| “ | Stay cheeki breeki! | ” |
―Life of Boris | ||
Life of Boris is a Russian-Estonian YouTuber. He is known for his videos on cooking, gaming, country reviews, and somewhat random content involving his shenanigans with strange ideas (such as cooking with only a brick), all while portraying a stereotyped Gopnik subculture, speaking with a strong, slavic accent. His videos occasionally involve his cousin Anatoli or his cat Artyom.
There is much speculation on where Boris is from, or where he currently lives. In 2018, it was confirmed by Boris in an interview that he was residing in Tallinn, Estonia.[1] In the June 2020 YouTube video, "Completely normal phenomenon - Life of Boris subreddit", he claimed to live in Moscow, Russia, while in the March 2021 video, "Top 30 Frequently Asked Questions about Boris (Q&A)", he claims to reside in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[2]
In addition, on February 4, 2021, under a video by British travel blogger bald and bankrupt traveling across the CIS countries called "Solo In Estonia's East 🇪🇪". On this video, Life of Boris seemed to have left a comment in which he invited the blogger to Kopli (a microdistrict in Tallinn) "for instant good friends" hinting that Boris may live in both Estonia and Russia.
History[]
Timeline[]
Boris created his channel on July 6, 2012 under the username NocturnoPlays, though no videos were uploaded until May 4, 2015, when Boris uploaded his first video titled "Cab driver Boris: THE CHEEKI BREEKI BEGINS - A Slav montage".
On August 4, 2015, Boris reached 1,000 subscribers and uploaded "1000 SUBSCRIBERS SPECIAL - 3 months in review".
In March 2016, he reached 10,000 subscribers and uploaded "10K Subscriber special - 8 months of slavness".
In May 2016, he reached 50,000 subscribers and uploaded a birthday special that was equally his 100th video and one year anniversary of YouTube uploads, "Buterbrod cake and Q&A - Birthday special (100th video / 50k subs special".
On October 23, 2016, he reached 401,000 subscribers and celebrated with a Q&A video titled "Boris Q&A - 401K subs special."
On November 7, 2017, Boris announced the release of his mobile game "Life of Boris: Super Slav", initially available on both Android and iOS, and later Nintendo Switch. It was removed from the App Store in 2020 and from the Google Play Store in 2021.[3] More information can be found on the Life of Boris: Super Slav Wiki.
On November 19, 2017, he reached a milestone of 1 million subscribers and uploaded How to celebrate like Slav - ONE MILLION GOPNIKS SPECIAL.
Gopnik Gaming[]
Boris used to have a now-defunct gaming channel, Gopnik Gaming, and in August 2018 explains why he stopped uploading to Gopnik Gaming, describing how the YouTube algorithm is unreliable and makes it difficult to successfully run two different channels at once, but he has since uploaded a video named "this just got hard" on the channel.
On January 18, 2019, Boris reached 2 million subscribers and uploaded "Still alive! Status Update", where he a explained his week-long absence on why he had been gone for weeks, while also celebrating having 2 million subscribers. In that same video, Boris explains that his dream car, the E34 M5, which was questioned in this video and was said to appear in his 2 million subscribers special, did not end up appearing as the price of said car had since doubled.
Hospitalization[]
In 2019, he tried spicy food for the first time, but that night he experienced severe stomach issues, which were later diagnosed as appendicitis. He was admitted to the hospital and underwent his first-ever surgery. During his two-week stay, he learned how to draw and animate.[4][5]
Hiatus[]
On February 26, 2022, Boris uploaded all is lost, which touched on the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. He explained that the war initially made him hesitant to share Russian and Ukrainian culture during the 2014 annexation of Crimea and War in Donbas. Now, with the incredibly fragile relationship between both countries, he had decided to stop making videos for the time being. Boris also said that some people he knew were in danger, so he was "needed elsewhere" and promised he would be back soon. He finished the video by quoting the last words of a group of Ukrainian soldiers who refused to give up an island under threat by Russian warships. When told over the radio to lay down their weapons and surrender, they said "Russian warship, go f*** yourself." The soldiers were presumed dead, but the State Border Guard Service said there's a chance some may have been captured by the Russians instead. Boris' video is now private on YouTube, but has since been uploaded to other video sharing platforms since.
