Moscow

Is Moscow safe to visit?

For Western visitors, the honest answer is no, and the reason is not street crime. Moscow police recorded 158 killings in 2025 in a city of more than 12 million people, about 1.3 per 100,000, and the Interior Ministry says the city had the lowest road death rate of any Russian region. The risks are political and military: arbitrary detention of foreigners, terrorism and Ukrainian drone attacks that close the airports at short notice.

The US State Department rates Russia Level 4 (do not travel for any reason) and tells its citizens to leave immediately. The UK FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises against all travel because of Russia's continuing invasion of Ukraine, the lack of flights home and its limited ability to help. Moscow's factors average 71, but the city's score is capped at 43, the same ceiling as Russia's.

Detention is the main risk

The US says the risk of wrongful detention of its citizens remains high, and that Russian security services have arrested US citizens on false charges and used them as bargaining chips. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says Russia has a track record of holding foreign nationals as leverage over other countries, and since a change to the criminal code on 28 December 2024, liability for foreigners believed to act against Russian interests is wider.

What can lead to arrest, according to the two governments:

• Posts supporting Ukraine, or donations to groups linked to Ukraine, even made before the trip.
• Displaying LGBT+ symbols such as the rainbow flag.
• Joining a protest; under Russian law one person alone can count as one.
• Publishing images of drone, military or terrorist attacks, or their aftermath.
• Data on your phone or laptop, including data created abroad.

Dual nationals are treated only as Russian citizens and may be refused consular visits. The US Embassy in Moscow has cut its staff, and all US consulates in Russia have suspended operations. The British Embassy in Moscow is open, but the FCDO says its in-person support is limited.

Drones over Moscow and its airports

Ukraine has repeatedly sent large drone waves at the capital in 2026. On 20 September, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 450 drones were headed for Moscow; several reached the Moscow oil refinery and one hit an apartment building, and three people died in the wider region, though none in the city. On 6 October about 650 drones were launched toward Moscow, two people were killed in villages outside it, and the exiled outlet Astra reported a fire at the region's largest fuel depot, which supplies Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo; The Moscow Times could not verify the report.

The airports are where most visitors feel it. On 16 October 2026 all four Moscow airports (Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Sheremetyevo) were suspended for up to seven hours and more than 160 flights were cancelled. According to Agentstvo, cited by Euronews, Moscow's airports were closed for 101 hours in the first two weeks of October, against 46 hours in all of September. On 3 November, Russia's aviation agency said Vnukovo and Domodedovo were again handling flights only with clearance. During an attack, the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises taking cover in a building or underground, away from windows.

Terrorism is a separate threat. The FCDO says terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Russia, including in major cities. The March 2024 attack on Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, just outside Moscow, killed 145 people. The FCDO also notes several recent shootings in Moscow, often near apartment blocks, and a bombing near a Moscow railway station.

Street crime, scams and money

Ordinary crime has fallen a long way. Moscow police say killings were 55% lower and robberies 89% lower in 2025 than in 2015, and the city prosecutor recorded only 160 robberies in the first three months of 2026. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary still warns of pickpockets and muggers in tourist areas and at the main railway stations, and says British nationals have had passports stolen at Moscow airports, especially in baggage halls and outside arrivals.

The scams it names are worth knowing:

• People posing as police who stop and rob tourists; ask for identification.
• Unlicensed taxis that look official; book through an app or your hotel.
• Drink spiking that leads to robbery or assault; buy your own drinks.
• Dating and money transfer scams.

Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards do not work, so you will carry all your money in cash. Methanol in bootleg alcohol has killed people in Russia, so buy drinks only from reputable outlets.

Roads, air and health care

Moscow's roads are the safest in Russia by the Interior Ministry's count: 2.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025, against 9.5 nationally. The air is moderate: IQAir measured 10.0 µg/m³ of PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary in 2024, twice the WHO guideline. Health care is the weak point. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says it may not meet Western standards, that hospitals may ask for payment before treatment, and that EHIC and GHIC cards are not valid. Call 112 in an emergency.

How we scored it

Natural hazards (88) and traffic safety (86) are Moscow's strongest factors. Violent crime (62) is low because we fold in terrorism and the 2026 drone strikes; on crime alone it would be in the high 80s. Theft and scams (64) and walking at night (67) follow the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's warnings and Russia's Gallup result. The weighted average of the factors is 71, but the overall score is capped at 43 (Russia's conflict score of 8 + 35): a city cannot score above its country's conflict ceiling, because missiles and attacks do not stop at city limits. For most travellers, the do-not-travel advice should decide, not the number.