World Safety Map

Safest cities in Russia

132 cities with 100k+ population · data updated 2026-09-04

US 4/4 Do not travelUK FCDO advises against all travel to this country

What official travel advice warns about

Terrorism

  • Terrorism in RussiaTerrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Russia.
  • Terrorism in the North CaucasusTerrorists are active in the North Caucasus. They have carried out a number of attacks mainly in Russia’s Dagestan region.

Security situation in Russia

  • The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. There are reports of drone attacks and explosions in Russia, particularly near the Russian border with Ukraine, but also in and near large cities and infrastructure sites across Western and Central Russia. Associated Russian air defence activity may pose a threat to civilian aviation. There have been…

Leaving Russia

  • Land border crossingsLand borders may be busy or closed. Be prepared for a long wait to exit Russia. Officials may question you at the border. During periods of unrest, check the local media for updates before travelling.

Staying in Russia

  • If you decide to stay in Russia, you should:

Political situation

  • Russia’s invasion of UkraineRussia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. The situation is unpredictable and could escalate without warning. Stay alert and follow the advice of local authorities.
  • Military activity in Kursk OblastThere is military activity in Kursk and Belgorod oblasts. On 10 August, Russian authorities introduced a “counter-terrorist operation” regime in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk oblasts. The activity in these oblasts is mainly limited to regions which border Ukraine. However, military activity could spread to other areas. Travel advice for other…
  • Foreign fightersIf you travel to Russia to join the Russian army, or to help others engaged in the war with Ukraine, you could be breaking UK laws. You could be prosecuted when you return to the UK.
  • Risk of arrest and detentionOn 28 December 2024, the Russian Criminal Code was revised, expanding the scope of potential liability for foreigners believed to be acting against Russian interests.
  • Getting help while in detentionIt may take some time for the Russian authorities to tell us of your arrest or detention and to give us permission to visit you. They will control your access to your family during your detention. Conditions in Russian penitentiary institutions are poor.
  • Restrictions on publishing and distributing informationJournalists have been arrested for gathering and publishing information.
  • International sanctions against RussiaIn response to Russia’s invasion, the UK and other governments have placed sanctions on Russia, including on its airlines. This can affect the situation in Russia and anyone travelling there. See more information about Russian sanctions and what this means for British nationals.
  • Protests and demonstrationsSince Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been anti-war protests across Russia. Demonstrators have been detained.

Crime

  • Protecting your belongingsBe alert to the risk of mugging, pickpocketing and theft in the main tourist areas, around the main railway stations, vehicles and hotel rooms. You should not:
  • Drink spikingDrink spiking, leading to robbery, violence or abuse, can happen. Victims are often left unconscious outside. This can be life-threatening in winter. Buy your own drinks and always keep them in sight.
  • Methanol poisoningThere have been deaths and cases of serious illness caused by alcoholic drinks containing methanol in Russia.
  • Violent crimeViolent criminals do not usually target foreign visitors. However, in St Petersburg gangs have targeted tourists for street crime.
  • Avoiding unregistered taxisBritish nationals travelling in unregistered taxis have been victims of crime. Taxis that look official can be unlicensed. You should:
  • Dating services scamsDating services scams have affected British nationals. Never send money to or buy items for anyone you have not met in person.
  • Money transfer scamsBe wary of sending money through untraceable transfer services. British nationals have lost money when sending it to unknown recipients without checking they’re genuine.
  • Fake police checksThe police do not need a reason to stop, question or detain you. Criminals posing as police officers have harassed and robbed tourists. If you’re stopped, always insist on seeing identification. Report any harassment or crime to the nearest police office.

