How safe is Moscow, Russia?

ECB

ECB

Active member
So I just got awarded a scholarship to study abroad in Moscow for 6 weeks this summer.

It includes airfare, housing, meals, tuition, visas, etc.

I only have to pay for leisure activities, brides, and a credit transfer fee.

If I don't do it, I'll have to take a summer class in order to graduate next semester.

I don't speak Russian.

I don't read Russian.

I am of Russian heritage (so I look Russian)

I really want a mail order bride and this might be my chance to meet her in person.

Seriously though, how safe will I be? What should I expect? Is police corruption a problem?
 
Assuming what I've learned from television is accurate they are either circus bears riding unicycles or terrorists in the future and everything in between.
 
WOW solid first post, i'm actually impressed

I was so excited my favorite mod (and hottest) posted in my thread, maybe saying she was gonna be there the same time.....but no :( hahahah
 
My buddy studied abroad in Russia. He sends us tons of videos of himself running around in student riots. Apparently it's pretty fucked up. Police brutality is common and it can often be pretty unsafe at night. The videos of him in the riots are insane though. Running around with his hot blonde Russian girlfriend dodging police, tear gas, the whole shebang.

All in all, its wild, somewhat unsafe, but he loves it. If thats your scene then go for it. Just don't tell anyone you're an American.
 
I'm liking the part about a hot Russian girlfriend.....and I love riots

Not a big fan of tear gas, but hey, I can get used to it I guess haha
 
Forgot to mention.....

Vodka is my choice of drinks

Vodka on the rocks

Vodka with juice

I even put vodka in my beer to strengthen it

My parents lived in Moscow in 89' and they said guys would pass out drunk in the middle of the road and the cops would take them, put them in a special police station with beds, and when they woke up, they just left. No punishment, just a free night stay in a bed haha

But I've heard things have changed now....
 
If I go, and I am able to communicate with the females, I will bring back more than 1!
 
a buddy oif mine studied in moscow for a semester. said while he was walking around he turned on to a side street and was chased down by the russian mafia who spotted him. so i guess it can be pretty dangerous. plus the kremlin was blown up in the recent MI4 movie so. yea.
 
It's nothing personal, just sexual

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, you are in my top 3 of mods, Jodi being number 1

Malcoooom is number 2 because of the gift he sent me in the mail :)

 
Safe as fuck. Seriously, it's just a milliontown with some crude people in it.

I would still keep hold of some bribe money just in case when venturing into the night, the militia are not always too kind.

Make friends, you will do good.
 
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just pretend you're really drunk and hate the rest of the world (especially US) and love Stalin and you'll fit right in.
 
how? it's all true

Example 1: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61367/sarah-e-mendelson-and-theodore-p-gerber/failing-the-stalin-test

"For example, one-quarter or more of Russian adults say they would definitely or probably vote for Stalin were he alive and running for president, and less than 40 percent say they definitely would not. A majority of young Russians, moreover, do not view Stalin -- a man responsible for millions of deaths and enormous suffering -- with the revulsion he deserves."

Example 2: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/02/alcoholism-is-killing-off-russian-men/17768/

"Russians 16 and older drink the equivalent of roughly four gallons of pure alcohol per capita each year, almost twice the amount of their American counterparts.

- Russia currently has 2 million alcoholics.

- The number of Russian children aged 10-14 who drink alcohol exceeds 10 million.

- Roughly 500,000 Russians die annually from alcoholic-related accidents, crimes, and illnesses.

- Alcohol poisoning kills more than 23,000 Russians each year. "

Example 3: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch-Archive/Detail/?lng=en&id=95638

"The SOVA Center, an independent Moscow-based research institution, estimates that 87 people were killed and 378 injured in racist attacks in 2008. Aside from Moscow (51 killed, 175 injured) and St Petersburg (15 killed, 37 injured), racist incidents were recorded in 39 regions of the country. In comparison, during 2004 there were 46 recorded lethal cases as a result of racist attacks and 208 people were injured."
 
Aha, statistics rear their ugly heads again.

1. Do you have access to the full article, actual numbers about the three studies they've conducted - I only see words on the paper.

2.-3. The millennia-old drinking habits are embedded in Russian culture so deeply they may never disappear. Large parts of Russia and the former Soviet Union have been in crises for decades on end, poverty and famine being the guiding lines in rural parts, the "forgotten" Russia. Walk a mile West from the Ural and things start to become progressively shittier and furthermore more alcohol-fueled, even in adolescents.

But we are talking about a six-week trip to the capital, which is in itself an international potpourri of cultures and people, you'd need to take a few too many wrong turns to end up under the surface and in the company of xenophobic 14-year-old skinheads drinking themselves to death while dreaming of restoring the Soviet Union and killing all non-Russians.
 
They do speak good english. Most of the tourists from Moscow who are visting Estonia, speak fluently english. Although they think that we can speak fluently russian, but if we cant, they speak english with no problems.

Moscow is expensive city, with great history. You will like there, but as others mentioned, make some friends to take most of it!

And all you guys, stop posting some old shit about Sovet Union, its history.. Mike-O had good point, the shit part starts when you go east and center-russia, like Siber.

And vodka is good for your health, drink it and take a bite of cucumber.

Finally, russian girls a really really good in bed. Just be safe..
 
I got the wrong idea first.. Im sure that alcohol is more popular in russia, which is left behind the community, all the small villages and forest camps. Adolescents and young people own more money in western russia, like St. Peterburg or Moscow. But i doubt that they drink more?
 
Like you said, the drinking culture leads to many Russians, even those in wealth, drinking more heavily on average, but the problem that the WHO statistics above try to paint exist mostly in the lower class and poor, much like in any country in the world.
 
I know someone who went to Moscow on holiday. Once in a while cops would walk up to him and ask him for money. Other than that it´s suposed to be awsome.
 
Had some friends go there and apparently its amazing but everyone is just really blunt and seem to lack social skills.

The only problem they had was one of my friends is black and he was full on abuse everywhere, even the police would be racist towards him but he just took it in that they'd never seen a black man before.
 
Every Russki I know says it how it is, no small talk bullshit or dancing around the issue, I love it.

A few years back we organized an event to raise "global awareness", had speakers from Amnesty, Unicef etc. and asked people who attended to bring some old useless clothes/shoes for a small clothes drive for UFF. My friend Aivar was smoking outside.

Me: Glad you could make it, dude. Bring any old clothes?

Aivar: No.

Me: Ok, sure. Can I ask why not?

Aivar: I don't care.

 
i think its pretty save but people there walk and talk like this

and the other people make weird videos about falling buildings and drunk people

 
you will be fine in moscow dude dont even worry about it. also when russian is translated to english it can sometimes sound like the person talking to you in russian is being an asshole but its just a really hard language to translate into english. they mean no disrespect its just how the language comes off sometimes. I cant really explain it but it would sound like they are being very serious or something a lot when really like I said its just tough to translate a lot of the time.

go man seriously you will most likely love it!
 
Plus most languages in the world work out of practice, not courtesy.

My friend Tuomas was shopping in Moscow last year, looking at a suit that was fit for him.

--

Tailor: Do you like this suit?

Tuomas: Yes, but... it's a bit too expensive...

Tailor: Too expensive!? Fuck off, you poor cunt!

--

So yeah, stuff like that can happen, but it's a town of the rich for the most parts, just go along with it. I've heard many American tourists act a fool when some waiter didn't "smile" enough for them or didn't treat them well enough here... enjoy your stay in Moscow, ha.

 
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