Lost In Kalmykia | Europe's Weirdest Republic

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  • Опубликовано: 17 ноя 2019
  • 🇷🇺 Just over 400 years ago a tribe left their homeland in western Mongolia and made their way to Europe. They settled on the windy steppe lands of southern Russia and continued their way of life. I went in search of them and discovered a Buddhist republic living in the heart of Europe. Oh and it is VERY windy there.

Комментарии • 2,3 тыс.

  • @markseto1172
    @markseto1172 4 года назад +5354

    "This could be an actual gulag."
    "It was an actual gulag."

  • @FreeHuman1997
    @FreeHuman1997 4 года назад +4134

    100 Euros!!!
    50 Euros!
    Okay 70 cents would be enough.

  • @n3rdy11
    @n3rdy11 4 года назад +2119

    Turns out the friendly dog was actually supposed to guard the gulag.

  • @zenzen6473
    @zenzen6473 4 года назад +2245

    I am a Kalmyk, and our Republic is very beautiful, come in the spring, there will be a flowering of tulips

  • @MrTTuguldur
    @MrTTuguldur 4 года назад +541

    Kalmyks are Mongols and you have heard language in the concert, thats Kalmyk language. I am a Mongolian lives in Ulaanbaatar and i still understand their language even we were apart for almost 400 years.

  • @siry112
    @siry112 4 года назад +3076

    best GPS = Russian babushkas

  • @hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156
    @hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156 4 года назад +4113

    I do hope you realize just how vitally important it is to make records of these precious small cultures. In 200 years, ethnologists will probably know your name.

  • @another90daystochangethis34
    @another90daystochangethis34 4 года назад +2115

    Soviet era: Get forced into gulag
    Modern day: Get forced out of gulag

    • @JediSimpson
      @JediSimpson 4 года назад +167

      Better out than in, I always say.

  • @konstantingeist3587
    @konstantingeist3587 4 года назад +903

    "on the horizon, I see watchtowers and barbwire. let's get closer!"
    what could possibly go wrong

    • @SevenBears1
      @SevenBears1 4 года назад +55

      You and i would have turned back.. Bald goes to danger.. Brave, Dumb or Crazy ? Thats why we watch..

  • @modkappa
    @modkappa 4 года назад +3872

    Soviet wind is trying to ruin the video.

    • @MsEccentric
      @MsEccentric 4 года назад +1

      ps. i want to reach the 1ksubs and 4kwatchhours on youtube.
      need help🙏

    • @TruthIsTheNewHate84
      @TruthIsTheNewHate84 4 года назад +98

      @@MsEccentric begging for subs isn't the way to accomplish that my friend. Make interesting content. Subs, Views, and Likes will follow.

    • @marxy4328
      @marxy4328 4 года назад +23

      @@MsEccentric no

    • @unfairfight3625
      @unfairfight3625 4 года назад +17

      Soviet winds 😂😂😂😂 classic.

    • @MsEccentric
      @MsEccentric 4 года назад +1

      @@TruthIsTheNewHate84 ok thanks

  • @PeterDaltrey
    @PeterDaltrey 4 года назад +4905

    Mr Bald: Let's see inside a real gulag...
    THIRTY years later exiting: Well, folks.....that was a real gulag. I hope you enjoyed the video...

  • @missco89
    @missco89 4 года назад +1141

    My russian Babushka passed away in March and I miss her so much. Sometimes when you film russian Babushkas I see her - the way they dress, the way they talk. She was the kindest woman ever

  • @sveukurac1389
    @sveukurac1389 4 года назад +5415

    -Give me 100 euro!
    -100 euro???
    - ok give me 50 euro!
    - 50 euro?!? Euro or rubel?
    - ok rubel...

    • @oneof134
      @oneof134 4 года назад +105

      How much 50 rube?????

