (abbreviated as РЖД) operates most of rail services across the country and is crucial for the rail transport in Russia. High-speed rail services are available between Moscow and St Petersburg, between Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, and between St Petersburg and Helsinki (Finland). European Russia and the Russian Far East are connected by rail via the Trans-Siberian Railway. A train trip from Moscow to Vladivostok takes 6 days.^[7] Russia uses the 1,524mm (5ft) track gauge, which is also shared by all the former Soviet republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan), Mongolia, and is practically identical with the rail gauge of Finland. Trains crossing the border between Russia (Belarus, Ukraine) and EU member states (except the Baltic states and Finland) or between Russia and China, stop at special crossing points where each carriage is lifted for its bogies to be changed. Trains remain at crossing points for up to 2 hours.^[8]

Sea and river transport[edit]

Boats on Griboyedov Canal in St Petersburg

Russia's major sea ports Category:Port cities and towns in Russia include St Petersburg and Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast; Murmansk and Arkhangelsk on the Arctic coast; Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Pacific coast; Sochi, Novorossiysk, and Sevastopol on the Black Sea coast; Astrakhan on the Caspian coast. In European Russia, many river boat companies offer journeys to cities and towns on the Volga River, its tributaries and connected canals: Moscow (via the Moscow Canal), Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan. River boats from St Petersburg can travel to Staraya Ladoga and Veliky Novgorod on the Volkhov River, to Ladoga Lake, and to Moscow (via canals).^[9]

Air transport[edit]

Russia's busiest international airports are situated near Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd, Kazan, Krasnodar, Sochi, and Vladivostok. For more information see a list of airports in Russia. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by direct flights from most European capitals, and Moscow also has direct flights from any cities in East Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America.^[10] Countries that have no direct flights to Russia include Australia,^[11] Canada^[12] and Ukraine.^[13]

Roads[edit]

Major national thoroughfares are known as federal highways. For more information see Russian federal highways. Most of highways are toll-free, however recently there have opened a few toll roads.^[14] Usual roads in smaller Russian cities and in the countryside can be in bad condition.^[15] During the cold season (from November till April), when there is permanent snowpack and ice on the roads, winter tyres are mandatory.^[16]

Public transport in major cities[edit]

The letter M at the entrance to a Moscow metro station

Russian cities that have a metro include Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan.^[17] Entrances to metro stations are marked using the letter M which looks the same in the Russian and Roman alphabets. On the Moscow Metro, announcements on trains are made in Russian and English, and direction signs and maps often include English.^[18] Apart from buses and trams, trolleybuses are a very common means of overground transport in Russian cities.
For more information see the list of trolleybus systems in Russia. Another widely used means of public transport is marshrutkas, or shared taxies. If you are going to visit Moscow and use public transport, see the article about the Troika card (a similar card known as Podorozhnik is used in St Petersburg). Taxi services available in major Russian cities include Yandex.Taxi, Uber (company), and Gett.

Major national holidays and celebrations[edit]

for a full list see Public holidays in Russia

• 
  New Year's Eve, 31 December


• 
  Orthodox Christmas, 7 January


• 
  Maslenitsa, in February or March, in the week before the Lent (according to the Julian calendar)


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  Orthodox Easter, in spring after the Lent (according to the Julian calendar)


• 
  Victory Day, 9 May


• Day of Slavic Alphabet and Culture, 24 May


• 
  Day of Russia, 12 June


• 
  Ivan Kupala Day, 7 July


• 
  Day of the Christianization of Rus', 28 July


• 
  Navy Day (Russia), the last Sunday of July (major celebrations include naval parades in St Petersburg and Vladivostok)


• 
  Day of People's Unity, 4 November


• 
  Defender of the Fatherland Day, 23 February

Major events[edit]

• Honey Fair in Kolomenskoye, February – March, an annual honey festival in Kolomenskoye, Moscow


• 
  KHL Conference Finals and the Gagarin Cup, March and April, final series of the Kontinental Hockey League
  


