The Most HATED City in Russia

There is a common pattern in many European (and not only European) countries - residents of other cities do not like the residents of the capital. And vise versa. The same thing can be found in Russia. Muscovites are considered lazy, arrogant and annoying. But, most importantly, most people outside of Moscow think that our capital lives at their expense. That all the taxes from Russia are collected in Moscow and then are spent on its improvement. Meanwhile, the rest of Russia is drowning in poverty. Let's discuss this problem today - Is Moscow robbing Russia? Or Russia is just an over-centralized country?
00:00 Introduction
01:55 Moscow = Money
07:08 Moscow as a symbol of Russia
11:37 How people and authorities demonize Moscow
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Sources:
A poll on how major city residents feel about Moscow (in Russian) - www.mazm.ru/article/a-2136.php
"80% of GDP is concentrated in Moscow" - www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/0...
GRP of Russian regions (2013-2018) - doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.10...
Moscow compared to other big cities - en.ac-mos.ru/news/1123/
You can check how budget of Moscow is structured here (in Russian) - budget.mos.ru/budget/income
How much did the regions contribute to the federal budget in 2021 (in Russian) - finexpertiza.ru/press-service...
Report of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation on the regions that depend on subsidies from the federal budget (in Russian) -ach.gov.ru/upload/iblock/9d4/...
Russian regions with highest GRP per Capita in 2020 - www.statista.com/statistics/1...
Hey there. Somehow you found my video and decided to watch it. So let me introduce myself. I'm Sergei and I'm from Russia. My channel is about my native country. I want to tell English-speaking viewers about the real Russia, about its past and present. Unfortunately, you can find a lot of propaganda about Russia on the Internet, both from the Russian media and from the Western ones. I want to tell you about Russia, as it really is, the country in which I was born, grew up, and lived all my life.
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[@szariq7338]

One joke from Poland being taken onto Russian ground: To become a native Peter you have to be born there, raised there and graduate from Saint Petersburg State University. Meanwhile to become a native Muscovite you have to leave Kazansky Rail Station.

[@alicantuncer4800]

What's the Polish version of this?

[@szariq7338]

@@alicantuncer4800 Polish version is with Kraków and Warszawa.

[@squidwardsuarepants2382]

kazanskii voksal is such an awkward place

[@szariq7338]

@@squidwardsuarepants2382 In Polish version it's about Warszawa Centralna station, but since Moscow doesn't seem to have a "central" station I had to improvise.

[@Ufthak]

@@squidwardsuarepants2382why?

[@eujinvittoria1078]

« Paris c’est pas la France ! » (Paris is not France) we have the same expression here and the capital is also extremely hated. This is also the result of heavy centralisation :)

[@donbenjamin6459]

In Argentina there is quite a joking hate towards buenos aires ( the province has 40% of the population )

[@vincentbj84]

yes, as a Provençal, I feel totally detached from the capital, and generally in the south we have a bad image of Paris and the Parisian. But I guess it's the same in other very centralized countries, like the UK.

[@noahjohnson935]

in America there's a similar attitude with certain regions really not liking each other all that much. The south is full of hillbillies, the north are all jerks, the west is hippies, ect.

[@steven_003]

"Wien ist anders" (Vienna is [just] different), same experience in Austria.

[@natospysanchez8938]

In Texas we also hate our capital Austin

[@taidordz]

As a half Russian half Japanese going to international school in Japan and used to live in Moscow for like 6 years, I often get told by other Russians in this school from Siberia that they hate Muscovites lmao. But speaking from experience it is most likely due to Moscow having a lot of stuff which the Siberian provinces are neglected from having, and people living in Moscow like I used to, not realizing the privilege of what we have and being shocked that Siberian provinces aren’t like us.

[@aminechouigui6287]

I have a weird question sir ( it's okay if you don't want to answer ) Do you look more a russian than a Japanese or the opposite? ( I mean the facial features )

[@PyromaN93]

@@aminechouigui6287 I bet he looks more like asian. Europeoids (caucasians) facial features is often recessive genes. My cousins is half koreans, I have some expirience in this theme.

[@aminechouigui6287]

@@PyromaN93 that's my thought too ! I watched many videos of Hāfu and all of them looks japanese with a lighter skin .

[@PyromaN93]

@@aminechouigui6287 not that much lighter, i think. Or maybe this is because I as native northerner have wery white skin.

[@PyromaN93]

@@aminechouigui6287 O! I remember - they have more massive nose, than koreans, this is one thing, that really distinguish them from koreans.

[@Kaerimasu]

I am from Siberia, specifically from Kuzbass. My region is the richest in coal, mines are everywhere. For many years the miner's profession was the main and most paid profession in our region. But over the past 15 years, miners' wages have fallen by a factor of three, mines are in decline, and coal is mined in open-pit mines, which harms our beautiful nature. And all this is done by private companies with the permission of the Moscow authorities. They have literally been stealing money from under our feet for 15 years. People protest, they are either sued or threatened with losing their jobs. And of course we don't like Moscow, because we think that all this capital's beauty exists on our money.

[@mrantipatia1872]

You should say that again my dear fellow, one correction: Moscow is beautiful because of her story and culture; I'd say her wealth depends on your money. Hope to visit Siberia and its cities one day

[@alexeishayya-shirokov3603]

... And yet even 30 years after the USSR kicked the bucket, most Russians still fail to understand the basic rules of a market economy. Or is that Moscow's fault aswell? 🤔

[@3DHDcat]

koozbazz

[@Silver_Prussian]

Open pit mines are usualy much cheeper and easier to operate in. Coal extraction is a slowly dying industry these days everywhere. In germany the problem with such mining is ten times worse as they denied to use nuclear energy cause of ,,muh people will" and ,,muh democracy" they started to relly more on gas and coal. You cant sell it either cause the biggest coal user china already has a massive coal extraction almost all their coal comes from their own nation. Ofcourse whereever there are recources there is business if there isnt anything else in your place like agraculture or some sort of other possability for business sorry to tell you this but the government is allowing this mine to love solely for the reason to provide some sort income and job for the people living there. Nobody is stealing from you fiscal decentralisation sounds good on paper but in reality it can be a big mess. Moscow is the region which provides the most to the state budget out of any oblast so anytime there is a massive investment in areas like yours its money from moscow that pay for it.

[@rkit6707]

L

[@conormurphy5633]

This seems to be true in other countries as well at least in the two i have experience with, dislike of the capital and or its inhabitants. In poland there is a kids poem that goes " there's a train coming from far away, it doesn't wait for anyone. Dear conductor just not to Warsaw." And in Ireland you will often here people outside of Dublin complain during the holiday season when all the Dubliners come down.

[@waynesmith7746]

In america we have the opposite. People claim to be from a city like New York or Chicago but they live in the suburbs or a near by city. So the residents of these big cities constantly debate “what is a real chicagoan, New Yorker, Atlantian” etc.

[@bolle9810]

Fun fact: Stockholm is commonly known in slang as Fjolträsk(Faggot-Swamp)

[@cariopuppetmaster]

That happens with any captial city is the biggest city

[@user-xg8yy7yl1d]

Vancouver is hated by the rest of BC because it's a crowded expensive concrete jungle unlike the less crowded more natural pace of life of the other regions, it makes all the rules which the other regions find to be bullshit and yet it cannot survive without the rest of the regions. When all the roads washed out they went to rationing down there while we didn't even notice at all up here. It's pretty universal that the huge cities are akin to leeches or cancer cells upon a nation.

[@guppy719]

@@waynesmith7746 Yes though with the caveat that nobody outside the city cares about the discourse. Also USA city limits are also small leading to an unclear division on where the city ends.

