---
type: Video
title: "I Traveled to the Russian Republic No Tourists Visit 🇷🇺"
description: A day in Kalmykia with a Kalmyk host — Europe's largest Buddhist temple, a Soviet flat and a grandmother born in Siberian exile, camels on the steppe, and Harry's most careful verdict on Russians.
tags: [russia, kalmykia, elista, buddhism, deportation, nomads, food, hospitality]
timestamp: 2026-08-05T12:00:00Z
resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W7JY6CKw08
video_id: 5W7JY6CKw08
upload_date: 2025-10-01
duration: 2002
---

# I Traveled to the Russian Republic No Tourists Visit 🇷🇺

Part two, in [Elista](/places/elista.md), and the best video of the
[Russia](/countries/russia.md) cluster. Harry's host is
[Valentina](/people/valentina.md), who was his next-door neighbour in
[Bali](/places/bali.md) and told him to come if he was ever in Russia.

The history is the spine: the Kalmyks descend from a Mongolian nomad tribe, were
granted citizenship by the Tsars for fighting the Ottomans, and were then
deported wholesale to Siberia by Stalin on an accusation of Nazi sympathy that
Harry says he doesn't believe. Only about 100,000 came back.

The day itself is domestic — a temple, a Soviet flat, a grandmother's table, a
yurt, camels, and a meal her family insist on paying for. And it produces the
most careful thing Harry says about Russians anywhere: the stereotype that they
are cold is true, and it is not the same as their not being kind.

## Key moments

- [00:00] The premise: the only Buddhist republic in Europe, whose people were
  exiled by Stalin.
- [00:32] Valentina, from Kalmykia, who did not expect him to take up the
  invitation.
- [00:32] The largest Buddhist temple in Europe; white and yellow worn out of
  respect; prayer wheels holding mantras.
- [01:39] Her own summary of the republic: it produces nothing, and is among the
  poorest places in Russia.
- [02:09] The 1990s, when nationalist skinheads attacked Kalmyks in Moscow. A
  relative of hers was left paralysed for ten years and died three years ago.
- [02:40] Now: Moscow is more open, and a Russian passport and good Russian are
  what count.
- [03:13] The temple was renovated rather than built, with the Lama's money.
- [03:59] What threatens the culture is the young leaving for work elsewhere.
- [04:36] Who the Kalmyks are — Oirats, nomadic, fierce fighters, used by the
  Tsars against the Ottoman threat and given citizenship for it.
- [05:07] Stalin's deportation to Siberia. Many died on the way; about 100,000
  returned after his death.
- [05:07] Around 300,000 Kalmyks today, roughly 70% Buddhist.
- [05:42] Brain drain to Volgograd and Moscow, because the opportunities aren't
  here.
- [06:15] A typical Soviet block of flats, and the courtyard where four
  buildings' children played together.
- [07:21] Gifts for a Russian grandmother: vodka, sweets and sausage.
- [09:09] The flat was given by the government about 47 years ago, when
  Valentina's mother was born.
- [09:43] Bathroom and toilet in separate rooms — normal here, and his hosts find
  the Western arrangement strange.
- [10:18] Guests are fed on arrival, and refusing is rude.
- [10:59] Her grandmother taught for over 50 years, including how to handle a
  gun.
- [12:11] Born in Siberia in 1949, left in 1957.
- [12:43] Her memories of the USSR are affectionate; what's good now is that her
  family are doing well, and that you have to work.
- [13:21] Three shots is what's expected of a man.
- [14:29] Asked for one good thing about living here, she says family.
- [16:31] Her advice to two unmarried men: when you feel the lightning, you'll
  know.
- [16:31] Number plates carry the region code — 8 for Kalmykia.
- [17:33] The number one tourist activity: a yurt, put up from scratch in about
  an hour and a half. By the women, he's told, while the men drink vodka.
- [19:22] Sheep intestine soup on the menu.
- [19:58] Camels — two humps, the second being fat for endurance. The babies are
  five months old.
- [22:08] What he takes from it: Russia has 190 ethnic groups, and this is one.
  The diversity is the thing nobody expects.
- [22:38] Archery.
- [23:12] The monument to the repression of the Kalmyks, with a deportation
  carriage beside it — a week to Siberia, no food, no explanation.
- [23:45] The verdict on the stereotype: Russians are cold, and it's true.
- [24:17] And the other half: cold is not unkind. A barrier, a hard history, −30
  winters, very few foreigners, and wariness that he says is normal in most of
  the world.
- [24:47] Why the comparison is unfair — the Philippines and Indonesia live on
  tourism.
- [25:18] Sheep testicles.
- [26:26] Kalmyk tea: green tea boiled with milk, salt and butter.
- [27:00] Dumplings, a Mongolian-ish borscht, and a local lemonade he rates above
  everything.
- [27:30] Her family pay for the whole meal and won't let him contribute.
- [28:05] The nomadic life ended long ago; what survives is a tolerance for hard
  travel.
- [28:41] Why the food is so calorific, and what that now costs people.
- [29:11] His closing argument: countries are made up, people are more alike than
  expected, and the point of travel is finding the commonalities.
- [30:12] Valentina's version, and the better one: Russians don't trust quickly
  and never stop once they do; they are direct, and you will never be shown a
  face put on for you.
- [31:23] Leon's line, which Harry endorses as the lesson: never confuse politics
  with people.
- [31:58] They have not been allowed to pay for a single thing all day.

## Extracted pages

- Place: [Elista](/places/elista.md)
- Country: [Russia](/countries/russia.md)
- People: [Valentina](/people/valentina.md), [Leon](/people/leon.md)
- Tips: [A government and its people are not the same thing](/tips/separate-a-government-from-its-people.md),
  [Judge a place for yourself](/tips/judge-a-place-for-yourself.md),
  [Bring gifts for hosts](/tips/bring-gifts-for-hosts.md)