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  Kinotavr Film Festival, June, an international film festival in Sochi
  


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  Scarlet Sails Festival, on a Saturday in the second half of June, annual celebration in St Petersburg marking the end of school year


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  International Tchaikovsky Competition, 10–30 June, an annual international competition in Moscow, final gala concerts 2–3 July in Moscow and St Petersburg
  


• 
  MAKS Air Show, July, an annual international aerospace show in Zhukovsky, Moscow Region
  


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  Silk Way Rally, July


• 
  GUM Gorkyclassic Motor Rally,^[19] July, an annual motor rally and car parade featuring classic cars in Moscow


• 
  Sabantui, on a Sunday in summer, a major holiday celebrated primarily in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan
  


• 
  Spasskaya Tower (Festival), the last week of August, the first week of September, an annual international military music festival in Red Square, Moscow


• 
  Kurban Bairam, August or September, the local name of Eid al-Adha celebrated primarily in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, North Caucasus and by Muslim communities in major cities


• Chereshnevy Les Festival, summer, an international annual open-arts festival in Moscow


• Okno v Yevropu, 6–12 August, an annual Russian film festival in Vyborg, Leningrad Region
  


• 
  Moscow International Film Festival, an international biennial film festival in Moscow


• City Day in Moscow, first Saturday of September, an annual celebration marking the birthday of Moscow


• Borodino Day, first Sunday of September, an annual event in memory of the Battle of Borodino, includes historical re-enactment, in Borodino, Moscow Region
  


• Moscow Fashion Week, 24–29 October, an annual fashion event in Moscow


• The Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, dates vary, a biennial event that started in 2003

Resorts and nature tourism[edit]

Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort

Sochi, a Russian seaside resort on the Black Sea and home to the 2014 Sochi Olympics

The warm subtropical Black Sea coast of Russia is the site for a number of popular seaside resorts such as Sochi and Tuapse, known for their shale beaches and wonderful nature. At the same time Sochi can boast a number of major ski resorts, such as Krasnaya Polyana. The city was the host of 2014 Winter Olympics. The mountains of the Northern Caucasus contain many other popular ski resorts, such as Dombay in Karachay–Cherkessia.

One of the most famous natural tourist attractions of Russia is Lake Baikal, known as the Blue Eye of Siberia. This unique lake, the oldest and the deepest in the world, has crystal-clean waters and is surrounded by taiga-covered mountains.

Other areas interesting for tourists include Kamchatka with its volcanoes and geysers, Karelia where many lakes and granite rocks are found, including Ruskeala Canyon, Altai with its snow-capped mountains, Tyva with its wild steppes, Republic of Adygea where Fisht Mountain is located, Chechnya Republic where Lake Kezenoyam is located.^[20]

The Seven Wonders of Russia, the most popular tourist destinations chosen in a national vote in 2008, include Lake Baikal, Valley of Geysers, Manpupuner rock formations, and Mount Elbrus.

The most famous national parks and sanctuaries of Russia include the Transbaikal National Park, the Altai Nature Reserve, the Lazovsky Nature Reserve, the Kedrovaya Pad' Nature Reserve, the Samarskaya Luka National Park, the Smolenskoye Poozerye Nature Reserve, the Curonian Spit Nature Reserve, the Valdai National Park, the Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve, the Ilmen Nature Reserve.

Since 2014, the following tourist destinations in Crimea are administered as part of the Russian Federation:

• 
  Yalta – a health resort on Black Sea, where the post-World War II Yalta peace conference took place.


• 
  Sevastopol – a federal city on the Black Sea coast.


• 
  Simferopol – the capital of the Republic of Crimea, on the Salhir River. It is a manufacturing, commercial, and transportation centre located in a productive agricultural region.

The Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka Peninsula

Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world and the biggest fresh-water lake by volume

Mount Elbrus with its two peaks

The Manpupuner rock formations

Souvenirs and food[edit]

Typical souvenirs include the Matryoshka doll and other handicraft, samovars for water heating, ushanka and papaha warm hats, and fur clothes among other items. Russian vodka and caviar are among the food that attracts foreigners, along with honey, blini, pelmeni, shchi soup and other products and dishes of Russian cuisine.