[@kmmmsyr9883]

Moscow is similar to how Istanbul is in Turkey, with some differences: Istanbul isn't hated by Turks (well, there are some haters, but they are just Istanbulites who are sick of traffic lol) and the Turkish state has (since the Republic was founded) tried to steer development away from Istanbul. They moved the capital to Ankara, heavy industries to Kocaeli, etc. and tried opening universities outside of Istanbul (the ones in Ankara were a success) but Istanbul still dominates Turkey in every aspect other than politics. And even in politics it is a close rival to the capital.

[@salvadorromero9712]

If the people do not hate it but the government has been steering developmental resources *away* from it, that makes it the exact *opposite* of the Russian situation. Not similar.

[@kmmmsyr9883]

@@salvadorromero9712 The similar thing is that Istanbul dominates almost all aspects of Turkey, which is a rare thing for countries as big as Turkey and Russia.

[@cazwalt9013]

​@@kmmmsyr9883 istanbul is the capital of turkey in everything other than politics

[@vladislavutkin9453]

I would prefer Istanbul over Moscow because of the prices (Moscow prices feels to be x2) and because of better public transport system of Istanbul. But Moscow has more career opportunities, if you're aiming at huge success. Hello from Ufa, Russia.

[@marcusaurelius4941]

why did they move the capital? to not dwell on the Constantinople heritage and just say "we're doing our own thing now"?

[@dimitrijestevanovic4851]

I live in Serbia in the 3rd largest city and i can say that here people talk about Belgrad the same way as people in russia about Moscow. Centralizaation led to everyone talking about Belgrad as horrible but moving there in mass. I myself have two friends who moved in Blegrad and whenever they come here they list endless problems about Belgrade and then happily return there. And whenever someone lives in Belgrad longer than 1 generation they get a complex of higher being towards the "dođoši" (newcomers) even tho they themselves are not some natives of that city.

[@user-mx4oq5ww5b]

In neighbouring Bulgaria the situation is the same. People hate Sofia, because it gets everything it needs and most of the investments go there.Consequently people want to move in the city and after a generation those newcomers become arrogant.

[@eliaszvecherin773]

Мне довелось встречать людей, которые только-только переехали в столицу (и года не прошло с момента переезда), и уже сами начинают относится пренебрежительно к этим самым 'newcomers'. Немедленно вспоминается анекдот: Приезжая в Петербург, москвичи любят сравнивать его с Москвой. А сравнивать Питер и город, где они родились, - не любят.

[@JL-ul8dm]

Belgrade indeed is getting more crowded, and there's also the issue with left wing people being way overrepresented there. There was a ratko mladic mural put up there over a year ago, and nearly every day I walked by, some libtard had tried to destroy/deface it in some way. The prices are also getting high. Even just cevapi is like double the price compared to 3 years ago. That being said I still think it's better than Novi Sad. Nis sounds great but I haven't been yet.

[@Silver_Prussian]

Smaller nations dont have incentive be decentralized unlike russia which is behamoth compared to us in the balkans. Also decentralization is alwsys praised but it has major flaws as well. And most of the people who want decentralization so much will quickly forget about it once they are in power.

[@Silver_Prussian]

@@user-mx4oq5ww5b да, но имат и много проблеми като ежедневния стрес и мръсния въздух. Нещо което повечето хора не разбират е, че столиците са винаги по развити поради различни причини, като статус, популация, икономически перспективи и така нататък. Ето на моя град Стара Загора е бил изгорен до основи как да се е превърнал в икономически и културен център ?

[@chriswatchingponies9877]

I met a fun, friendly chuvak in Peterburg who called Moscow ''Mordor''. He made me chuckle. Interesting and fun vid, Sergey. Thank you.

[@Matt_from_Florida]

In Ukraine right now it's common to refer to *all of Russia* as Mordor. Ukrainians hatred of Russians is something I never could have predicted just 1 year ago.

[@danilaushamburg2975]

Yep, we do call it Mordor often (in Kazan too).

[@k.umquat8604]

@@Matt_from_Florida It goes further: they call all Russians orcs. I get why they would have resentment towards Russia but treating all Russians as subhuman is too far

[@Matt_from_Florida]

​@@k.umquat8604 I agree, that LEVEL of hate should not be universally applied to all the Russian people. That level of hate has only ONE positive aspect. It can assist you in winning a war. How else can any half-normal person ever convince themselves to kill ANYTHING, much less another human being. To me, it can only be done by entering into a type of temporary insanity fueled by a level of hate that is almost unthinkable. Look back at the *war-history of humanity.* Much of war-time propaganda involved presenting the enemy as a type of evil sub-human who deserved to be killed.

[@chankljp]

The version of the joke that I heard was that St.Peterburg was like an Elven city-state in the middle of the 'Mordor' that is the rest of Russia.

[@kalatapie]

Us Bulgarians have the exact same relationship with our capital city Sofia, down to the derogatory names for out-of-towners: Selyani - peasants. Selyani are perceived as uneducated, poor and ignorant. This can be explained by the fact that rural regions receive unequal access to education, healthcare, social integration and social services, which is why new residents from rural towns may face difficulty integrating into the larger culture and perceptions of a metropolitan capital housing individuals from all walks of life.

[@quan-uo5ws]

sofiyani are the biggest selyani

[@RobespierreThePoof]

I've always been curious why Bulgarians are stereotyped as "grumpy" and "unfriendly." (Not my experience, by the way, but then I've never been to Bulgaria either.) Perhaps this snobbery in Sofia has something to do with it. Feel free to enlighten us if you like.

[@user-mx4oq5ww5b]

@@quan-uo5ws I am sofiyanin and this is 200% true

[@ioanhogwarts4953]

@@quan-uo5ws кой го казва бе

[@ioanhogwarts4953]

айде пък по цял ден си седите на гъза и нищо не правите и после защо сте по зле от софия еми ей за тва и защото има корупция , ние не сме ви виновни със нищо

[@blackboxsda7853]

In the case of Indonesia, someone once said to me that Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia is in fact the fifth largest city in Indonesia. Well, what are the first to the fourth largest cities in Indonesia then, I ask him. His answer: Jakarta, Jakarta, Jakarta, and Jakarta.

[@argaandri1077]

Jakarta is second largest city in terms of population right after tokyo.

[@sotch2271]

Jakarta

[@andriwahyudani1302]

halo Indonesia wkwk

[@ukaszwalczak1154]

As a Pole, i can tell you, that yes, this is a thing(kind of) here too. Personally, i feel that a lot of cities in Poland are underrated, and cities like Łódż, Warsaw, any big city that isn't in the North or West, is overrated as h e l l. Łódż and Warsaw are like those instagram influencers who always post things like "omg i'm such a good person" but then just, walks by a homeless person like there's nothing there-

[@MikoyanGurevichMiG21]

Gdansk is slept on too, for its importance as a port city and its contribution to history.

[@pindol69]

@@MikoyanGurevichMiG21 namysłów is also slept on,and I say this as a polish person from namysłów

[@adamsilverman2]

Nah, Warsaw is not overrated. It's the biggest, the wealthiest (17% of country's GDP is in Warsaw), has the best education, and is also a very diverse city - though most people from outside only ever experience the city center.

[@ukaszwalczak1154]

@@adamsilverman2 That's the thing, "oh it's the biggest, the wealthiest" yeah, doesn't mean it's not overrated. Biggest and Wealthiest, doesn't equal good-looking. Łeba is small, but i like it, because the city isn't filled with sad, grey, szeregowce-type commie blocks, and, it actually looks nice. Everyone always flocks to Warsaw cuz "wooo, capital city" but like, the Palace of Culture isn't all that good-looking, most of the city, yes, has good-looking buildings, but most people just live in the center of it, so you don't really see said good-looking buildings.

