You can take trains from Moscow to all kinds of romantic sounding places; St Petersburg, Vladivostok, Beijing...Well I didn't do that, instead I chose to go to Saransk the capitol of the backwater republic of Mordovia.
Whist travelling the backwaters of Russia I heard about the Mordvoian people who speak a language called Moksha. And so began my journey to a village deep in Europe in search of someone who could teach me a few words.
Greetings from the republic of Chuvashia in deepest Russia where I went on a hunt for the little known European language of Chuvash. And as usual on the way I met some real characters.
What do you know about the republic of Mari El deep in Russia on Europe's eastern border? Probably not too much right. What about their language? Well you're not alone
What do you think of when someone says the word 'Europe'? Maybe Paris or Milan? Maybe the beaches of Spain or the mountains of Switzerland. Well there is another Europe that stretches out along the eastern border of the great continent.
Sometimes Russia throws up some crazy experiences and yesterday was such a day when I discovered an ancient church located somewhere on the edge of Europe.
I recently met the popular Russian YouTuber NFKRZ for a tour of his hometown, Chelyabinsk which is a city that doesn't have the best reputation in Russia to say the least.
Not long ago the town of Karabash was declared Russia's most toxic town due got the heavy pollutants that a mining plant was pumping into the air over the region.
Greetings from Kyrgyzstan where I decided to check out the famous lake Issyk-Kul. However I found more than I expected whilst searching an abandoned building in the town of Balykchy...Oh and warning: I say the word Soviet quite a lot too.
Three days ago I travelled to Belarus to drive back into the radiation zone there and deliver supplies to some of the last remainers on that contaminated piece of land. I also bumped into an old friend you may recognise.
