Is it safe to go to Russia during the World Cup? That’s what every football fan is asking right now.
A celebration of football on the pitch and around the pitch, but a potential danger not around it, or even in some cases around it. What should you know or expect?
Sounds weird, right?
It’s true though.
If you are wondering is it safe to go to Russia during the World Cup, on one hand, it is as there will never be as much security and foreign people around you in Russia as during the World Cup allowing you to feel safer than ever.
Think about it. Russia wants to use events such as the World Cup as a way to promote their country. They will do everything in their power to make sure everybody gets around Russia and is overall safe. Especially when Russia is constantly being criticized in other countries.
On the other hand, this is the World Cup. Terrorist attacks have never been as common in parts of Europe and areas surrounding as now. This is the first World Cup where the threat is at a huge level. But this event will have an influence on Russia, making the safety of people a great importance to Russia.
So while the World Cup is most likely the safest time to visit Russia when it comes to the dangers that certain Russian individuals might propose, a terrorist threat is present which is why you should always have access to the internet to stay up to date on what’s happening.
Let’s face it. You will bring your camera and your phone. There’s just no way around it.
We all have valuables. We all need them. The lack of them can sometimes put us in danger. You can't use an old phone because nobody will steal it as you will get lost.
But is it safe to bring valuables?
Not exactly.
Of course, a lot of countries have looters of all kinds, but this is the World Cup. Looters and also scammers from Russia and many other countries are gathering just for this occasion. And that puts your valuables in dangers.
Our advice? Bring only what you need.
Don’t bring anything that you might need. Bring only the musts. And have them with you. At all times.In zipped pockets on in a locked backpack.
In the main areas filled with people, you should be fine.
But it is not advised to wear jerseys of England if you are alone in less crowded areas. The less crowded areas will most likely consist only of Russians. And showing that you are English is not a good idea in those areas.
Any place can be unsafe if you are in the wrong spot, so of course do not go into places that do not look safe even if Google Maps tells you to go through them. Take an alternative route. And try to avoid going back to less populated areas at night.
That’s a big unknown. New laws kicked into play in Russia a few months ago.
Just a few weeks ago, Russia also banned the popular messaging platform called Telegram.
Censorship is emerging, and when censorship is, the lack of privacy is also known.
You probably won’t be using the internet that much in Russia for anything else than Google Maps or contacting people, but regardless of what you use your internet for and where you are your privacy is in danger.
If you connect to a hotspot, the likes of your address in Russia might be known and used by a thief to break into your temporary home, which won’t matter that much if you take our advice of having everything with you. Your password could also be stolen.
And then there’s the government potentially accessing what you are up to. It is highly unlikely that this will result in you being arrested as that would start a worldwide debate, so the first option is much more likely, and a proper threat.
How do you deal with the problem?
You stay encrypted.
That’s what PrivateVPN allows you to do. If you connect to one of our servers on any of your devices, what you do will be automatically encrypted and thus not accessible by any third party that might want to access your information making it far more safe to go to Russia during the World Cup. You are much safer if nobody knows anything about you.
Our service comes with 256-bit encryption making it just about impossible for somebody to access your information. Unless you are the richest person on this planet. And you might struggle even there.
And since there’s censorship coming into play in Russia, if you connect to one of our servers outside of Russia, whatever Russia blocked, will be accessible, unless the country you connect to also has that content blocked.
It’s super easy to install PrivateVPN. All you need to do is click on the Buy button and go through are super quick registration followed by downloading our app or client and connecting to a server of your choice.
Every event brings some danger. Russia will have a lot of security. So much that you might complain about it.
Fear of danger shouldn’t be the reason you don’t do go to an event that happens once every four years.
Go to Russia during the World Cup! It will be worth it! Just be careful!
Written by Michael Smolski.