[@adamsilverman2]

@@ukaszwalczak1154 You ever been to Warsaw? People work in the center, they don't live there. And idk where the grey areas are, most parts are better looking than most other cities.

[@HistoryBuff534]

to be honest here in Germany its the same thing, if you would ask ordinary people about Berlin they would probably answer you by saying: " I would prefer it if we gave berlin back to the russians or americans "

[@user-zn1dy4ys7c]

yeah but because Berlin is worse than most places in Germany (in most aspects), spends more recources than it earns and is not different in a good way like Moscow compared to other cities in Russia

[@Ufthak]

That’s why the Americans were right to put all the politicians far away from the big cities.

[@PyromaN93]

Guys, let have exchange, lol🤣😂🙃

[@unnecessaryapostrophe4047]

"No, thanks." -Murica

[@col.barnsby8595]

You're still basically occupied by the US so there's no use of "giving back" anything since you don't own it anyway. There was a time of German sovereignty in the last century but the outcome of some extraordinary event has decided your fate. Though it is not the end yet, you as a people still exist despite the heavy losses and the heaps of foreign bodies tainting your blood and soil. Wishing you good luck

[@OceanofMemories0]

Here in Germany you have many rivalries between different groups. But all are united on their hate for Berlin.

[@GeorgeTheDinoGuy]

“All paths lead to Moscow” is a phrase I believe I’ve heard before, I remember hearing a story that basically said during the Soviet Union most investment was put into Moscow to make the country look better. 10:00 this reminds me of what happens in the UK countryside, my family acts like people moving into the country is bad but we did the same 15 years ago 😂

[@RobespierreThePoof]

Tsarist Russia did see itself as "the third Rome" after the Ottomans overtook Constantinople and ended Byzantium. (Though, truth be told, Byzantium was not the only medieval empire that claimed to be the "second Rome. Charlemagne had similar notions.) So "all roads lead to Moscow" probably was some kind of derivative of "all roads lead to Rome.*

[@GeorgeTheDinoGuy]

@@RobespierreThePoof ohhh that makes sense!

[@mrttripz3236]

@@RobespierreThePoof well the Tsar’s capital was Saint Petersburg

[@xsc1000]

@@RobespierreThePoof In fact there was never second or third Rome. Even the Western Rome empire fell, Rome remained the center of catholic church.

[@ycfeed9245]

@@mrttripz3236 yeah. It was after 1711. From 1547 until then the capital of the Tsars has been Moscow

[@tancreddehauteville764]

Half of the population of London isn't even native English - similar situation in Paris and Berlin with regard to outsiders moving in. It seems that all capital cities attract outsiders.

[@greaterforce3981]

All big cities have this.

[@JR-gp2zk]

My Iranian friend would say the best Iranian Naan I ever has was just outside Pendleton Station.

[@butcherchip]

Big cities are like this because of more opportunities (study, work and other things) this is generally what happens to any cities why a strong economic status and generally (not always mind you) capitals happens to be those. If not it's generally costal cities or cities situated near or connected to great rivers. On top of that, once the city grows opportunities tends to grow (hence why people from country side move there)

[@314rft]

And then ironically enough, the one country that is actually built on being basically all immigrants, the USA, doesn't have this issue, since nobody moves here specifically to live in DC unless they want to work for the federal government.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

@@314rft Well, some countries like the USA and Australia don't have capital cities that are truly metropolitan. I would argue that the 'real' capital of the USA is New York, not Washington. Washington is the seat of government, so it's the official capital, but New York is the financial and economic hub of the nation, and that is where immigrants have always come in.

[@islmhhh4987]

Speaking of Muscovites, I have personal experience. I came from the province to study in Moscow 2 years ago. My classmates told me that 2 years ago when I just came here I was the sweetest guy ever. Now 2 years later I've become grumpy, gloomy and I'm salty at something all the time. This city definitely changed me.

[@wassimboukhelkhal308]

I'm from algeria, i came here to Russia 4 years ago to study, yep i was a smiley nice guy, now I'm closed and emotionless and barely smile, i think it is a Russian problem hehe not just Moscow

[@user-sq1qy1lp3g]

Солевой

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

I might be lazy af and generally a faliur, but having lived 2 years in Rīga I can tell you I am still regarded as kind and chearful and sweet by everyone who knows me. This is because I am an idealist who wishes to bring Heaven on Earth. Hardship and synicism can never get to me because I believe that if we all do our part the world will be much nicer to live in.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

@@wassimboukhelkhal308 Yes most russijans do suck but Ive no knowlage of algerians how ever dont imagine you to be better.

[@rifqimujahid4907]

@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 nice

[@deathdrone6988]

To be fare, this happens in alot of countries such as my own (Malaysia); my blood boils when the transport ministry says more train stations need to be built in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, meanwhile we are driving motorcycles on dirt roads in the kampungs (villages).

[@ganosgal]

In Chile, we say often "Santiago is not Chile" for almost the same reasons.

[@saladbruh2625]

I watched those videos on youtube about various Russian cities being renovated like Omsk, Belgorod, Vladivostok, Irkutsk ... it was very nice to see other Russian cities and what they look like.

[@RobespierreThePoof]

Are they actually being renovated though? Every Russian I've ever met or heard speak about those provincial cities points to countless problems - and urban or infrastructure initiatives that are announced and never happen. The most famous case is the Chelyabinsk metro system.

[@saladbruh2625]

@@RobespierreThePoof IDK, theres gotta be something being done. you know how people are they will always find something to complain about for legit reasons or just to complain. One thing gets fixed , another one comes into spotlight.

[@dwishs]

@@RobespierreThePoof They do slowly, but people always complain

[@zelenicaljubljanica5410]

@@RobespierreThePoof yes they are. there has been a lot of development in many cities especially in recent years. Putin's government is well aware of this issue and is working on it. Look at how Krasnodar has become the center of the food industry, has a massive housing and population boom, is a major student center, and features a marquee new park, etc. Vladivostok has also received enormous investments and development, also with a Federal university.

[@saladbruh2625]

@@zelenicaljubljanica5410 i read that Tomsk University has 100k students , which is like 1/4 of its population

[@pomeranianproductions647]

In Germany many dislike the city of Berlin. And there are many reasons one can hate the city. Air quality, economic issues, uninviting architecture (ignoring the sights), a bad reputation in regards to crime and much more. However it should be noted that in most cases the dislike towards Berlin is not directed towards its people. Mainly just against the city.

[@danielgoebel5525]

And their football clubs

[@mihanich]

So it's not because Berlin's draining things from Germany or looks the best at the expense of the rest of Germany. I've heard that quite the contrary Berlin isn't by far the most looked after city in Germany.

[@eucaliptusx]

I AM the guy from Perm (literally born there), who hated Moscow for being “the centre of the Russian universe” However, now I study in MSU and work in Banking/IT it is obvious, how much better the life in Moscow could be - though Perm is a magnificent city anyway, Moscow really has that “opportunities”, that people talk so much about. Also, it has, simply, higher standard of living: products are better, public services are amazing, there is more entertainment, more parks, more historical and art places of interest Though, it has an enormous drawback: housing If you want to live in a 30 minutes from the Red Square, you need about half a million dollars to buy a flat for a family. And even with Moscow wages, it is almost impossible(

[@SergStrzelecki]

Hello, Sergei! Thank you for your videos, i used to live in Russia, but now watching you from Croatia, thank you, your videos help me do not forget about my Homeland. Despite our horrible government, i still love Russia

[@backhandahooker]

I love your videos and i loved this one too! Thank you for making such awesome content!

[@advancetotabletop5328]

Great video. Would like similar videos of other countries as well, either “most hated” or capitol city.

