Don't try to leave this city in Siberia, Russia...

Welcome to Siberia, city Omsk. Barely any Russian or a foreign tourist would choose this city as a travel destination. But I'm here to see the life in a typical Siberian city, get to know the problems and the dreams of locals, and to ask them questions that you always wanted to ask Russians. Locals in Omsk are called Amici. And I will be shown the city of Amici by Vova and Lyosha. Hello everyone! Amici! Amici. Not Omichi. And not Omichi. Come to Omsk! Omsk is one of the largest cities of West Siberia with a population of over 1 million people. The distance from Moscow to Omsk is only 2,555 km. Omsk region borders Tyumen, Tomsk, Novosibirsk regions and Kazakhstan. The city Omsk was founded at the confluence of the Irtysh and Om river and was named after the river. They say that the name of the river comes from the word Om, a sound from Indian mantras. So I might find enlightenment here. Or I might just have to stay here forever. Because they say that it's impossible to leave Omsk. In fact, it's not full inside, it's just plywood. And because of this, it can easily roll away without strong wind. It became our local meme that do not try to leave Omsk. And Sharik failed to leave Omsk, he was put back. Some other social networks and websites don't work here at all. So before your trip, make sure to have a good VPN to have access to everything. Today I want to introduce you to CyberGhost VPN. With over 38 million users worldwide, it's one of the most trusted VPN providers on the market. CyberGhost will help you with public Wi-Fi security. You can rely on VPNs for protection in coffee shops, airports and other public spots. Also, it helps you to avoid ISP tracking and government surveillance. Simply select one of their over 100 locations before you browse to encrypt and reroute all of your traffic through their secure servers. Moreover, with VPN, you can unblock many geo-restricted platforms by choosing any country as a location. And here in Russia, you will be able to continue watching my videos on YouTube. It works on all major devices and operating systems. Windows, macOS, Android, iOS. And you can protect up to 7 devices at the same time. Link in the description will give you a special offer of $2.03 only per month, plus 4 months free. There is even a 45-day money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose. This is a pedestrian crossing. In ordinary cities, but here it's a pedestrian crossing and exhibitions. So, basically, you have one subway station in the city? Yes. Which is the shortest subway station in the world, I guess. Yes. Subway. Yes. But it exists. I really hope that it will be finished one day. Why didn't you open a subway station in the end? We didn't have enough funding. If the administration used federal funds instead of local funds, then they would have enough money, because building a subway station is a very expensive pleasure. So, probably, this is the most expensive pedestrian crossing in the world. But it's so beautiful. Hi. Famous Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was sent to Omsk for 4 years, 1850 to 1854. And he was here, in a shipment. He spent these four years, every day, through these Tobolsk gates. And the inmates went to the shore of Irtysh. They disassembled old boats, they kneaded clay, removed snow, repaired buildings, and so on. Well, that is, everything that the convicts do. Not far from here, Fyodor Mikhailovich Zatoyevsky often went to the temple. This is our Sunday cathedral, our first cathedral on the territory of the Omsk fortress. And now, four years later, he was pardoned and left Omsk forever. In his memoirs, he wrote that Omsk is a dirty town. This is my favorite promenade. And the promenade goes 5 or 6 kilometers. This is my favorite place to run in the summer, ride a bike. In winter, just take a walk, think, land. Here you can go down to the river. And I feel incredibly calm and happy here. Omsk I live in this house. We have only 16 apartments, and 12 of them are residential. And I really like it, because we have only 6 apartments per entrance. I also like that the house is so laconic, and there are no special decorations in it, except for the upper cornices. I like that they are so worn out. It somehow, on the contrary, gives charm and emphasizes that this is an old house. Railway, railway. Real railway. Railway here is the beginning of the construction of the house, because this is probably the fourth house in this area, which was built by the management of the Western Siberian Railway. And the main material of the railway was the already used rails, which were actively used to build jumpers, windows and doors. My apartment is divided into two parts. In two rooms, the original tile has been preserved. We restored it a little. In this living room, three chandeliers are planned, which will be the same Soviet, in the same style. Did you buy a mortgage or did you buy everything? This is a mortgage. In 1922, at 9.3% per annum. How old are you? I am now 28 years old. How did you decide to buy an apartment? I rented an apartment for only one month in my life. It was even a room, not an apartment. I wanted to live here. And when I decided to leave my roots here, I wanted to live here, so I looked for an apartment in Omsk. How much does a square cost here? I bought it for 60 thousand for a square, when it was in a bad condition. I will pay 300 for a square. Even a little more. When we came here, Vova said, I will only need to clean up a little, I have not cleaned up a little. I threw it away, but it's still there. It remains to finish the repair. Thank you. In Omsk we trust. In Omsk there is a popular cheese Amichka. So you like sweet cheese, right? We have it, we ate it as a child. Tasty. It's just unusual that this cheese is sweet. Amichka approved. I made a poll on Instagram. What questions do you want to ask the residents of Siberia, of Omsk? What is the temperature here in the summer? In the summer in Siberia it is quite hot, because of some climate. In July it can easily be 30 degrees for two weeks, and periodically it can reach 35-40 degrees. So this is a stereotype that in Siberia it is always cold, wind and snow. But in June it can easily pass snow. How do you survive in winter here? In Russia, apartments melt at a temperature of 18 degrees. It seems to me that it is always