Laws and cultural differences

  • Personal IDAlways carry your passport with you as ID. Police carry out random checks, especially during periods of high security. You could get a fine or be detained for up to 48 hours if you cannot show your passport when asked. Copies are not accepted.
  • Illegal drugsYou can be prosecuted for possessing even small quantities of any drugs, including cannabis. You should expect a long jail sentence and heavy fines for possessing, using or smuggling illegal drugs, including when transiting through the airport.
  • Restricted military areasAccess to some areas, such as military and border zones, is restricted. You must get permission from local authorities before entering. If you do not have permission, the authorities may arrest, fine or deport you.
  • Taking photos in secure areasPhotography is illegal at any military, secure or official sites, including airports. There may not be warning signs in locations where photography is banned. You could be detained or arrested if you break the law.
  • Using dronesDue to current military activities, it is illegal to use drones in some regions. Check restrictions with the local authorities.
  • Mobile phonesIf you travel to Russia with a non-Russian SIM card, you may not be able to access mobile internet, SMS or other services. Buying a local-network SIM card in Russia can be difficult for visitors and could take up to 2 weeks to complete. Make sure your friends and relatives know how to contact you if your mobile phone does not work.
  • Cybersecurity lawsThere are increasing restrictions to limit access to content posted on the internet, including social media platforms. Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X and LinkedIn are blocked in Russia. Access to other websites can be unreliable.
  • Racial discriminationMost visitors experience no problems, but racial discrimination can happen in some areas. If you’re of African, Asian or Caribbean descent, you may receive unwanted attention in public places. Take care, particularly when travelling late at night.
  • LGBT+ travellersHomosexuality is not illegal in Russia but there are considerable legislative restrictions which target the LGBT+ community. In January 2024 a Russian Supreme Court judgement came into force banning the so-called ‘international LGBT movement’ and designating it as ‘extremist’. ‘LGBT propaganda’ legislation bans people from promoting…
  • SurrogacyRussia has banned surrogacy for all foreign nationals except those married to Russian citizens. Read about surrogacy arrangements in foreign countries.
  • Religious activitiesSome religious activities are restricted, including preaching and distributing religious materials.

Transport risks

  • Road travelIf you’re planning to drive in Russia, see information on driving abroad and check the rules of the road in the RAC’s Russia guide.
  • Bringing vehicles into RussiaIf you plan to drive into Russia, you must declare your vehicle to the customs authority on entry. You can bring a vehicle into Russia without paying import taxes for up to one year.
  • Rail travelRailway stations have airport-style security. Many railway services require passengers to show their passports on boarding.
  • Air travelAir space will close during drone attacks. This has led to frequent and unpredictable delays, diversions and cancellations to flights in and out of airports in European Russia.
  • Air safetyThe UK Air Safety List (ASL) lists all known airlines in Russia that do not meet international safety standards and are banned from operating commercial air services to, from, and within the UK. Check the UK Air Safety List when considering which airlines to fly with. The list is maintained by the Department for Transport, based on advice from the…
  • Airline and railway sanctionsThe UK government has sanctioned:
  • Travellers with limited mobilityWheelchair access can be limited in some public areas. Facilities for people with limited mobility vary. They can be poor or non-existent in some areas.

Natural disasters and extreme weather

  • Earth tremorsEarth tremors are recorded throughout the year without consequences. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency website has advice about what to do before, during and after an earthquake.
  • Wild firesThere are areas of wildfires in western and southern Russia.
  • Arctic travelParts of Russia are in the Arctic Circle, including some very remote areas of land and sea. Emergency medical assistance and search and rescue are limited in these areas. See Arctic travel safety advice.

Headings and opening lines from the UK FCDO “Safety and security” travel advice for Russia, updated 2026-07-03 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Read the full advice on gov.uk →

Country figures

Homicide rate
7.82 /100k2024
Income inequality
Gini 33.02023
Human development
HDI 0.8322023
Income
$49,220/yrGNI per capita PPP
Road deaths
12.0 /100kWHO, 2019
Political stability
50/100WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
Rule of law
37/100WGI, 2024
Corruption perceptions
22/100Transparency Intl, 2025 · higher = cleaner
Natural-hazard risk
3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Women, Peace & Security
0.72GIWPS, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
Air quality
11.6 µg/m³PM2.5, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
Safe drinking water
76%of population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
Healthcare capacity
5.1 doctors /1k6.8 hospital beds per 1,000

Natural hazards

Flood
8.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Drought
5.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Earthquake
4.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Tsunami
4.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Cyclone
2.2/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier

Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed.

Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Russia (as of 2025).