[@Jabberstax]

It's the same story for every capital city. Trust me, many areas of the UK hate London.

[@arrow1414]

Americans feel the same about New York City, Los Angeles. The French feel the same way about Paris, Germans about Berlin. Most of this feeling seem to because that cities tend to be liberal/progressive and the countryside tend to be conservative/libertarian. This seems to be true everywhere on Earth, almost a law of nature.

[@RobespierreThePoof]

It has alot to to with modern capitalism. Right-wing populism is bred in the provinces.

[@arrow1414]

@@RobespierreThePoof It aggravate it, but it seems to be always the case going back a few hundred years, before modern Capitalism. The cosmopolitism of the large cities exposes their residents to new ideas by the mix of peoples. Most Revolutionaries of all types (left or right) were city dwellers, either born and raised or moved there.

[@mapoch9000]

@@RobespierreThePoof true, but in Russia it's a special thing, because of the soviet past. People from provinces are more nostalgic for USSR, they're conservative in everyday life, but more left in opinion on global things. While in Moscow, Peterburg, young people are kinda gay, while mostly ultra anti-communist.

[@xsc1000]

@@mapoch9000 Which dont correspond with current russian government.

[@Mortablunt]

One thing I find ironic is rural people often think they are the ones who fund the cities, but in reality, the cities have far more people and far more activity so they actually support the countryside. another thing is most country people genuinely do not understand how much more populous the cities are than the rural areas. 5% of the entire country lives in NYC, 1% percent of the entire country lives in LA. Any major city is going to have a very outsized part of the population of a state in it. And rural people never understand this; they seem to think for some reason because there is much more rural area than city area that’s not fair how the cities have so much influence. I have tried getting his points across to people in the country over and over again and either they’re too stupid to get it or they will fully make a point of not getting it. Then again these are the people who somehow believe that a multi time bankrupted fraudster who talks like an eight-year-old brat was a better pick for president than an accomplished stateswoman with 40 years of experience who had served under two different presidents who were considered the best of our time. As much as I have come to enjoy living in a rural area the ignorance and stupidity of the locals can really get on my nerves.

[@TheRealSpeedWolf]

as a French person we have the same saying for Paris, no French person will call Paris French.

[@michaelholowka2361]

Same with London.....

[@TheRealSpeedWolf]

​@@michaelholowka2361 In France, we actually have a statistic regarding Paris: there is one French person for every 19 tourists, so basically, if you're a French person in the city, you're technically The Outsider. We also have districts or blocks on the outskirts of Paris; those are the real Parisians, who have to commute for half an hour or an hour to be able to work in Paris. It's gotten so bad for a very long time when it comes to the cost of rent that people are living in tents, and they are actually French. and it is not due to poverty, as what they are making cannot afford the cost of living in Paris.

[@thevoid5503]

As a Dutch person, my nickname for Paris was always "the tick" - sucking out the rest of France.

[@MariRiddle]

@@michaelholowka2361 Do you mean that people in England have some kind of animosity towards London or people in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland? I believe these countries have their own capitals.

[@AmogusAbobusAutobus]

I visited Paris few years ago... like i visited some african country with fancy european architecture😅

[@michaelthayer5351]

I lived in Nizhny Novgorod for 5 years and this feeling was very noticeable. A big reason for it that I heard was the difference in urban amenities, like road quality, age of things like trams and busses (with many of these in other cities being hand me downs from Moscow) and the difference in salaries between Moscow and other cities. So you're exactly right, Russians hate Moscow, yet want to move there because of the stark difference in quality of life and opportunity, the company I worked for as an example paid the employees in Moscow something like 20-25% more than everyone else, and even that is on the low end. It's likely much more pronounced among the Nizhegorodstiy( residents of Nizhny Novgorod) Because Nizhny is historically Russia's commercial center and has the nickname "The Pocket of Russia", after all it was Nizhny that funded the army that freed Moscow from the Polish. Which is why I don't get why Kazan is called Russia's third city after Moscow and Petersburg, when in reality it should be Nizhny Novgorod.

[@janpalider4229]

Out of curiosity: Do older people still call city Gorki in their conversations? Or have the usual people always called it with the original name during USSR (kind of like some people in Leningrad would still call it Piter)?

[@michaelthayer5351]

@@janpalider4229 I can't speak of what inhabitants called it during the USSR days but in my time there I never heard people call the city Gorky except when referring to it historically. But given that they restored the name in 1990 even before the fall of the USSR I can't imagine the Soviet name was very popular. Even people from the Soviet days never slip up and call the city Gorky. What they do bring up is how Nizhny used to be a closed city due to the sensitive industrial facilities there. No foreigner could enter and even Muscovites would have trouble moving there.

[@lesnoyelf228]

That all being said, you're right. I am from this very city. And we get money from the federal budget. But we have tons of industrial production, aviation, shipyard, car (GAZ, the famous automotive factory, which I live next to). And yet we still get subsidies. Just imagine Detroit in roaring twenties getting money from federal budget. Now, do you understand the whole thing about fiscal hell in Russia? It's built around pleasing Muscovites. So that they're happy and have their pavements changed every half a year. Even though we produce tons of cars etc, we still have trams and electrobuses handed over from Moscow, which they give us when they are not longer considered fancy enough for Moscow luxury image.

[@michaelthayer5351]

@@lesnoyelf228 yeah you are right, I lived in the center, which they do tend to put more money in. Nizhny's embankments and green spaces are superior to Moscows I think, especially since many were just renovated. And I'd still pick Nizhny over Moscow any day if you asked me which one I'd rather live in.

[@lesnoyelf228]

@@michaelthayer5351 our embankment is better for at least having two major rivers join, not a mere creek flowing

[@terrypalmer4644]

I am from a small town in the north of Russia - Vologda, indeed, we have a certain dislike for the city, because people and finances flocked there, I personally have friends who left for Moscow and rarely returned to their small homeland, but nevertheless, our city began to be slowly improved, I noticed that various organizations, young specialists began to be admitted to the city environment, were repaired, and roads were built, but not very fast, but still, and people began to strive less and less to Moscow, unfortunately, such a trend is not going on all over the country, the main thing is that Moscow does not destroy and take it all away. Peace to all

[@lrn_news9171]

All the major cities outside of Moscow are pretty developed actually. Yekaterinburg is essentially a first world city. Even small cities of 50,000 are decently developed, typical of upper middle income. I can name many cities that are fairly modern with good infrastructure, even some smaller cities. Russia's level of development is more evenly spread out than China in comparison. China's major cities are developed and modern whereas smaller cities lag significantly before, and rural areas are poor.

[@georgelincolnrockwell14]

fascinating insight . thanks for the video

[@MichaelSnyder1776]

In the USA we call people from DC 'Beltway Insiders' in reference to the Interstate that circles the DC metro area. Throw NYC and LA into the mix and that's the out of touch elites. When I travel abroad people are always like 'oh New York City!' I tell them NYC might as well be a different country compared to the rest of the USA

[@MisterOcclusion]

In Canada Toronto is our Moscow. Honourable mention to the province of Quebec

[@sodinc]

Than Quebec takes the role of Saint-Petersburg, if we continue this analogy

[@redzeckez3346]

@@sodinc dont forget Montreal who take both role too

[@jamescoulson7729]

Not really Canada is kinda balanced except for the Atlantic provinces, but BC, Qubec, Ontario, and the prairie provinces are all equal and are counterweights to eachother. With Toronto unable to dominate Vancouver or Montreal and vice versa. This scenario is mainly only similar in a provincial context, where “Vancouver is not BC” “Montreal is not qubec” and “Toronto is not Ontario “ but on a national level none of these cities dominate the others

[@Naterbator.02]

@@jamescoulson7729 I would say Newfoundland is the least balanced province in all of Canada due to it being far from everywhere. Even Prince Edward Island is somewhat close to economic hubs. Newfoundland doesn't even feel like what anybody would call anglo- Canadian, been part of Canada since 1949 and Newf is still the most distinct in my opinion. (I'm from Thunder Bay)

[@sotch2271]

@James Coulson well toronto does dominate all other city Its the federal capital, not the provoncial one, it have a say on more things

[@brycebarry4641]

"За МКАДом нет жизни"

[@Xaropy]

wow, this video are really cool, greetings from brazil!

