John is American, lives in the United States and has been to Russia twice in the space of a year: two weeks in the summer of 2025 (Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi/Adler) and almost a month in Moscow in January 2026. The second trip had an unusual reason — he went to have surgery at a private clinic in the city.
His chronicle is one of the most useful I have received for anyone travelling on a US passport, because he is precise about exactly the part that worries everyone: what happens at passport control, what happens when you bring a lot of cash in, and what happens on the way out. The short version: getting into Russia was the easy part.
What follows is John’s own account, with his own advice and his own photos. Thank you, John, for sharing it.
John’s trips at a glance
| Traveller | John, from the United States |
| When | July 2025 (two weeks) and 3–29 January 2026 (almost a month) |
| Where | Moscow, St Petersburg, Adler/Sochi |
| Entry | Regular tourist visa |
| Flights in | Turkish Airlines to Moscow-Vnukovo (VKO), both trips |
| Flights out | Sochi on a Russian low-cost carrier (2025); Qatar Airways from Moscow-Sheremetyevo (SVO) in 2026 |
| Domestic flights | Booked through Kupi |
| Accommodation | Apartment in Neva Towers (Moscow City) for a month, booked through ZenHotels; Radisson Ukraine on earlier trips |
| Money | Cash brought in and declared at the red channel, plus a Russian T-Bank card for day-to-day spending |
| Phone and internet | Russian eSIM; GPS mostly unusable, Yandex Taxi worked fine |
| Reason for the January trip | Surgery at a private clinic in Moscow |
John’s routes on the map
Approximate route across John’s two trips: arrival via Istanbul into Moscow, the domestic legs to St Petersburg and Sochi/Adler in summer 2025, and the January 2026 departure from Sheremetyevo via Doha. The lines are indicative, not the actual flight paths.
Two trips, one year apart
I first went to Russia in the summer of 2025, for two weeks: Moscow, St Petersburg and Adler/Sochi. I flew into Moscow (VKO) with Turkish Airlines and out of Sochi on a Russian budget carrier. The second time I arrived on 3 January and stayed in Moscow until the 29th, flying in with Turkish again and out with Qatar Airways from Sheremetyevo (SVO).
My girlfriend is Russian and originally from Moscow — her mother still lives in the Khimki area — so both trips were a mix of holiday, family and, the second time round, a hospital.
Arriving at Vnukovo: easy, but with an “extra screening”
On both trips, arriving at Vnukovo was easy — although I was sent for “extra screening” at passport control. In practice that just meant waiting while they checked my visa and passport, about an hour and a half. In all my travel they never took my phone and I never had to answer any questions.
On my most recent trip I brought in more than 10,000 euros in cash, so I went through the red channel to declare it, along with a gift I was bringing into the country. The agents there were quite helpful and, once all the paperwork was completed, everything was fine.
Leaving was more complicated than arriving
Flying out of SVO and Sochi was more complicated than arriving. When I left Sochi last summer there had been an incident at the airport in Adler the night before, connected to the conflict in Ukraine. Being American, I got pulled aside and questioned about why I was there. Once I showed them where I had been, there was no problem.
Sheremetyevo was the worst — and Russians living in Moscow had told me to expect extra scrutiny there. When I went to leave I was stopped and sent for an interview. I believe they thought my passport was fake. After three separate people had checked it, they let me pass. About a 40-minute delay.
A month in an apartment in Moscow City
For January we rented an apartment in Neva Towers, in the Moscow City area, for the whole month, booking it through ZenHotels. It was great, and the price was very cheap for such a luxury place. On previous trips we always stayed at the Radisson Ukraine hotel, close to Arbat street.
For flights within Russia I used Kupi.
Why have surgery in Russia?
The January trip had a very specific reason: I went to have surgery at a private clinic in Moscow, the EMC medical centre. Why there? It’s cheaper, and the service and level of care were great — in my opinion even better than in the USA.
Yes, friends and family thought I was crazy to even go to Russia, let alone have surgery there. But everything went fine, and I would not hesitate to go back.
How I paid for everything
I brought cash for the surgery, but for everyday spending — restaurants, show tickets and so on — we used my girlfriend’s card, because she has a T-Bank account there. If you are travelling on your own, the equivalent is getting your own Russian MIR card.
Phone, internet and a GPS that doesn’t work
My girlfriend set me up with an eSIM for my phone — I’m not sure it’s strictly allowed, but we did it anyway and it worked fine. There are also eSIM options you can buy yourself before you travel.
What does not work is GPS. With the blocking it occasionally works during the day, but rarely, and never at night. Yandex Taxi, on the other hand, is great — and it’s worth installing the other apps you’ll need before you arrive.
New Year in Moscow, and what Russians are really like
Being there just after New Year and during the Russian Christmas holidays was great.
People think Russians are rude, but that is not the case. There are no fake friendships like in the USA — people are direct, but they have deep conversations once they get to know you. We were invited to several friends’ homes for dinner and had a great time.
Not speaking Russian is not a reason to stay home
I don’t speak Russian very well yet — I’m learning — but with Google Translate it was fine, even when my girlfriend wasn’t around. Really, language is not a problem and it should not keep you from going.
And then there’s the food
The food is great there too — some of the best restaurants in the world. And you don’t need a big budget for it: there are also plenty of cheap places to eat in Moscow.
The registration business
The hotel registration process is a pain — you have to remember to get it at each place you stay. When we rented the apartment in Moscow City, the owner did not provide registration. I took the chance on not having it, because on my first trip I was never asked for it when leaving. This trip they didn’t ask either. Nobody checked it at all, either time.
What I’d tell another American
My biggest takeaway: if you are American, expect more time at airports for questioning. I never had to complete a survey or hand over my phone, but I was prepared to do it if needed. Apart from that, the visa process from the United States was the least of my worries.
I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot. But if there’s one thing I’d say, it’s this: I would not hesitate to go back.
Have you travelled to Russia recently and would you like to share your experience? Tell me about your trip here and I’ll publish it in this section, under your name or anonymously, whichever you prefer. Accounts like John’s are the ones that really help the people who are planning their own trip right now.
