St. Petersburg Blogger Trades City Life for Village

A 25-year-old marketer from St. Petersburg, Daniil Cheremny, has found his own way to relax: instead of beaches and resorts, he heads to the village of Yedoma in the Arkhangelsk Region (northwestern Russia). There he chops wood, heats the sauna, and tends the garden. Details are in the video.

In the Northern Capital, Daniil works in a marketing department and is a graduate student studying entrepreneurship. As soon as the exam session ends, he switches to remote work and goes to the village, where his family nest is located. As a child, he spent time there with his parents, but back then he found it boring. Now, the young man is restoring the wooden house, working the garden, and constantly finding new things to do.

Daniil explains his pull toward village life:

“You fly out of that city rhythm and hustle. And you can go to the river, steam in the sauna every day, and generally do whatever you want. And in the village there’s physical exertion, while in the city it’s constantly mental. And you come here and unwind. It’s fun to go chop wood, heat the sauna, and get a thrill not just from the fact that you quickly pressed a couple of buttons — and it’s done. You put in your effort and got some kind of mini-feeling of happiness, joy for each action like that.”

Daniil has been running a blog about rural life for some time. A video in which he invited the entire village to his 25th birthday caused particular resonance. The clip gathered more than a million views, and viewers appreciated the sincerity of the “heartfelt tea party.”