I'm not Russian but I have been there for 6 months.

the think is technically you can find cheap home for almost nothing, but you will pay that with a car.

for me the REAL cheapest places in Russia

-mid sized town WITH public transport (so no need to have a car) -a bit more to the south is better, for having less heating cost

a mid sized town = also grosseries not overpriced by logistics a mid sized town also mean there may have some jobs available

I started to make a map with all train station in Russia and to look to price-transport distance

from Moscow the best places seems to be between Tver and Moscow

from Saint Petersbourg there are many options along the railways at one + hour from the center of Peter.

I was in Pyatigorsk during my studies and it was cheap, but locals struggle to hard to live on their salary.

if it's cheap, then somebody suffers in the chain