Is Russia safe for international students? For everyday street crime, most African and South Asian students in big Russian cities say yes and feel safe at night, but racist abuse does happen and hate crime data show it has been rising since 2024. Since the war in Ukraine, the most serious documented risk is being pressured or tricked into a military contract, and India, Nigeria and Kenya have all warned their citizens about it.
For everyday street crime, most African and South Asian students in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and large regional cities describe Russia as safe, and many say they feel safer at night than at home. The real risks are different from the ones people usually imagine: racist abuse that is uncommon but real, document checks that can turn into fines if your papers are not in order, and, since the war in Ukraine, job and "contract" offers that end in military service.
Large cities have a lot of street cameras and a visible police presence, and students in video interviews often name these as the reason they walk home after midnight without worry. Petty theft of phones and wallets happens in crowded places, as in any big city, so normal precautions still apply.
University hostels usually have a guard at the entrance and a pass system, which keeps strangers out. If you rent privately instead, a flat is fine, but only if the landlord agrees to register you at that address, and many refuse.
Most students describe staring, rude comments and occasional unfriendly behaviour, while physical attacks are rare in their own experience. Both things are true at once: the majority have no violent incident, and a small number do.
Staring is the most common complaint, and it is stronger in smaller towns where locals rarely meet foreigners. A Russian-born commentator who grew up in Nizhny Novgorod, a city that was closed to foreigners in Soviet times, explains that many older people there had never seen a Black or South Asian person until the 1990s, and that curiosity, whispering or questions about hair and skin are more common than open hostility. Racial jokes and old expressions still exist in everyday Russian speech.
An Indian student in Samara adds that Russian intonation first sounded aggressive to him until he realised it was simply how people talk. Older people rarely speak English, so basic Russian prevents many misunderstandings.
The SOVA Center, a Moscow research group that has tracked hate crimes since the 2000s, recorded 295 victims of ideologically motivated violence in 2025 and 7 deaths, compared with 284 victims and 1 death in 2024. Of these, 161 attacks in 2025 targeted people seen as "ethnic outsiders", mostly migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus. Attacks recorded specifically against people of colour rose from 3 in 2024 to 7 in 2025, including an assault on a Nigerian citizen in Saint Petersburg.
SOVA warns that its figures are incomplete: police data are not public, victims often do not report, and many cases surface only through far-right Telegram channels. The trend matters more than the exact number. Organised neo-Nazi attacks on foreign students outside dormitories were a serious problem in the late 1990s and 2000s; they fell sharply afterwards, but SOVA reports that far-right violence has been rising again since 2024 and has become more brutal.
Russian police can stop anyone in the street or metro to check documents, and foreigners, especially those who look non-Slavic, are stopped more often. A check is routine and usually short if you can show your passport, migration card and registration at once.
The migration card is the slip you fill in at the border; keep it with your passport for your whole stay. Registration (migratsionny uchet) is the official record of where you live. For citizens of India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and most other countries outside the former Soviet Union, it must be done within 7 working days of arrival. If you live in a university hostel, the university registers you; if you move to a private flat, the landlord must do it.
Breaking the stay rules, for example having no valid registration or overstaying your visa, is punished under Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences with a fine of 2,000–5,000 RUB (≈ $25–$62) and possible expulsion from Russia. Expulsion ends your studies.
Universities also set deadlines for the medical examination and fingerprinting that long-stay foreigners must complete. The international students' guide of Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU), for example, gives 30 calendar days for the first medical exam and one month for fingerprinting. Ask your own university's international office for its exact dates in your first week.
As of November 2026, the main warnings from student-sending countries are about recruitment into the Russian armed forces, not about studying. We did not find an advisory from India or Nigeria telling students to leave Russia. Western governments go further and advise their own citizens not to travel at all.
| Country | Latest position we could confirm | Date |
|---|---|---|
| India (Ministry of External Affairs) | Joining the Russian army is "a dangerous path and is strongly discouraged". Check job offers carefully and avoid agents not registered with the MEA. | 30 September 2026 |
| Nigeria (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) | "Grave concern" about Nigerians illegally recruited for foreign wars; some were "misled and coerced into signing military service contracts". | February 2026 |
| Kenya (Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi) | Said Russia agreed Kenyans would no longer be enlisted through the Russian Ministry of Defence. | 16 March 2026 |
| Nepal | Stopped issuing work permits for Russia and Ukraine after Nepali recruits were killed. | January 2024 |
| United Kingdom (FCDO) | Advises against all travel to Russia. | Current as of 2026 |
| United States (State Department) | Level 4, Do Not Travel; US citizens in Russia told to leave. | Reissued January 2026 |
In May 2026, according to ThePrint, the Indian government told the Supreme Court it knew of more than 200 Indians recruited into the Russian military, at least 49 killed and more than 20 missing. These figures include workers and tourists, not only students.
