Is Russia a good place to Visit?

Travel Info
What are the people like to Western folk?
Is the food good?
Is it cold all over Russia?
Any good places to visit?
Any essential tips?

Travel Tips

@ Thomas S: couldn't you just put up a link?

For the original poster:

I've been to Russia, St. Petersburg and Moscow specifically. It is absolutely no problem for a westerner to travel there.

The people overall are friendly, but the service can be a bit shocking. Conductors, sales persons and other service personnel can be very rude like you wouldn't believe it. It is quite typical for shop assistants and similar people to order you around like a sergant a soldier during boot camp. It is a left-over from Communist times, when the people providing the services where the kings with the customers waiting humbly before them. The only way to cope with it: Don't take it personally, just shrug it off as a cultural thing and walk away.

Russian food is an aquired taste. Lots of bacon and vodka, with most vegetables pickled sour. Due to the climate, fresh vegetables and fruits are rare in the traditional Russian kitchen. But you find you don't like it, you will always be able to find alternatives in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Turkish food is very popular, and one of the best Turkish restaurants I ever encountered is located in St. Petersburg.

Good places to visit: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nishny Novgorod, Lake Baikal, Yaroslavl. A cruise on the Wolga and the lake system is highly recommended.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is not cold all over Russia. In summer temperatures can rise to over +40 degrees C in certain regions. The southern regions next to the Black Sea and St. Petersburg in June are especially nice during that time.

Tips: Plan your journey carefully. Travel forums like http://www.travellerspoint.com and http://www.virtualtourist.com can help.
Others

I would say yes. I met some Russian young men here in the U.S. and they were fine. I would find a travel agency and check it out.
I didn麓t like it at all,
I did the Baltic with cruise ships for work 2 seasons and we stoped in St. Petersburg a lot, always with overnight, so I always had 2 days off there (Since I worked on the shops of the ship we could not open while in port), but of all the ports in the Baltic was my least favorite.
Rude people, a constant feeling of not being safe, dirty.
Nobody spoke english.
Very disapointing.

travel.state.gov
the food is really good.. and it depends what time u r going there dont go in the winter... too cold.... But u should visit the center... red corner they have really pretty buildings there... its a very good place
honestly, i would not say that Russians like western folk a lot. but of curse it depends on a person.
the food is really good. you should try borsh and pelnemi :)
it is not really cold, especially in the central part of the county.
the good places to visit is Moscow and St. Petersburg.