How To Have Fun and Learn New Skills in Russia (Without Speaking Russian)

By any means, we don’t suggest you give up on learning Russian, and most of the activities listed below will require you to use it at least a little bit, but it’s totally understandable that sometimes it’s nice to turn your inner interpreter off and just do something cool. That’s why we compiled a list of fun activities that are either available in English (but based in Russia) or don’t require a lot of communication.

Let’s start with a personal favorite of ours that you will love, too, if you’re into drawing at all – art school Prostaya shkola (Simple school). It offers a wide variety of online courses – including one in English, starting next week – that will help you think and subsequently make art outside the box. Its approach is far from that of academic drawing, which is a good thing if you’re looking for a way to add more personality and expression into your artwork. 

Another creative activity that with proper guidance can be enjoyed by absolutely everyone and requires more doing than talking is pottery. There are more than a few places where you can give it a try, the one we’re most familiar with, however, is Kolokol (Bell), a pottery school with branches in many cities all over Russia, including St. Pete. They offer both group and individual workshops, and the latter is preferable for those who don’t speak Russian well, since this format provides you with a teacher’s undivided attention.

If you’d like to simply go out and have fun, English Club might be the place for you – they hold weekly meetings at various restaurants of St. Petersburg, where you can meet people from all over the world and practice English in an informal way. Moreover, from time to time they organize stand-up comedy shows, quizzes, and networking events.

In case you’ve missed it, here is the list of other not too taxing leisure ideas we’ve talked about recently:

– a guide for cinema lovers – Where To Watch Movies in English (and Not Only) in St. Petersburg;

– sport-related activities – Fun & Wacky Sports to Try in St. Petersburg Part 1 and Part 2;

– discovering local art – Urban Beauty: Where to Find Street Art in St. Petersburg.

And don’t forget our regular weekend guides with even more suggestions! We hope that with our help, “there’s nothing to do if you don’t speak Russian” will become another debunked myth about local student life.