Hi all,
I’ve updated this guide to reflect the current reality of traveling to Russia, focusing on practical questions :
https://russiable.com/travel-russia-now/
It covers visas, flights, borders, payments, accommodation, internet/VPNs, eSim, transport, etc. Hopefully it helps anyone planning a trip or trying to understand what’s actually possible right now.
Feel free to add your own recent experiences or updates.
@Irena I was in Kaliningrad a couple months ago and going to Russia in March - I was able to get T-bank Myr card via an appointment in my hotel, has that changed? I’m referring to point 6.1 in your updated article (which is fab, thank you for the update).
I just booked an appointment a couple days before I left. The bank representative met me in my hotel room and set up the app for me and handed my card in a sealed envelope.
I think having a Myr card is a MUST in Russia even for short stays, it makes life so much easier with Yandex taxis, ordering food, and just day to day transactions!
@orlovividry Yes, of course — the hotel appointment option with T-Bank still works as before. There’s an article in the blog explianing it.
In addition, there’s now an alternative option using YooMoney (wallet + card), which I explain here:
Hello all,
Does anyone know if the Houston consulate will allow me to submit my wife and children’s documents for a tourist visa without them being present at the appointment? I would like to avoid hauling a bunch of young children on a 12 hour roadtrip. Otherwise, I may have to look into one of the postal options. In that case, who would you recommend, Irena?
Thanks!
Thank you so much for updated guide, living inside Russia it’s a very accurate guide on the current situation in 2026. The only thing I would add is the increased blocking and future restrictions around using a VPN. In the last week using a VPN has become even more difficult with only a few actually working. Your advice on logging on to your VPN before entering Russia is paramount. There are very few options when inside.
@Irena updated this guide
the title is a bit weird “Is It Safe?” well of course it is safe…
this is funny: “There are fewer Western tourists, so you probably won’t hear as much English in tourist spots.”
“Western” means European and derived. Russians are European by the way. It is even the main European population of Europe. over 100 millions. Yes Western European tourists are a scarce amount now, excepted the regular Baltic Russians that fill the buses in Tallin and Riga. English was and is far from being the main European language heard among tourists in Russia. Typically it has been German, Italian, French, Polish. These days tourism is massively Asiatic. Thematic tourism keeps going in small amounts. End October in Vladimir I noticed groups of Germans by the cathedrals.
The good point is the lack of noisy flocks of barking Brits.
the point about roaming 24hrs lock: “Since October 6, 2025, Russia has applied restrictions to all foreign SIM and eSIM cards, which may cause a mobile data block during the first 24 hours after the first connection”
the block resets everytime a foreign SIM is connected to Russian networks. If the phone shuts down, or if you move the SIM into another phone, it is a shut off/on and the 24 hrs delay applies.
as for 4G, there have been since autumn 2025 local limitations, with only regular services working: Yandex Go, Karty, Navigator, RZD, Tutu, Ostrovok, etc, but otherwise not possible to browse generally on a phone. All good on wired internet in general.
These limitations are local. For instance I experienced it in Pskov, in Vladimir, but not in Tver nor SPb. Krasnodar, Novorossiysk have had also frequent limitations.
This is unpredictable, because related American drones swarms activities. For instance near Pskov because important aerial base, in Vladimir because it hosts some important sites related rockets systems. Krasnodar and Black sea coastal areas because attempts on Russian navy and oil storage units. Etc.
In Pskov area drones are clearly not launched from Ukraine but from Baltics.
Now this is unpredictable, depends American activity level in the war.
In case you need sometime to use your bank online and cards, for instance you have some forgotten unpaid bill, are watching an item on some auction site and need to proceed buying, whatever, and your bank does the 3DSecure authentication/confirmation online, not by SMS, then you need a remote connection option that works.
when in SPb end november, I needed to buy a return flight ticket Tallinn-Oslo (so bus SPb-Ivangorod). I am on Megafon, MTS or Beeline, so all good with 4G and it was not capped in SPb. My bank , ie. also the 3DS portal does block Russian IPs, so I activated the VPN on my phone, but then it would not go through. Tried few others no different. Inspected with a network tool that showed it was indeed a protocol block. Decided to buy directly from my account on Norwegian Airlines, by an option of direct withdrawal but I could not connect the site of Norwegian Airlines, because now it also does blocks Russian IPs.
I ended texting sister, so she bought the ticket for me.
Some VPN providers do offer an obfuscation mode. The one with ProtonVPN doesn’t work. NordVPN may be better.
As I am Unix fluent, back home i just rented a cheap dedicated server, installed a Linux to run a strong obfuscated VPN server and also a VNC remote desktop.
@antoniob Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback — really valuable stuff.
On the title (“Is It Safe?”): I totally get that it sounds silly to anyone who actually knows Russia. But the title is deliberately targeting people who are googling exactly that phrase — “is it safe to travel to Russia” is one of the top search queries from people considering a trip for the first time. The article is meant as an entry point for those hesitant travelers, not for experienced Russia hands. That said, I can see how it comes across as clickbaity to anyone already familiar with the country, so I’ll think about how to frame it better.
On “Western tourists” and the English remark: Fair point, I was referring to Western European/North American, not implying Russians aren’t European. IAnd you’re absolutely right that English was never the dominant tourist language in Russia — German, Italian, French, and Polish were always more common.
On the more technical aspects (24h roaming block, 4G restrictions, VPN): Keep in mind that this article is a general introductory guide — a starting point for people who don’t even know yet whether it’s possible to travel to Russia right now. By its very nature, it can’t go into full detail on every topic with complete precision. That’s what the dedicated articles are for, where I try to cover each subject in depth. What I will do is review the general article to make sure the information is as accurate as possible and that it links properly to those specific articles for anyone who needs more detail.
Hei!
Onko Venäjältä mahdollista vielä saada pre-paid liittymiä/nettiliittymiä? Blogissa kirjoituksesi ilmeisesti koski vain e-sim ja normaaleita puhelinliittymiä muttet maininnut pre-paid liittymistä 
Eli saako näitä vielä ostettua esim Moskovasta? Kiitos!
Hello everyone,
I applied for a Russian e-visa for my customer on April 1, 2026. Based on the 96-hour processing time, the visa should be issued around April 5, 2026.
Will the validity of the visa start from the date of issue?
And my customer changes his plan and wants to enter Russia on April 8. Is it allowed to enter before the intended date of entry stated in the application if the visa has already been issued?
I would really appreciate your guidance on this matter. Thank you very much in advance!