    • @olanordmann1252
      @olanordmann1252 4 года назад +594

      @@oneof134 is nothing. under $1

    • @MickyAspire
      @MickyAspire 4 года назад +694

      These guys have got no dignity left lmao

    • @digitalgreenie
      @digitalgreenie 4 года назад +955

      Perfect negotiation tactic implemented by Bald

    • @user-rb6ee6jc6v
      @user-rb6ee6jc6v 4 года назад +221

      @@oneof134 80 cents

  • @realone8575
    @realone8575 4 года назад +1630

    Very Buddhist of that man to ask for money straight off the bat.

  • @michcalder88
    @michcalder88 4 года назад +547

    That guy politely mugged you, haha.

  • @xingoo4435
    @xingoo4435 4 года назад +2360

    American truck haha. One was french and the other Swedish.

  • @seth561
    @seth561 4 года назад +604

    Accidentally wandering into a gulag is the most Soviet thing you can do

  • @baldandbankrupt
    @baldandbankrupt  4 года назад +3693

    Everything that could possibly go wrong whilst making this film did go wrong. The weather, lack of people on the street, accidentally stumbling into one of Russia’s worst prisons and being kicked out the town. All a total disaster! Well at least there was some decent Kalmyk music. Skip to the end if the wind is too intense for your ear drums. Cheers bratans!

    • @jackyboy6321
      @jackyboy6321 4 года назад +133

      Good shit as always. Keep it up.

    • @colsonrizzuto7973
      @colsonrizzuto7973 4 года назад +104

      would love to see you go to Mongolia

    • @sajanlimbu4995
      @sajanlimbu4995 4 года назад +19

      Bald looks more bald

    • @mikeyoung8547
      @mikeyoung8547 4 года назад +12

      DAMN IM HYPED TO WATCH THIS NOW

    • @hellomjb
      @hellomjb 4 года назад +12

      Still great stuff!!!!!!

  • @umesha3378
    @umesha3378 3 года назад +281

    I cannot believe the guts you have to just go in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no pre-planning, and give us an experience that we will never have. One of the best videos.

  • @isakstahlberg9318
    @isakstahlberg9318 4 года назад +1713

    This is the most interesting youtube channel i have ever stumbled on to, keep up the good work!

  • @sunchasersteam5098
    @sunchasersteam5098 4 года назад +454

    2:38 Mr Baldy sees a Renault and a Volvo:
    - American truck here in Russia
    Everything in the world is either Soviet or American :D

  • @michaelbread5906
    @michaelbread5906 4 года назад +615

    Haha Haha! That guy wanted 100 Euro's! The look of shock on your face is hilarious Bald! The second he heard you were not Russian, he wanted some of that tourist cash!

    • @user-hk9ec1vl8v
      @user-hk9ec1vl8v 4 года назад +41

      If the bald was Russian but from Moscow or St. Petersburg it would be the same, only a different "price".

    • @F0nkyNinja
      @F0nkyNinja 4 года назад +34

      Should have said: You can have some ruble if you speak some Kalmyk language."

    • @eg1885
      @eg1885 4 года назад +35

      Huge difference between euros and rubles. 100 euros = 7000 rubles.

    • @DavidStickney
      @DavidStickney 4 года назад +18

      he gave him 100 rubles... I think the cheapest bottle would cost about 250 but it's a good start! :)

    • @polinapopova1178
      @polinapopova1178 4 года назад +30

      He would’ve asked that from a Russian person too. Unfortunately people in those villages drink a lot and they would ask for money from any non-local who would’ve approached them.

  • @snaker9er
    @snaker9er 4 года назад +887

    Weird bald guy sneaking around with video camera: "She wasn't the friendliest"

  • @wuhr2790
    @wuhr2790 4 года назад +246

    He sounded so English when he said "Brighton" haha

  • @Jizanthapus
    @Jizanthapus 4 года назад +194

    100 rupee guy is pissed off!

  • @Gichti.
    @Gichti. 4 года назад +168

    You need to visit old German tribes in Russia.

  • @DannyOvox3
    @DannyOvox3 4 года назад +186

    11:23 the sweetest thing, poor doggy just wants some food probably

  • @snicklefritz4209
    @snicklefritz4209 4 года назад +808

    You should travel to Russia’s coldest city Yakutsk it’s the coldest region in Russia

  • @scottcurtis6542
    @scottcurtis6542 4 года назад +628

    I just have so much respect for the effort you put into these videos and your channel. The fact they are so raw is why I watch them.

