Did you know this about Russia? 

Thank you a lot for watching! Here’s a link to Lingopie with 7 day free trial + 55% discount on the annual plan, if you would like to try it out📌learn.lingopie.com/Elina

In America, if I go to the local Russian market and don't smile, the clerk speaks to me in Russian (^-^)

Eli, I am a 70-year-old American woman married to a Russian man. I have visited his home town (Valiki Luki) in Russia twice. and St. Petersburg twice. What is fascinating about Russia to me is the vast difference between the metropolitan areas and the smaller towns and villages. There are also big differences between the regions too. I have been aware of that, but your video made it even clearer to me. I also really enjoyed your description of :coconut" and "peach" cultures and personalities. It is such a wonderful way of describing these basic differences without any judgment! The world is such a huge place and exploring different cultures can be very disorienting! I had huge culture shock the first time I visited Russia. It can be scary if you're not used to it. These are really hard times! right now Thank you for your warmth and your openness! You have kept your perspective despite all of this -- you must be a very strong person! You should know that it is deeply appreciated by this old broad!

This is the first video of yours that I've watched. Thank you for all the ethnic and language information! Another Russian Vlogger from the east says that when a stranger smiles at her, she wonders what they want from her. She also says it is called a "working smile" or "duty smile." I admire the Russian people greatly, and hope for peace soon. Harvey in Texas - Poka Poka!

I was surprised to learn that you have two different words for russians. That we have in Swedish in Finland too. In English they call all of us Finns. There ate Finnish speaking Finns and Swedish speaking Finns (about 5,5%). In Sweedish we use ”finnar” for the large Finnish speaking group, and ”finländare” for everybody (aöso including the small population om Sami in the north”. We call ourself ”finlandssvenskar” (Finlandswedes).

Eli, probably one of your best videos. I'm Australian, with Anglo-Irish, Welsh, Jewish, Romani and Aboriginal ancestry. My daughters are mostly Russian/Siberian Tatar. My youngest granddaughter has a BFF who is Nigerian/Tatar. Almost no-one in Russia cares! Westerners don't understand the tolerance of Russians, to those who are Россияне. Men in town accept me as a Мояк, and have no problems with me wearing the appropriate телняшка. In over 25 years, I have found Russia to be an amazingly tolerant society.

Hello Eli, I am living in far away Africa and learning about other places in the world is always a great joys in life. And you do it particularly well for teaching about Russia.

I'm Russian, live in Russia and I never even tried vodka:) Eli, thanks a lot for your channel. I hope people from different countries understand our culture better.

I lived in southern Russia several years and Moscow for six months. Amazing country with so much to absorb. I do hope to return someday. People, music, food, history, architecture and so much more. 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺

I loved the analogy about peaches and coconuts! I had never heard that :) I am from Australia but have spent time in Russia. I definitely noticed in St Petersburg people weren't so smiley on the street, however the people I met and stayed with were the kindest people ever! Australians are definitely more peach like ;). My russian friends said I stood out like a tourist because I was always smiling 😅😄

Great show, I never learn so much about Russia, when the situation changed Russia will be my first destination to go to.

Eli love your vlog. I knew that Russia was a highly diverse nation I did not know there were over 190 distinct cultures. I could spend the remainder of my life exploring your country and I still would of not seen them all. Freckles and redheads go hand and hand. I am originally born in Scotland my young sister and brother and both are redheads. Your are a beautiful Tartar.

Díky za perfektně připravé info, mnoho pozdravů z Prahy

My wife is from Kyrgyzstan where they speak both Russian and Krygyz... I love Russia and Russian people, I think that once you befriend a Russian, it is a life long friendship (very coconut indeed). I look forward to the day my wife and I can visit her and my frinds in Russia again, what a wonderful day that will be!

