Have you ever been to Russia?

For last almost 5 years I've been living abroad and so far I've met only a few people that actually went there. But absolutely all of them enjoyed it. That leads to the next question: Why people don't consider going to Russia for holidays?

As this blog is not about discussing any political or social issues in the world or in Russia, what are other reasons that influence tourists' decision? People think it's too complicated: visa, different language, it'll probably take ages to get there. Also, unfortunately through the years appeared an image of Russia being an unfriendly country.

Applying for a Russian visa is easier and much cheaper than getting a British visa, for example. Different language? Yes, but wouldn't it be a great opportunity to learn the alphabet and maybe few words? :) Russians are always impressed when people from other countries start learning our complicated (even for Russian speakers) language and can say few words. And if you speak French, German or Spanish, you'll find out quickly that some words in Russian and in your language have the same roots.

Travelling to Russia doesn't take long if you live in Europe. There are a lot of direct flights to Moscow and it would take about 2-4 hours, depending on where you are from. But if you want to visit other Russian cities - yes, it will take some time, as you'll have to fly there via Moscow.

You can't imagine how many times I've heard that Russia isn't a tourist-friendly country. Mostly, people that have never been there or have never read anything about the Russian culture say it. Don't judge until you go there. We are nice and friendly people that sometimes seem difficult to approach. I'll tell more about it in future posts, but briefly: it's all because of the culture. We just don't trust strangers that we meet on the street :)

In this blog I'll try my best to change how you see Russia. It's much better than it's shown in the media, trust me :) Maybe after reading few posts some of you would consider Russia as your next holiday destination? And if you're already going there for the World Cup, you'll find in the blog some posts related to the championship with practical information.

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