[@gilgameschvonuruk4982]

I met Russians from Moscow in University , they were nice to me.

[@satyakisil9711]

Because you are a foreigner. Let a Chechen come to Moscow and see what happens.

[@joshzhang7041]

I'm from Shanghai and whenever I travel within China I have a funny guilt to admit I'm from Shanghai due to how much our city skyline has been featured in obnoxious tiktoks.

[@user-lo9kv6ir3b]

Do you also have a strong inequality between megacities and the rest of the country? I just heard that to live in large cities, such as Beijing or Shanghai, you need a residence permit as in the USSR. It's true?

[@joshzhang7041]

​@@user-lo9kv6ir3b There definitely (and obviously) is inequality between a megacity and a rural village but the government is really doing a lot to improve the countryside since the 21st century. This is probably one of Xi's greatest achievements. I've traveled through the countryside and can say that living standards are certainly passable and improving. You will need a residence permit to live in big cities but that's to prevent rural migrant workers from crowding up the cities. It does make life a bit harder for migrant workers but they usually leave their kids back home with grandparents and the alternative would be to have a lot of jobless people loitering around the city. An example of permit restrictions would be like you can't go on the highway if you don't have a shanghai car plate or you can't send your kids to local schools etc. It's not a popular system but you need to understand how cramped Chinese cities are lol.

[@user-lo9kv6ir3b]

@@joshzhang7041 Thank you for the reply. Can foreigners come to these cities to study or work? I'm just thinking of coming to you for a possible job in China. Thank you from Yarоslalv, Russia!

[@OCTAGRAM]

@@user-lo9kv6ir3b China is known to be not friendly for migration. You can somehow obtain work visa. You can somehow make employer prove every year that he needs you more than Chinese citizen. You need to pretend for higher salaries and outperform native ones. You can buy a flat and work 20 years. But the very year you can no longer prove that China needs your workforce, you'll have to leave. Work visa will expire, and if you stay, you will violate the law. China is very unlike Canada, Australia and Europe in this regard. The only loophole I am aware are special regions, Xianggang and Aomen, aka Hong Kong and Macau. Their citizenship is more reachable. Aomen passport requires nearly 6 millions of rubles and 7 years of living. 6 millions RUB is a price of flat or 2 flats in Russia, so one can earn this, it is a doable task. Having got a passport of special region, you can get a document of "Chinese returning to Fatherland" and live in Mainland China as long as you want. Well, unless you violate something badly. For study, there are grants from CSC, but if you don't know Chinese, you'll need additional Chinese year, and many local scholarships don't have additional Chinese year program. I have applied twice and did not receive any answer. Documents are accepted, everything is well. I can see a green tickmark in CSC account. And then just nothing happens. July comes, then August comes. And just silence. I don't know if something is wrong with me. I don't know how much are my chances. There is no rating available. There are some another scholarships, local scholarships, but they are partial, you have to add your money. When I graduated in Barnaul and worked in Barnaul, receiving Barnaul's salary of 2000RMB, these additional payments were high as deep space, there was no way I could afford that. I had to be Muscovite to afford Chinese education, and I was not. Chances are you are in similar situation. With regards to work, Huawei is hiring in Saint Petersburg, but they are not in a hurry to move anybody to China. That's how they do business. You stay where you are.

[@mathimatiki]

If you ask Brazilians, we'll also say we hate Brasilia. But that's not because everything is there, quite the opposite. It's a planned city in the middle of nowhere and a lot of tax money went there to build and develop it from scratch since the 60s. Now it's quite a nice city, but still São Paulo and Rio are the true cultural, touristic, economic and populational centers of the country.

[@314rft]

Honestly, this is another way Brazil is like the US, in that our capital, Washington DC, was built from scratch around 1800 when Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston were already established cities. It helped though that our country was young and the capital was never officially in any 1 specific city permanently (the closest was that it was stated to be temporarily in Philadelphia until DC was completed), so nobody cared. Or if they did, it was so long ago that any issues it caused, just like everyone around then, are long dead.

[@medic6792]

Ah, it's always a good day when Setarko uploads.

[@balsarmy]

Wow you're doing great job! Hi from Moscow here)))

[@morganjonasson2947]

in sweden we have a similar dynamic with our capital city, Stockholm. we dont hate stockholmers the same way as other coutries hate their capital, but we do make fun of them - alot. to us swedes living in the countryside, the stereotypical stockholmer (or sometimes called zero-eighter or nollåtta) is overly obsessed with culture, has poor sense of how life is for people living in the rest of the country, and yes, believes that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. the view other swedes have of stockholm can be compared to foreigners making fun of americans believing that africa is a country and not a continent.

[@MariRiddle]

Hello! I'm very interested in Sweden and Swedish culture, I'm curious which city would you call a rival of Stockholm?

[@sotch2271]

@@MariRiddle the slums

[@patrickstar9684]

Sounds like the rest of Sweden doesn't have Stockholm Syndrome yet

[@MivusComedy]

Thanks for showing my hometown of Sunnyvale California in Silicon Valley! 10:51 where I work in the neighboring cities too! 😂 But things are changing! Now places like Austin, Texas and Seattle Washington are becoming major tech hubs in their own right! Thanks for the amazing video as always!

[@AlexCab_49]

But they will never dethrone The Bay

[@erikkrauss8481]

I think one reason for the issues is that municipalities and states aren't allowed to levy their own taxes and all tax is handled by feds

[@RobespierreThePoof]

It's more complicated than that. There's a system of allocating funds away from Moscow. The political system, nonetheless, currently makes it far too easy for local officials to be very corrupt. Many, without exaggerating, siphon the money off to enrich themselves. Then they too leave for Moscow (or invest that money abroad just like the oligarchs.) This problem is fairly commonplace in nations where democracy has failed, unfortunately. China had a very similar issue between 1985 and a recent campaign to crackdown on corruption. Now, they only allow corruption that helps local officials reinvest in Chinese economy. It Putin continues to take Russia deeper and deeper into dictatorship, he probably should at least borrow this idea from Beijing.

[@user-fh4le1pn8o]

@@RobespierreThePoof in other hand in China local officials spend all the money get taxed to develop it's local area given not such a big fixed amount of money to the central budget. Probably it's one of the reason for high level of China's development. The another one is huge population (but it's not helping for India🤔)

[@KLETwave]

Yet another great work from you I really enjoyed 😊 thank you for sharing your knowledge about your beautiful country and people, good to have channels like yours allowing us to see behind the new iron curtain 👀 😩 с новым годом сетарко, Желаю тебе и твоим близким всего наилучшего 🙏

[@user-hn5tg1lq7q]

Только тот факт, что у Москвы бюджеты размером с несколько десятков регионов бесит людей. Не более.

[@archivushka]

И то что асфальт нетресканный меняют. вообще что асфальт есть.

[@RevoluitonaryTV]

Reminds me of the opinion of most Germans about their 'beloved' capitol 😏

[@marcusaurelius4941]

Being born and raised in Moscow I sometimes forget how detached I really am from the rest of the country, mentally and materially, it's a whole different world out there

[@josealbinosantosnogueira6013]

The same sentiment exists all over the world when you have a centralized government. Portugal, my country, is no exception. Many Portuguese think the same about Lisbon, the capital.