For Americans: To understand the ethnic situation in Russia, I think it might bear comparison to the USA if you imagined that Native Americans were a much larger part of our population, and that their languages and cultures had not been decimated. Imagine Arizona having a population that was 50% Navajo, and that you could hear Navajo being spoken every day on the streets of every town in Arizona. Then imagine every other state having some other one particular tribe as the most significant minority in that state, with the same linguistic and cultural situation.

I am a Scot, with a Russian girlfriend. I am suddenly very interested in Russia. Your vlog has explained so much in a very good way. Thankyou.

Hi Eli, I'm going to show this clip to my english-learning students, here in italy. You speak slowly enough, and what you say is very interesting. I'm getting to love Russia. Grazie. Ciao.

I'm Russian ancestry, born and raised in Australia. I've been here my whole life, but I'm definitely a coconut! I swear it's in our blood, we more than just the influence of culture.

Cheers for this Eli, keep on educating others, we appreciate the time and effort you put into this. Your extra freckles just add more beauty to you I think

I am smiling and chuckling/laughing as I watch this video. I was born and raised in America, but had the privilege to travel from early age because of my grandparents; this is what prompted me to learn about other cultures, including Russia. I read and write Russian better than I speak it (maybe I should practice, Да? ). By the way, do not worry about the freckles. I had auburn/red hair in my youth/until the age of 17, at which time my hair began to darken. Wish that I had my auburn hair and freckles again! Am 53 now and wondering where the time went.

Excellent video...THANK YOU!! We can never learn too much about one another...the future belongs to those of us that can link arms and march together...as friends!!

Thank you for being such a brilliant ambassador for the Russian people and culture. Especially in these times!

0:48 you are absolutely right and the way you've presented this it is so funny 😂 "We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.” ― Edward Bernays

Excellent video. Very informative. As a 59 yr old American man, I have a certain view of Russia and it’s people based on what I learned in our media in my youth. But, you are really teaching me how awesome your country is and how diverse your people are. II love it.

Благодарю, что вы записываете такие видео 🙏

I hardly blinked while I was watching. I liked the part with peaches and coconuts, I feel like I can understand Russians a bit better (and other people, too!)

I could watch this all day. So nice to get a sum up of your amazing country.

the peeches and coconuts was an excellent way to clue in on people. Great video!

Thank you, a beautiful way to represent your great people!

This was so interesting, thank you Eli. The part about how diverse the climate is across Russia reminded me of what I hear about Australia's climate/environment. I live in Tasmania which is very different from what I imagine most people think of when they think of Australia.

Hi Eli, I have followed you on RU-vid for a long time and it is absolutely fantastic what you tell about your beautiful country, people and cultures Good luck God Bless

Fabulous content Eli. Thanks to you and the internet for enlightening we of the anglosphere and Australia in particular. After a long lifetime of being told by the "man behind the curtain" that all things Russian were sinister, threatening, brutish, uncultured and unworthy, learning later the reality that the opposite is true, was an ever growing joy of admiration, appreciation and solidarity, mixed with some sadness at the energy and opportunity so long wasted.

I took train from Beijing to Moscow in 1995. Highlight of my life-amazing people, stunning countryside and very rich in culture. People were fascinated about “ancient” Australia. Fab video!

I got to know a lot about Russia since i started watching your videos. Russia seems to be the as diverse as India . I am planning on visiting eastern Russia soon. Your video about Vladivostok and Kamchatka was really inviting. ❤ From India

When Soviet Union collapsed, my parents found themselves being in a country called Latvia, they decided to stay there. Originally they come from Mari El Republic in Russia, I still do have some relatives in Russia and would love to come and visit one day! Absolutely love your content Eli ! Thanks for showing it's true beauty to the rest of the world ! 💎🌍❤

The more I learn from your channel, the more I want to know of Russia. Thankyou for the service, you are an inspiration. I love that you are proud of your homeland and true global ambassador for all the countries you present. 190 odd cultural destinations, 200 odd languages was way more than I had assumed maybe 20! And the temperature range for Yakutia is amazing. I am Kiwi living in Aus' ....you haven't finished down under yet Eli! You could become the South Pacific diplomat for Russia.