On July 6, 2022 in "Thank you for watching", Boris states that due to the YouTube algorithm no longer recommending his videos, he will stop uploading to the channel for the time being. He created a new YouTube channel named Soup Kitchen Gaming, which would then be deleted soon after. He goes on to say that he will still upload to the Life of Boris channel whenever he feels the motivation to do so.
On November 10, 2022, he announced that he had deleted all of his social media profiles with the exception of YouTube in "social media is dead, ask me anything (Q&A)".
Return[]
By early 2023, Boris had returned to a fairly normal upload schedule after posting two more videos in February 2023 where he further discusses his decline in popularity, which had directly impacted his ability to make a living from YouTube.
In June 2024, Boris set an estimated 50-100 of his videos to private.
Books[]
In late June 2024, Boris announced that he was working on two books—a cookbook and a storybook—promising that both would be completed by the upcoming fall.
On July 17, 2024, he published his book titled "Roadside Midnight".[6] A month later, on August 17, 2024, his cookbook was also released. [7]
On August 26, 2024, he officially announced the release of these books.[8]
Personal Life[]
Boris was born on May 5th, 1986.[9] Before working as a full-time YouTuber, he was a programmer for an Estonian company[1], hinting that he coded in Java.[10] He has resumed this from October 2021, relocating to Estonia.[11] Not much is known about his family life. He has a cousin, Anatoli, who occasionally appears in videos, but like Boris, he always wears a mask and sunglasses while on camera. In January 2025, Boris confirmed in "The forbidden cake from 1945" that he is married, showing his ring. Two weeks later, he also confirmed that he has a child in "my son won't eat my potato salad ☹️". Boris' other family members are vaguely mentioned and have yet to be seen. Generally, he states that, like himself, his family members wish to maintain their privacy and remain anonymous.
Nationality[]
He identifies himself as Estonian, but his country of origin is unconfirmed, as he has only mentioned to be from a "Slavic country".[1] Although he has confirmed residing and working in Estonia, he does not speak Estonian.[1]
There is evidence that suggests Boris was possibly born in Norilsk, a small city in Russia. He commented on a video named "The Most Depressing City On Earth" , which became the top comment, that he "was from there", referring to the city named by the uploader of the video. However, given his personality, this comment may have been satirical.
In his video "NO PC, NO PROBLEM - C# and Unity with Boris," when looking at the keyboard hooked up to his desktop monitor, you can see two keys to the right of the L key. The first shows Ø, Ö, and Æ. The second shows Æ, Ä, and Ø. Some of these letters only exist in Scandinavian languages of Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Icelandic, however, the chance of Boris being Faroese is low. There is a chance that the keyboard uses the Estonian and/or Finnish script, as both Ö and Ä are used in said languages.
Cooking[]
Boris' cooking videos are among the most popular on his channel. He is well-versed in Russian cuisine, as seen in his videos. His cooking methods, however, can occasionally be rather peculiar, involving the use of tools like a chainsaw or sledgehammer.
Some of the dishes he has prepared include:
- Chebureki (a deep-fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions)
- Kvass (a fermented non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverage commonly made from rye bread)
- Russian (Potato) Salad/Olivier salad
- Halva made from semechki (sunflower seed)
- Plov/Pilaf (Student Edition) (a rice dish made with spices, vegetables or meat)
- Instant Noodles using various weird techniques
- Strawberry Jam
- Gopnik Beer
- Goulash (a soup of meat and vegetables usually seasoned with paprika)
- Sausage (Pork and Beef)
- Kompot (a non-alcoholic sweet beverage)
- Aspic (a gelatin dish made with a meat stock)
- Chicken Kiev/Chicken Cutlet of Kiev (a cutlet of chicken with dill)
- Solyanka (with pork) (a thick, spicy and sour soup)
- Mayonnaise (a condiment of eggs)
- Borsch (a sour soup)
- Herring Under Fur Coat/Dressed herring (a layered salad)
- Cabbage Rolls
- Butter
- Apple Pear Pie (albeit burnt)
- Milk soup
- Russian Onion Salad
- Gopnik Wine (apple juice wine)
- Kluski z makiem (Polish poppy seed pasta)
- Kulebyaka (a Russian salmon log)
- Soviet Pizza
Characters[]
Anatoli[]
Anatoli is Boris' cousin who occasionally makes appearances in his videos. He often wears a white Adidas tracksuit and a white ushanka, along with a balaclava and sunglasses, similar to Boris. Anatoli rarely speaks in the videos, leaving Boris to do most of the talking.
