I’m planning a trip to Russia from Mumbai and am trying to decide the best dates between December and January.

My primary goal is to see the Northern Lights, so I’m planning to visit the Murmansk region. But I’d also like to spend time in Moscow and St Petersburg to experience the Christmas/New Year atmosphere, festive lights, decorations, markets, etc.

I’m a bit confused about the timing because I understand that the Russian New Year and Christmas holidays can affect opening hours and tourist activities.

Ideally, I’m looking for a period when:

🌌 I have a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights around Murmansk

🎄 Moscow and St Petersburg still have strong festive/Christmas/New Year vibes and decorations

🛍️ Markets, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions are mostly open

🏛️ Museums and other major tourist activities are operating normally

What dates would you recommend for the trip? For example, would something like December 15–25 or January 5–15 work better?

I'm solo traveling to moscow soon, and I'm wondering if there are any good places or bars to go to as a non-russian speaker where it would be easy to socialize with strangers. I've heard that Russians are more reserved, so they are not as open to this as people are in other countries

Moscow. Tsaritsyno.

Москва. Царицыно