First-hand safety tips from Russia

One of our friends has been working in Moscow for a couple of months, you can read his comments about safety in this metropole - in a nutshell:
The airplane just does not come or lands in an other city or comes but not according to the timetable. You can not do anything.
- Passport must be valid for six months , otherwise you could get in trouble
- Accommodation is expensive. Even if you book it in advance , when you arrive, there ‘s no one to welcome. The door is closed. If you are lucky, and you get a room, it might have paper walls.
- Airport taxi is very expensive. Go with Aeroexpress or bus.
- Huge risk : pickpockets, thieves.
- Risk for children : at railway or bus stops there are huge gap between the platform and the rail /road , the child may simply fall into.
- 100x more traffic, 2 x 8 lane-roads, crazy drivers
- Money scams everywhere. This is a national sport .
- Huge bureaucracy, especially if you as a foreigner wants to solve an official problem.
- Sometimes terrorist action.There are metal and bomb detectors in offices , railway stations , shopping malls .
- You could be attacked for your money.
- Corruption: you can buy everything, you just need to know the amount.
- Weather: within few hours the temperature can drop 30 degrees. The winter is extremely cold.
- Expensive (Switzerland can not compete in prices)
- Moscow is a huge city of 14 million people , easy to get lost.
- There are many people on the subways, buses, easy to catch all kinds of disease
- Hitchhiking means a paying service.
- Written by Gabor from Russia, Moscow
The official travel advisors recommend the followings if you travel to Russia:
Don’t Drink the Tap Water
Pedestrians Do NOT Have the Right-of-Way
Watch Yourself On Trains
Discrimination is Rampant throughout Russia
Keep Your Passport On You
Be Familiar with Dangerous Areas
Crime
Most visits to Russia are trouble-free, but petty crime does happen in cities. Be alert to the possibility of mugging, pick pocketing and theft from vehicles or hotel rooms. Be wary of groups of women and children who beg.
Terrorism
There is an ongoing threat of terrorism in Russia. Terrorist attacks have occurred in Russian cities, including Moscow, and are a particular threat in the North Caucasus region, which is close to Sochi. Threats have been made by terrorist groups against the Sochi Olympics. Attacks may also take place in other regions of Russia.