About the project
Russia is bigger than the argument around it
Two Nations is an independent guide to everyday Russia: what works, what things cost, how people live, and how the country looks beyond the political feed.
We don't tell you what to think about Russia. We help you see more of it — through dated prices, archive photographs, public data and the voices of foreigners who actually live here.
No whitewashing, no demonisation. Every useful claim on this site leads somewhere: to a source, a date, a photograph, a first-hand account, or a clearly stated limit of what we know.
What is actually here
The reality index
One table for the questions people ask before a trip or a move: which cards work, what needs a VPN, which visa you can get — plus Moscow, London and New York prices side by side in local currency.
Open the index100+ foreign creators
A verified directory of foreigners filming and writing from Russian cities — who they are, where they live, and one video worth starting with. Their words, not ours.
Browse the creatorsEveryday Russia
Shoes off at the door, tiny kitchens, central heating bills, the dacha, why nobody smiles at strangers — the ordinary details that explain more than any headline.
Read everyday storiesPractical guides
Money without Visa and Mastercard, SIM cards and apps, entry rules, cost of living — each guide dated, sourced and updated when the facts change.
See the guidesHow we work
Dated facts only
Prices, rules and numbers carry the date we checked them and a link to the source. If we can't verify it, we leave it out.
Real photographs
Archive and original photography only — no stock images of a Russia that doesn't exist.
Shown, not argued
We publish what can be shown and sourced. Readers draw their own conclusions.
Four editions, not four copies
The English, French, Portuguese and Russian editions are written for their own readers. Each can foreground different questions, sources and cultural references.
Who is behind it
I'm Vlad Lario. I was born beyond the Arctic Circle, lived several years in Portugal, travelled to more than 50 countries, and built projects for a living long before this one. Two Nations is where my languages, my curiosity and my stubborn belief in honest conversation end up.
More about VladA note from the founder
Why I'm doing this
Why Two Nations exists, what it is — and what it deliberately refuses to become.
Read the essayWe're looking for like-minded people
If you write, film, translate or simply know Russia from the inside, there is room here for your voice — and for your corrections.
Get in Touch
Have a question, idea, or just want to say hi? Drop us a message.
Readers map
Where are you reading from?
Spin the globe, drop one pin on your spot and see who else is here. Russia is highlighted — it is what this site is about.