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  Zhostovo tray
  

  
  

  
  


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  Cheburashka
  

  
  

  
  


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  Bliny
  

  
  

  
  


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  Selyodka pod shuboi
  

  
  

  
  


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  Kotlety
  

  
  

  
  


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  Borsch
  

  
  

  
  


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  Vatrushka
  

  
  

  
  


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  Pryanik
  

  
  

  
  


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  Syrok (cottage cheese covered in chocolate)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Soviet space programme
  

  
  

  
  


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  Soviet-era souvenirs
  

  
  

  
  

Regions and localities associated with specific souvenirs and products[edit]

• 
  Caviar: Primorye Territory; Sakhalin; Kamchatka
  


• 
  Honey: Bashkortostan; Altai Territory; Krasnodar Territory
  


• 
  Pryaniki: Tula; Arkhangelsk; Vyazma, Smolensk Region; Pokrov, Vladimir Region; Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Region


• 
  Chocolate: Moscow; Pokrov, Vladimir Region


• 
  Amber: Kaliningrad
  


• 
  Diamonds: Yakutsk
  


• Glass souvenirs: St Petersburg; Moscow; Gus-Khrustalny, Vladimir Region


• 
  Gems: Nizhny Tagil; Yekaterinburg
  


• Beresta (birch bark) souvenirs: Arkhangelsk; Semyonov, Nizhny Novgorod Region


• Metalwork: Tula; Zhostovo, Ivanovo Region


• Wooden souvenirs and pottery: Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Region; Palekh, Ivanovo Region; Gzhel, Moscow Region; Dymkovo District of Kirov; Filimonovo, Tula Region; Semyonov, Nizhny Novgorod Region


• Textiles: Ivanovo; Yaroslavl
  


• Wool products: Moscow; Pavlovsky Posad, Moscow Region; Orenburg
  


• Lace: Vologda; Yelets, Lipetsk Region


• 
  Valenki and felt products: Yaroslavl; Yelets, Lipetsk Region; Ivanovo
  


• 
  Furs: Pyatigorsk; Kazan; Ulyanovsk; Tver
  


• 
  Wristwatches and clocks: Moscow; Chelyabinsk
  

Foreign travel statistics[edit]

In 2013, 27 million international tourists arrived in Russia, generating US$11.2 billion in international tourism revenue for the country.^[21] Including domestic and international tourism, the industry directly contributed RUB860 billion to the Russian GDP and supported 966,500 jobs in the country.^[22]

Visitor statistics

According to the Border Service of the Federal Security Service and the Federal State Statistics Service, most visitors arriving to Russia were from the following countries of nationality:^[23]