[@steampunkastronaut7081]

Happens too in Argentina. People from the provinces generally have a bad view of those native to the capital Buenos Aires (called "porteños")

[@krieger3511]

Everything you mentioned is the same in Serbia. It seems like every profit goes to Belgrade. People from other cities don’t like people from Belgrade, but if they move to Belgrade, they start acting like they’ve lived there for 100 years. They become egoistic. It’s vice versa too. People from Belgrade look at people from other cities as they are a lower class. And also economy, industry, income… everything. Belgrade, as capital, is far too much stronger than rest of the Serbia. It looks like it’s the same for all post-communist countries.

[@user-sx3dy1lx2s]

Поздрав! За мене Нови Сад je најлепши, а Београд више волим у облику чошака из неокреченог бетона између два светских рата - молим да не окречете Београд! У Нишу сам имао најсречни рођендан. У Ковину познао сам право друшство. А мир у себи пронашао сам на сеоском подручју код Куршумлије, кад сам седео у башти деда свог другара под крушкој старе от 70 година и гледао сам на планину... Безбринутост 80 lvl.

[@krieger3511]

@@user-sx3dy1lx2s 🙂Драго ми је да си се лепо провео у Србији. Где је лепо да дођем у Русију? Волим хладно време и заједничку комунистичку архитектуру😊

[@user-sx3dy1lx2s]

@@krieger3511 Па има доста да видиш у сваком граду, само треба да пронађеш правог водича. :) Ја сам из Сибира, Омск. Можеш да починеш од нега. Друг Стари могао бих да подтврди за онај град није тако лош. :) Или за пример Петроград, јер маршале је био и тамо да побегне из главног политичког затвора - тврђаве Петра и Павла. :)

[@krieger3511]

@@user-sx3dy1lx2s Просто чтобы собрать деньги, и я приду. У меня есть огромное желание приехать и увидеть много мест в России. Когда я приеду в Омск, я вспомню тебя, и мы увидимся. 💪🏻

[@wild_pkm]

i love your content bro

[@katbloo3333]

Thank you for sharing your culture.

[@parasatc8183]

Filipino viewer here. I don't know about other Filipinos but I have my disdain for Manila and its suburbs. I see it as a place of poor urban planning and slums under bridges alongside restaurants, stores, and clubs for young snobs of upper-middle-class and upper-class backgrounds (my view of the latter could just be me being a big peasant though). Smaller big cities like Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, etc. are less developed and also have their problems with poverty, but they feel like more pleasant places to live in.

[@user-lo9kv6ir3b]

Perhaps this is due to the fact that Manila was destroyed in WW2, before the war Malila was called "Asian Paris"

[@man-xy1cs]

My favorite part of being in Manila is receiving all the blame whenever people in the provinces suffer a typhoon

[@wat-ch]

This reminds me of my state and the capital of my country. It's easy to blame the capital cities for our woes but in the end I would say the region itself doesn't have a good administration and development. My state is the only state (and the only political entity) to actually own a railway in the Borneos. It's a relic from the North Borneo Company, a British-Chartered Company that was established to exploit the resources of the Northern Borneo. My state also have quite good tourism sceneries, ranging from rainforests with many endemic wildlifes, good regional position for trade near Brunei, Phillipines and Indonesia, especially when we are positioned near Indonesia's new capital. Our loggings are a great source of economy, and also demands for some specific technologies would be popular, like pickup trucks because a Lamborghini would make you look like an idiot here. But we are always rated the poorest state in the whole state of Malaysia. If not, then we are just close to being one. I think the regions of Russia beyond Moscow, especially Far East Russia is the same as my state in many ways, so many potentials to be rich but the reality is that it stays relatively poorer. From my perspective? There are many reasons why we are poorer. Yes, capital takes almost 100% of the revenue of oil from the rest of the country. But I see either corrupted or braindead officials not trying to help others or asks help from the capital, local mentalities that sees development as pointless and the greatest of them all, fears and laziness.

[@Mortablunt]

Thanks for sharing; I never knew anything about Malaysia. In America people living in country areas often have the idea of the cities and liberal coasts become wealthy and developed by exploiting them. The truth is the liberal cities and the coastal areas actually are where most of the economic activity is and they subsidize the rural areas.

[@user-dl3nc4jx7k]

you are wrong, it's just that all large companies in Russia are registered in Moscow and pay taxes to the Moscow region, and not in the region in which they conduct business, and it doesn't matter what kind of activity it is, gas or oil production, production of chemical fertilizers, non-ferrous or ferrous metallurgists, and so on, the region only gets problems with ecology from the activities of these companies, and Moscow takes all the profits, 80% of Russia's money those that do not go abroad settles in Moscow, which is why people from the regions do not like this city

[@wat-ch]

@@user-dl3nc4jx7k I see. So did anybody bothered to change the law to shift from Moscow to other regions? I am curious too because I see my local politicians lack any motivation to do so too. Moscow holds a lot of power, yes, but nobody, if any seems to ask shifting revenues to such regions. If a lot of politicians bothered to ask money, corrupted or not, to at least make a 50/50 revenue split, other regions can make money too. I still personally think that the reason why other regions don't make money is that people think its not important nor making sense to develop their local economy. Singapore, used to be part of Malaysia was quite relatively poor, with the ports sustaining the livelihood of the locals. When we split they don't have resources, but they changed laws and gave more incentives to develop their economies. Yes they're small country but neither China or US is extremely poor. The other regions have rights to hate Moscow, but like how I used to hate my country's capital, it is only noises and no result. Now I see them as place to get ideas and technologies. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like Kuala Lumpur.

[@einmuzi]

An informative video! Especially surprising that Moscow does not have the highest GDP of the country. Instead some Okrug that I had never heard of before. That sparked the idea that you could make some kind of a video introducing us foreigners to some Oblasts/Repuplics/etc. of Russia as our knowledge often does not extend further than Moscow and St. Petersburg. Maybe a tier list of all Federal subjects of Russia (better as of2013 ;))...

[@Setarko]

I've always wanted to make a series of videos about different little-known cities and regions of Russia. But I personally think it's much better to do such videos as travel vlogs. At least partly. It's kinda strange to tell your viewers about Kamchatka, for example, if you've never been there. I hope I'll be able to do that in the future.

[@TrokgornyBall]

The richest regions of Russia are mainly focused on the mining of coal and oil. However, the quality of their amenities leaves much to be desired.

[@einmuzi]

@@Setarko That sounds pretty cool. That way you may probably become the first person ever to visit all of Russia's federal subjects!

[@normanclatcher]

@@TrokgornyBall Sakhalin is a bit of a touristy area, as I recall...

[@redsool1]

Crimea is very beautiful place and Sevastopol is a city of Russian Military Glory

[@snuggery6486]

I don't know if you covered this before but could you cover memes from Russia and their context?

[@RobespierreThePoof]

Setarko doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who is deeply interested in meme culture, but I could be wrong.

[@mapoch9000]

too big topic. You could just count Russian memes for hours. Just as German or French or other regional memes. This is a history of a part of internet, and you can't really tell it fully to people who aren't in it.

[@mohammedabdul4832]

Germany has the same thing with Berlin but the difference is that what is said about Berlin is actually true.

[@domiv766]

Same in Romania, we are called by Bucharest "people from the province" poor or dirty, anyone who isn't from the capital is automatically considered poor

[@k0pera]

Hi Setarko i want to say that in many countries where the capitol has a lot of advantages people usually hate it. People from the capitol in a small countries can put a lot of pressure on the goverment and are hated for this by the other citisens of the country. In my opinion the hate between the capitol and the rest of the country is very normal phenomena for most of the contries around the world.

