Arkhangelsk: the vibe
Videos from people who went, played right here, with what viewers said underneath. Not part of the score.
The verdict
Mixed · 48Mixed picture: a decaying-housing exposé and bleak comments sit alongside locals who love the city and admirers of its winter beauty, with few remote-work specifics.
- natural beauty
- winter scenery
- local pride
- kind people
- history
- decaying housing
- cold winters
- poor infrastructure
- insects in summer
- sanitation problems
- emigration of young people
- Locals love their hometown despite its hardships
- Wooden barracks and rotting infrastructure are the main concern
- Winters are harsh and summers bring insects
- Former residents say they left and are glad they did
- Visitors find the city striking and unusual, but not a daily-life draw
Read from 8 videos, 40 comments and 0 posts on 2026-11-08; the summary is written by a language model and can misread sarcasm.
Russia’s 900 Rotting Barracks: The Truth About the Slums of the North | Arkhangelsk housing crisis
Ilya Varlamov · 247K views · 2023
What viewers said
“The people are not satisfied; they've simply given up.”
♥ 63 likes
“I was born there and put up for adoption when I was 4, I was adopted when I was 8 so I spent 4 years in an orphangae. Seeing this makes me thankful to have been adopted.”
♥ 62 likes
“I was born in this city. I left when I was 8 years old with my father. I am very happy we left. I wish things would get better for my hometown one day. But I don't think it will ever come.”
♥ 86 likes
“Why do i suddenly feel much more comfortable sitting in my chair watching youtube ...”
♥ 11 likes
“I am from Northern Norway and I love Arkhangelsk and its people...”
♥ 29 likes
“I was looking at Google maps, closely comparing towns and villages on both sides of the border between Lithuania, Poland, and Kaliningrad Oblast. I could clearly see a difference in just how messy Kaliningrad was in terms of upkeep of the r”
♥ 72 likes
“So basically it's a frozen wasteland in winter and an insect infested swamp in the summer.”
♥ 15 likes
“15:50 "We have a freefall toilet".........I dread to visualise that nightmare!! 😲”
♥ 33 likes
“Mein Gott, to je strašné. To je noční můra, to je šílené! Vůbec by mě nenapadlo, že něco takového existuje!”
♥ 4 likes
“i visited this city in 2021, for adopting my son...and what you show in this video is absolutely a little part of the city. The reality is a city well organized, full of shops and new buildings, full of people very kind and willing to help.”
♥ 1 likes
Found with a YouTube search for the city and “digital nomad”, fetched 2026-11-08; titles, descriptions and comments belong to their authors and link to the originals.