Eli from Russia

Last year I organized my first trip where I took tourists to a remote place in Russia - Man Pupu Ner rocks in the North.

Many people asked me when will be the next trip to join me on my adventures.

And finally I can announce it!

This August I’m going to Sakhalin and Kuril islands in the Far East.
Good news: you don’t need to pay for any tour as this will not be a tour, I’m just going there by myself to film a video.

But I need a company to share costs. That part of Russia is very wild and getting to locations is quite expensive for just one person, so it’s much better to share costs for drivers and guides for some places.

Locations: the most beautiful spots on Sakhalin, Kunashir and Iturup islands (to be planned later)
Approximate dates: 15-29 August (to be planned later)
Starting city: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

I’m planning to do lots of hiking, so level of fitness is required. Also, don’t expect anything luxury for accommodation or the trip, only raw adventures. (I can advertise really well 😁)

If you would like to join, message me at elina.prnew@gmail.com

1. Name, country
2. Why you would like to join
3. What hiking and camping experience do you have
4. Link to Instagram / other social media

I’m sure we can gather a great company of adventurers 🔥

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6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 3,132

Eli from Russia

Hey everyone!

I know that many of you would love to travel to Russia one day, so I decided to create a series of guides through different regions of Russia. While visiting Moscow and Saint-Petersburgh is amazing, in order to see the real country you need to get outside of big cities and explore more regions in different parts of the country.

I'm on my way to visit all the regions of the country, and so far I've visited 59 of them! In every guide you will find the following information:

✔️general information and interesting facts about the region

✔️recommendations for places to visit in the capital city or major cities

✔️my travel stories from the region and insights

✔️recommendations for places to travel to in the region

✔️local cuisine: dishes to try and a list of restaurants or cafes to visit

The first guide that I created is about Perm region, because this is my homeland :) it’s already available on my Patreon page 🤍 www.patreon.com/elifromrussia

Hope you will enjoy it, and I would love to hear for your feedback: how did you like the guide and what other information you would like me to add in the next guides!

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1 week ago | [YT] | 6,853

Eli from Russia

Bloggers go to Yakutia to film how the locals ‘survive’ there, and then proudly declare on camera that they too are still alive after a few days.

My video is about something else. Yakutia is not about survival, but about life. About completely different standards of what is warm and cold. About local lifestyle, about how to be healthy and strengthen your immune system in such an extreme climate, about Yakut sports and their rich culture.

Yakutia is a place where your boundaries of what is ‘normal’ and ‘comfortable’ expand, and you begin to look at life in a completely different way.

The video is already on the channel https://youtu.be/IN2QLYHaUCk?si=0O76T...

P.s. I would be happy if you tag me @elibakunova on Instagram while you watch it. I will repost your story ♥️ and it would really help me to promote this video as it’s special for me!

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 4,626

Eli from Russia

Notes from my nomadic life ✍️

Many people associate traveling with looking for yourself. For me, however, it's not about finding yourself, but about losing yourself. I've never felt happier than in those moments when you don't care at all about who you are, what you look like, what your past is like... but there is only complete immersion in the process. For example, when you climb a mountain. Or dance. Or write. Or listen to the birds. When you completely lose yourself in movement, music, creativity, or simply contemplating nature.

Sometimes when I shoot my documentaries, for me there are only my characters, the shot, action that is happening around. The one holding the camera... just dissolves in this, but then the Film appears.

Many are so worried that they will not be able to find their true selves and are in an eternal race, trying to build something more out of themselves. But what if happiness is not in looking for yourself, but in losing yourself? Being lost is a great privilege. Only those who are on a leash can not be lost. Don't be afraid of being lost, I'm with you 🫶🏻

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 5,811

Eli from Russia

- I’ve been to 50 regions of Russia!
- Have you been to Altai?
- No.

This was a common conversation that I used to have in Russia. That’s because any person who starts exploring Russia usually goes to Altai region.

I guess I was putting it off because I don’t like ‘touristic’ places. But then I realised that very few people go there in winter and I decided to do it (and brought along my Aussie mate as well). We drove 1800km through Altai krai at the time when there were no other tourists. The video about our Siberian adventures is on my channel! https://youtu.be/uNyQkST5iHo?si=DhZp6...

P.s. who will also miss Bec 🦘?