much hotter in apartments, because we wear shorts in winter. And without socks we can walk at home. We have cheap heat. We can just open the window in winter, ventilate. They could all live in a warmer climate. How can it be okay for them to live in a Siberian climate? I was born in Omsk. For me, this climate is normal. For me, it is normal that in summer it is hot, the leaves are blooming, there is greenery everywhere, and in winter there is snow. Probably, if I move, I will miss it very much. People ask me why I don't move to a warm country. And for me, on the contrary, when everything is the same all year round, and there is no change of seasons, that is, there is no snow, there is no spring, and when everything blooms, there is no golden autumn, and this whole change of seasons, it seems to create this dynamic of life. For us, on the contrary, it seems strange when the seasons do not change. At what age do people there begin to think about marriage and children? Our parents in the Soviet Union, not that it was a tradition or unusual, but it was accepted that when you graduate from university, at that time couples were always formed. Previously, families were given an apartment, and in this regard it was easier than now. Couples can be created at least at 20, at least at 25, but the marriage with children is probably closer to 30, 35, maybe 40. An apartment is needed, no matter how you twist it. And we are both 29 and 28. Have you thought about it yet or not? Of course. So, at 29 you think, at 28 you don't. What do you think about the West? It seems to me that the same people live there, as everywhere, who do the same things as we do, that is, they get married, go to kindergarten, study at school, then look for a job, get married. Yes, I generally agree with you that the same people live there. As we have, we watch the news that is broadcast to us, so that we believe in them. There are adequate people everywhere, if they don't just trust the news, but somehow think with their own head, this is normal. I think in America, I think there is the same thing. Each country should have its own enemy. If we reject all this, then we are just people, we want the same thing. As an Italian, what are your typical dishes? Of course, borsch, shiitake, jelly. Why are old Italian singers so popular in Russia? By the way, I thought that these Italian songs were popular all over the world, but it turns out that they are very popular in Russia. Celentano, Albania, everyone knows them. I think it's been going on since Soviet times, when good movies were shot in Italy. Apparently, this is how it fell into the soul, that people still watch and listen to them. If Russians could change three things in Russia, what would it be? For me, it is very critical, that we have endured for generations, that my grandmothers, grandfathers, parents rarely express their opinion in public, and everything was discussed in the kitchen. It is passed down genetically and culturally, and I would like to change it. I will probably say economically, that we have a rather large country, it is very stretched, and we have a rather difficult interconnection between cities, that is, we have rather expensive flights, and the train is more expensive in cities. I would change something in this regard. It seems to me that the transport availability should be better. I would change the fact that many people like to scold Russia, say that everything is bad here, everything is terrible, but at the same time they just complain, complain, complain. I believe that instead of just complaining, just take and do, change something. Probably, travel more, learn, see how it is all. Don't just think that everything is better in other countries, in fact, there are disadvantages everywhere. Does Omsk get enough state support? No, I don't think so, definitely not. Everything goes to Moscow, and from Moscow, 10% of your income in Omsk is returned back, and this is 10 times less. Do you think that Omsk is developing fast now? It is developing, but not as fast as I wanted. If you could move to another country, which one would you choose and why? Northern Italy, Milan, Switzerland. I really like that there is high economic activity, along with some local culture. I also like the options from Croatia, where the economy is developing quite well now. These are our Slavic brothers. I also consider Italy. I want to get a master's degree there, but I don't know if I should live there. But no matter where I am, I would like to come back to Russia and live here. If you could, would you leave Siberia to live somewhere else? I already had an attempt to leave Omsk. How is it possible not to leave Omsk? You can't leave Omsk. I came back, and it's not like I was holding on to anything, I just wanted to come back to Omsk, to do something here, because when you move to another region, you face local problems, which you would like to solve, to influence them, but you don't have the opportunity, and you are more desperate. You choose to move to a place where you have more opportunities to influence something. Why not do it in your small country? I generally think that you need to live in your life in different regions, and in Russia, and travel around the world, maybe live there. I plan to live in Omsk in a couple of years, maybe I will go there once. I love Omsk very much, I consider it to be the most comfortable place I have ever been to in Russia. Three things that you like about Omsk? The low-rise in the center, the agro-ecosystem restrictions on the development of the coastal part of the city. We still have a lot of trees, Omsk is still very green. Our city is built on a river, even on two rivers. We have a long embankment, because of this we have beautiful views, and it's just beautiful. The previous governor said that he wants the longest embankment in Europe, and this is 15 kilometers. You are not in Europe! No, in Eurasia, in my opinion, in the world! In the galaxy! I will say that this is Omsk, because they are so hospitable and invite you to visit under any circumstances. Even if you are not ready! They beautifully set up a table with an omelette and tea. A beautiful city! Thank you for watching the video and I also want to thank CyberGhost for sponsoring this video. Don't forget to click the link in the description to get the special discount from CyberGhost VPN. Thank you!