Not difficult to maintain at all. If you get one with a clean barrel (as most of them, miraculously, seem to have), it will shoot great. Just make sure to flush out the corrosive salts if you use the cheap milsurp ammo with corrosive primers. It can be had as cheaply as .17/round. The Russians used it, and the guns are still around. This gun is a classic, and you'll not regret buying one. I have ... a few.
The recoil of the Mosin-Nagant depends somewhat on the model. There are several iterations, but the WWII era M91/30's are selling like hotcakes as cheaply as $80 - $100. These have a 28½" barrel, and I've yet to see one with a barrel that wasn't in very good shape. I'm very small, and the recoil is just "fun". Probably just slightly less than a domestically manufactured .308 since the ammo is nearly identical, but the weight is greater.
To answer your question more specifically, recoil for the M91/30 would be less than 30-06 for sure. Very similar to .303 British (which I have shot). I took a guy shooting with me for the first time ever and he's little like me (I'm 5'1" and 125#). He'd never shot a gun in his LIFE, and he loved shooting the Mosin.
The M38 had eight inches lobbed off the barrel. They added a folding bayonet, and it became the M44. These have greater recoil and the M44 is known for its dramatic muzzle flash (check youtube for videos, and look also for the videos of 7 year old kids shooting the M91/30's). My M44 is the only one I have purchased ($150) that had a rough barrel. Someone had been shooting corrosive ammo and not cleaning it properly. And even it shoots pretty well, and the barrel looks better with each cleaning. I need to adjust the front sight now that a buddy of mine has made me a tool for that purpose. It shoots consistently, but to the left.
The WWI era Mosin's have a HEX receiver and 31" barrel. I have one. Barrel looks fine. I hope I look as good at 97. Cost me $130. These rifles are worth having because the ammo is cheap, the rifles are accurate and fun to fire, and the history of the Mosin-Nagant is remarkable.
If you are shopping in person for them, pull out the bolt and check out the barrel. If you have to order by mail, then you might want to check with Kentucky Gun Company in Bardstown before their price goes up. They brought in 2000 (100 cases), and had 400 left a couple of weeks ago when I was there and bought some. A friend of mine in California bought one from them, and was so happy he ordered two more. Once those are gone, the price will go up to $99 on the next batch, according to what they told me.
The M91/30 is probably your best bet to start. They're abundant and cheap. Upkeep is simple. Spare parts can even be had on Ebay (probably cannibalized from damaged rifles, but there were at least 17 million produced). Look online. There are LOTS of Mosin fanatics, and there's a lot of info available. Get in on the fun.
