Tourist scam alert: 'free photo' with animals turns costly. Happens in Sochi and St. Petersburg. Learn how to avoid pressure tactics and protect your money.
You’re strolling a seaside promenade on vacation when someone with a camera — and a parrot on their shoulder — ambles up. They offer to take your picture, saying it’s free. It looks harmless enough. Yet minutes later, you’re being asked for thousands of rubles. What just happened?
Stories like this are common. In popular tourist spots such as Sochi or Saint Petersburg, street photographers lure passersby with the idea of a snapshot with an animal — a parrot, a monkey, or a pigeon. It’s presented as harmless fun, just something for the memories.
But once the shutter clicks, the free part vanishes. In Sochi, a tourist was pressed to hand over 20,000 rubles for a picture with a parrot and a monkey. In Saint Petersburg, a couple paid as much as 80,000 rubles for a handful of shots with pigeons.
The pattern is simple. A smiling photographer offers a photo and often plants the animal on your shoulder without asking. Then comes the price — not 200 rubles, but 5,000, 10,000, or more.
If two animals slip into the frame, the bill grows. It climbs again if the photographer takes the shot and produces a print. Refuse to pay, and the pressure begins: raised voices, intimidation, and talk of calling the police.
These encounters are especially frequent in Sochi, Saint Petersburg, and Sevastopol — places dense with visitors. Photographers station themselves along waterfronts, in parks, and near landmarks — the busiest spots. Similar tactics surface abroad too, for example in Turkey.
According to distinguished lawyer Ivan Solovyov, this can qualify as fraud. If the price wasn’t stated in advance and money is demanded afterward, that amounts to deception, all the more so when people are scared or pushed into paying for something they never agreed to.
— Avoid animal photo offers from strangers who approach you on the street.
— If you still decide to pose, nail down the price immediately — ideally with witnesses.
— Don’t hand over your phone if asked; it might not come back until you pay.
— If you’re threatened, don’t hesitate to contact the police.
— If someone starts to intimidate you, start recording on your phone.
As long as authorities stay on the sidelines, these photographers will keep cashing in on tourists’ trust. When people quietly pay just to avoid “ruining the vacation,” the scheme only spreads.
If nothing changes, new twists are inevitable: different animals, fresh pretexts, even higher prices.
Remember: a vacation is time to unwind, not a reason to spend tens of thousands on a photo you never planned to take. Be wary of “free” offers and guard your money — you’ll find a better use for it.