I was born in Saint-Petersburg - an amazing place which was home for my family for at least 150 years. Literature and theatre were always a big part of my parents' life as well as taking part in underground rock movement back in the 80's in Leningrad. So I share a lot of things with them and probably I inherited their deep interest in world culture and a freedom of thought. Besides, I was very lucky to be born after the fall of USSR being now free for traveling the world and getting information.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Traveling for me is not only about getting impressions out of so called "sightseeing", but mostly about new experience. I can't see any sense in all these guided tours and all-inclusive hotels - I would rather get lost in an unfamiliar city and make new friends on the streets. Couchsurfing gives an opportunity to avoid this "touristic" view and see a real inner life of citizens, and allows you to live out a very proximate encounter with foreign culture.

Interests

Of course, there are a lot, I will mention only two things. I would say, the most important interest is literature, it's something I couldn't live without. I'm more into russian literature of XX century, but also trying to translate some american poetry at the moment, for exemple. Reading something closely related to country I travel to is always a significant part of my journeys. The other element is related to music. I can't say I'm a rock fan or reggae fan etc., I just love any good inspiring and honest music. That's why when traveling to big cities I always try to find a local independent underground scene.

• literature
• avant-garde art
• rock music
• art history
• languages
• cinema
• antiques

Music, Movies, and Books

Okay, it' very difficult. Especially because there are a lot of russian masterpieces not known really well abroad. That's why I just won't mention here anything russian - I'd rather tell you about it in personal.
Let's see...
Music: smth between Ravel and The Stooges =)
Movies: Fellini, Godard, Jarmusch, Carax etc.
Books: Celine, Gombrowicz, Sebald, magic realism, dadaism etc. etc. Plus I read a lot of poetry: Whitman and american poets of 60's-70's, Celan, Trakl, Cavafy etc.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always happy to learn new things. It could be anything new, the only few things I'm not really interested in are politics and business. Me, I think I could share with you a lot of my knowledge - I don't know what exactly we will be discussing. Well, at least I could tell you about my country and teach you some russian.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Yes, I believe I'll always find a way to thank my hosts. I'm not bad at cooking generally, and if you drink alcohol I can easily show you how it's done in Russia. Of course, if you don't - it will be no problem at all, please, don't believe these stereotypes about russians =) Same thing about any other differences between us - I have no prejudices at all and hope you too enjoy this world in all its diversity.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belarus, Belgium, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation