Why this answer is a plain no
Most breeds in this series earn a qualified yes; the Russian Toy earns a clearer answer because the mismatch is fundamental rather than a matter of routine. He was developed in Russia as a companion for people who were present — a drawing-room dog, carried, kept close and included. Everything about the modern breed still points that way: he bonds intensely, often to one person above all, follows them about the house and settles best in physical contact. Asking that dog to spend eight or nine hours alone, five days a week, is not a training challenge to optimise. It is the wrong shape of day for the breed.
Fragility and size set hard limits
A Russian Toy typically weighs well under three kilograms, with fine bones that injure easily and a small stomach and bladder to match. Practically, that means a full workday alone stacks several strains at once: too long between toilet opportunities for a tiny bladder, too long between the small, frequent meals many toy dogs do better on, and hours in which a fall from furniture or a knock that a bigger dog would shrug off goes unnoticed. Cold is another quiet factor — a dog this small, resting alone in a house that cools during the day, needs a genuinely warm, padded nest, not a thin mat on a hard floor.
What distress looks like in a Russian Toy
Because he is small, a Russian Toy's unhappiness is easy to underestimate. It tends to show as trembling and clinging before you leave, barking or whining once the house is empty, food left untouched until you return, and house-training that collapses on workdays while holding firm when you are home. Some dogs go the other way and become flat and withdrawn. None of these are naughtiness, and none respond to being left longer to get used to it; if anything, repeated over-long absences entrench the association between your departure and a bad day. Persistent distress at even modest durations is worth raising with a veterinarian or qualified behaviour professional.
The fair arrangements instead
The workable patterns for a Russian Toy and a working owner all put company back into the day. A sitter or family member covering the middle hours, day care suited to very small dogs where he is not overwhelmed by larger ones, or a household rota where someone's working-from-home days cover the gaps — any of these respects what the breed is. Alone time still has its place in his life, built in short, successful steps so that an hour or two apart is unremarkable, but those steps top out well short of a full workday for most Russian Toys, and owners should plan around that ceiling rather than against it.
Puppies are a firmer no still
Everything above applies double to a Russian Toy puppy, who needs frequent meals, toilet breaks every short while and near-constant supervision while he learns the world and while those fine bones are still growing. Leaving a puppy of this breed alone for a workday is not a grey area. If your working life cannot flex during the puppy months, the honest options are booked care for those months or waiting until your circumstances change before bringing a puppy home.
Making the midday cover actually work
Since company in the middle of the day is the arrangement, the person providing it needs this dog's specifics at their fingertips. KinsLe's Care Pass gives your Russian Toy's sitter time-boxed access to his feeding routine, toilet schedule and handling notes for the visit itself, without needing an account — so the neighbour or walker who comes in at midday knows how small his meals are, where he toilets and how gently he needs to be picked up.