Health and Safety in Russia

Healthcare facilities are not developed in most of Russia and medical care is substandard throughout the country. Adequate medical care is available in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and Prague at one or more internationally staffed out-patient clinics. In the event of serious medical conditions, every effort should be made to go to Western Europe.

Mosquitoes and ticks do transmit Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis, and Lyme disease so take protective measures when insect exposure is anticipated. Food and beverage precautions are essential. Russia has a high prevalence of Tuberculosis and you should have pre-departure PPD skin test status documented.

There are incidents of armed violence in major cities. Pickpocketing, assaults, and robberies occur frequently and are often done by groups of small children or women. In St. Petersburg there has been a sharp increase in street crime since early April 2004, with tourists being targeted specifically. Do not accept food or drinks from strangers and do not leave food or drinks unattended in bars or restaurants. Foreigners who have been drinking alcohol are especially vulnerable to assault and robbery in or around nightclubs or bars, or on their way home. Some travelers have been drugged at bars, while others have taken strangers back to their lodgings, where they were drugged and robbed.

Violent, racially motivated attacks on people of color and foreigners have become widespread in Russia. Many of these attacks target university students, particularly those of Asian and African origin, but older tourists have also been targeted.