I spent 2 weeks in Irkutsk, and loved it! Not only the Nature is totally different in the perspective of a Brazilian, but also the locals were very friendly and good humored. I was well received wherever I went or to ask questions about places... Moreover, the girls are especially interested in Brazil´s Nature and population, and know quite well about other countries. I was impressed by how they preserve their culture in Irkutsk. Oh! and a plus, people there speak a fair English, so I have never had a problem with communication. Beautiful country of yours!

The differences of cultures makes them all so interesting. I love them all

Привет из Уфы! Татарская и башкирская еда для меня такая-же родная как и русская❤ Рада, что живу в регионе с национальным колоритом😊

Excellent video. I had no idea how diverse the different cultures blended and interacted with each other in Russia. It might be a little like Queens, NY where there are 186 different languages spoken here and these cultures are thriving. So, wondering if it’s like Queens (NYC) spread out over 11 time zones! Wow. Mind-blowing!

Эли, спасибо большое за видео. Моя семья живее рядом с Татарстаном и мы часто ездим в Казань. Я обожаю татарскую кухню! Элеши, кыствбаи, чак-чак и многое другое! Всегда получаю огромное удовольствие. Еще нравится какая Казань красивая. Центр, озеро Кабан, набережная, парк Урам, национальная библиотека, дом земледельцев, а какие жилые районы красивые строят, просто заглядение! Приезжай домой почаще 😊

I been in Russia, never feel treated, I'm more scared walking by myself when I go to Washington DC, big hug 🤗 Eli ❤

What an amazing country! Thank you for taking the time to share what Russia is really like. With love from Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦

Thank you! Enjoyed this description of Russia going into more detail about the cultures and the people there explaining the stereotypes that people outside Russia use. Thank you again and loved this video.

Very interesting! I suppose one doesnt see the deeper picture always. I stayed in russia for a while and thoroughly adored it. People are very smart, polite, the culture is terrific and they were very patient with my learning the language. I actually find it very similiar to small town UK and really rather miss my time over there. Never have been that into America or asia though..the cultures very different and further west, rather strange and uncomfortable. Very rewarding experience and interesting video

Such a lovely vlog. I have seen many of your Russian vlogs. It's wonderful to see all the regions shown together in one. Thank you so much.

Você está de parabéns por mostrar o quanto a Rússia é um país maravilhoso 👏👏👏👏👍

Hello Eli! I'm an American. Grandparents from Finland and Italy. Anyway, I've been to Russia 3 separate occasions. One in St. Petersburg, one in Moscow and one in Sochi. Moscow had a great time there. The girls was wonderful with me.

Thank you for this excellent video Eli! I love russian culture! I met Russians from Ossetia, Balkaria, Buryatia, Yakutya, Perm, and Western Russia. I went once in Russia. I speak a little bit russian. This country is so diverse geographically, culturally, ethnically speaking. So amazing! And those people are so friendly! Thank you so much for sharing all this wonderful content 😘

Exposure to different cultures makes people smarter and more tolerant. Thank you for posting this..

I have been watching your videos for about one year in fact your follow Alice video inspired me to go and Is climb mount Kilimanjaro. You were right about the porters. Great people. At 64, it was pretty hard, but so uplifting. When I see you out interacting with different Russian ethnic community they all seem like great people. But here in the United States the television portrays Russia as a very different place.

Collaborate and respect.... if only the whole world lived that way. Well done....

i love all slavic cultures and nationalities, regards from slovenia, moji prijatelji :)

Thank you Eli for representing our huge and beautiful country to the world!

OMG as a Russian(mixed with Chechen and Circassian and other stuff lol),I want to share this video to every person I know🤣🤣,you elaborated on the pivotal and vital points so well!!

