Hope he has better luck than Reggie Yates did in Russia. Not a nation at the top of my holiday list, nor anywhere near.
I went to St Petersburg for a holiday and to meet a Russian girl about 10 years ago. The culture, cathedrals, palaces, Hermitage museum and Marinsky opera were fantastic and some of the best I have ever seen. However the police were a different kettle of fish and to be avoided. One night I popped outside the hotel about 11pm to have a cigarette and in full view of everyone, it was a crowded underground station, a policeman in a black leather jacket wanted me to go with him. I refused and he showed me his knuckles which were well used. I still pretended I didn't know what he was saying and when he looked away I legged it as quick as I could back into the hotel foyer, shaking and not daring to look behind me. It wouldn't stop me going back now, but there are other places I would prefer to go that I have not been to yet. The girl? well it didn't work out.
Had to go to a meeting in St Petersburg a few years back. I am sure that the palaces and museums would have been spectacular but, quite frankly, I couldn't wait to get out of the country. I think it would be pretty much the last place on earth I would choose for a holiday.
I went a number of times to St Petersburg in the 90s to help develop educational programmes. The country was clearly in a state of transition and many ruthless individuals were out to take advantage of this. What I would say is that I was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of ordinary working people. They hadn't much but they made me feel very welcome. Surprisingly their educational methods were far more liberal than any I encountered in countries like the US. The city itself has outstanding cultural attractions of course but there were things like a mushroom market and trad jazz bands playing on the street which I hadn't expected to find. I have no sympathy for the political regime then or now, but given the history and the size of the country I don't imagine it's going to become a liberal democracy overnight, it at all!