How Russia compares

Russia against the median of all 180 countries in the dataset. Green means better than the median.
MeasureRussiaWorld medianDifference
Homicide rate7.8 /100k2.4 /100k+5.4 /100k — better for World median
Income inequality (Gini)33.035.2−2.2 — better for Russia
Human development (HDI)0.8320.763+0.069 — better for Russia
Road deaths12.0 /100k15.4 /100k−3.4 /100k — better for Russia
Rule of law37/10052/100−15/100 — better for World median
Corruption perceptions22/10039/100−17/100 — better for World median
Air quality (PM2.5)11.6 µg/m³19.7 µg/m³−8.1 µg/m³ — better for Russia
Natural-hazard risk3.8/103.8/10−0.0/10
And against its own region — often the more useful comparison, since Europe shares much of the context a global median averages away.
MeasureRussiaEurope medianDifference
Homicide rate7.8 /100k1.0 /100k+6.8 /100k — better for Europe median
Income inequality (Gini)33.030.6+2.4 — better for Europe median
Human development (HDI)0.8320.911−0.080 — better for Europe median
Road deaths12.0 /100k5.5 /100k+6.5 /100k — better for Europe median
Rule of law37/10074/100−37/100 — better for Europe median
Corruption perceptions22/10057/100−35/100 — better for Europe median
Air quality (PM2.5)11.6 µg/m³11.4 µg/m³+0.2 µg/m³ — better for Europe median
Natural-hazard risk3.8/102.5/10+1.3/10 — better for Europe median

Medians, not means, so one extreme country cannot drag the reference value. Each row compares only the countries that have a published figure for that measure, and differences are plain arithmetic between stored values.