Your freckles are GORGEOUS Eli!!! Wish I could visit Russia! I've always LOVED immersing myself in food and culture when I travel, Australia is still so young, we miss a lot of that even with a multi cultural population. You take care, know that Australia doesn't hate Russia 😁👍🏻🦘

Love your videos. You are awesome! I really enjoy your great cultural observations. You are a natural Cultural Anthropologist. Keep up the wonderful work. Sad that we can not visit in Russia for now.. Some day all will be possible again.

I think a lot of American stereotypes of Russia come from our government wanting Russia portrayed as a political monolith, and the "Cold War" era movies reflected that. Winter settings, dour people in bulky clothes, vodka, all used to make you feel bad for them, good about yourself. Tartar women are gorgeous, Eli , you are a great presenter. Please continue to explore the cultures.

I've been watching your videos for quite some time and I really enjoy them. You're doing a great job and I wish you good luck with your journey. If you ever get the opportunity, a flight to space or the ISS would make for a great video :) I think the public would like to see a vlog in 0G. If you ever wish to visit Romania, I am offering hosting and guidance free of charge ✌

Thank you for this educational video, one in which you’ve taught me a LOT. I’ve been watching many videos about Russia lately, and they’ve taught me that we Americans are ignorant-if not brainwashed-about Russia. I am eager to learn more.

I think you've hit upon exactly why I find the Russia so interesting there are so many different ethnicities and languages and without you I never would have understood any of this , or even known for that matter thank you for being a great teacher.Miss Eli 🪆

Watching RU-vid videos in Russian , especially during the current situation is an ideal way to immerse yourself in the language. I visited Ufa a few years ago to visit my non ethnic Russian friends. I wish I stayed longer.

This is great Elina. I'm from the Philippines, like your country we got 127 ethnic group with 125 languages. We look different in skin colours, hair color, facial appearance, clothing, etc

Peaches and Coconuts. :) The letter o with two dots above it is also in the Hungarian language and pronounced the same. Languages are fascinating aren't they. The words Sarga and Lila mean Yellow and Purple in Hungarian, and the same words mean Yellow and Purple in Mongolian too! An historical indication/remnant of past tribes/nomadic peoples' wanderings. Thank you for your videos, your content, editing and presentation are all 10/10. :)

Eli would be interesting if you took us to the far north-east of Siberia (the part closest to Alaska), Sakhalin and the Chinese border. I think these places are particularly mysterious for westerners.

Eli, you are a wonderful ambassador of Russia. I have seen many of your vlogs and learned something new each time. What your vlogs add to my knowledge is a personal perspective, one that takes you into the Russian household, of which of course there are many different types. My impressions of your homeland were first informed by reading Russian literature - from Gogol to Dostoevsky to Pushkin and countless others, but also contemporary authors like Brodsky and Ulitskaya. And of course music and art. My favorite painters are Kandinsky and Malevich. Besides the arts, Russia has excelled at a wide range of things, from engineering to sports. However critical I am of the Russian government, I don't view Russia from a narrow lens. Russia is much more than what transpires within the walls of the Kremlin. Russia is a vast and beautiful country. Its diversity in climate and cultures is remarkable. I hope to visit at some point.

I'm Tatar as well living in Turkey :) My grandparents parents came here during WWI because of the Russian pressure in Kazan.

Love your presentations Eli, greetings from North Queensland.

Merci , vous faites des vidéos très intéressantes et je trouve que c'est un travail d'une grande utilité . Bonne continuation Eli :)

Eli, I just came across this video and thoroughly enjoyed it! I have subscribed to your channel! I am from Canada and we have some of the same stereotypes as you described, such as being cold. We have had U.S. citizens come into Canada with their skis in the middle of summer at 30+ C!

You make me smile and warm the soul. I thoroughly enjoyed your analogy of the Peach and Coconut. I didn’t know this analogy worked so well. Nor did I have any idea there were so many ethnic groups in Russia! Amazing! Keep up the great work! Stay safe!

Another great video! Thanks Eli!