  • @primark3901
    @primark3901 4 года назад +2005

    Bald: “It could be, an actual Gulag”
    *Bald approaches the actual Gulag*

    • @gingerleegirl6697
      @gingerleegirl6697 4 года назад +8

      Primark what is a gulag?

    • @MaxNaumenko
      @MaxNaumenko 4 года назад +38

      @@gingerleegirl6697 It is a Russian prison

    • @rockie8254
      @rockie8254 4 года назад +165

      @@gingerleegirl6697 a prison for ginger girls.

    • @5thdisciple940
      @5thdisciple940 4 года назад +92

      @@gingerleegirl6697 Soviet Labor Camp.

    • @BL00DRIDER
      @BL00DRIDER 4 года назад +57

      @@gingerleegirl6697 a forced labor camp

  • @AccurateEnglish
    @AccurateEnglish 4 года назад +832

    Enjoy your rest Mr. Bald. So glad to know that you're OK. We care about you and worry about you. Take all the time off that you need. RUclipsr burn out is a real thing.

  • @yogotti2115
    @yogotti2115 4 года назад +125

    Kalmykian here. Come there in the end of April to witness tulip blossom, fascinating thing to do!

  • @PancakesBP
    @PancakesBP 4 года назад +206

    I like how that dude just straight up asked u for cash lmao

  • @DerSpielfuehrer
    @DerSpielfuehrer 4 года назад +125

    "can i have 100€? "
    i should try that too

  • @funny-video-YouTube-channel
    @funny-video-YouTube-channel 4 года назад +434

    Kalmykia is like the wind power house of the world :-)
    So much wind energy potential :-)

  • @nikitadenisenok
    @nikitadenisenok 4 года назад +162

    Wow! I grew up in Kalmykia, so nice to see familiar sights and this bloody wind :3
    I have a feeling that something missing in this video about kalmyks...oh, it's locust)

  • @stevenwalther2699
    @stevenwalther2699 4 года назад +421

    Hey Mate, Thanks to you I had never heard of Kalmykia. But when You first said you were heading that way out of Dagestan, I did some historical research. Super interesting tribe and situation from antiquity as well as the soviet disruption of there culture. If you did not dare to go there I would never have known about such interesting people. So this video is not a failure in any sense, but a huge launchpad to understanding remote cultures to the fog of knowing the easternmost part of the European western world. I applaud your daring and efforts, carry on!

    • @baldandbankrupt
      @baldandbankrupt  4 года назад +91

      That's good enough for me Steven 👍🏻

  • @enki4589
    @enki4589 4 года назад +181

    WD40 needed in Kalmykia!!!

  • @Spjerdalai
    @Spjerdalai 4 года назад +316

    recently found this channel, bingewatched lot of the videos and came to the conclusion that you have to be the guy to meet the first aliens to represent us :D

  • @joshuasims5421
    @joshuasims5421 4 года назад +102

    The Kalmyk writing in the house of culture says ‘Jangar’, the name of a great hero of the Kalmyk/Oirat people.

  • @Cma2506
    @Cma2506 4 года назад +446

    Bald asks the taxi driver to drop in the middle of nowhere
    Also bald: Oh no I am in the middle of bloody nowhere

  • @clarkkent5245
    @clarkkent5245 4 года назад +190

    "Nobody gives detailed directions quite like Russian babushkas"

  • @mikem7159
    @mikem7159 4 года назад +839

    This doesn't look so different from some of the plains states in the US. You won't find Soviet style apartment buildings in such areas, but you will encounter the lone gas stations and small roadside stores. Also, I don't think American authorities would appreciate someone approaching their prisons on foot. I love these videos, but what impresses me most is the human interaction between Ben and the locals. I really feel, that except for the language and some of the cultural barriers, the people he meets could be my friends too.

  • @oldskoolraver1079
    @oldskoolraver1079 4 года назад +218

    This is one of the best travel shows, not only on RUclips but generally. I really want to go on a road trip across Russia. So little known, yet so many different things to see and explore.