[@esvedra2419]

I guess it's similar in other countries too. Northern Englanders dislike Londoners for the same reason for example.

[@alwayslearning8792]

I'm English and believe me most people have never even been to London and I've been and I wasn't too keen on it.

[@darkhope97]

Funnily enough same does happen in my country of Chile but with a twist considering that a good third of the entire country population does reside in the capital so a fair chunk of the state budget does goes to the capital to help the most downtrodden

[@psoltiivan]

I remember how when we were traveling to the other cities in Russia my mom was lying that we are from Nizhny Novgorod (my dad's grandparents were from there and we often visited it) because people often showed contempt when we said we are Muscovites.

[@AlexCab_49]

It's a similar story in Mexico where CDMX is hated by the rest of the country but yet desired. Here in the US its not the same as in either Russia or Mexico but New York is seen as the place to be and is also hated but for different reasons from Russians hating Moscow

[@mohammadhosinbardestani4708]

It is kinda true about my country. The capital is seen as a place that has the best the country has to offer in terms of services and education. But the desire to go and live there is not as much. It is by large the most expensive city to live and there's not much of a difference in profit earning for average worker. Many people go there for a duration of 3 to 5 years eaither to study or to get some job experience and then either rutern to counteyside or there hometown because they can earn much more profit by working in these places.

[@TrajceNaumoski-vp5gq]

„Скопје не е Македонија!“ (Skopje is not Macedonia). The reasons are almost the same why Macedonians hate Skopje. The rest of Macedonia is poor and there are not enough job opportunities, and all the money goes to Skopje. Skopje has the largest number of universities in the country, and more and more people are going to university in Skopje who come from the rest of Macedonia. The people of Skopje are very cold, the city itself is polluted (perhaps one of the most polluted cities in Europe) which is a huge problem. I appreciate your videos as always!

[@felineboy1586]

I love your videos and your voice

[@glasscity3104]

I am in Australia and we say the same about Sydney, however Sydney people believe that Australia ends on the outskirts of the city.

[@user-lo9kv6ir3b]

Why not Melbourne? I thought that all major cities are more or less equal?

[@mapoch9000]

Moscow is the city where even newcomers hate newcomers.

[@xuy139]

As a moskovite, who lives near Moscow, i can add a joke. -Who Muscovites hates most of all? -Native Muscovites

[@GoldenChuricken]

That’s pretty universal I think, though from my own experience the more the macrocephaly caused by the capital city, the more it is disliked (i.e. the more important the capital is compared to the rest of the country). For instance, in Romania, Bucharest is disliked, but people don’t go as far as saying it’s not Romania. In France, on the other hand, many people will go to such lengths. It’s also true usually that it’s just jealousy, as most people would like to move to the capital.

[@TerraThink]

Seems about right. When I lived in Caucasus area and was about to move to Moscow, a lot of young people told me the people in Moscow are garbage. This kind of centralisation is very common for smaller countries. It's just surprising that such a huge country as Russia (in terms of population) hasn't developed at least a few more centers like Moscow. St Petersburg is probably the closest to a second center of Russia, and then it's a competition for the third spot for a few other cities (e.g., Kazan seems to call itself the 3rd capital of Russia).

[@redsool1]

There are 16 million-plus cities in Russia. Moscow is the biggest city in Europe. St.Petesburg is less then London but bigger then Berlin. So I don't think that there is any lack of big cities in Russia. While countryside could be in a better state. Space between Msk and StP is less populated now then it was 100 years ago

[@TerraThink]

@@redsool1 Yes there's no lack of big cities. But the country is incredibly centralized around just one of them. You can just look at the population difference: Moscow: 15+ million (in reality) St Petersburg: 5 million All other cities: around 1.5 million or below

[@joeslater8693]

I get the feeling everyone hates the larger cities in every country and even as little as people hating regional capitals.

[@syntpehn6801]

Nice job with the thumbnail, Schrödingers crimea

[@kevindelgadillolazarte3087]

Bolivia is true in smaller scales (every department has the "hatred" for their capital city), but then the "truer hate" is between "capitals" la paz is the seat of government and a lot of money goes there + their neighbour city, el alto, is also economically "strong" but then on the other side of the country we have Santa Cruz which is much more economically strong, and in a sense the powerhouse, the division and rivalry also comes from a tangible cultural difference. So usually the people move either one or the other. While cities that used to be very important (like my home city, Cochabamba, or even the nation's capital Sucre) are losing relevance more and more, Cochabamba is trying to be a more technological hub, but the biggest developments one can see in the country are either in Santa Cruz or la paz.

[@Siberian_Bear72]

In many countries, the capital is not very popular with residents of the province, except for those cases when people move to the capital for a good job. Russia is not unique in this regard. But if we are talking about the danger to Moscow, then we, the Russians, will bite off the head of any enemy, regardless of our personal attitude to Moscow. Don 't make us angry ! Greetings from Siberia! PS I love Moscow and I often come there with great pleasure. But I would not like to live permanently in Moscow.

[@314rft]

I just hope you can bring some of that Moscow money back to your local Siberian area, since every little bit helps. Greeting from the US, despite the fact our countries hate each other (and I hate Putin personally), I wish you and every other average Russian who's just trying to get by all the best.

[@Siberian_Bear72]

@@314rft That's the whole difference: you hate Putin because you only know about him from the Western press, and I just feel sorry for old Biden, who is both stupid, corrupt and incapacitated. And, by the way, why did you decide that we barely survive? I live in a beautiful city where there are no homeless people, where you will not see drug addicts and beggars, there are no graffiti-painted walls. You have very primitive ideas about Russia. My hometown during the Siberian winter: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZPJmJeeaquAY7c

[@fishmaster665]

Similar thing happens in chile with the capital Santiago all power, political and economical is centered here at the expense of other regions

[@aperson8025]

not really a capital thing like everybody elses, but in Arizona (US state bordering mexico) we get a ton of people every year that come down for the winter, since Arizona has mild winters at worst, and go back in summer. We call them "snowbirds", and nobody really hates them except when they check out every cabin in villages in the north. We got pissed because we had to book cabins 3 years in advance once.

[@zoom8341]

In Romania it is the same thing. The government invested a lot of money in Bucharest's infrastructure, that's why there are people who despise those who live in the capital and the city itself. Because a lot of money is invested into it, many events like concerts or shows happen in Bucharest because most people live there and it is the most modernized city in Romania leaving many people with only 2 option: Go there (it can take hours) or don't go and miss the event you want to attend. It all comes down to how money is spent in an unbalanced way which causes certain regions to have poor conditions and be limited in some domains.

[@a.p.6580]

When i read the title, i thought you were talking about Omsk, for some reason.

[@TrokgornyBall]

I too

[@an0nycat]

Omsk is just a meme city.

[@a.p.6580]

@@an0nycat Russian Ohio

[@gunterxvoices4101]

This feels a bit like the US, but instead of a city, the suburbs hold all the power and drain money from the cities. Segregation is a halluvadrug. It ended up destroying the economy here as well, but as long as the suburbs are happy, nothing changes.

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

Totally people wanting to move away from drug filled crime rotten city is because they Hate black people not poor management

[@MrAsianPie]

I don’t know how it is in other states, but the commonwealth system here in Virginia allows suburbs and rural regions to hold separate authority from the city they surround. I think cities are losing money because they’re incompetent. (A good example is Newport News, Virginia putting millions into trying to legal gambling and casinos instead of their infrastructure.) But yes, suburbs are very powerful, especially if the majority of people (~90% my hometown, ~70% nationally) live in the suburbs and thus hold the most representation.