Good information about Russian culture . May God bless you forever Eli.❤

Wow! Such a beautiful video Eli. I hope that this bad situation ends soon! I would love to visit Russia one day! Nice people are everywhere. Thank you very much

Thanks, Eli. Embracing human diversity can unlock insight & compassion. The world needs more of this.😊

wow very interesting video and good to know that there is so many different languages and customs in every region of the country......thank you for explaining it in a simple way .

So well said. I’ve never made it to Russia but have spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe and I love people from Slavic cultures. My family is of Slavic origin so maybe there’s a deep recognition. Ultimately, people are people. Along the way, there are so many cultural varieties to explore and enjoy. So many ways to connect across our differences and to recognize deeper similarities.

Thank you Eli for this interesting video. I watched some many videos from you so I know russia is so different and so big with culture

Я венгр и считаю русских девушек очень красивыми. Я люблю Россию, и в большинстве случаев русские люди порядочные. ПЕРЕДАЮ ИСКРЕННИЙ ГЛУБОКИЙ УВАЖЕНИЕ из Венгрии в Россию🇭🇺🤝🇷🇺 ❤️🤍💚 Love 🤍💙❤️

Eli thanks, for a most informative program on Russia. What most astonished me in this program, was the 160 languages, you have.

Good morning Eli. I send you, all my special thanks for your great video. This has allowed a number of people who subscribe to your channel or others who discovered this video, to perhaps, change their point of view. Or, their vision of Russia. I like very much this marvelous country which is Russia, with its immense distant lands. Bringing together different cultures by its diverse population Filled with wealth. 🙏👍👍👍🙂

So fascinating. I love love your channel. You are truly wonderful Eli. Thank you for sharing everything about Russia - I have learned so much from you!

Greetings from Scotland! I think that if you travel extensively, you begin to realise that people tend to stereotype almost all countries. I completely understand what you are saying about Russia and Russians. Your huge country has an enormous diversity of different cultures and when people speak to me about "Russians" I try very hard to explain that to them just how big and how diverse it is there. I think I fail, but at least I try! 😊 People have the same stereotypical view about Scotland. No, we don't all wear kilts, no we don't all have red hair and we don't all love Whisky (it is NOT spelled WhiskEy here!) and we don't all eat Haggis! etc. etc..... 😂😂 I have to say that you have beautiful red hair, just like a Celtic girl, incidentally. My youngest Granddaughter looks a lot like you and her name is Eilidh (Gaelic, and pronounced as Aily). Finally, I agree, Russians are like Coconuts! Once you get past the hard exterior they are just like the rest of the world! Thank you for your time once again Eli! -------- Привет из Шотландии! Я думаю, что если вы много путешествуете, то начинаете понимать, что люди склонны создавать стереотипы почти обо всех странах. Я полностью понимаю, что вы говорите о России и русских. Ваша огромная страна отличается огромным разнообразием различных культур, и когда люди говорят мне о "русских", я очень стараюсь объяснить им, что это просто огромная страна и насколько она там разнообразна. Я думаю, что потерпел неудачу, но, по крайней мере, я пытаюсь! 😊 У людей одинаковое стереотипное представление о Шотландии. Нет, мы не все носим килты, нет, у нас не у всех рыжие волосы, и мы не все любим Whisky (Нет "WhiskEy"!), и мы не все едим Хаггис! и так далее, и тому подобное..... 😂😂 Я должен сказать, что у тебя красивые рыжие волосы, кстати, совсем как у кельтской девушки. Моя младшая внучка очень похожа на тебя, и ее зовут Eilidh (по-гэльски произносится как "Аily"). Наконец, я согласен, русские похожи на кокосовые орехи! Как только вы преодолеете жесткий внешний вид, они станут такими же, как и весь остальной мир! Еще раз спасибо за ваше время, Эли!