Nationality	Total (includes all types of purposes of visits)
	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Ukraine	9,817,008	9,737,405	10,314,757	9,842,990	7,080,991	6,502,543	6,072,775	4,198,030
Kazakhstan	4,137,613	4,686,059	5,180,246	4,215,161	3,848,899	3,630,342	3,049,406	2,747,358
Uzbekistan	2,350,007	2,116,480	2,163,256	2,353,140	2,967444	2,677,322	2,086,359	1,584,086
China	1,780,200	1,565,524	1,353,051	1,125,098	1,071,515	978,988	845,588	747,640
Tajikistan	1,350,356	1,293,270	1,200,972	1,202,260	1,348,868	1,134,150	955,455	830,160
Azerbaijan	1,143,243	1,156,703	1,071,324	1,021,204	1,196,759	1,116,238	1,045,525	979,778
Finland	1,063,348	1,376,646	1,476,412	1,446,169	1,388,036	1,375,614	1,211,520	1,012,621
Armenia	857,212	833,577	850,137	794,098	882,864	700,332	550,349	459,040
Kyrgyzstan	836,946	792,042	842,396	725,664	763,418	623,970	592,960	552,909
Moldova	803,916	699,112	770,965	923,625	1,374,690	1,194,291	1,073,637	988,084
Poland	765,544	1,056,013	1,766,612	1,823,143	1,644,657	1,190,003	704,610	394,872
Germany	629,082	613,370	595,200	635,153	686,557	671,676	629,391	611,367
Abkhazia	436,368	415,606	422,130	362,811	293,429	273,964	202,440	52,289
Estonia	432,803	433,926	382,031	363,942	430,164	494,282	519,402	474,949
Mongolia	416,293	542,196	505,429	225,972	226,673	365,236	212,117	157,367
Belarus	382,022	320,372	424,531	495,999	418,207	372,942	267,233	259,191
Latvia	330,266	360,603	348,338	374,701	391,304	461,162	571,374	569,300
Stateless persons	318,393	321,383	326,841	349,400	463,640	523,333	618,705	679,757
United States	293,011	248,990	242,104	257,070	305,954	286,551	275,239	262,060
South Korea	276,560	181,024	153,189	135,676	107,942	94,922	91,335	90,622
Lithuania	256,009	281,168	270,600	487,206	539,308	553,896	622,740	760,728
France	211,673	201,260	191,643	219,210	225,860	225,343	213,473	194,248
Italy	206,860	208,689	204,710	219,976	225,933	212,411	207,476	198,002
United Kingdom	193,522	190,278	190,775	228,346	259,676	231,670	221,418	212,847
Israel	185,426	182,438	165,003	152,853	136,827	123,974	114,380	100,291
Turkey	181,285	120,035	323,039	361,416	385,147	305,429	249,109	196,704
Philippines	172,278	160,734	163,010	162,990	149,213	130,541	99,405	81,385
South Ossetia	137,427	115,382	125,444	117,283	94,159	73,863	47,739	33,409
India	130,400	108,498	95,527	94,259	95,542	80,127	60,191	53,364
Spain	118,642	116,032	110,247	100,206	109,089	101,536	129,730	110,601
Georgia	117,204	65,378	69,095	58,264	48,440	35,511	30,415	24,568
Japan	114,207	95,675	93,550	105,220	102,408	86,806	76,204	78,188
Iran	91,862	75,203	46,760	29,743	20,657	23,085	21,575	20,576
Serbia	87,899	79,575	79,406	87,048	107,601	70,371	57,177	47,939
Vietnam	77,391	66,939	60,882	75,840	81,073	62,961	53,529	50,823
Netherlands	73,729	68,017	63,469	80,543	86,402	81,212	87,549	80,720
Turkmenistan	65,749	56,258	51,170	47,002	40,238	43,720	39,579	35,017
Austria	59,501	56,663	57,242	67,392	74,277	71,863	70,388	67,606
Canada	53,890	43,158	43,663	53,370	61,234	54,730	52,238	48,559
Norway	53,197	46,631	49,535	57,423	54,433	50,115	48,614	45,340
Switzerland	53,167	52,656	46,200	50,838	54,898	52,852	47,978	44,964
Thailand	52,697	32,222	29,482	25,585	23,919	19,375	17,023	15,192
Australia	49,259	43,940	39,613	46,072	46,861	43,105	34,868	30,583
Czech Republic	49,232	47,288	46,432	68,875	76,530	62,980	46,776	40,565
Greece	41,205	46,730	41,210	46,450	48,280	36,474	33,569	33,396
Bulgaria	39,191	41,290	37,035	42,230	47,154	45,312	42,031	38,446
Belgium	38,868	37,492	33,714	37,441	40,316	37,025	36,430	33,571
Brazil	38,344	29,704	35,531	33,301	37,386	33,647	29,840	21,950
Sweden	32,095	39,153	40,424	49,908	53,340	58,900	60,840	54,253
Cuba	30,711	26,667	12,349	11,609	9,625	5,293	4,099	4,053
Mexico	27,713	21,071	22,922	18,223	21,527	16,431	16,759	13,767
Romania	26,330	23,684	25,970	28,391	30,886	24,792	21,993	17,884
Argentina	25,892	19,944	17,322	13,614	15,944	13,976	12,316	9,044
Hungary	25,659	25,313	24,849	28,421	27,155	23,047	23,241	20,736
Indonesia	25,425	20,211	18,100	20,330	21,088	18,572	18,313	14,448
Slovakia	25,213	23,555	19,876	24,962	27,554	24,161	20,445	18,512
Portugal	20,347	17,729	15,475	15,181	14,952	15,398	15,814	18,434
North Korea	19,641	22,036	20,893	23,902	23,604	22,071	18,901	21,167
Total	N/A	N/A	33,729,187	32,421,490	30,792,091	28,176,502	24,932,016	N/A