    • @anatolpomozov9480
      @anatolpomozov9480 4 года назад +29

      Russia is a large country and has many places that are different from each other. Definitely worth visiting it.

  • @indianterry8176
    @indianterry8176 4 года назад +29

    Never had a desire to travel to Russia. I’ve watched most of your videos and am planning now to visit in 2020. Thanks my Bald brother

  • @harrisonsiegel9536
    @harrisonsiegel9536 4 года назад +272

    Nobody:
    Bald getting out of a car: UWAGGH

  • @CitruSouls
    @CitruSouls 4 года назад +322

    Ever since discovering these videos I have found myself looking into Russian language courses, researching and reading about Russian culture, and wistfully looking at entry visa requirements. This guy is truly living my dream. Makes me jealous.

  • @nikkid4890
    @nikkid4890 4 года назад +41

    Oh, I got goosebumps when the Kalmyk Throat Singing started 12:40! LOVE it. Thanks for sharing another incredible experience

  • @NKDuisburg02
    @NKDuisburg02 4 года назад +34

    The cut to your room was legendary. Nearly pissed my pants.

  • @evilegobrain2245
    @evilegobrain2245 4 года назад +44

    I just saw a band in Philadelphia, Pa here in the states called “The Hu”. They are a traditional throat singing metal band from Mongolia. I highly recommend them. Listen to their songs “Wolf Totem” and “The Great Chinggis Khaan”.

    • @towjam37
      @towjam37 4 года назад

      Evil EgoBrain that’s pretty cool!

  • @jackel785
    @jackel785 4 года назад +152

    I had to rewind like 10 times when the dog ran up to him. That was such a good doggo

  • @God4445
    @God4445 4 года назад +396

    you guys ever get jealous of people that haven't discovered bald yet? They can binge watch so many Russian episodes now.

  • @Fagerstroms
    @Fagerstroms 4 года назад +436

    "American truck!" Points to a Volvo

    • @superLarin
      @superLarin 4 года назад +57

      and a Renault

    • @Foche_T._Schitt
      @Foche_T._Schitt 4 года назад +86

      @@supernintendo7579
      Yes, a conventional cab with a sleeper is uncommon in europe.

    • @harrisonsiegel9536
      @harrisonsiegel9536 4 года назад +54

      Nothing as American as a Swedish manufacturing company

    • @nutlover3609
      @nutlover3609 4 года назад +13

      The red one looks american and Canadian. I see that type of Volvo trucks more than peterbuilts and kenworth in my city

    • @armeniamaroc
      @armeniamaroc 4 года назад +1

      @@nutlover3609 hahah your right thumbs up

  • @bhaskarbharali5853
    @bhaskarbharali5853 4 года назад +61

    Will you go to Volgograd( former Stalingrad) Mr Bald? It's one of the most Soviet places in the Universe.

  • @Opa96
    @Opa96 4 года назад +244

    Hey Mr. Bald!
    Nice Content!
    One Question:
    Can you go to German Villages in Russia, where the people speak the German language?
    I think you can find them in the near of the River Wolga and i think also in the national Rajons Asowo and Halbstadt.

  • @GabrielTravelerVideos
    @GabrielTravelerVideos 4 года назад +121

    Have you seen the movie Genghis Blues yet? If not you'll enjoy it. That was some interesting exploring despite the setbacks. I kind of like those weird abandoned places myself. Good thing they didn't find your camera or that could have been bad.

  • @rinzinnamgyal4335
    @rinzinnamgyal4335 4 года назад +10

    Beautiful Buddhist temple..lots of love frm Tibet 😘😘

  • @eddiesuarez5160
    @eddiesuarez5160 4 года назад +80

    Mr.100rupees has a long lost brother mr.50rubles 🤣😂

  • @WW2HistoryHunter
    @WW2HistoryHunter 4 года назад +151

    Makes me so happy every time i watch Your adventure. Dont know why but just do. Thanks for sharing and Greetings from WW2HistoryHunter.

