Ready to host:

May 13-17

I am a thin and tall man without a country.

I was born in Uzbekistan and lived there until the age of 25 even not going to other countries. My first travel was in 2008. But I am not the product of Uzbek culture, I even do not know the Uzbek language. That is because I am ethnically Russian, and in Uzbekistan you can live only with that language: I even had all the education in Russian.

In 2010 I moved to Russia: that was a super-logical move, because in Russia no one could understand that I am a foreigner. Even the language is the same: after Sovites dialects and pronunciation differences mostly disappeared.

I loved living there a lot. St. Petersburg is an amazing city with lots of things to do. People are great and I really wanted to spend all my life there even taking the shitty government into account.

But then the disgraceful war against Ukraine began. Due to several reasons I decided to leave Russia and it was the hardest decision I've ever made. Now I live in Amsetrdam and still trying to get how to live my new life and what new goals I should achieve.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I started wth hosting. After living in Uzbekistan where there were not many tourists att all, in Russia I realized that I can meet people from other countries (wow), speak to them in English (wow) and show them amazing St. Petersburg (wow).

Then, for being a guest, my main reason was money. I just coild not afford renting hotels and in general, I think that they are way to expensive. Now I can afford them and use them, but still love to be hosted by other people of course not only because of saving money but because you will know much much more if you have somebody guiding you through the place.

I still have a couple of good friends whom I see regularly having that we live in different countries. Thank you, CouchSurfing for that!

Interests

I have tons of hobbies. For now, my main one is antiques: I am into the period from 1900 to 1930 in many things I collect various things from that period and try to use them in my daily life. Actually, many hobbies of mine are connected and can be called 'vintage': I am crazy about classical men's vintage clothing. old bikes, pre-WWI architecture and so on.

Also, I travel by bike a lot. Before I considered cycling as my hobby but in Amsterdam it is how you live. So, my hobby became a routine. I cannot say I 100% like it, but I was fully prepared to the style of this city.

My hobbies from the past: guitar, photography. I can of course keep the conversation on that topic, but it doesn't drive me anymore.

• arts
• culture
• singing
• architecture
• photography
• walking
• clothing
• politics
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• soccer
• teaching
• history
• software
• art-noveau
• tweed

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Amelie, Kramer VS Kramer, Rain Man, Schindler's List, Forest Gump, Escape From Sobibor.

Music: Pain Of Salvation, Faith No More, Anouk, Opeth, Shakira, Ark, Porcupine Tree, Freak Kitchen, Tori Amos, Aziza Mustafa-Zadeh, Crotchduster, Nino Katamadze, Kamchatka.

Books: Catcher In The Rye, Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, The Amusing Gospel, The Idiot, Solaris, Cancer Ward.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Nothing really amazing, just half-amazing things.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think the most interesting knowledge I have is first-hand information on how things are going on in Russia and Uzbekistan.

Also, I think I know something about classical men's style so if you need any help here, just let me know.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I consider myself an independent guest, so, for sure I will not attack your personal life or time, it is better for me to feel more relaxed and I am completely ok being alone.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan

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