Transportation in Russia

Russia's transport backbone is the metro in Moscow and St Petersburg, fast, spotless, and cheap enough that locals treat it like tap water. Buy a Troika or Podorozhnik stored-value card at any station: one tap covers metro, buses, trams and even suburban trains, and it spares you the queue for single tickets. Between cities, the long-distance rail network is extensive and reliable. Overnight sleeper trains are a moderate splurge that saves a hotel night, while daytime high-speed links are quicker but pricier. Ride-hailing apps (Yandex Go, Citymobil) are ubiquitous in big cities and usually cost a fraction of a street hail. For airport runs, Moscow's Aeroexpress is the honest default, direct trains from Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo to city-centre stations with space for luggage and free Wi-Fi. They run from early morning until around midnight. Miss the last one and the official taxi ranks inside the terminals are safer than the freelance drivers who swarm the curb. In St Petersburg, the Pulkovo airport bus drops you at Moskovskaya metro station in 20 minutes for pocket change. Ignore the unmarked cars touting "fixed price" rides, they're reliably double the meter.