Sergei[]
Sergei is the cameraman who sometimes records Boris' videos. There are no images of Sergei, other than his hand appearing in some unboxing videos.
Artyom (Komrade Kat)[]
Artyom (born: August 30, 2018) is Boris' cat, and he belongs to the Russian Blue breeds. His mother was a rescue cat, so his father remains unknown. Artyom was named after the protagonist from the "Metro" series based on a fan's suggestion. Before being named "Artyom," he was nicknamed "Komrade Kat," and still is called such to this day. He made his debut in "Life of Artyom", which documented his early days. He later began residing more in the countryside, and Boris rarely showed him in his videos.
In late October 2023, Boris announced that Artyom had gone missing two months prior. He has not been seen since. [12]
Vadim[]
Vadim is Boris' evil neighbor known for stealing Boris' belongings and disturbing Boris due from his construction work, one that involves specifically drilling holes on the walls. Boris, exasperated with Vadim, refers to him as "Vadim Blyat." Vadim seems to be equally annoyed by Boris.[13]
Kasha (Kasha the cat)[]
Kasha is a cat that used to be owned by Boris' neighbor. Not much information is know about him. [12]
Discography[]
- DJ Blyatman, Life of Boris - Slav King (2017)[14]
- XS Project, Life of Boris - Red Roubles (2017)[15]
- DJ Blyatman, Life of Boris - Generation Hardbass (2018)[16]
- Alan Aztec, Uamee, Life of Boris - Papa Hardbassov (2019) [17]
- Uamee, Professional Gopnik, Life of Boris - Lada (2019)[18]
- Life of Boris, Uamee - Parking Lot (2020)[19]
- Uamee, Life of Boris - No Ruski Pop (2021)[20]
- Uamee, Life of Boris, Alan Aztec - The Bay Leaf (2021)[21]
- Uamee, Life of Boris - Stalkers in the Zone (2022)[22]
- Uamee, Life of Boris - Contraband (2022) [23]
- Life of Boris - Three Days Sober (2023)[24]
- Uamee, Life of Boris - Life is Loud (2025)[25]
- Life of Boris - Diamonds in the Dirt (2025)[26]
- Life of Boris - Under the Sun (2025)
Quotes[]
- "If you're driving, always have dashcam. If you do not, someone will come and crash into you and you will have lost a good youtube video"
Matryoshkas and Caviar - Moscow review (200th video)
- "So tell me. Student Anatoli, how many time you're driving already" (Anatoli brings out one finger) "Ah, is no problem. Is my first time also"
Slav school of driving - driving instructor Boris
- "Add one verry important component, the bayleaf~... or maybe two, cos' y'know, f*** it"
How to make borsch soup like a slav (Borscht recipe) - Cooking with Boris
- "Is West. Why not East?"
Boris goes London - Country review
- "Vadim, Blyat!"
MAKE SYRNIK AT VADIM'S PLACE - Russian Syrniki simple recipe
- "Half tablespoon of sugar, surprise your liver. The other white powder, double the surprise."
How to make Russian Onion Salad (ultimate slav gamer snack)
- "HERZLICHEN GLÜCKWUHSCH- Nein nein nein...... HERZLICH WILLKOMMEN!" ("HAPPY BIRTHDAY- No no no...... WELCOME!")
German Language Lesson (beginner level)
- "Two hours of sleep is better than no hours of sleep"
Stress-testing the new cookbook
- "'A-Are-Are you okay?' No no I'm fine, I'm just following an American recipe."
When Russians cook with American units
- "'What's the plan? Farming potato here, with Oscar and Vitali? You need to start doing something that does not require other people. People are assholes. Hm. Who wrote this book? Must be a man of culture."
Trivia[]
- Boris' channel is named after the movie "Life of Brian".