  • @Temuulen582
    @Temuulen582 4 года назад +27

    Thank you Bald for showing us part of our nationality,sending lots of love from Mongolia

  • @FarterBoom
    @FarterBoom 4 года назад +27

    I learn more from you about Kalmykia in 14 minutes than my lifetime in school

  • @liamdavid2964
    @liamdavid2964 4 года назад +130

    "well what do you know, it actually was a gulag"
    lmao

  • @user-qe9ou1yi5i
    @user-qe9ou1yi5i 4 года назад +120

    That's great! I'm Kalmyk. Are you still in Elista? I would like to meet you! Is it possible?

  • @silvermainecoons3269
    @silvermainecoons3269 3 года назад +11

    It’s so eerie how everything is completely deserted. This is such a fascinating channel!

  • @user-tw9wn7xz7w
    @user-tw9wn7xz7w 4 года назад +118

    he kept his hood on so the wind wouldn’t mess up his hair

  • @2213blaise
    @2213blaise 4 года назад +466

    everybody: man this place is depressing
    People from the rural midwestern united states: this looks like where I'm from

    • @shanegrimes3455
      @shanegrimes3455 4 года назад +54

      Bolivia is more
      depressing

    • @2213blaise
      @2213blaise 4 года назад +62

      @@shanegrimes3455 yeah it is atleast i dont worry about getting burned alive

    • @nigonkouk1770
      @nigonkouk1770 4 года назад +6

      LoL :|) but with no cops'

  • @KaTiA19890901
    @KaTiA19890901 4 года назад +39

    RUclips just randomly recommended me one of your videos. I’ve been binge watching you for hours!!!
    There is something about your nature, that is so pleasing. Thank you for being a breath of fresh air here on this channel. Can’t wait for more

  • @freedomisthegoal1
    @freedomisthegoal1 4 года назад +58

    2:38 "American Truck"
    Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson be like "hold my Surströmming"

  • @bestvibes1848
    @bestvibes1848 4 года назад +140

    These videos of bald in the middle of nowhere is everything

  • @redblack9518
    @redblack9518 4 года назад +49

    Vote for Baldy as Time Magazine's Person of the Year!

  • @Pllayer064
    @Pllayer064 4 года назад +664

    Nobody:
    Bald: *look at these soviet mosaics in front of a wooden shithouse*

  • @SergenteHartman2356
    @SergenteHartman2356 4 года назад +61

    “Lets check out that gulag!”
    *cue Always Sunny in Philadelphia theme*

    • @fhdk227
      @fhdk227 4 года назад +10

      “The gang gets kicked out the village”

  • @T1ddlywinks
    @T1ddlywinks 4 года назад +197

    Bald comes in with the late-night RUclips clutch!

  • @caucasuscaucasus5200
    @caucasuscaucasus5200 4 года назад +47

    Lenin was partly Kalmikian.

  • @doublin35
    @doublin35 4 года назад +6

    The best travel blog type video on youtube. Very honest, interested in the local population & their lives. Always feel like I'm there with you & enjoying what the people have to offer/ and what simple happiness you bring to their day. People are people, no matter what different culture

  • @modernnomad8852
    @modernnomad8852 4 года назад +8

    Very interesting. I stayed many years in Mongolia and would love to visit Kalmykia! Looks like the language is the same!

  • @Zorn27
    @Zorn27 4 года назад +18

    This guy is so respectful of others people's cultures. Cultures I have never heard about.

  • @raymondrace4837
    @raymondrace4837 4 года назад +15

    It’s all part of the adventure! Just hearing the wind caused me me to snuggle deeper in the blankets!!☺️😂☺️

  • @putrapalguna
    @putrapalguna 4 года назад +12

    How i love all of his videos. After a long day. A cold milk and a chocolate and his videos. Perfect.

  • @twotwentietwo
    @twotwentietwo 4 года назад +7

    The dog part was the best!!!!! i love dogs. that dog was so happy to meet u!!!

  • @radikkayupov
    @radikkayupov 4 года назад +111

    You should go to eastern bashkortostan, there is a lot of native speakers of bashkir language

    • @SC-vw1nx
      @SC-vw1nx 4 года назад +4

      Радик are they native Turkish ?

