Samara Bloggers Accuse 'Volga Hedonism' Author of Scam
«Best Food Blog»
«A restaurant digest from the banks of the Volga about food, memes, and Samara»s nightlife. Visited over 320 restaurants in Russia and talk tastily about Russia«s gastronomic spots. Best food blog of 2022 in Samara according to the publication »Enter«,» is how the «Volga Hedonism» blog is described on Telegram.
Its story began on 13 May 2021. A channel was registered on the messenger and immediately christened «Volga Hedonism». That same day, four first posts appeared in it. The first became, so to speak, the mission statement for the entire project:
«Hello everyone, for a long time I didn»t know what I wanted to do and how I wanted to be useful to people. There«s a saying: »Do what you love.« I love writing texts, eating well, and hanging out in cool places. It»s time to combine these things and write about hangouts and restaurants. In Samara, there are no Telegram channels focused on food and fun, I decided to throw all my strength (not yet) into solving this problem. I want it to be accessible, understandable, and beautiful. My partner in this will be Alenchik. Ambassador of hangouts, guru of a happy life, and lover of gastronomy. No one else can convey so colorfully the love for the same things as me. Love for beauty and life. Real Volga hedonists.«
Over several years, the channel managed to gather a modest audience of almost 4,000 people. Regularly, reviews of restaurants and their dishes appeared on the public page. Sometimes the blogger shared details of his personal life. For example, in April 2025 he explained why he started writing about food. Allegedly, his taste and demanding nature regarding food were instilled by his grandmother. She was also allegedly the only relative who took on raising the young culinary critic.
Over time, advertising posts began to appear in the blog, and later, giveaways. Eventually, «Volga Hedonism» started posting tempting offers to sell concert tickets. Potential buyers had to pay only half of the full price. When asked where the blogger got these tickets, he answered simply: «Barter.»
«Hedonistic» Escape from Samara to Kazan
The 63.RU editorial office was contacted by one of the Samara residents who has claims against the author of «Volga Hedonism». Daniil Belokorkovkin told us his version of events. He partially laid it out on social media, and we asked him to elaborate.
The young man is also a blogger. He runs a channel called «Danil Shirotpotreb» (Danil Mass Consumption) and specializes in stories about show business and pop culture. Some time ago, Daniil saw an ad for tickets to a Lolita concert.
«I came across opinions a couple of times that the author of »Volga Hedonism« is not the most decent person. But I didn»t pay much attention to it since there was no convincing evidence. He is a public figure. Such people, even if they engage in shady activities, still provide something in return if you pay money. Well, take Blinovskaya, for example. She at least provided services. Dubious ones, though,« Daniil explained his point of view.
He suspects the blogger«s reputation may have played a cruel joke on him. Due to the abundance of ads for local brands and establishments, photos from events, the Samara resident believed he would get his tickets without any problems.
For two tickets to the singer«s concert, Daniil paid 9,500 rubles (approx. $100 at current rates), although their cost from the official seller was twice as high — 18,000. The buyer assured the young man that he would send the tickets only in mid-January, as they were obtained by the »hedonist« through barter. Reassured by this explanation, Daniil began to wait.
According to the young man, he regretted his decision two weeks later. Then he came across a story on social media from a girl who also bought tickets from the «Volga hedonist». Only, as the dissatisfied buyer claims, she received nothing. Under her post, several other people who found themselves in a similar situation left their comments.
«I write to the seller that I know everything and offer to return the money. Otherwise, I go to the police and also talk about him on social media. He agrees to the refund. Only in his case, that means he will write every day that »he will definitely return it tomorrow«,» Daniil is convinced.
As the dissatisfied customer claims, at some point the «Volga hedonist» started «backing out». Allegedly, too many people are demanding money from the blogger, and he cannot return it to everyone. But he named a date when he could do it. According to the seller«s assurances, he was supposed to receive an advance on 5 January. After that date, he allegedly would start settling debts. Naturally, the date alarmed the buyer, but he continued to wait.
Meanwhile, the girl who, according to her, was left without money and tickets, gathered other dissatisfied buyers into one chat. They shared their stories of «cooperation» with the «Volga hedonist» and simultaneously voiced the amounts they transferred to the blogger. According to the most conservative estimates, we are talking about at least 250,000 rubles (approx. $2,700 at current rates). But, as Daniil assures, this figure could be much larger and is gradually increasing.
During communication with other dissatisfied buyers, as our interlocutor shared, new details of the «hedonist»s« biography began to surface.
«He has already deceived not only ordinary people but entire restaurants and their directors. In 2023, he even left Samara for Kazan to hide from debts and public condemnation. There, by the way, he launched a similar »hedonistic« channel. He has another account on Telegram, which has already been marked with a SCAM label (currently deleted — Ed.). This means he is already suspected of dishonest actions,» Daniil believes.
