The US State Department suggests that crime, terrorism, and arbitrary enforcement of local laws throughout Russia may put Americans in unsafe situations. The US government may have the delayed ability to provide services to US citizens in the Saint Petersburg area, and terrorist groups attack public and private spaces with little to no warning.
Parts of Russia have a Level 4 advisory, and the State Department asks US citizens to avoid traveling to the North Caucasus Region, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, along with Crimea. Local gangs in the North Caucasus Region have kidnapped Americans and other foreigners for ransom, and there are "credible reports of arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing of LGBTI persons in Chechnya allegedly conducted by Chechen regional authorities."'
In March, an activist was sentenced to four years in Chechnya for drug abuses, a move that has been widely viewed as an effort to quell criticism of the Chechen government. Extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, and torture, including a "gay purge" of at least 40 suspected gay men and women in Chechnya have received international attention.
Chechen separatists have been responsible for multiple terror attacks in Russia, and a St Petersburg metro explosion in 2017 planted by a terrorist who has not been claimed by any group or regime left 15 dead and at least 45 injured.
Additionally, the US does not recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea, suggesting those who challenge the authority of the Russian Federation military presence on the peninsula may suffer abuse.