There’s a Facebook group called girls love travel. Part of me loves it and part of me hates it. Obviously, I love to travel and as a solo traveller, it’s interesting to hear what other women around the world think of travel. However, despite proclaiming to be travellers, many girls on this site hold negative opinions about countries that they have never even travelled to.
The best thing about being a traveller is being able to see places with your own eyes. To meet the locals, eat the food and get a real feel of the unique and complex culture of each place. To see the real countries and not believe the media propaganda we are force-fed every day of our lives.
Someone posted a question on this group, ‘What comes to your mind when you think about Russia’. There were thousands of passionate responses from people who have travelled to Russia and people who haven’t. The various responses were extremely interesting and I think you will enjoy reading them.
The good
“Beautiful women”
“Really, really cold”
“Putin, potatoes and vodka”
“Anastasia”
“That onion-domed building, Saint Basil’s Cathedral”
“A mystery! To me, I’m always curious to know what life in Russia would be like. I’d love to go one day”
” Beautiful architecture. I’ve been dying to go, but I have no one to show me around.”
“An amazingly interesting, perplexing country full of culture and mystery with scary politics”
“snow”
” Anastasia, Red square, Sochi, the Black Sea. I’ve been to Russia twice (volunteer trips pre-Olympics and Olympics). The everyday people we met were incredibly welcoming! The black sea was pretty and the Mountains where all of the downhill events were held were gorgeous! I’m almost 100% sure we were followed by maybe government entities on both trips, but everyone on my team enjoyed the trips and the people!”
“My grandma, Peterson Palace, Lenin, Stalin, the Bolshevik Revolution, pelmeni, blinis, vodka, cold weather, Mariinsky Theatre/ballet, Church of the Spilled Blood, accents, a deep subway system, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, the bridges raising in St. Petersburg, the Russians who took me under their wing and translated for me and made sure I was safe.”
Trans-Siberian Railway!!! Almost at the top of my list!”
The bad
“aggravating and expensive tourist visa process”
” Sadly my first thoughts aren’t great. I grew up an 80s kid and the movies and tv always referenced the cold war… today I think of corruption. But I’m so fascinated by it regardless. Mikhail Baryshnikov literally made me cry with one of the pieces he danced in the silly movie “White Nights”
“Mostly political stuff, unfortunately.. things like the invasion of the Crimea, prolonging a civil war in Syria, and lack of LGBT rights.”
“Pretty churches not open to people of color.. (sorry) that’s how I feel. I hope I’m wrong about the people of color part.”
“Homophobia”
“that time that they kept dogs heads alive after severing them from their bodies”
The funny
“Us election 
🙄🙄🙄🙄”
“Bears on unicycles”
“Bad driving and dash cams”
” Putin shirtless on a horse.
Also, Pussy Riot. 
<3
I know there’s more to Russia that this, but I’ve never been and these were the first to come to mind. 
:)”
Now I’m pretty sure that not all of these statements are true, I’m sure many of them are due to Western propaganda and the images that people are fed in the media. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to see what people around the world really think of Russia.
Now I’m really interested, What comes to your mind when you think of Russia?