The secret chat, which consisted of dissatisfied buyers, did not remain secret for long. As the Samara resident claims, the «hedonist» found out about it at some point and began publishing unflattering statements about the chat participants in his stories. Now the blogger«s profile on the banned social network is deleted, but screenshots remain.
«Good morning and a wagonload of hype! The stories of the »victims« teach us that you shouldn»t trust every stranger. So, learn from them. Namaste!«
Naturally, this publication caused outrage among the dissatisfied buyers.
«That he is openly laughing at all the participants — that»s the dumbest move on his part. Because if before this some people had some leniency towards him, after this everyone got completely angry with him,« Daniil explained.
5 January arrived. The dissatisfied buyers still did not receive their money. The «hedonist» tried to justify himself, saying that he himself was without means of subsistence.
A day later, the blogger informed his subscribers of tragic news. Allegedly, his grandmother died. However, he had no money to bury her. The «hedonist» asked concerned people to help him and chip in. This seemed suspicious to the dissatisfied buyers.
«I don»t believe in such incredible coincidences. Maybe the grandmother really did die. Or maybe not,« Daniil shared his doubts.
Blogger Scammed Blogger?
The dissatisfied Samara resident posted his story on social media. Other public figures noticed it. For example, Big Russian Boss (who, by the way, is closely connected with Samara) and Ksenia Hofman (a blogger and TV presenter). Moreover, after the video about the «hedonist», Daniil was offered to participate in shows on federal channels.
The young man, in conversation with 63.RU, expressed doubts about the honesty of the «Volga hedonist». He assures that recently the blogger had serious financial problems, which he tried to solve in questionable ways.
He told us several more stories, in which the food blogger became the main character (or rather, anti-hero). However, we could not promptly verify their reliability.
But one of them received indirect confirmation. The «Volga hedonist» was caught using dishonest methods in advertising cooperation with local establishments and bloggers. One such «client» almost became the author of the channel «Vorontsova Broadcasts», Alena Vorontsova. Back in the summer of 2023, she complained about the young man.
«On the expanses of Samara»s Telegram, there is a channel «Volga Hedonism». Allegedly, its author is a certain A*. At least, he is listed as the contact person, that«s how he introduces himself when writing to admins of other public pages with an offer to buy ads from him. What did he do? Wrote to me asking about the cost of placement on my channel. Then he took a screenshot and began to behave in correspondence with other people as my manager. He promised that an ad would appear on my channel at a discount. After the money was transferred, he disappeared. Therefore, if someone named »A*« writes to you with a cooperation offer, you can simply not answer him. Cooperation with »Volga Hedonism« = lost money.»
In December 2025, this story had a continuation. And it echoes the story of Daniil Belokorkovkin.
«Good day. I ask for help. I thought this wouldn»t affect me, but everything happens for the first time. My husband wanted to give me a gift. He has been subscribed to a person on Telegram for a long time and saw the sale of tickets to Gagarina (a singer) there. They corresponded, and my husband transferred money to the «seller»s« girlfriend»s account. We didn«t receive the tickets, they are not going to return the money. The amount was transferred to a former English teacher, now a designer from Kazan. And the correspondence was with the admin of the channel »Volga Hedonism«. They are not afraid of anything, continue to write posts about selling tickets to other concerts. Moreover, the blogger didn»t even clean up the correspondence with my husband.«
And such stories of «cooperation» with «Volga Hedonism» were becoming more and more numerous every day. At the end of January, several major Samara public pages published posts «exposing» the blogger.
«A Samara company purchased 50 advertising posts for 6,000 rubles (approx. $65 at current rates). As a result, the author of the channel A* published only one post. The company decided to terminate the agreement. They were promised a refund back in November, but since then the channel author has stopped communicating and never fulfilled his obligations.»
«I»m Getting Publicity from This Story«
Meanwhile, the «Volga hedonist», as Daniil assures, has set a new deadline for returning the funds. This time the young man promised to pay off the dissatisfied buyers by 5 February.
«Of course, no one believes these words anymore. Maybe after the police get involved, something will change. But personally, nothing has been returned to me. And, most likely, won»t be,« Daniil lamented.
At the same time, the young man believes that this story has caused the necessary public resonance.
«I»m glad we managed to make everyone aware of his activities and stop cooperating with him. I doubt the story will just fizzle out. If that happens, I won«t stop. I never thought I»d have to cover a story for the whole of Samara,« Daniil voiced his position.