All 132 cities, safest first

  1. Saint Petersburg69.1 · #3514 worldwide
  2. Kolpino69.1 · #3515 worldwide
  3. Novosibirsk65.4 · #3873 worldwide
  4. Yekaterinburg65.4 · #3874 worldwide
  5. Kazan65.4 · #3875 worldwide
  6. Omsk65.4 · #3876 worldwide
  7. Ufa65.4 · #3877 worldwide
  8. Chelyabinsk65.4 · #3878 worldwide
  9. Volgograd65.4 · #3879 worldwide
  10. Tyumen65.4 · #3880 worldwide
  11. Izhevsk65.4 · #3881 worldwide
  12. Krasnoyarsk65.4 · #3882 worldwide
  13. Yaroslavl65.4 · #3883 worldwide
  14. Khabarovsk65.4 · #3884 worldwide
  15. Astrakhan65.4 · #3885 worldwide
  16. Barnaul65.4 · #3886 worldwide
  17. Naberezhnye Chelny65.4 · #3887 worldwide
  18. Tomsk65.4 · #3888 worldwide
  19. Kemerovo65.4 · #3889 worldwide
  20. Cheboksary65.4 · #3890 worldwide
  21. Vladivostok65.4 · #3891 worldwide
  22. Penza65.4 · #3892 worldwide
  23. Irkutsk65.4 · #3893 worldwide
  24. Kaliningrad65.4 · #3894 worldwide
  25. Orenburg65.4 · #3895 worldwide
  26. Ulyanovsk65.4 · #3896 worldwide
  27. Ivanovo65.4 · #3897 worldwide
  28. Tver65.4 · #3898 worldwide
  29. Tula65.4 · #3899 worldwide
  30. Kirov65.4 · #3900 worldwide
  31. Magnitogorsk65.4 · #3901 worldwide
  32. Tambov65.4 · #3902 worldwide
  33. Rajon Swerdlowski65.4 · #3903 worldwide
  34. Saransk65.4 · #3904 worldwide
  35. Novokuznetsk65.4 · #3905 worldwide
  36. Smolensk65.4 · #3906 worldwide
  37. Oryol65.4 · #3907 worldwide
  38. Cherepovets65.4 · #3908 worldwide
  39. Yoshkar-Ola65.4 · #3909 worldwide
  40. Murmansk65.4 · #3910 worldwide
  41. Vologda65.4 · #3911 worldwide
  42. Ulan-Ude65.4 · #3912 worldwide
  43. Arkhangelsk65.4 · #3913 worldwide
  44. Vladimir65.4 · #3914 worldwide
  45. Sterlitamak65.4 · #3915 worldwide
  46. Petrozavodsk65.4 · #3916 worldwide
  47. Kostroma65.4 · #3917 worldwide
  48. Chita65.4 · #3918 worldwide
  49. Volzhskiy65.4 · #3919 worldwide
  50. Nizhny Tagil65.4 · #3920 worldwide
  51. Blagoveshchensk65.4 · #3921 worldwide
  52. Komsomolsk-on-Amur65.4 · #3922 worldwide
  53. Nizhnevartovsk65.4 · #3923 worldwide
  54. Шелепино65.4 · #3924 worldwide
  55. Sochi65.4 · #3925 worldwide
  56. Yakutsk65.4 · #3926 worldwide
  57. Metallurgicheskiy District65.4 · #3927 worldwide
  58. Biysk65.4 · #3928 worldwide
  59. Nizhnekamsk65.4 · #3929 worldwide
  60. Angarsk65.4 · #3930 worldwide
  61. Ленинский65.4 · #3931 worldwide
  62. Abakan65.4 · #3932 worldwide
  63. Pskov65.4 · #3933 worldwide
  64. Syktyvkar65.4 · #3934 worldwide
  65. Kurgan65.4 · #3935 worldwide
  66. Severodvinsk65.4 · #3936 worldwide
  67. АЗС65.4 · #3937 worldwide
  68. Ussurijsk65.4 · #3938 worldwide
  69. Zhilkino65.4 · #3939 worldwide
  70. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk65.4 · #3940 worldwide
  71. Rubtsovsk65.4 · #3941 worldwide
  72. Neftekamsk65.4 · #3942 worldwide
  73. Kovrov65.4 · #3943 worldwide
  74. Almetyevsk65.4 · #3944 worldwide
  75. Syzran65.4 · #3945 worldwide
  76. Orsk65.4 · #3946 worldwide
  77. Kultaevo65.4 · #3947 worldwide
  78. Sirius65.4 · #3948 worldwide
  79. Krasnodar64.9 · #3991 worldwide
  80. Nizhny Novgorod63.5 · #4158 worldwide
  81. Samara63.5 · #4159 worldwide
  82. Stavropol63.5 · #4160 worldwide
  83. Тимофеевка63.5 · #4161 worldwide
  84. Novorossiysk63.5 · #4162 worldwide
  85. Tolyatti63.5 · #4163 worldwide
  86. Armavir63.5 · #4164 worldwide
  87. Dzerzhinsk63.5 · #4165 worldwide
  88. Veliky Novgorod63.5 · #4166 worldwide
  89. Cherkessk63.5 · #4167 worldwide
  90. Maykop63.5 · #4168 worldwide
  91. Balakovo63.5 · #4169 worldwide
  92. Nevinnomyssk63.5 · #4170 worldwide
  93. Kaluga62.4 · #4246 worldwide
  94. Georgiyevsk62.4 · #4247 worldwide
  95. Moscow62.0 · #4270 worldwide
  96. Ryazan61.6 · #4306 worldwide
  97. Pyatigorsk61.6 · #4307 worldwide
  98. Volgodonsk61.6 · #4308 worldwide
  99. Kislovodsk61.6 · #4309 worldwide
  100. Yessentuki61.6 · #4310 worldwide
  101. Kolomna61.0 · #4358 worldwide
  102. Saratov60.5 · #4394 worldwide
  103. Engels60.5 · #4395 worldwide
  104. Orekhovo-Zouïevo60.5 · #4396 worldwide
  105. Bataysk60.1 · #4434 worldwide
  106. Nalchik59.4 · #4472 worldwide
  107. Derbent59.4 · #4473 worldwide
  108. Bryansk59.4 · #4474 worldwide
  109. Фокинский район59.4 · #4475 worldwide
  110. Lipetsk59.1 · #4506 worldwide
  111. Бункерная59.1 · #4507 worldwide
  112. Rostov-on-Don57.9 · #4605 worldwide
  113. Voronezh57.5 · #4658 worldwide
  114. Makhachkala57.3 · #4682 worldwide
  115. Kaspiysk57.3 · #4683 worldwide
  116. Nazran54.6 · #4883 worldwide
  117. Sunzha54.6 · #4884 worldwide
  118. Vladikavkaz54.5 · #4886 worldwide
  119. Grozny54.3 · #4906 worldwide
  120. Khasavyurt54.3 · #4920 worldwide
  121. Stary Oskol52.9 · #5028 worldwide
  122. Elektrostal51.8 · #5091 worldwide
  123. Sergiyev Posad51.8 · #5092 worldwide
  124. Obninsk51.8 · #5093 worldwide
  125. Podolsk51.7 · #5094 worldwide
  126. Zelenograd51.7 · #5095 worldwide
  127. Serpukhov51.7 · #5096 worldwide
  128. Zhukovsky51.7 · #5097 worldwide
  129. Shakhty49.6 · #5201 worldwide
  130. Kursk44.8 · #5553 worldwide
  131. Taganrog42.5 · #5698 worldwide
  132. Belgorod40.9 · #5773 worldwide