Our guides

Hi! My name is Dmitry and I’m happy to see you in my city.

St. Petersburg has so much to offer to those who are looking for stunning architecture, world-known pieces of art and the most important historical places of Russia. The idea is to make them talk to you and open their secrets. I’ll share the most peculiar stories and the most controversial facts about our country. My job is to breathe life into the palaces, parks, statues and canvases that you are going to see. No rush, no bustle, I want you to relax, enjoy your stay and feel special connection with this beautiful city. I'll take care of the rest. I’m not just a guy who knows about history and art, I’m your new Russian friend.

DMITRY PRYNKOV

Soy Sofía, nací en San Petersburgo y vivo aquí durante toda mi vida y casi durante toda mi vida llevo estudiando español. Puedo decir que estas dos cosas - San Petersburgo y el español - son dos aficiones de mi vida. Tengo suerte de poder combinar las dos trabajando como guía por San Petersburgo. Me encanta conocer algo nuevo sobre mi ciudad, sobre su historia, arquitectura y costumbres y después compartir todos esos conocimientos y sobretodo mi amor con Ustedes, con los que llegan a San Petersburgo. Y a cada de Usted trato de contar y mostrarle lo más interesante y lo más impresionante de mi ciudad para que Usted se enamore de San Petersburgo de una vez y para siempre.

¡Nos vemos en San Petersburgo! SOFÍA

Hello, dear guests! My name is Mikhail. I was born in SaintPetersburg in 1991, right after the original city’s name had been restored. My ancestors settled here in the late 19th century, so I was brought up with the love to the city I live in. I graduated fr om Saint Petersburg State University, faculty of Oriental Studies. Now I’m working on my PhDin the field of Iranian languages. I work in different places, and one of them is the State Hermitage Museum with the second largest art collection in the world, where I study ancient Middle-Eastern art and make exhibitions of artifacts. Since 2012 I’m spending my summertime vacations with tourists from all around the world and I can honestly say that this is not just another job for me, but my real passion! Showing the most exciting sights to travelers, telling stories about the city, I always find myself discovering SaintPetersburg from a different perspective, falling in love with it again and again. GRACHEV MICHAEL

I've been working as a guide for 17 years and still enjoy it. People from other counties of the world come to St. Petersburg and it's such a great feeling when I can help them to get to know this wonderful city. It's so touching when guests, after spending several days in St. Petersburg, say they want to come back again and would recommend their friends and relatives to come to Russia.
I've been living in St. Petersburg since my childhood, and worked for some time as a bibliographer at the National library, which I enjoyed. But then I decided to try something else. As a student I used to work as a guide on holidays, so I decided to come back to guiding on a more serious level. I took a course to improve my English and a special course for guides, and since then I work every season. For the rest of the year I teach English and enjoy my hobbies: reading, attending concerts of classical music and playing the piano. HELEN SOLOVYOVA

My name is Ksenia, which means “welcoming”. I’ve been doing my beloved job for almost 10 years. It was my dream as a child to become a tour-guide and, since all my dreams come to life, I am a tour-guide.
I was very lucky with my teacher, one of the best guides in Saint Petersburg, who used to say: “Your number one goal is to make your tourists happy”. I try my best to succeed in it. I put a lot of humor in my excursions, making them interactive and vivid. Dialog is greater than a monologue, and I learn a lot at my work.
When my clients ask me how I manage to know SO much about Saint Petersburg, my native city, my answer is: “It’s not a problem to study something that you love with all your heart and mind”.
I’m also very lucky with my boss Tatiana, it’s a pleasure to work with a person you like and know very well.
My original education is teaching kids, so this is my second favorite activity. I put my pedagogical ideas into practice with my little one. My hobby is travelling, I’ve been to many countries and have many more to visit. KSENIA SIMUTENKO

My name is Nadia. I have been living in St. Petersburg all my life, it’s my native city. It is the city of my parents and grandparents. Therefore St. Petersburg is more than just my home — it is my culture, my lifestyle, my character that has formed through generations. I have always felt a spiritual connection with my city and I never stop admiring its unique beauty: the magnificent and romantic rivers and canals, endless bridges, long and wide avenues decorated with elegant European-style buildings, its treasures under the sky where every single stone and every house can tell its own story, where every palace still remembers its noble owners and the time of ceremonial receptions and luxurious balls.

Guiding for me is not just a job, it’s my hobby and my pleasure to show the city where I live and share my knowledge of history and art. I became a guide many years ago, and I never regretted my choice!

NADIA SMOTKINA

Hello dear travelers! I love travelling myself, because it’s a great opportunity to learn about people and the world. When I came to St. Petersburg for studying, I fell in love with this magnificent city – full of history, elegant architecture and intellectual, literate and open-minded people. I received higher education in geography and traveled a lot around Russia, exploring the country, from hi-tech or ancient cities to the real wild. Then I realized I would like to show all of this cultural and natural beauty of Russia to people around the world so they can broaden their point of view on Russia.

I prefer to be informal in my excursions, having conversation with our guests rather than talking like an audio guide. During our excursions we cover not only interesting and funny facts about the highlights of the city, but also discuss everything that happens to us in Russia: everyday life, habits of Russians, customs, politics, etc. See you on the magnificent streets of St. Petersburg!

ALEXANDER GORODINSKY

Hello! My name is Nina Pokrovskaya. I love this job so much that it seems I was born to be a guide. I moved to Saint Petersburg from Murmansk in 2005, and fell in love with this city forever! People find me very communicative, passionate and active (one of my tourists compared me once to a firework), so I’ll be happy to share my love for this wonderful city with you!

Believe it or not but one of my hobbies is answering questions! I like when people are interested in Russian history, our past and present, cuisine, everyday life, whatever! The best gratitude for me is to see that our guests from different countries enjoy the city and my excursions, and they would like to come to Saint Petersburg again. Quite often they really do!

NINA POKROVSKAYA

My name is Svetlana. I was born in Leningrad and live in St. Petersburg now, but I’ve never moved. Our city changed its name several times, reflecting the most significant turning points of the country’s history.

St. Petersburg is not only my native city but also my hobby and my inspiration. I believe that I have found my vocation, which is the greatest achievement of my life so far. I enjoy sharing the love for my city with people from all over the world, showing the splendor of the Northern capital, and just having fun discussing everyday life. I can say without any hesitation that I am a happy person. I work with enthusiasm and pleasure because I really enjoy guiding. I can’t imagine any other profession which could make me as enthusiastic and satisfied as this one.

SVETLANA SHOSTATSKAYA