Has anyone ever been to Russia? and if so What you think?

anyone at all? come on

Yeah I went there for 6 months. I spent most of my time in Tyumen, in the middle of Siberia, which was pretty boring. I wanted to make it to Moscow...never did work out though.

Sorry, Mister EThoughts - I would love to go, but I know that doesn't count!

I have two friends who went prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union. One studied in Moscow for a year - but, as he spent most of his time not studying tanked to the gills (drunk) on vodka, he remembers a lot of floors under tables and blurry good times!

The other friend visited Moscow and St Petersburg as part of a trade union delegation from all over the world - she loved it.

thats awesome i really miss it i wanna go visit man

Hi Mr ET, I went to Russia in July 2000, and did the cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg. The trip was 17 days, but the first two nights were spent in Helsinki. We flew into Moscow, and was transferred to our boat, the MS Lomonosov where we lived for the remainder of our tour. In Moscow, we visited all the tourist highlights including the Kremlin, Red Square, Armory, Tretyakov Gallery, and Pushkin Museum. On our way to St Petersburg, we stopped at Uglich, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Irma, Kizhi, and Pertrozovadsk. We spent three nights in St Petersburg, and visits included the Hermitage, Catherine the Great's Palace and the amber room, Peter & Paul's Fortress, Pushkin, Peterhoff, a cruise, and some shopping. I loved all of the Russia we saw. I wouldn't mind another visit - on a similar cruise.

hamburger and mrs. hamburger did a cruise from London to St. Petersburg summer of 2002. They loved it.

A colleague of mine is from Kiev. She spent most of September there this year. From the photos I've seen, it looks like an extraordinarily beautiful city. I'd like to see it some day.

and I live here. some advantages + MANY disadvantages. i wish i lived somewhere else, but i was born here, so...
But may be when i visit some remote places i will think other way, who knows...

Moskva, St Peterburg, Samara. Overall time spent - about three to four months.
I liked it. I worked 90% of the time so I still want to go places in Peterburg.
I liked Peterburg the same as London, Paris, Rome, Prague, Budapest, Vienna & other historical cities. No time for Hermitage though

Primat, if you travel you'll see that it doesn't matter where you are, it matters how you feel about yourself and what surrounds you.
Every place can be good or bad. I live in Russia too, and I love it. There are many reasons for it: snowy winter and hot summer, people with extreme mood swings , many shops are opened 24h 7 days a week, a lot of opportunities, great places to travel, delicious black bread.
The main advantage is an ironic one, because it's seen by many Russians as a disadvantage, actually: it's a kind of "chaotic" and not stable life, which is not as comfortable as what many Russians think life in Europe or US is like. But this kind of situation is the main reason why I like Russia so much: it never lets you sleep, you should always be aware in order to survive, so it's very nice, I find.

To all others - if you want to see what people think about Russia, there's an interesting discussion on my site at http://waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/MythsAndTruth.html - the page is quite big, but is worth reading: some people post accounts of their travel to Russia there, and it's full of different points of view.

This is excellent all around advice.

When I'm depressed, or pissed at stuff, I really hate Kansas City (where I live.) When I'm feeling better about thing, KC isn't so bad.

Good words, Dimas!

Dimas-- Hope you'll show up again.

My daughter and I are working to arrange a Summer Abroad student program for her--and of all the places available--she zeroed in on Russia and won't even contemplate anywhere else. She LOVES Russian history, culture, architecture...

The primary location is St Petersburg--and I see a couple of members here have seen the lovely sights she is anticipating. They have an excursion to Moscow--a circus outing planned, events scheduled...

My thing is this-- with all the Chechen trouble--is it considered safe? Is St Petersburg tourist friendly? Is Moscow safe?

Lesh, I would say it's safer in St Petersburg and Moscow relative to her being home, because more people get killed or injured by car accidents. If you do the math, the probability that your daughter would be killed by terrorism is in the smallest digits possible compared to driving close to home. Some people have an irrational fear of flying; but more people fly every day without any incident than the probability of injury at home.

I haven't been to Russia yet but am planning a trip there in the near future, because I'm really fascinated by their culture, language and country itself! Anyone who's been there could you please give me some advice on what I should see/do there?

I would suggest a river cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg, because that's what I did and really enjoyed the experience I had. While in Moscow, don't miss the regular tourist visits to St Basils, Red Square, the Kremlin, the Pushkin Museum of Modern Art, the Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Square, the underground (one of the most beautiful in the world), and a meal on that street that has outside seating (sorry, don't remember the name of the street). What you see and experience between Moscow and St Petersburg is rather self-exlanatory; you see how most Russians live outside the big urban areas. While in St Petersburg, visit the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress, the Aurora (the ship), a canal cruise, Cahterine the Great's Palace, and a cultural/dinner show. There's also a church in St Petersburg that's more colorful than St Basils. Forgot it's name. There's a square not far from the Hermitage that you should also visit and walk around. That's all I can remember off the top of my head. I'll try to answer specific questions.

shortncute, there's a long thread here about Russia that has stories from people who live in Russia about what it's like there and also touristic advice - as well as lots of stuff about Russian politics. You can browse through to find some answers:

WHAT'S IT LIKE LIVING IN RUSSIA TODAY?

I went to St. Petersburg last summer to visit a friend and I am goign there this summer. What can I say, it's a lovely place. It's becoming more Americanized with every year, so you'll find your McDonalds and IKEA. Gosh, the food is obscene, and the good stuff will cost you. The places you can go are breathtaking. When I went to the Hermitage, it was like dinner with Moby.
I went to Moscow on one instance, and honestly if it weren't for the Faberge eggs i'd leave. Ohotny Ryad was amazing though, and I almost peed myself at Prada. Ahhh, consumer's paradise!

to Cicerone, nimh, and golden: thanks SO much for your responses , now I'm really convinced and I definitely want to go to Russia (and perhaps stay there if I really enjoy it )
Nimh thanks for the thread, I found it very informative :wink:

and I want to add that I don't care how dangerous their Mafia is or how their economy stinks right now, I'm still interested in their history, culture and their people....nothing can convince me from NOT going there! :wink:

MisterEthoughts I found an old post of yours saying that you have a friend named gary who changed his name to Igor in Russia. Is it the correct translation of his name or did he change it by chance?