5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU'RE VISITING RUSSIA IN 2026

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU'RE VISITING RUSSIA IN 2026 first off is bring lots of USD or just cash in general but one of three types of cash USD, euros or you can get yuan from China because of sanctions the only cards that work here are those issued in Russia even though cash isn't really used much in China now you can still get it from ATMs and it is still still widely accepted in Russia most other currencies will be refused at the banks 2 get a card at Sberbank for $ 50 this is essentially just a Russian debit card and I didn't do this but my friend Eli did and he said it was really really helpful for online reservations I didn't want to waste that extra $50 in cash but this made it very difficult for booking hotels because I couldn't book anything in advance now specifically as an American you should expect to be detained when entering the country but this can happen to anyone of any nationality even Russians most likely they're just going to question you about what you're doing in the country and for me specifically they asked me if I knew anybody in Ukraine which I don't and they did go through my phone so just be prepared for that also make sure they issue you a migration card at the border and finally you are going to need a VPN in the country and right now Whale VPN is working this is what it looks like on the App Store if you want to use the free version you will have to watch some ads other than that Russia is amazing and I'm so excited to be sharing more from this country