A Library Dome in St. Petersburg Becomes Yandex’s Hybrid Coworking and AI Lab

In St. Petersburg, Yandex has opened a free summer coworking space under the dome of the V. V. Mayakovsky Library, combining workstations, lectures, and experiments with artificial intelligence into a single cultural and technological hub.

Work + Learning + Culture

The hybrid space offers 65 workstations, soundproof booths for calls, and curated book selections—including programming and engineering literature. A coffee point supports informal communication, while August programming includes public talks, workshops, and educational sessions.

“We are opening a coworking space in St. Petersburg under the Mayakovsky rotunda— a place that preserves and supports culture. Much like Yandex itself, which is developing its own unique culture—an engineering one,” the company noted.

Designers drew inspiration from Yandex’s internal engineering culture, incorporating common phrases, quotes, and fragments of code into the interior. Access is free with online registration.

From AI Workshops to Tech-Theater

The project goes beyond coworking, positioning itself as a hub for creative exploration with AI. The educational program includes public discussions such as “Culture of Creation in the Age of AI,” a science-theater performance based on Anton Chekhov’s works with robots as actors, and a hands-on workshop on building a multimodal chatbot.

We continue to experiment with unexpected coworking locations to introduce more people to our approach to work and invention. St. Petersburg is deeply associated with culture, while Yandex is associated with technology. This space explores the connection between the two—because today, one cannot exist without the other

Daria Zolotukhina

HR Director at Yandex

The chatbot workshop, led by Yandex text recognition lead Anton Klochkov and creative director Daniil Trabun, requires no prior preparation. Attendees will learn about AI trends, generate code templates in YandexGPT, create illustrations and stickers in Shadewroom, and integrate them into a Telegram bot. The promise: “useful, beautiful, and never boring.”

Tech debates are also on the agenda, tackling corporate trust in autonomous AI agents, with experts and the public participating as judges.

A New “Work Culture” Trend

Hybrid public spaces are increasingly popular, blending education with entertainment. But they rarely combine them with professional work. Traditional libraries offered lectures or master classes, but not coworking opportunities. Yandex’s project is the first to merge workspace, education, and events under one roof.

This reflects a wider trend in Russia, where educational events—lectures, workshops, quests—are becoming as common a leisure activity as going to the movies. Yandex takes the concept further, synthesizing learning, technology, and social interaction.

The model could expand to other cities and institutions, with thematic coworking spaces and cultural venues serving as recruitment and networking hubs.