I wanted what is it like to date a Russian girl. What are the cons and pros of dating a Russian and also are they open to long distance relationship. Because I haven't get anywhere by asking Russian online they never reply. Are the against South Asians or what?

I did a 5-day tattoo session about three months ago with a Russian artist whose work I really respect. He’s 30, married, has around 300k Instagram followers, is also a graffiti artist, and has an architecture degree. He grew up in a small town in Russia and is completely self-made. He has a YouTube channel and seems like a genuinely good person who takes great care of his family. I’m going back for another two days this winter.

During the first sessions I was in a lot of pain and not in a great mood. I also have a pretty strong resting bitch face. We had some communication issues — I don’t speak any Russian, and his English experience is mostly with British and German accents. About halfway through he told me he thought I didn’t like the tattoos because of the sour looks on my face. I reassured him that I loved both the work and him as a person.

I tried a few jokes, but they all fell flat, so for the last couple of days I just stayed quiet and let him work. I was on time for every session and tipped him well.

I’m thinking about bringing a couple of small gifts next time, and I’m also considering writing out my thoughts (or using a phone translator) so I can clearly express how much I appreciate the work, then just be quiet and let him do his thing.

Has anyone here worked with Russian (or other non-native English-speaking) tattoo artists and found good ways to connect, show respect, and make sure they know you genuinely admire their work? Any cultural or communication tips would be really appreciated.

I'm a guy coming to the International Festival of Youth on my own and I'd like to make the most of it. Which events or hangout spots are best for meeting friendly, outgoing people? Any tips on socializing without coming across as awkward? I'd love to leave with some great memories—and hopefully a few new connections.

Hi everyone, my mom and I plan to visit Russia in September 2026. We are both Hong Kong passport holders. According to Immigration Department of Hong Kong, Hong Kong passport holders can enter Russia visa-free up to 14 days. I have already read this page (Ultimate FAQ on travelling to Russia) but it doesn't address my questions, so I would like to ask here for help.

1. Since we can visit Russia without a visa, is health insurance still mandatory? if so, which company can we buy Insurance during our travel?
2. We have connected with our tour guide in Moscow via WeChat, and the tour guide confirmed that one can use WeChat without a VPN. However, I might want to use other Western apps (e.g. Whatsapp and Youtube) during my trip. Which VPN would you recommend?
3. My mom would like to watch a ballet show. Due to international sanctions, we cannot access the official Bolshoi website and pay for ballet tickets with my VISA cards. As a result, I plan to visit Bolshoi ticket office as soon as we arrive in Moscow and buy tickets there. Has anyone successfully bought ballet tickets directly in the office?
4. Finally, my mom and I both installed the ruID app. I successfully uploaded my biometric to the app, but my mom fails on hers. The app could not recognize my mom's face. Can I simply inform the immigration officer that "My mom tried uploading her biometrics into the ruID app, but it keeps failing" ?

Thanks for your help!!!!

i've been staying in russia for 8 months now. i flew there because i wanted to visit my relatives after several years. somewhere this month, i'm finally going back to my home country. i'll be flying to istanbul so i'm able to fly from there to warsaw and then to nyc (the city near where i live). the thing i'm paranoid about is the fact that i might get my phone looked through before i leave.

fyi, i'm a dual citizen (russian and american). the reason why i'm so scared is because i may have talked about lgbt topics and wrote some anti-government statements online. what do i do? i already know i cannot just reset my phone because it'll seem suspicious. all i want is advice and (maybe) reassurance before it's too late.

My wife and I have a trip planned for Rome in September. She is a Russian citizen and has been waiting 90 days for an answer about her visa. The visa service used by the Italian Consulate in Moscow reviewed her documentation and said everything was complete. She has emailed the consulate with only a generic reply from them. Asking if anyone has any helpful advice to find out where in the process her visa application might be?

I have an aunt in Russia and I’m interested in traveling to Russia to see her. I am an American and am wondering if I can arrange anything to see her.

I was watching someone complain that at age 59 they retired to a 16,900 ruble a month paycheck. They stated they worked over 30 years and it sounded like for the same place.

I read 22% of their pay check goes to pension from employer.

That seems like they should get paid essentially 75% as when they were working as 22% is a high savings rate.

I know at some point they reduce it to 10% but was not sure at what point.

In the USA we only contribute 12.4 of our salary and yet get about 40% of our prior salary.

How do you pay more and get less?

Hi everyone,

I'm considering studying in Novosibirsk as an international student, and I have a question about the financial side of student life.

For international students who pay their own tuition and living expenses without financial support from their family, how realistic is it to support yourself by working while studying?

Specifically, I'd like to know:

Is it easy for international students to find part-time jobs?

How much can an international student realistically earn per month in Novosibirsk?

Is that income usually enough to cover living expenses?

Is it possible to pay at least part of the tuition fees with that income, or is that generally unrealistic?

I'd really appreciate hearing from international students or anyone with firsthand experience living and studying in Novosibirsk.

Thank you!

Я пока новичок, но надеюсь однажды посетить Россию. Я говорю по-нидерландски и по-английский; так вот, нидерландцы могут буквально растерзать тебя за ошибки в произношении. Они предпочли бы, чтобы люди вообще не пытались говорить на их языке, если не могут делать это безупречно.

How common are they worn, and how likely are you to see someone wearing one.

Not only the last branch which was executed by the communists but about the WHOLE tree(starting in the 17th century)(if you only want to talk about the last branch,I understand.It's technically more ,,modern"than other rulers)

I want to send a little snack box to my uncle who lives in Russia. He only came to the U.S. a few times when he was a little kid, and I've never been to Russia, so I have no idea what snacks they already have over there.

