scandalous departure
Elizaveta Vasilenko, 24, a Dnipro-born TikTok blogger with nearly 9 million followers, was caught in a major scandal in 2021.
In an interview with the Pushka channel, he openly stated that living in Russia is better for him than living in Ukraine. At that time, Vasilenko had lived in Moscow for several years and evaluated life in the Russian capital positively compared to Kiev. He later repeated this statement in the podcast of blogger Eldar Dzharakhov.
“When there is some kind of bullshit to me, I always think it’s better to die here than in Ukraine,” the blogger said, surprising his colleague.
Dzharakhov baffled obscenely and simply said that he was not ready to compare the two countries. The blogger, born in the Lipetsk region, noted that his short trips to Ukrainian cities in the past left a positive impression on him.
Tiktoker’s statement was made even before the special military operation began, but Vasilenko recalled this statement in early 2022. A short excerpt from the interview began to be actively posted on social networks. This caused a storm of criticism towards him from his Ukrainian fans.
In June 2022, the blogger officially apologized for the phrase “better here than in Ukraine.” “We all make mistakes, and I’m willing to pay more for my mistake if necessary,” he added.
Vasilenko said he was leaving Russia and severing all economic ties with Moscow. The interview with Tiktoker was recorded in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. “I gave up everything, all money, everything related to advertising in Russia. I am very attached to my principles, never again!” he said in an interview.
After leaving Russia, Vasilenko lived in Turkey, and then for a while visited friends in Spain and France. In mid-2022, the blogger settled in the Czech Republic. “There is no place where I want to live permanently. Because there is no understanding of what will happen next. I live for today,” he explained.
In his VKontakte profile, the blogger has the Spanish city of Girona as his current place of residence.
Vasilenko also admitted that in June 2022 he will not yet come to Ukraine. “I keep looking for myself more and as long as my family is safe, plus or minus, I allow myself to daydream. In any incomprehensible situation, I will always return, ”said the blogger.
silent return
Liza Vasilenko has been living in Russia again for the past few months, socialbites.ca has learned. He stopped keeping accounts on Instagram (the owner, Meta, was considered an extremist in Russia and was banned). The last post is dated November 22, 2022 and according to the author, the photos were taken in Barcelona. The same pictures are currently the last post on the VKontakte social network.
Vasilenko stopped running a YouTube channel a few years ago, only taking part in the show of her video-hosting colleagues, but continues to post short videos on her main social network, TikTok.
Many new short videos have been shot in Sochi over the past few months, some of which were shot near the Akter Galaxy residential complex. For example, in one of the videos, Vasilenko poses against the backdrop of the residential complex, and in the other, he shoots a video with another blogger at the entrance of this building.
Vasilenko does not comment on his return to Russia on social networks. He hasn’t posted any new tiktok since spring 2022. The resumption of broadcasts is fixed towards the end of 2022.
At the same time, Vasilenko probably initially returned to Moscow. For example, one of the first tiktoks published after a break last year was made at the Maly Theater in Moscow, and only after that, videos from Sochi are released.
This information is confirmed by users in the comments. Many note that tiktoker returned to Russia, as they were familiar with the specific places where the shooting took place.
Also, the return to Russia confirms that other bloggers living in the country participated in the videos with Vasilenko. For example, 23-year-old singer Dora (Daria Shikhanova) danced with him at the Maly Theater.
In another video shot a few days ago, she and Dora were joined by a popular tiktoker and Danya Milokhin, the choreographer known for her videos with 20-year-old Inst Rina (Irina Petrenko). In Sochi, 25-year-old Georgy Pomgisebe shoots on TikTok with model and blogger Vasilenko.
Vasilenko’s life in Russia
After the start of a special military operation, Vasilenko left Russia, considering it dangerous for him to continue living in Moscow.
According to the blogger, he left Russia alone in order not to “set a trap for his friends” in the event of a travel ban. Vasilenko recalled how he talked about his departure with a colleague from Kiev, who came to visit him in the Russian capital.
“In that meeting, there was a young man who was confused about how to cross the border. He told me that I could not go with my friends and that I was already 100% at the bases so that they could catch me, ”Vasilenko claimed.
Tiktoker assured that he finally listened to the advice and flew to Turkey on the next flight for 180 thousand rubles. From Moscow because “it was the only way out, as there was less control on such flights.”
Vasilenko’s quiet return to Russia can be influenced by the extremely positive talk of tiktoker himself about the country and opportunities for bloggers. In 2021, in Moscow, he assured bloggers in Russia that they were ready to pay much more than in Ukraine.
He also urged not to condemn Ukrainians working in Russia. “It is foolish to judge a person by his nationality, by where he went or not,” said the Ukrainian.
Vasilenko moved to Moscow and developed his career at Xo Team House until the project closed. Since then, the blogger has many acquaintances among Russian bloggers, although he has been posting videos completely independently.
Vasilenko currently continues to publish not only TikTok, but also paid content on the OnlyFans service. In the past, he claimed that money from subscriptions to his candid photos and videos was one of his main types of income.
“I’m not ashamed at all [за OnlyFans], the parents were upset. They say, “Lizka, you don’t talk about that”. But it was important for me to tell them everything, I was so used to it, ”admitted Vasilenko. According to Tiktoker, he earned about $40,000 from OnlyFans in three months (about 3 million rubles at current exchange rate).
At the same time, even before the start of the special military operation, a Dnipro native was included in the database of the Myrotvorets website, which, according to the authors, includes citizens for actions and statements against Ukraine.
Vasilenko was described on the website as a “provocateur” who participated in “Russia’s information provocations against Ukraine” and “rejects Russian aggression despite being born in Ukraine”.
According to unofficial information, in the fall of 2021, Vasilenko tried to pay Peacemaker to have his profile removed from the database. However, the surname continues to appear in search results on the site and the profile is viewable.
The blogger confirmed that he really tried to negotiate the removal of the profile through third parties, but fell victim to scammers. “Then this amount especially hit my wallet. I paid in rubles, so apparently people from Russia cheated on me, ”said Vasilenko.