Hey, so I'm considering going to both Chechnya and Dagestan for a few days, but am wondering how the situation is there right now. My plan so far is taking the train from Moscow to Makhachkala, spending the night, going to Derbent the day after, and then on to Grosnyj, where I'll fly back to Moscow.
Any tips or help is appreciated. I speak enough Russian to get by, so that hopefully won't be a problem.
Posted Jul 10, 2018, 1:24 PM UTC
My guess it'll be an interesting journey, but please don't try wearing shorts. People just don't understand shorts there.
Haha, I read about that. I'm not going to wear shorts even though I'm gonna die in my jeans, so I'm probably going to pick up something lighter.
What, why?
If they see you wearing shorts on the street they literally invite you to their cars and drive you to your home for you to change. That's weird, but that's how it is there.
That is actually hilarious. I will keep it in mind if I ever travel there (I would like to), thank you.
Some islamic stuff. These republics are very conservative. Although women only wear hijab there, so not as conservative as Saudis. But kinda close.
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People there know less English than in average Russia or Moscow and SPb.
Prepare to pay in cash - cards are less used by small businesses, also, there are less ATMs there.
In Chechnya there are only mountains with some number of old towers and reconstructed Grozny. In Dagestan there is ancient city of Derbent, which is older then most of Russian towns.
Id say there is more to Chechnya than "only mountains with some number of old towers and Grozny" but i agree that Derbent is a must visit if you are in the Caucasus.
Well, I speak enough Russian to travel the rest of Russia, so I don't think it's going to be a problem. Yeah, I'm going to bring cash of course.
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Chechnya is pretty safe to travel, especially for Tourists(and especially if you know Russian). If you're just going to drive trough Grozny then i wont see any hardships but if you're going to visit a tourist hotpots or the Mountains then i suggest you contact a local Travel guide.
You'll be fine if you won't do anything stupid. So don't do anything stupid. Still pretty weird tourist plan, why would you want that?
I'm not gonna do anything stupid. Or wear shorts. I don't think it's weird. Russia is a big country, and the Caucasus region is really interesting to me, so why not go there?
What I was wondering is why the Caucasus region and specifically Chechnya, Dagestan there. No offense, it's just unusual for tourists(or locals).
Don't wear "half naked" stuff whatever gender you are
Chechnya is pretty safe now, don't really know about Dagestan. There are anti-terroristic operations almost every week, so be prepared.
Good luck!
Grozny is relatively safe now, I would't be so sure about Dagestan, so I suggest you to look for a local contact. There is a subreddit r/chechnya for Chechnya, I suggest you x-post there.