Mutual admiration
The 48-year-old British blogger Benjamin Rich, known online as Mr. Bald or Bald and Bankrupt, rose to prominence on YouTube for his candid portrayals of Russia. He regularly shared videos from travels across Russian regions and the former Soviet republics, taking viewers on train rides, street encounters, and city tours with a storyteller’s eye.
He recalled that a schoolteacher had sparked his love for Russia. “My journey began thirty years ago thanks to a teacher named Anna from Tomsk. She sparked my interest in the Russian language”, Rich noted in a video interview. Since then, he has learned Russian and uses it to connect with residents from diverse towns and cities across the country. He did not shy away from visiting smaller towns and rural areas, embracing the full spectrum of life along the rail lines.
In his clips, Rich often rode trains, shared meals in dining cars, and greeted taxi drivers, asking about local history and must-see attractions. He also highlighted architectural landmarks, stepping off trains for short strolls at various stations to absorb the atmosphere and details of each place.
Rich admitted enjoying the Soviet-era style of buildings and their ornate façades. He did not dismiss Soviet residential blocks, which linger in many former USSR nations. On one occasion, he hired a private taxi from a Kyiv train station to a mosaic panel he had only seen in books and online. The driver helped him locate this seemingly modest artwork, which celebrated Ukraine’s postwar history. Rich described the panel as bright and enduring, noting its beauty was a better teacher than any online search. He also worried that future officials might remove such panels to distance the country from its Soviet past.
The blogger managed to visit all the country-republics of the former USSR and explored Russia’s most populous regions over many years of channel activity, sharing his discoveries with a wide audience.
Beginning in St. Petersburg and tracing the Urals to Siberia, he pursued a dream by pausing briefly in several cities to see sights and engage with locals along the way.
Encounter with law enforcement
At present, Rich has not returned to Russia. He claims he was barred from entering the country for three years by the Birobidzhansky District Court in the Jewish Autonomous Region. He recounts being approached by a police officer near a station, escorted to a holding cell, and then brought before a court for a decision that limited his travel. He stated that he was found guilty under a provision of the Administrative Offenses Code and faced a ban that would keep him out of Russia for three years from the sentence date.
Reports indicate the charges related to public acts perceived as discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. If confirmed, fines in the range of tens of thousands of rubles could be imposed. Prior to this, Rich had been spotted at Baikonur, where access is restricted, and he later posted a video about the Buran spacecraft after paying a fine. A separate video shows him being questioned by security authorities; based on dialogue, it appears his prior social media posts criticizing military actions fed into the authorities’ scrutiny.
During questioning, Rich spoke in support of Russia, contrasting Western media narratives and describing the internet as a venue where free speech can feel constrained by platform policies, including monetization rules. He recalled receiving a notice that content cannot present certain viewpoints on Russia or Donbass, a constraint he viewed as limiting public expression for international audiences.
Commenters debated whether Rich’s position reflected an internal shift or a strategy to minimize the risk of harsher penalties. Some suggested his posts indicated a nuanced stance on Russia’s actions, while others noted the broader pressures on online discourse in Western countries.
In the wake of these events, Rich announced that he could no longer visit Russia and redirected his channel’s focus to other regions in Asia and Latin America. His avatar—featuring a sickle and hammer with red and gold hues—retains a nod to his past admiration for Russia and the Soviet era. He observed that he remained among the few who continued to publish favorable perspectives on Russia from abroad, even after the military actions began, and claimed he had tried for years to persuade foreign friends to visit the country.
Rich recalled his friend James hesitating to visit Russia during the 2018 World Cup due to concerns about crowds or safety. Rich argued that Russians were more likely to request selfies than initiate trouble, though this view did not persuade his companion. He believes the channel was founded to shape global perceptions of Russia and the former Soviet states, and he criticized the travel ban as a misstep that could tarnish the country’s image for foreign audiences.
Looking back, Rich felt he had learned resilience on his travels and refused to be deterred by obstacles. He concluded with a note of gratitude to those who welcomed him across borders and a hopeful farewell that hinted at future reunions with Russia and the broader region—perhaps in a time and place where travel is once again unimpeded.