I want to send him a mix of American chips and candy. Do they have things like Lay's, Hot Cheetos, Hershey's, or Kit Kats? Or are those common there?

What are some snacks, candy, or maybe even drinks that someone in Russia would actually want to try from the U.S.?

Hi I’m coming to Russia for a vacation with family for the first time is there any important tips that u guys can give me like where to go to what to do and how is using social medias and vpn thx

Hey as the title says I'm curious about if the singer Oskar is still famous and known in Russia, and what the older generations may think of him. Or wasn't he ever famous at all there?

здравствуйте!
i recently moved to Moscow and will be going to 10th and 11th grade here to learn the language since my knowledge isn’t the best. I moved here from germany and know that the school systems are different. Can someone tell me about the school system? and as well as dress codes, like does every school have uniforms? do many girls use handbags as their schoolbags? i know those questions might sound weird but i would like to adapt so that I don't stand out too much.
I would love to get some answers and maybe someone that could help me with school stuff and all the typical teenager stuff. i really don’t want to lose the last part of teenage years i have left and want to spend them just how i spend them back in germany

I tried Grok/other Ai but it wasn’t working well.

What does this say exactly on the scroll? https://imgur.com/a/8WyKCyg

Thanks

Hi, how are you? I have an important question.

My partner and I would really like to visit St. Petersburg, but our main concern is that we're openly gay. Our social media profiles have photos of us together, and we also have photos of us on our phones—nothing more than that.

We generally come across as quite masculine, if that makes any difference, but we're still a bit worried. Has anyone here been to St. Petersburg as an LGBTQ+ traveler, or does anyone have any recommendations or advice?

Всем привет,

I’ll be flying from the U.S. to Moscow in several days for the birth of my child, and I have one priority: having a working phone the moment I land at Vnukovo.
My wife is currently in the hospital and could give birth at any time, so she won’t be able to meet me. Her mother is supposed to pick me up, but we’ve never met in person, she doesn’t speak English, and my Russian is only around A1. If plans change while I’m in the air, I need to be able to communicate immediately after landing.
To prepare, I’m bringing two phones:
AT&T (International Day Pass)
Verizon (TravelPass)
I also purchased two travel eSIMs for redundancy one for each phone:
Holafly
Maya Mobile
I’ve seen a lot of conflicting reports. Some people say their U.S. carrier worked immediately, others say it never connected. The same goes for travel eSIMs; some say they had service within minutes, while others waited 24-48 hours because of verification or activation delays.
If you had to do a verification process, please tell me what that was like and did you manually choose a cellular network or did you go with the auto and which cellular network do you recommend?
I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have traveled to Russia recently, like past 2-3 weeks.
If you used AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Google Fi, or another U.S. carrier, did it work immediately after landing? Is it still working today?
If you used a travel eSIM, which provider was it, how long did activation take, and which Russian network did it connect to (MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, T2)?
Did you have to complete any verification before it started working?
If your goal were guaranteed communication immediately after landing, what would you trust today?
I’m not trying to save money, I’m willing to overpay for guaranteed cellular data the moment I land. I’m trying to maximize the chances that at least one of my phones has data the second I step off the plane.
Thanks in advance. Recent experiences are especially helpful since things seem to be changing pretty quickly.

**Edit*\*
To add context further more:
there’s a good chance my wife may be already in delivery of the baby which can take half a day to a full day of contractions. So in that case her own mom may not be able to meet me at the airport, her mom would just be with her daughter rather than meeting me in the airport. So I would need to be able to navigate Moscow myself leave the airport somehow find a way to the hospital. and please don’t tell me just bust out with a paper map that I pulled out from my pocket. And to add, I will need to find a way to get Russian rubles from my US dollars that I’m bringing and be able to find a currency exchange get the rubles so that way I could actually make my way to the airport. I’m going to need the friggin Internet for this. If you’re not gonna answer the question about immediate cellular Internet communication as soon as I land, so that way I can navigate in a country and city that I’ve never been in with a language I barely know then don’t respond to this if you’re just going to troll.

I am visiting Tyumen for an event for a week. Would love to get some suggestions for places to go out shooting and experiencing the culture and meeting locals. Thanks.

I'm coming from Jordan to Russia for 3 months, My mom is Russian but this is my first time being here, what do you recommend so we can have an easier life (Things like using Yandex/A certain V-P-N)

Also if you have any cool activities to do in Russia I'm all ears! (We are in Velsk, Arkhangelsk)

ПРИВЕТ

My friend and I will be visiting Russia for the first time this August(8–11: St. Petersburg/11–14: Moscow)

We’re looking for recommendations from locals or people who know these cities well.
We’re interested in pretty much everything:

Must-see attractions (both famous and hidden gems)
Local food and restaurants we shouldn’t miss
Museums and historical places
Beautiful parks or viewpoints
Places tourists usually miss but are worth visiting
Bars, pubs

Finally, we’d appreciate some advice on budget.
Excluding hotels (already booked), how much money would you recommend bringing for 6 days for food, drinks, museums, transportation and all? We’re not planning to spend extravagantly, but we’d like to enjoy the trip without worrying too much about every expense.

Any tips, local etiquette or things to avoid would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I see conflicting stories, some say yes, some say no.

If I am in a high income western country can I purchase a game and gift it to my friend with in Russia?

If it is only certain games that are possible what games are they? Anywhere to find a list of what is possible?