    • @SC-vw1nx
      @SC-vw1nx 4 года назад +4

      Or Tatar ?

    • @radikkayupov
      @radikkayupov 4 года назад +15

      @@SC-vw1nx tatar and bashkir languages are very similar, every person who speaks bashkir can understand tatar.

    • @corvusduluth
      @corvusduluth 4 года назад

      @@radikkayupov Radnik privyet, you are 'rad'. Wasn't Bald in Chelyabinsk?

  • @BichaelStevens
    @BichaelStevens 4 года назад +54

    Chechnya danger video when? You said you would post when safe

  • @evangplayer1829
    @evangplayer1829 4 года назад +4

    I have been watching you for some time and your hilarious. You have uplifted many of my down days, thank you

  • @deltaplan8236
    @deltaplan8236 4 года назад +18

    Proud of this. Kalmyk history, Kalmyk people, European Buddhists. Uralan!

  • @Schlomothebest
    @Schlomothebest 4 года назад +16

    Good you're back. I was fed up with your Norwegian friend

  • @TysonAli07
    @TysonAli07 4 года назад +29

    100 Euro to 50 Rubel. Real quick 😂

  • @tashasaati9918
    @tashasaati9918 4 года назад +9

    It was very cool! Thank you for this video. I am Russian but never visited Kalmykia.
    By the way, may be one day you can go to Karachaevo-Cherkessia region. Beautiful place! There are mountains covered with the snow, old forests, cable road running through the forest. My childhood memories! Also, we have a lot of wonderful places on the Black sea: Sochi, Gelendzhik, Novorossijsk. Well, one can travel all his life through Russia. Hope one day to visit England. But Montreal, where I live, is also interesting city.

  • @maverickjohnson1399
    @maverickjohnson1399 4 года назад +2

    Absolutely incredible! So glad you weren't detained for a lengthy amount of time! Thanks for sharing your adventures, don't be so discouraged! Wow that singing at the end was superb, it must take years to get your voice to sound like that! Wow! Thanks brother!

  • @Sly-Fox
    @Sly-Fox 4 года назад +10

    You make me want to learn the beautiful language of russian and travel this gorgeous land of amazing people and architecture.

  • @Сэтрий
    @Сэтрий 4 года назад +40

    "100 евро дайте хоть" - ахах))

  • @sklepa
    @sklepa 4 года назад +39

    I was born in 1989 in Poland, yet still I can find so many similarities to what I have seen during my childhood. Comparing to those soviet countries You've been travelling and showing for us, there is clearly some common ground, and Im feeling watching all these like in a time machine.

  • @ExplorewithSvetlin
    @ExplorewithSvetlin 4 года назад +39

    Come to vlog in Bulgaria. Many babushkas speak russian and there are astonishing soviet relics. We can vlog together for a tour.

  • @JBugz777
    @JBugz777 4 года назад +78

    I've started presenting things in everyday life using Bald's hand gesture..

  • @daynerthechamp
    @daynerthechamp 4 года назад +4

    Absolutely love your videos Bald! Ill immediately stop what I'm doing to watch as soon as they're uploaded!! Fantastic content.

  • @MrAndrei4777
    @MrAndrei4777 4 года назад +4

    Thank you for sharing all the amazing places you have visited in the former Sovjet Union. Great videos and great experience, I can't tell with words how cool your adventures are. I'm literally jalous and man, you have balls!

  • @fieryrage7272
    @fieryrage7272 4 года назад +16

    SO unfortunate you didn't manage to hear the language. I hope you'll come back to Kalmykia in April or May, the most beautiful period of time in Kalmykia, eat our national food and meet nice people.

  • @klwthe3rd
    @klwthe3rd 4 года назад +13

    I love how Bald tries to list all the towns(big and small) he stops at along his journeys so that I can follow his progress on Google maps. 🤗

  • @ivankaurin7429
    @ivankaurin7429 4 года назад +7

    you are the only travel vlogger that I watch and will ever watch...

  • @Mataz007
    @Mataz007 4 года назад +80

    “Probably taken from a nice soviet bus stop”