Close Protection in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg was Russia’s imperial capital from 1712 to 1918, and the Hermitage Museum, Peterhof Palace, and the historic centre’s canal architecture remain genuine draws for anyone interested in the period. That history is real. It does not, however, change the fact that the FCDO advises against all travel to Russia as a whole, a national advisory rather than a Moscow-specific one, and it applies to Saint Petersburg in exactly the same terms.

The city’s position is, if anything, more exposed than Moscow’s on one specific measure: consular support. The British Consulate General in Saint Petersburg closed in 2018, in the wake of the diplomatic expulsions that followed the Salisbury poisoning, and the US Consulate General closed the same year on Russian government order. Neither government has restored a presence since. A British national in difficulty in Saint Petersburg today has no local point of contact and must reach the Embassy in Moscow or the Consulate in Ekaterinburg, a position materially worse than in Moscow itself, where the Embassy remains open.

Saint Petersburg has also been the direct target of terrorism. The 3 April 2017 metro bombing killed 15 people, including the bomber, and injured more than 45; eleven men were later convicted over the attack. The FCDO’s current assessment of a highly likely terrorist attack somewhere in Russia is not a Moscow-only judgement, and transport hubs and crowded venues in Saint Petersburg carry the same elevated categorisation. Layered on top of this is the same detention risk the FCDO names explicitly for British nationals across Russia, and the same assumption that electronic communications may be monitored.

Practical logistics have also collapsed since 2022. There is no direct Western commercial service into Pulkovo Airport; visitors route through third countries and should expect that to change without notice. Western-issued bank cards do not work anywhere in Russia, so a Saint Petersburg visit means carrying cash roubles for the entire stay, hotels and transport included.

Security Services in Saint Petersburg

We maintain a network of Rosgvardiya-licensed Russian operators for the rare cases where an assessed, essential visit to Saint Petersburg goes ahead despite the advisory: family or legal obligations that cannot be deferred, for example. This is not a routine destination offering, and we do not encourage travel here. Where an assessment is genuinely sought, our executive protection and security drivers services are available through vetted Russian-licensed providers, always preceded by a sanctions compliance review. For the wider national picture, see our Russia country hub; for the one other Russian city we cover, see our Moscow city page.

Source: FCDO Russia travel advisory (accessed July 2026). US Department of State Russia Travel Advisory, Level 4: Do Not Travel (reissued December 2025, in effect throughout 2026). Human Rights Watch, “Eleven Sentenced over St. Petersburg Metro Bombing” (11 December 2019). TASS, “British consulate general in St. Petersburg officially closes” (2018).