Russian Foreign Ministry Reveals Number of Visas Granted to Americans

The Director of the Consular Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexei Klimov, revealed that "around 1,000 visas were issued to U.S. citizens in the first quarter of 2023 for entry into Russian territory, most of them for tourism purposes." He noted in a statement that "we are observing extremely low demand for work visas, with only a few dozen issued." The White House had urged American citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia following the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on suspicion of espionage in Russia.