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1 month ago | [YT] | 3,061

Eli from Russia

Привет! Hi everyone!
I know that most of my audience loves traveling and is interested in learning foreign languages. If you ever plan a trip to visit Russia, it’s important to know at least some basics in the Russian language. I’m happy to offer you the course of my Russian Speaking club team :)

This is a course for those who wants to learn Russian from zero, to learn how to read Russian alphabet, and basic and most important phrases. You can start the course on a convenient platform at any day and learn at your pace. In your personal account you will get 30 structured lessons that include 30 recorded video lessons by me and Russian language teacher, text, video and audio materials to study grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, homework for practice and keys. By completing all the lessons you will get from zero level to level A1, and you will be able to hold a basic conversation in the Russian language.
🤍elinabakunova.com/russianclub - you can join the course here, and one day I hope to have a conversation with you in Russian :)

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1 month ago | [YT] | 4,104

Eli from Russia

- Bec, we are going to Tyumen.
- Two men?!
- Yeap
- What's there?
- I don't know, we'll see!

After staying with reindeer herders in Yamal with my friend from Australia Rebecca, we decided to go to Tyumen next. We knew nothing about the region and didn't expect anything, but we were ready to say 'yes' to everything that this place would offer us. On the day of arrival, we went to plunge into an ice hole for Epiphany, and then immediately warmed up in the hot heart of the city - in thermal springs. And then we did find two men - two bathhouse attendants who completely turned our idea of ​​banya (a bathhouse) upside down.

In Tyumen, we got a deep rest for the body and soul before further expeditions. Therefore, this city will remain in my memories as a place for a complete recharge in Siberian style.

Video from Tyumen 👉🏻 https://youtu.be/nxEK8Q52dxo?si=eLEUO...

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1 month ago | [YT] | 2,929

Eli from Russia

The whole year of 2025 I was on an expedition in the North and Siberia to film a documentary ‘To Live in the North!’ My fingers froze completely, but I hope it was worth it.

I’m working on the production of the movie and videos that I will make for my channel from this expedition, and I would be very grateful to everyone who would like to support my projects. You can do you through Patreon 🤍
www.patreon.com/elifromrussia

So, why did I decide to make a documentary about the cold?

It’s sad to hear ‘I’m waiting when winter is over’ or ‘when winter ends, I’ll…’ in a country where winters last for basically half a year. So, it turns out that people don’t live their lives to the fullest for half a year? As if we’ve become greenhouse plants that are afraid to leave their comfort even for a short while. Our houses are heated hot, and if it’s cold outside, we try to stay indoors, or immediately jump into warm transport to get to a warm place, and some people even fly somewhere tropical for the winter.

If we always run from the cold, it means we don’t know what it really is. That's why I decided to go to our northern peoples in order to go through challenges of the cold and stop being afraid of it, and to learn the local philosophy about how they live (not survive, but live!) in extreme climate conditions.

The film is currently being edited! I don't even know what was harder - shooting a video at -55 °C, or sorting out more than 500 gigabytes of files in a single story. But with both tasks - my eyes are afraid of this work, but I just do it!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 4,723

Eli from Russia

I started my YouTube channel in 2019, although at first it was a hobby and I could post two or three videos per year only when I felt inspired to do it. However, nearly by the end of 2022 ‘Eli from Russia’ became my main job. From the very beginning, I just did what I loved and filmed it, without any idea how to ‘correctly’ run a channel or how to be a blogger.

Since then, I have never filmed what is trending or something just for clickbait. I even know what exactly I can film in my niche to get millions of views, but it is not interesting to me, or it contradicts my values. Perhaps this is why my growth in blogging has never been explosive: I walk like a turtle, but the passion to go forward never disappears.

Now I am inspired by the goal of seeing all the regions of Russia and showing how people live where no one usually goes on their vacation, and how different ethnic groups live in the most remote places and even in the most extreme ones.

This time I stayed with nomads in Yamal. I just published the video about one day of their life far from civilisation in the tundra - https://youtu.be/R7dC5SHaqbQ?si=Cro34...

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1 month ago | [YT] | 5,646

Eli from Russia

I did 100km on the Baikal lake ice by skates!

My itinerary was the following. Day 1: 55km from the mainland in Sakhyurta to Khuzhir on Olkhon island, and visiting several capes on the way. Days 2-6: going from Khuzhir to the fishermen camp and visiting other capes and islands every day. (Going all the distance from Sakhyurta to Khuzhir can be extremely dangerous because of the winds there, so this is not an advised itinerary but simply sharing my journey)

The most common question I get is ‘How were you not afraid of the ice to break?’
10 centimeters of the ice is considered to be safe for people to walk on it, 20 centimeters is safe for cars, and 40 centimeters is enough for trucks. Thickness of Baikal ice is around 80-100cm this year. There are cracks and gullies in some parts of the ice, of course, but overall there was no danger for me to fall through the ice as long as I wouldn’t skate too fast and looked for any dangerous surface ahead of me. In fact, the biggest danger on Baikal is wind, which sometimes can be so strong that even cars can’t move, but I was lucky!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 3,895