Cool channel, cool profile! It shows the real face of Russia, a little bit of simplicity, a little bit of glamour, wit, humor, cool people, but not a word about “events taking place in the world”… As if there were no war…
In 2024, the YouTube channel “In Matryoshka” was created. The creator of the channel is a Pole who lives in Moscow, married a Russian woman, and started a family there. For unspecified reasons, it turned out that he had more time on his hands. So “Matryoshka” was launched. The channel shows Russia, mainly Moscow, but also the provinces to some extent. In the first video, the creator seems to justify himself: “In 2020, we returned to Moscow. This is important in the context of events taking place in the world. This is a certain background, but one that I would particularly like to avoid referring to.”
This can be interpreted as follows: There is a war, but I came to Russia before 2022 and I will not touch on this topic. It’s as if he were winking, “you know, you understand…” In a later video, he refers to viewers’ questions about the channel’s omission of politics. In response, the author talks about algorithms: “YouTube particularly regulates topics related to Russia, and especially topics related to Russia in Ukraine.” He later adds: “Politics is not my main area of interest. I am more interested in foreign cultures.”
What isn’t there? Discount stores in Moscow, crazy car crash competitions, walks around Moscow, and much, much more. Let’s add a visit to a gas station with obscenely cheap fuel and an unofficial Rolls-Royce showroom. We can come across a meeting of local Poles and watch walks around Moscow with Russian Poles (or Russians of Polish descent). At times, the channel shows glamour and the good life, and the viewer is struck by the thought, “What a pity that Rolls-Royce has withdrawn from Russia.” Why did it withdraw? No one mentioned it in the material. The author does not want to talk about “events taking place in the world.” Moreover, in the video “Why I don’t talk about politics,” he notes that calling for sanctions is punishable in Russia (as is discrediting the army).
So we take walks with local Poles and slowly get drawn into “another world,” forgetting about “the issue of Russia in Ukraine.” After all, this is a country that attacked its neighbor, a country with a conscience burdened by murder and rape, terrorist shelling of residential areas with civilians. Somewhere, all this evaporates without a trace. The process of warming the image of the Russian Federation is underway (whether planned or not, we cannot say).
There are also channels on other social media. Interesting interactions take place under the posts. For example, Renata Kwapiszewska (a 99.99% fictitious account) “wrote”: “I have always liked the Russian language and the eastern Polish accent. I feel closer to Russians than to Ukrainians (whom I do not consider Slavs). To the surprise of my friends, I have always valued Russian culture and literature over American culture and literature. I always tell my friends that you have to separate Russian politicians and politics from the lives of ordinary people. This also applies to Poland and probably many other countries. The Russophobia that is omnipresent in the media frightens me with its unfounded aggression.”
Let’s add one more quote (Aleksandra Amina Krzyzińska, also a fake account): “And what do you know, you only base your opinions on the bullshit you read on the internet or in the news. Russia is a very modern and highly developed country. What has Russia done to you?
Even Russia attacked Ukraine because the Russian minority in Ukraine was being murdered in Donbas. This war has been going on since 2014, and now it has simply spread to the whole of Ukraine, that’s all” (original spelling in Polish with errors).
Interestingly, some comments are dominated by “Russophobes,” who outnumber the “Slavs.” Some of the “Russophobe” accounts are also fictitious. Everything is as always according to the rules of the textbook: stir up emotions on both sides. Undoubtedly, however, some of the accounts criticizing the “W Matrioszce” channel are real, sending the creators of the channel (and the whole of Russia) to the same place where the infamous ship Moskva ended up.
In summary, there are no clear grounds for concluding that the channel was definitely created to improve Russia’s image. The author may simply have felt the need to do so, given that he is “interested in foreign cultures” (let’s add: he is a sinologist). However, when watching the videos, this process takes place without reflection. The conclusions seem to come subliminally: Russia is a cool country to visit. There is no doubt, however, that certain factors are at work, generating pan-Slavic and anti-Western comments.
Before 2014, this would have been one of many channels bringing the foreign world closer. In the year 2025, the question arises: is this the work of a “useful idiot” or a commissioned job?
Albert Iwański
