News, Tips & Bargains : Guarding Against Crime in Russia

A new generation of rich Russians is replacing foreigners as a favorite target of criminals in Russia, and the nation’s Interior Ministry says crime against foreigners has dropped this year.

But 65 foreigners have been murdered so far in 1994, and when Russia’s main crime-fighting body last month issued a 12-page booklet offering visitors advice on how to avoid becoming victims of the country’s growing crime phenomenon, it acknowledged that outsiders are still in more danger than they were before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

What the overworked Interior Ministry did not acknowledge is any responsibility to protect citizens and visitors. Ministry specialist Igor Khromov said almost half of the 5,000 crimes against foreigners in the past year resulted from the victim’s carelessness.

The guide says foreigners tended to make the wrong acquaintances and accept drinks and other seemingly harmless offers from strangers. It advises visitors to deal only with officials and reputable businessmen, but gives no tips on how to spot disreputable ones.

It says visitors should stay in hotels rather than potentially dangerous rented apartments, although Russian hotel rooms are far from impervious to crime.

It also urges foreigners to change money at official banks, which offer poor exchange rates and are difficult to tell from the hundreds of unofficial exchange points guarded by submachine gun-toting youths.

The guide’s major drawback is that it is in Russian.

But even if you can read the language, you may not be able to get your hands on the booklet. The Interior Ministry promised it would be delivered to foreign embassies for distribution, but an official at the U.S. Embassy said they had not received any copies and were not really expecting any.