Russia Travel Guide

No flights home
is the real problem.

The UK advises against all travel to Russia, updated 3 July 2026, and the reason it gives is worth reading closely: there are no flights back, and consular support is very limited.

Advisories are national policy. They differ by country, they change, and they are not a physical law. What does not change is the underlying mechanics: airspace closures mean indirect routing through third countries, Western payment cards do not function, sanctions complicate ordinary transactions, and if you are detained your embassy's ability to help is severely constrained. This site collects the primary sources for all of that rather than either discouraging you or pretending it is normal.

The reading list

Link-out only. Governments, institutions and primary data, not tour operators.

The advisory position

Read this before anything else.

  1. Russia travel advice

    UK Foreign Office · Advisory

    The current position, including which regions are entirely off limits and what consular help exists. Updated as the situation changes.

  2. Human Rights Watch

    Monitor · Reporting

    Documentation of detentions, prosecutions and civil liberties. Directly relevant to the detention risk the advisories reference.

If you go anyway

Non-US and non-UK citizens face a different set of consequences, and plenty of people still travel to Russia for family, work or their own reasons. The mechanics below apply regardless of whose passport you hold.

  1. Russia travel advice

    UK Foreign Office · Advisory

    Against all travel, 3 July 2026. Note the stated reasons rather than the headline: no return flights, limited in-person support, and a situation that can change at short notice.

  2. Russia travel advice

    Government of Canada · Advisory

    A second national judgement on the same country. Worth comparing, because where two governments diverge you are looking at politics, and where they agree you are looking at risk.

  3. Sanctions programs

    US Treasury OFAC · Legal

    The practical reason cards fail and transfers bounce. Which sanctions bind you depends on your nationality and residence, and this is the primary text rather than a summary of it.

  4. OSAC

    US State Department · Security reporting

    Country security reporting written for organisations rather than tourists. More specific and less hedged than a consumer advisory.

  5. Human Rights Watch

    Monitor · Reporting

    Documentation of detentions and prosecutions, including of foreign nationals. This is the evidence behind the detention-risk language in the advisories.

The institutions

Much of what draws people is viewable online.

  1. State Hermitage Museum

    National museum · Institution

    One of the largest collections on earth, with a substantial digital catalogue. Genuinely worth an afternoon from anywhere.

  2. Russia

    Wikivoyage · Guide

    Volunteer-written and ad-free, with current practical caveats that commercial guides tend to omit.

Reference

  1. Russia

    CIA World Factbook · Reference

    Geography, economy and demographics in standard format.