Same Sky Magazine

Staying with Locals in Russia

You don’t find the real Russia in an expensive St Petersburg hotel - we found it in Valentina’s kitchen. I’ve been lucky enough to spend a few weeks in Russia twice, and each time I’ve avoided hotels or hostels and instead found accommodation through a homestay programme.

Homestay Hosts - Widows and Families

In my experience, a majority of homestay hosts across Russia are middle-aged widows who host foreigners to make a small income. Apparently a lot of Russian men die relatively young, and that’s left a large number of widows who find it hard to make ends meet. Enter the job of homestay host - get some income, meet some foreigners, be less lonely.

I’ve also stayed with several families, who seemed to be hosting tourists for similar reasons - a little side income, and sometimes introducing their children to foreigners, or having a chance to practice English.

Staying with Valentina in St Petersburg

One summer, my mother and I spent some time in both Moscow and St Petersburg. Our second stop was to stay with Valentina, a long-term St Petersburg resident who lived just across the bridge from the center of the city. Like my previous experiences, we ended up sleeping in a converted study on less-than-comfortable sofa beds, but Valentina met us every morning with a cheery cup of tea and Russian-style pancakes for breakfast.

She spoke a little English, and my mother a little Russian, and between them they found out all kinds of facts about each other. Valentina had a male friend who visited a couple of times, although we weren’t formally introduced - but my mother did find her excuses to walk out to the kitchen and get a glimpse of him.

The best part of staying with Valentina were the tips she gave us. Without her, we never would have found our favourite St Petersburg lunch spot, the Laima Bistro. It was mostly filled with locals and had fantastic food at a cheap price - we got addicted to the garlic rye toast there, so we had to try to avoid breathing over anyone the whole time we were in St Petersburg.

Valentina was also pleased when we spent some hours touring round the incredible rooms of the Hermitage. And I was jealous when she explained that she goes there every couple of months, on foot, to enjoy some paintings and see a different part of the gallery. Since I read that it would take several lifetimes to properly look at every item in their collection, even Valentina hasn’t seen everything, but she’s lucky enough to have seen more than I ever could.

Pros and Cons of Homestaying in Russia

My two cents worth on homestaying is simply that it’s a must. Not every homestay flat will be pretty or even that clean, and not every host will be as wecloming as Valentina. But the potential for getting to know the local ways is a thousand times more than if you stay in a hotel. Add to that the fact that it’s usually cheaper and includes breakfast (and sometimes dinner!) and for me, there’s no other way to stay in Russia.