[@gunterxvoices4101]

@@MrAsianPie I think 83% of the US lives in cities, but the suburbs take taxes away from the cities for housing subsidies. Because even if you taxed an American suburb 100%, it still wouldn't even be able to maintain the road lmao. Especially here in Michigan where all the politicians live in suburbs or in rural areas, so do everything to support them and actively try to destroy cities (especially Detroit and Flint)

[@MrAsianPie]

@@gunterxvoices4101 83% is the statistic when accounting for metro areas. But when you dive deeper, according to the US Department of Housing only 21% of the "urbanites" actually live in an urban area, with the rest living in suburbs. I don't know about the cost of road construction and upkeep up there, but down here, it's relatively low due to lower labor cost and less erosion from the change in weather due to winter kind of not existing. Also I don't think you can blame suburbs for NAFTA and the corrupt Unions who led the once great cities like Detriot and Flint to how WhatIfAltHist (Rudyard Lynch) puts it, "decadence and decay". I'm too well of an aquaitance with southern Michigan, but I heard recently Detriot at least is doing better with the new stadium in the downtown.

[@gunterxvoices4101]

@@MrAsianPie Whatifalthist doesn't know what he is talking about. I am glad I stopped talking to him when I did, because he went insane a year ago lmao.

[@k.umquat8604]

Although it isn't the capital, I have heard a lot of the same discourse around Istanbul. Similar things are said about Ankara as well

[@MrAwsomenoob]

I think we have something similar to this in the US. But it's mostly about the nearest major motro. Ask a Midwesterner what they think of Chicago and chicago people.

[@Alsadree]

At 0:42 in the background is Moscow State University / Lomonosov Moscow State University , It can also be seen at 8:07 with Luzhniki Stadium in the background. And at 0:32 is one of the Seven Sisters Quick fact about MSU: It is one of the tallest educational buildings in the world, and one of the best university's in Russia. All the Seven Sisters Hotel Ukraina Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Apartments Kudrinskaya Square Building Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Moscow State University Red Gates Administrative Building Maybe Pin?

[@hachibidelta4237]

French people also said Paris is it's own country

[@somedudethatripsplanetinha4221]

Here in the Philippines, we have 2 major central cities; Manila and Cebu(?).

[@Joseph-qd9ew]

Well even if it’s not the capital city people will often look down on the largest city in a country, for example New York City in the USA or Toronto in Canada.

[@lesnoyelf228]

Moscow 1% oil money? Rest in federal? Why didn't you say that federal budget is concentrated in that same damned city which Moscow is? The same people have both their "own" regional (Moscow) money and federal. And talking about subsidies is also irrelevant. It is not that rich pay for poor (may be a case in Caucasian region), but SOMEHOW (with a help of Moscow obviously) my beloved (born and raised) city Nizhny Novgorod, which is FULL of automotive industries, hi-tech companies, is the center of trade (historically, and still nowadays, two major retail companies registered here), BUT with all of that! Our region is getting subsidies because of budget deficit. How? Simple. The "value added tax" (which is multiplicative, like 20% on gas, means expensive production, more 20% tax on the more expensive production etc, and affects EVERYTHING) ALL OF THAT cash flows DIRECTLY in Moscow. The whole fiscal system is built around vertical structure, so that president has obeying governors and they need to beg money from him and can't stand against his words (want to not accept higher retirement age? You won't get money lol) Moscow is pure evil and I regret Nizhny Novgorod militia saved Moscow in 1612 intervention war.

[@lesnoyelf228]

The whole point is, Nizhny Novgorod was and is like Detroit in 1920's. Imagine Detroit of those times getting money from federal budget while being the damn center of industrial production. Such a shenanigans are a result of rotten government which is not changing at all. Even our governor is not even being elected. Now our president puts whoever he wants to be a governor. And all of that to make sure 20+ millions of people in Moscow are happy and get their pavements changed every half a year

[@snuscaboose1942]

Your explanation of the exploitative Russian tax system conflicts with analysis from more unbiased Russian sources. You also ignore the systemic corruption of the Russian system.

[@mihanich]

When I was a kid we had to move from Moscow to Novosibirsk and I was bullied the shit out because I was from Moscow and everyone wanted to pick up a fight with me. To be honest I didn't think too good of Novosibirsk either.

[@TrokgornyBall]

I expected to watch a video about Chelyabinsk or Omsk, but not about Moscow. In general, as a resident of Russia, I agree that Moscow is pumping resources out of the regions and cannot exist without them, however, I understand that such a centralized control system works and it is very bad. The budget for the regions is distributed by the center, and not the regions themselves, which may cause a shortage of funds to provide the Russian provinces. The economic policy of Russia is such that the regions receive a lot of funds, but in the end they receive less due to the unfair distribution of the budget by the center. And now I want to remember neighboring Ukraine, where there was exactly the same situation and the authorities of this country carried out Decentralization, which greatly benefited the regions. With one nuance: the budget of Ukraine began to receive less funds, nevertheless, it was a necessary sacrifice for the sake of prosperity If Russia carried out a gradual decentralization and began to subsidize the development of the regions, then the contemptuous attitude towards Muscovites would stop. On my own behalf, I’ll say that I myself am one of those people who dislikes them mainly because of a number of personalities who call other Russians chocks or homeless people.

[@Setarko]

Well, tbh I feel like hating Chelyabinsk and Omsk is more of a meme. Sure, people can joke about Chelyabinsk being this industrial shithole and "Не пытайтесь покинуть Омск" but I personally feel that many people from European part of the country don't really see a difference between Chelyabinks, Omsk or Krasnoyarsk. They don't really want to go and live there, but they don't hate them or their residents.

[@TrokgornyBall]

@@Setarko OK. I just visited two cities in Ufa and Chelyabinsk. Ufa is a very noisy city with total traffic jams, and in Chelyabinsk, a nasty smog is constantly in the air, which the locals are used to. In Omsk, the situation is slightly different, there is a high level of poverty, although I cannot confirm this.

[@olekscap4620]

​@@TrokgornyBall There's no high level of poverty in Omsk, it just sits outside of the huge clusters - Ural (Tyumen, Ekb, Che and the others and Western Siberian one (NSK, Tomsk, Barneo and so on). Forced memes which came from the local anime community are sort of annoying, but locals do not care so much, imo.

[@Matthew-jr6nf]

You always make me nostalgic for my days in Russia!

[@petermgruhn]

I always like the opening bear.

[@boomr334]

Interesting. As a non American or Russian, it's a great point that the US was regionally diverse in terms of development but Moscow dominated the SU. Clever insight.

[@wassimboukhelkhal308]

I have been living in Russia for 3 years, i really like Moscow It is an astonishing city, and as a foreigner, people are more accepting there than other cities (a huge difference actually) and yes even as a foreigner i believe Moscow is not Russia, it is its own country

[@liljojo8813]

Saint Petersburg >

[@bulbucand]

Same here in Romania whit our capital

[@DeptalJexus]

Same thing happens to every country that centralizes power creating the feeling of inequality between the capital city and the rest of the country .. such as Paris - France, Bangkok - Thailand, Cairo - Egypt, etc..

[@LisaLisa-ii9bw]

same here in indo all resources include money go to java island while in java itself it goes to jakarta while in jakaryta it belong to oigarchy

[@michaelkokhanov9927]

Чувак говорит чуть ли не идеально, респект тебе за такую дикцию на английском

[@s1kebeats]

послушай носителей языка

[@BlitzHUB_Ky]

Moscow lives like western europe, while outside russia lives like western europe 200 years ago

[@rael2915]

Saint Petersburg is at the same level, if not better than Western Europe as well.