Since there are a lot of guys contributing useful information to this forum I wanted to share my experiences here. Not that I feel I am an expert, but perhaps some of it may be of use anyway.
I just spent 5 wonderful days in Moscow, in fact better than I expected. I was amazed at the size of the city, but of course with 9 Million inhabitants I shouldn't have been surprised. Traffic is almost as bad as in large American cities, and it seems like Muscovites are always on a mission - they don't stop for anything or anybody (and the driver who took me from Domodedovo to the hotel was doing 75 miles per hour in the middle of the city - quite an experience). Crossing a street can be a real adventure. For those who are not used to crowds, brace yourselves. Getting around town is quite easy, Metro is good and cheap (10 rubles, 30 c one way), but I have never felt so crowded in my whole life. And people there also run into you if you are not sure of where you are going. I am eternally grateful for my lady, for without her I probably would still be stuck somewhere underground. Also I recommend bring good shoes, I wore sneakers all the time (unfortunately brand new ones) and my feet almost killed me. I am still recovering from the blisters, we really covered some ground in those few days. (My lady was walking in boots with high heels - a testament to what they are used to, I couldn't have done it) Of course there is plenty to see, just the Kremlin alone can take a day. If you want to go see Lenin, you have to watch your timing, opening hours are limited, and when you do be advised that Red Square is closed off, and it is not a good idea to cross the chains in front of GUM - as we found out. Also, if you go see Lenin, drop your camera off beforehand, you won't be allowed to take it with you. THere is a place where stuff can be deposited, it's on the side of the Kremlin where the eternal flame is burning, close to where one buys the tickets to get into the Kremlin. And when you are inside the tomb where Lenin is displayed, don't stop to look - the guards will tell you to keep walking. On the whole I felt very safe in the city, I have never seen so much police in my whole life. On occasion one of them may approach you and ask for your pass port, make sure to always have it with you. I believe it was mentioned elsewhere to let your lady do the negotiating when it comes to getting a taxi and other things - as foreigner you have a big target marked on your back, and everything will be much more expensive. Also, if you are going to other cities through Moscow, it may happen that the flight gets cancelled - my lady was supposed to arrive before me, but there were not enough people flying that day, so they just cancelled the flight. She arrived the next morning alright, but it really can screw up ones travel plans if that happens. I plan on visiting her in Kurgan in the spring, and I am worried that I might miss my connection out of Moscow if they cancel the flight. Any advise would be welcome. The hotel I stayed in was quite nice - it's called "Mezhdunarodnaya" or "International" - but it's about a 10 - 15 minutes walk to the nearest Metro station. THere are other hotels much closer to Red Square, unfortunately I couldn't get a room there. As far as language is concerned, learn as much as you can, and invest in lessons. I started taking lessons with a lady from Russia about 2 months ago, I know a few hundred words, I can read and write cyrillic, but it was still difficult. It certainly helped that my lady speaks some German, and while we couldn't have a fluent conversation we managed anyway, and actually had a lot of fun. When RUssians speak their language at the speed that they are used to, you will be hard pressed to understand anything.
Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful, if anyone wants to e-mail me with questions feel free.
JJ,
My two week visit to Perm was very much like yours although I rarely saw police. People said I was the only Americian they ever met in Perm before.
Try other airlines like Lufthansa to get to your destination.