Big cities in Russia are very diverse places but beware of the intense sense of security during the World Cup:

• Be aware of your presence on the streets and the looks and the dynamics of the people around you where you are.

• Identity checks based on ethnic profiling by police are common, especially if you appear Central Asian or Arab. A policeman may request your ID and registration papers randomly on the street.

• Ethnic profiling and ID checks are very common on the metro in Moscow and St. Petersburg. You can be asked to go through a metal detector and have the contents of your bags searched.

• Russians can be less sensitive to racist language and often lack tact when communicating with black or Asian people. The word historically used to refer to black people is ‘negr’ which might sound close to the ‘n-word’ but is still widely used and considered neutral by Russians.

• Walking the streets of smaller cities you are more likely to experience stares and be subjected to curiosity. It may not always be aggressive in intent.

• If your religious dress sets you apart, take extra care.

• If you are subject to a racist attack report it to the police. Do not ignore it. Please keep Fare informed through our Whatsapp line or email.