Visa statistics

Most visas were issued in the following countries:^[24][25]

Location	Number of visas issued in 2015	Number of visas issued in 2016
Germany	299,791	153,727
China	357,040	129,744
France	119,314	61,999
Finland	112,655	55,415
Italy	117,123	52,107
United Kingdom	87,863	42,524
United States	85,974	46,180
Estonia	77,953	37,445
Latvia	70,328	30,933
Spain	57,001	25,262

Safety[edit]

Natural disasters[edit]

Natural hazards of central European Russia include hurricanes, thunderstorms, and spring floods when snowpack accumulated during the winter melts away; south Russia sometimes experiences flash floods. Earthquakes do not occur in Russia except for mountainous areas in the south (the Caucasus Mountains, the Altai Mountains) and the Pacific coast. Forest fires can occur in hot summers, especially in south Siberia.

Dangerous animals[edit]

Big wild animals such as bears and wolves are common in wooded areas of Siberia and Russia's Far East, they also inhabit some remote thick forests in north-east European Russia; female bears can be especially dangerous when they have cubs, while male bears are especially dangerous if they wake up and roam in wintertime; wolves are dangerous in the winter period. The only poisonous snake in central European Russia is the viper; it mainly inhabits boggy and marshy forests but can occasionally be met in other types of forests, so high boots are advisable for forest trips and hikes. Tick-borne encephalitis is another hazard that is associated with forests and parks in Russia. Animals that are most prone to rabies are stray dogs and cats, wild foxes, wolves, hedgehogs, Raccoon dogs.

Environmental contamination[edit]

A certain level of radioactive contamination (corresponding to that of central Austria and central Sweden) caused by rains following the Chernobyl disaster is found in some parts of Bryansk Region and Tula Region. High levels of industrial contamination are found in the city of Norilsk and in Chelyabinsk Region and Sverdlovsk Region.

Socio-cultural concerns[edit]

Public safety[edit]

Most Russian cities are safe to visit. According to travel advice by the UK government, "most visits to Russia are trouble-free, but petty crime does happen".^[26]

Militant groups[edit]

Most regions of Russia are safe, however travels to some areas in North Caucasus can pose a certain risk, especially parts of Chechnya and Dagestan.

See also[edit]

• Visa policy of Russia


• Russian culture


• List of museums in Russia


• List of World Heritage Sites in Russia


• Moscow Underground


• Wildlife of Russia

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Russia.

• Moscow City Guide at the official website of the Mayor of Moscow


• St Petersburg Official City Guide


• 
  Karelia Tourist Portal (Solovetsky Islands, Kizhi)


• Guide to the Golden Ring of Russia


• 
  Tatarstan Official Guide(including Kazan)


• 
  Official Rosa Khutor Guide (ski resorts in Sochi)


• Baikal Tourist Guide


• Vladivostok City Guide


• Russia Travel Guide


• 
  Russia travel and tourism at Curlie (based on DMOZ)


• Fully Personalized Itineraries for independent travel in Russia


• Representing in North America: Russian National Tourist Office


• 
  (in Russian) Federal Agency for Tourism
  


• Russia Beyond the Headlines news portal


• Cheboksary tourist portal