How are foreigners treated in Russia?
“Foreigners are unwelcome in Russia.”
Visitors overwhelmingly report ordinary courtesy and often active curiosity; the reserve that reads as hostility to Western eyes is a difference in social manner, not a judgement about you.
The numbers · Checked September 2026
Open e-visa
Russia issues online tourist visas to citizens of dozens of countries — a policy of attracting visitors, not deterring them
Russian e-visa portalBilingual infrastructure
Metro, airports and major museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg run English signage and audio guides
Moscow Metro, official siteNot a smile culture
The unsmiling public manner is well documented in cross-cultural research and means neither hostility nor unhappiness
Cross-cultural research summary, Scientific American
Where the impression comes from
Politics between states gets read as a feeling between people. And there is a genuine cultural signal problem: Russians do not smile at strangers, which in many cultures means something is wrong.
What this actually means for you
Expect a flat face in a shop and warmth the moment there is any actual contact. The Russian sequence is the reverse of the American one: neutral in public, generous once you are through the door. A guest in a Russian home is fed past the point of comfort.
Being foreign attracts curiosity more than suspicion. Attempting three words of Russian, badly, reliably produces goodwill out of proportion to the effort.
- •A stranger not smiling at you is not a signal — it is the norm.
- •Small talk with cashiers is not a custom; brevity is not rudeness.
- •An invitation to someone's kitchen is the real welcome, and it comes fast.
Where care is genuinely needed
Politics in a bar with strangers is not a good idea, in either direction. And laws around public statements, protest and some categories of speech are stricter than in Western Europe, which is a legal question rather than a question of how people treat you.
What is true in the claim
Legal limits on speech and protest are real and stricter than in Western Europe, and anyone visiting as a journalist or an activist is in a different situation from a tourist.
Common questions
Are Americans welcome in Russia?
Visitors of every nationality generally report ordinary courtesy and curiosity from people. State-level relations and everyday treatment are different things.
Why do Russians never smile?
Smiling at strangers is not the social convention there; a smile is reserved for people you actually know. It carries no hostility.
What should I avoid talking about in Russia?
Politics with strangers, in either direction. Culture, food, football and language get you much further and cost nothing.