There are documented cases of foreign students and young workers being pressured, tricked or offered a deal to sign a contract with the Russian army, although Russian officials deny that students are forced. Foreign students on a study visa are not subject to the Russian draft, which applies to Russian citizens. The danger comes from contracts that look voluntary on paper.
The pattern is the same in every case: money that looks large (CNN cites sign-on bonuses of at least 400,000 RUB (≈ $4,960)), a deadline, and a document in Russian. A legitimate student job, internship or scholarship never involves the Ministry of Defence (Ministerstvo oborony), a military enlistment office (voenkomat) or the words "kontrakt" and "SVO" (the official name for the war).
He and the students he interviewed in Moscow and Saint Petersburg say they walk around between midnight and 4 a.m. without fear and credit the cameras and police on the streets. Several compare it favourably with armed robbery at home. One interviewee admits some individuals are prejudiced but says it is not widespread, and the main advice they repeat is to always carry your passport, registration and migration card.
— Tochi, a Nigerian who has lived in Russia for five years, with African students he interviewed (video)
He has been stared at and has met occasional prejudice because of his skin colour, but he sees these as isolated incidents rather than general hostility. Taxi drivers often bring up Bollywood stars when they hear he is from India, and seniors helped him with shopping and translation in the first weeks.
— Sangik Biswas, an Indian second-year MBBS student at Samara State Medical University (video)
He says he feels safe walking late at night because policing is strict, and that ordinary Russians are mostly neutral and busy with their own lives. The little prejudice he met came from other international students rather than from locals.
— Sudarshan Thakur, a Nepali student in Russia (video)
Some interviewees in these videos go as far as saying there is no racism in Russia at all. That is their personal experience, not the full picture: the SOVA Center still records several dozen ethnically motivated attacks each year, and its 2025 report names a Nigerian victim in Saint Petersburg.
Most international students in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and big regional cities say yes, and many feel safer than at home because of cameras and police on the streets. Use well-lit main streets and the metro, avoid groups of drunk people, and share your location with a friend late at night.
No. Conscription and mobilisation apply to Russian citizens, not to foreigners on a study visa. The risk for students is being pressured or tricked into signing a contract, or taking Russian citizenship, which brings military obligations.
As of November 2026, the Ministry of External Affairs advisories we found focus on offers to join the Russian army and on unverified job agents; they do not tell students to leave. Check the MEA and the Embassy of India in Moscow before you travel, because advice can change quickly.
Stay calm, show your passport, migration card and registration, and answer briefly. If your documents are in order the check is usually short; if there is a problem, ask to call your university international office or your embassy and do not sign anything you do not understand.
Students and commentators say staring and curious questions are more common in smaller towns where people rarely meet foreigners. Large cities with big international student communities feel more familiar, but SOVA's records show that attacks also happen in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
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Kursk State Medical University (KSMU) is a state medical university in Kursk, Russia, that has taught General Medicine (MBBS) to international students in English since 1994 through its International Medical Institute. The course lasts 6 years; fees are set in roubles each year, so get the 2026/27 price list in writing and read the current travel advice for Kursk Oblast before you apply.
Kazan State Medical University (KSMU) is a state medical university in Kazan, Russia, dating from 1814 and teaching more than 2,200 international students. For 2026/27 General Medicine costs 636,000 RUB a year in English or Russian. You apply between 20 June and 15 July and pass online tests in Chemistry and English or Russian, with at least 65 points in each.
MBBS in Kazakhstan costs about US$4,000 to US$6,700 a year in tuition at public medical universities, for example 3,000,000 KZT at Astana Medical University in 2026/27. Students admitted since 2023 study a 6-year programme with a 12-month internship, which fits the NMC rules on paper. Check the price list, the English requirement and your hostel before you pay.
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