- Boris has a habit of mentioning his grandmother, especially in his cooking videos, whom he calls Бабушка (Babushka), which is the diminutive of 'grandmother' in many Slavic languages.[27]
- He was featured at VidCon London 2019 and uploaded a corresponding country review video.
- Boris also met TomSka at VidCon 2019.
- Boris states that he wishes to remain anonymous in all of his videos; thus, very little is known about his appearance or life outside of YouTube.
- Boris has created eight music videos for his songs Slav King, Red Roubles, Generation Hardbass, Parking Lot, The Bay Leaf, Contraband, Stalkers in the Zone (private since 2024), and Life is Loud, along with two lyric videos for LADA and No Ruski Pop.
- The music video for Slav King is the most viewed video on his channel.
- Much of the background music used in Boris' videos were created by Latvian Hardbass producer, uamee (pronounciation: either "yah-mee" or "yah-meh"), whom Boris praised as "The Mastermind of Hardbass".
- In "How to make Kissel like babushka", uamee sent Boris a bag of Latvian "Kartofel'nyj" Potato Starch.
- Boris is multilingual. He has spoken many languages including, but not limited to, Russian, Japanese, English, and German.
- Boris cooked for the first time when he was 8 or 9.[28]
- Boris once crashed every school computers in school when he was 13.[29]
- He called his family "the IT experts" at the present time. When he was younger, he had the Internet, a printer and a mid 90's box computer at home that barely ran DOOM.
- Boris got mugged by a thief at the age of 13 or 14, he described it as a very "interesting" experience.[30]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://digi.geenius.ee/rubriik/kuidas-me-tootame/slaavi-superstaar-life-boris-peab-end-eestlaseks-ja-soovitab-koigil-tool-lahkumisavaldus-anda/ Interview with Life of Boris (March 20, 2021)
- ↑ Top 30 Frequently Asked Questions about Boris (Q&A) (en). Life of Boris (March 1, 2021).
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211231065021/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8etS3YErwmg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t1EZ66UPMU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5vWE4Ifvo
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Midnight-Boris-B-Blinkov-ebook/dp/B0D9QN9QK4?ref_=ast_author_dp
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Life-Boris-Cookbook-B-Blinkov-ebook/dp/B0DDQJZZMB?ref_=ast_author_mpb
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS5tt2z_DFvG7-39J3aE-bQ/community?lb=UgkxqKiIueO9H6x2kB_qYC5l7nEl7b30P7lc
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/the_life_of_boris/ Life of Boris Instagram bio (March 20, 2021)
- ↑ Boris hints at using Javahttps://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx3LM0o_dsmeQtpxFzdrrGrAwdklSbaHoZ?si=9wYc9ssIB-id0_Ed
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211026004351/https://youtube.com/watch?v=CzJl82h7DEo
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT31Hu3grUo
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9WAfwWnWzU
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/4EYpUo1xhDRdburHyvAyEm?si=60aaa990628b432c
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/58dvtfKWOPGTeZtLuOdydV?si=d01de27c7474442f
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/4f7vGgVjerG05EYcERENDb?si=fac50b4b87794e44
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/7MD9z67ArSL6XBO0v5BwTR?si=94bebfb8dc124f9b
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/0Wyz9TK6xieKVQe0a1lB6w?si=b4e5e731d1e54d63
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/0Hjo9dN5yP1BbxxiWmzmaJ?si=9ef15f52ecc54edc
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/4h67icLz8eBzG4yYdPeyCF?si=ffd090c02a1e4b06
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/0YwcN3qPtAJaeemmXSHOL4?si=d274a9068b8a45fc
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/54NQvRO8JH4m3aWPHtWvTt?si=86a6107e8f634e72
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/7tQ4UF9SNTZKLSpMX417hb?si=e43c333447ba4046
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/2FE4nUq7Gq9xFHd8zCzhjz?si=dce4cdf6d9584d90
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/track/46ozmzsbPW67JsH1JNmvMQ?si=696ec0712d69419e
- ↑ Diamonds in The Dirt - song and lyrics by Life of Boris | Spotify
- ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/babushka
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHNpyaUi9XA&t=121s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scRJs-FFueU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ic4lszkldc