Ilya Varlamov

Welcome to Moscow City, Russia's dazzling 'vertical Manhattan' and the ultimate symbol of new wealth and power. From the outside, it's a paradise of luxury penthouses, elite banking floors, and a shopping mall with a tiny Bentley parked in the kids' play area. But what is it really like to live and work in these iconic towers? We pulled back the gilded curtain, and the reality is a breathtaking disaster. In our new documentary, we navigate this dysfunctional paradise: where escorts run better networks than investment bankers, where a simple taxi ride becomes an epic quest, and where the relentless anxiety of drone attacks hangs over the nightly light show. This is the high-stakes, high-stress, and often absurd world inside the glass facades. Discover why anyone chooses this life and what it truly costs to live at the peak of modern Russia! https://youtu.be/IxLXMScN4f8

2 days ago | [YT] | 61

Ilya Varlamov

Whose story in Moscow City would you want to hear most? 
Check out my new video: https://youtu.be/IxLXMScN4f8

5 days ago | [YT] | 24

Ilya Varlamov

The most expensive address in Russia is a trap

This is not a travel documentary. This is a reality check. Moscow City skyscrapers sell an image: power, wealth, the ultimate upgrade. In this video we tear down the glass facade of “Russian Manhattan” to expose what life is really like for the bankers, billionaires, and bloggers who call it home. Spoiler: it’s a world of obsession. A masterclass in dysfunctional luxury, where caviar dreams meet sirens. Hit play to see the dream that has officially cracked. https://youtu.be/IxLXMScN4f8

6 days ago | [YT] | 14

Ilya Varlamov

What does a billion-dollar "ghost town" look like?
Just outside Moscow lies Rublyovka — where Russia's elite hide in gilded isolation. We went behind the high fences to find a frozen world of shocking emptiness, bad taste, and $12 million "starter homes." Check out in my new video: https://youtu.be/pJhmCMcqd00

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1 week ago | [YT] | 32

Ilya Varlamov

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of Brussels?

Check out my new video: https://youtu.be/tnVS-DayG98

1 week ago | [YT] | 22

Ilya Varlamov

From the smell of chocolate to the stink of piss and fear – this is Brussels now

This is the Capital of Europe the EU doesn’t want you to see. Behind the postcard-perfect façades and Michelin stars restaurants lies a city tearing itself apart. The train stations are crawling with pickpockets and criminals. Parks once filled with people enjoying a drink are now open-air zombie-infested zones. Sewage tests positive for all kinds of stuff. Gangs operate in daylight and hunt strangers in the streets. Why is the home of NATO now a breeding ground for poverty and crime? We went into the no-go zones, spoke to those living the crisis, and uncovered the political paralysis fueling the chaos. Hit play and watch this raw, unfiltered indictment of a broken system.

1 week ago | [YT] | 31

Ilya Varlamov

If you start looking for information about Lesotho, you’ll come across news about water problems. This was my second visit to this small country, which on the map looks like a tiny dot. “Welcome to the Roof of Africa!” reads a sign at the border. Sounds nice, right? Whoever handles the country’s tourism branding clearly knows how to create a positive image. Roof sounds fancy! But the slogan is misleading: although the country is really high up, there’s no luxury or breathtaking views here. What you’ll find are broken roads, poverty, and a lack of services, even by African standards.

After an hour of bouncing along dirt roads, I reached a village where I was supposed to meet the chief. You can’t just start filming; you need his approval. But that’s not a problem, the people here are open, and all the approvals are more of a formality, plus a chance for the chief to assert his status.

And this is where the most interesting part begins. I see green meadows, rivers, lakes, and trees everywhere. The last thing you think about here is water problems. I start asking around. And the more I find out, the more shocked I get. People complain that their village homes don’t have running water! That means they have to walk to the river to fetch water, which is often contaminated, causing sickness and sadness. For me, it’s not something terrible. Back in rural Russia, running water is a luxury. People usually get water themselves, digging wells or collecting rainwater.

The first thing I notice is the lack of even a simple rainwater collection system on roofs. No gutters, no pipes, no barrels. I remember my childhood at the dacha, where there was no running water in country houses. If you needed water, you had to carry it from a lake, river or even collect rainwater. Water was valued. But here, people say it’s not their “job” to collect water, dig wells, or keep it clean. Someone should install running water for them, so it comes out of the tap crystal clear, like in San Francisco, or at least like in Dilijan.

I was especially struck by the village school. It was built with church money, so the European sponsors did think about water. They put a roof, gutters, and a 1,500-liter barrel. And what do you know? The gutters are crooked, and the barrel is empty. The teacher complains there’s no water for the kids.

– Why don’t you fix the gutters and start collecting water? They installed the system for you, right? – I ask.

– It doesn’t work! – the teacher says, pointing to a faucet with a broken valve. The replacement costs a dollar. Even a teenager could fix it.

– And why doesn’t anyone fix it? – my question seems absurd to her, like I was asking for a cure-all medicine or a change of government in Russia.

Next to the school are the children’s toilets. The girls’ bathroom is flooded because no one thought about draining rainwater. There are no doors; a cloth could be hung for some privacy. And again, confusion: “Who? YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING?!”

The classrooms are a complete mess. If it weren’t for the teacher, I’d think the school was abandoned. Trash in the corners, cobwebs on the walls. Wet cleaning hasn’t been done for years. When I told the teacher that in my childhood in Russia classrooms were cleaned every day, and kids did it themselves, she looked at me like I was crazy: “Yourself? How?”

More than half the children don’t attend school. Parents don’t have the money or interest, and authorities don’t care. Lesotho used to have the highest HIV rate, over 25% of the population. Things are better now: thanks to United States and foundations, it’s down to 18%.

Overall, people don’t do much here and just wait for a miracle. The best export product is photos of kids without water, education, or healthcare. But when you dig deeper, you realize locals are afraid to disrupt that image. If they start acting, European and US aid might stop. That’s how they live. International foundations change, dictators, military coups, chiefs. What stays constant is poverty and joyfulness.

The bright side: people here are kind, open, and calm. And stylish. Locals wear amazing outfits; they could confidently model on the runways of Paris or New York.

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 43

Ilya Varlamov

What's the ultimate symbol of Russian "new money" luxury? 

The full documentary: https://youtu.be/pJhmCMcqd00

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 13

Ilya Varlamov

Sanctions? Never heard of 'em! 

We visited the place Russia's elite calls home and the reality is more surreal than any rumor. Walking through a luxury mall frozen in time and seeing a $12 million "starter home" where a private spa is considered a basic necessity, we felt the eerie silence of a billionaire's ghost town. This is what happens when you try to build a world with only money and no soul – a stunning landscape of isolation, bad taste, and shocking emptiness. Dive into the hidden world of the oligarch bubble.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 19

Ilya Varlamov

What is the biggest scandal in Russia's funeral industry?

Check out my new video: https://youtu.be/3S5on83MSsA

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 21