🌷❤️🌷I really appreciate your documentaries. There is so much I didn’t know about Russia. I have always been interested and curious about Russia. I didn’t know how very many regions there were. I’ve watched videos about Ukutsia. I can’t imagine how they live with such a cold climate. I love your videos and am happy to learn about your beautiful country. I find seeing and learning about these different ethnic communities very interesting and would like to try their food and meet them and see how they live. Thank you. You are a wonderful and excellent ambassador of Russia. You are very talented and courageous traveling all over and trying new experiences. ❤❤❤❤❤

Very interesting for me to learn that you are a Tartar Russian. They were a very suppressed people - especially in Stalin times. And still to some degree today - especially in Crimea which I understand became the traditional homeland in Czarist times. Most Tatars were deported from there and many refer to it as genocide. In more recent times many Tartars returned to Crimea when part of Ukraine - only to again face discrimination under Russians once Crimea was annexed. Do you have any comments on this. BTW, I think that you are a lovely girl. I have been to Russian many times - and lots of different cities and towns well away from Moscow and St Petersburg. But mainly in Moscow. I was in Russia for about three months in 2009.

Eli, as a German professor and scientist soon to retire, who lived trough the whole cold war, serving as a soldier to my country, in a nuclear warhead division, I must tell you that you, to my mind are a wonderful (and very beautiful) cultural ambassador for Russia. I don't think at all that you are in any way making any kind of propaganda. I love your clips about Russia and I hope that one day, while I still live, everything will be good between Europe and Russia. I want to thank you and encourage you to continue. Love and happiness for you. Thx.

Hi from Russia 😊❤

I really liked all of your insights - I live in Florida USA and we have a lot of Russians here I have a good friend here and he is from Belarus. I have always been intrigued by the Russian culture and its diversity. I once worked for a man who looked totally oriental yet he was from Moscow and totally Russian. i used to go into his office and he would be watching Russian TV programs on his computer. I believe that Russian Culture and USA culture have a lot more in common in the basis of what we consider important and true and what we all believe in. --- Cheers

"Шапка ушанка" is the same in Bulgarian :). If you are interested check the history of "Volga Bulgaria" one of the old Bulgarian kingdoms located on the Volga river which is modern day Tatarstan. It seems modern day Tatarstan and Chuvashia are direct descendants from this old kingdom ( along with many other local tribes and other ones that crossed these lands). I would definitely visit one day Bolghar and other old ruins/cities in this province.

I always enjoy your comparisons to other cultures and the silly stereotypes you discuss. "Still not vodka" amused me to no end lol... I am thankful for all you share and for all my friend in St. Petersburg shares with me, as well. I will aaaalways be learning new things, of course, but I am thankful that I can see far more than the stereotypical side that is often all anybody here in the US sees. Enjoy your explorations is Australia! :)

As a first-time viewer, I enjoyed this episode thoroughly, every minute, every word. Looking forward to future episodes and I will certainly dwell through the archives and catchup. Thank you, Eli!

The more I watch videos you and Svetlana produce, the more I see what Russia is. A pot full of different cultures living in one large country as one, practising different religions, using their native language under one flag.

Моя хорошая девочка Эли, смотрю тебя из Перми, и немножко учу английский , так тепло смотреть тебя, с любовью и поддержкой ❤😊

This was very interesting. I’m from the USA 🇺🇸 & enjoy learning about Russia 🇷🇺. Your content is very informative. Thank you for sharing.

Such a great video . . . you certainly bring sunshine to my computer . . . love your work, keep spreading happiness. Cheers from Nova Scotia.

Another really warm and beautiful video Eli. Thank you so much.

Thanks for the informative, scenic video Eli, I always enjoy your work. Love to you and all human beings 💕 I'm missing my Russian friends at the moment, the video brings memories closer. Appreciation of each other's cultures is truly wonderful.

I was in Russia in the 90's. I miss everything I experienced there. The food was great the people were civilized and intelligent. I seemed to fit right in although dogs would bark at me. When I returned to America, that is when I had the culture shock.

Excellent! I learned a lot from you. Hope the conflict finishes soon.

Perhaps the best and most genuine product placement I’ve ever seen. I actually want to use it. Please do another!