«Lord, Forgive Me»
Currently, new publications continue to appear in «Volga Hedonism». Moreover, the blog«s author is trying to use the story to his advantage. For example, on 22 January 2026, the following messages were posted on the channel:
«I always dreamed of popularity, but I clearly didn»t formulate the right request to the universe. Lord, forgive me!«
«Times are extremely difficult (emotionally, event-wise, financially), which led to actions I»m not proud of, but such moments — are always about opportunities to change, to be better, to finally become responsible (something I«ve always had problems with). To be more careful with people, with myself, with managing finances, in my overall outlook on life. I»ll call it absolute systemic irresponsibility, which then breeds evil. What is this about? Deep down, I always want to be destroyed, hated, undeserving of love, good treatment. And I project this view onto life and my actions (and I«m coping with it excellently). It»s a catastrophe, but the most painful thing is that the catastrophe is not only for me but also for the people who trust me.«
«It»s scary to come out and write that I messed up, because I«m always silent and don»t comment. But here«s my first time, clumsily, but as it is. Have a good evening, and I»ll continue to write reviews for you and bring the value I can. Not without mistakes.«
Judging by the following posts, the «Volga hedonist» is preparing for possible legal problems. On 23 January 2023, the following message appeared in the group: [Note: The article states the message was posted on 23 January 2023, but this seems to be a typo given the context of 2026. We translate as is.]
A few days later, the blogger deleted this publication. And then decided to «show off» with statistics and offer cooperation:
«Reminding you that you can purchase advertising integrations on Volga Hedonism today at a big discount. Views have soared at an unprecedented speed these days. Use this as an opportunity to tell about yourself to a large audience.»
He also did not hesitate to share new details of his personal life and mental state.
«I started working with a psychotherapist (had 2 sessions) because I need to work on myself to not only be useful but also not cause damage to people, to be able to build communication and relationships with people.»
Mythical «Volga Hedonists» Club
Another project of the blogger was an «elite club» with the not-so-original name «Hedonists on the Volga» (spelling preserved — Ed.). Samara resident Olga Khlystova told the story of her participation in it:
«In 2023, a project was announced — a club of like-minded people. It was assumed that it would include people who love aesthetics and taste. We were supposed to meet in various establishments in Samara,» Olga says.
According to the girl, the entry fee was 4,000 rubles (approx. $45 at current rates). Allegedly, these were expenses related to organizing events.
«I agreed. Because among my circle there are few people who like such outings. I wanted to find like-minded people. And the »hedonist« himself broadcast interesting reviews on the channel, and I hadn»t heard of any shady schemes,« Olga assures.
As a result, the girl became a participant in a closed chat. There were no more than 10 people in it. The first meeting of the «hedonists» was scheduled for 2 July. And the venue was one of the gastro-bars located on Leningradskaya Street.
«The choice turned out to be not the most obvious. It would seem there are so many interesting places to go. But still, they chose not the most remarkable option. We didn»t argue,« Olga thinks.
According to her, 5 people came to the first event.
«The gist of the meeting — we order one item for 6 people (including the »hedonist«), try, study, try to understand the taste. We ordered 7 dishes with a total cost of no more than 3,500 rubles (approx. $40 at current rates). Everyone had a spoonful. And the »hedonist« paid the entire bill, as promised at the beginning of the meeting. Apparently, he wanted to impress with his generosity. Drinks, however, we paid for ourselves,» Olga assures.
After the event, the «club» participants began to share impressions and discuss further plans. They started asking the organizer when the next meeting would be, which establishment they would go to next. However, according to Olga«s version, the »hedonist« stopped communicating and then deleted the chat altogether.
«I didn»t pay attention to this story before. But I thought, it turns out we just gave him 32,000 rubles (approx. $350 at current rates) for a mythical club. I wouldn«t be surprised if back then, at the first and last meeting, we ate dishes obtained through barter,» Olga suggested.
Is Hedonism Finished?
We tried to contact the blog«s author directly. However, the young man read our message and did not respond. And then he deleted the correspondence altogether.
Simultaneously, the 63.RU editorial office contacted the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Samara Region with a request to comment on the situation. The police confirmed to us that a check is underway regarding the blogger.
At the same time, the «hedonist» found at least one supporter. Under one of the recent publications, a certain Lada Pogudalina left a comment in support of the blogger:
«Guys, many read this public page and know its author from different sides. But one thing we know for sure — A* can see beauty and convey it. He also feels people very subtly, and I am sure that all the events happening in his life require compassion <...>.
Unfortunately, it happens that people find themselves in difficult situations. And the authors of such projects often merge with them, because their brainchild is the fruit of their soul. And the best thing any of us would want if we were in such a situation is support.
Just imagine what spirit of adventurism drives this guy if he decided to write all this on the internet! And at the same time, he did a lot without help and created a cool gastro-community!«
